The antagonism between India and Pakistan, the world’s second and sixth most populous countries, permeates every regional and international governing body. Historian and journalist Dilip Hiro analyzes the roots of the bitter divide in The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. Those in and out of power repeatedly used the religious conflict to gain influence before and after the partitioning of British India into independent Pakistan and India in August 1947.

India has attracted immigrants from all corners of the globe for thousands of years, making it a truly multicultural state. Under Mughal rule, immigrants – known as firangi – traveled to India for many reasons: to escape poverty and religious persecution, or as slaves, traders or adventurers. There was no singular “immigrant experience,” as each immigrant assimilated into Indian culture in a unique way.