Indian 'war of independence' a turning point for subcontinent

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2007

NEW DELHI, May 10, 2007 (AFP) — The 17th-century Red Fort in Old Delhi with its pockmarked stonework and peeling paint betrays only a glimpse of its former splendour as the seat of the sprawling Mughal Empire.

That world with its blend of Hindu and Muslim influences and poetry and art was finally brought crashing down with India's bloody 1857 "War of Independence", whose 150th anniversary the country celebrates on Friday.

"Everything changed after 1857," said British author and historian William Dalrymple whose latest book, "The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty," traces the history of the bloody uprising and its brutal repression by the British.

"The British East India's Company's rule of the subcontinent ended, the Mughal emperor was dumped and (British...