When Congress demanded Poorna Swaraj, India was 2.5× bigger — with an Indian passport issued from Yemen to Burma. But this isn’t the history we’re taught. In this eye-opening conversation, Manisha Pande talks to historian Sam to uncover the other partitions of British India. The forgotten breakups that shaped South Asia long before 1947.

Sam reveals how the idea of ‘Bharat Varsh’ we know today emerged after the first partition of British India, when the British sliced off Aden in the west and Burma in the east, giving the freedom movement a decisively Hindu tilt.

This interview is packed with interesting nuggets from the past:

➨ A Burmese monk who preceded Savarkar in the Hindu Mahasabha.

➨ Why Sarojini Naidu might be the most fun, underrated hero of the freedom struggle.

➨ How Jinnah is misunderstood on both sides of the border.

➨ What really triggered the madness of Direct Action Day?

Sam argues that to understand Kashmir, the Rohingya crisis, or even Yemen today, we need to understand these earlier partitions — not just the one in 1947.

Watch the full conversation for a sharp, nuanced, eye-opening tour through South Asia’s remarkable past — and the conflicts we’re still living with today. For subscribers only.