LitFest ’25: Sam Dalrymple – ‘Shattered Lands’

India is no stranger to Sam Dalrymple.  He grew up in Delhi, studied Persian and Sanskrit at Oxford University, and in 2018 co-founded Project Dastaan, a peace-building initiative that reconnects refugees displaced by the 1947 Partition of India.  It came as no surprise then to hear him speak so passionately about the region to a sell-out audience at the Marlborough Literary Festival this evening. 

In his new book, Shattered Lands, Sam tells the story of how the Indian Empire went from a single country that stretched from Yemen to Burma to twelve modern nations, divided by some of the most heavily militarized borders in the world.  And, in just 50 minutes this evening, he provided a comprehensive and captivating snapshot into how this came about. 

I, for one, had no idea that in the 1930s people were flocking to Rangoon, Burma, to take advantage of the opportunities there.  Nor that the British offered India the Arabian Peninsular, which they declined (a decade before oil was discovered).  And, while I learned something of Indian Partition at school, Sam, a truly eloquent speaker, provided clarity on why it all went so horribly wrong. 

The talk wrapped up with Sam talking about Project Dastaan, an initiative developed by students that uses virtual reality to allow displaced Indians and Pakistanis to walk down streets they once lived on but, for political reasons, can no longer return to.  It provided a thought-provoking conclusion to a fascinating talk. 

‘Shattered Lands’ by Sam Dalrymple – published by Harper Collins