Upon the seventieth anniversary of partition the book is a timely ode to re-examine 1947.

'Partition' tells the story of Indian independence and the creation of Pakistan through the chaotic and seismic events of 1947 and the experiences of the people who lived through them.

Written from a soldiers perspective and relaying sometimes shocking, candid and violent episodes seen during the partition on a daily basis.

"If one Hindu was murdered he instructed his boys to kill ten Muslims in retaliation."

The reality of savage butchery is phlegmatically recorded throughout the book.

"A favourite trick of the Muslim goondas was to tie people to a pole with their hands behind their back and then bore a small hole in their forehead so that they bled slowly to death through their brain."

As well as recounting the harrowing scenes of partition, the author, Barney White-Spunner has aptly captured the cultural traditions that caused undue conflict, some of which still resonate today in parts of India and Pakistan.

"A young woman...had given given birth to a stillborn baby...was urged to give her husband's name so that they could try to trace him. 

'Don't you understand,' she replied, 'I am a Hindu wife. How can you ask me to voice my husbands name?'"

This book gives the kind of insight to partition that should be welcomed on any academic curriculum.

The effects of war on children is particularly unpalatable but essential to comprehend the extensive and long-term consequences of partition.

"The pir visited boys and gave them 30 rupees in blood money for the death of their parents. 'Aren't you ashamed,' demanded one of the nuns, 'to give thirty rupees to the children whose parents your men have killed?'"

The book is balanced and discusses the intolerable suffering experienced by all faiths affected by partition.

"The plight of women was as bad on both sides...Sometimes they were taken during the raids on villages, at other times kidnapped. 

Young teenage girls were at the most risk...The story of a Sikh woman from West Punjab...was typical. Muslim goondas attacked her village...Thinking she was sure to be raped, her husband tried to kill her. 

"He slashed her with his sword but only succeeded in inflicting a deep gash in her jaw. She passed out. 

"When she came round her husband and son and been sliced up and she had been routinely raped. Some months later she gave birth to a baby girl."

The book, is gripping, unapologetic and refreshingly has scrutinised the unnecessary presence of British soldiers overseas. 

'Partition' is a definitive account of the profound brutality that was endured by both sides that has deeply embedded independence. 

'Partition: The Story of Indian Independence and the creation of Pakistan in 1947' by Barney White-Spunner, is published by Simon & Schuster and is available from August 10.