80 Years of The Trial That Shook Britain – the historic court martial at the Red Fort – now a major book by veteran journalist Ashis Ray
A riveting account of the INA trial that hastened India’s independence, published by Routledge
New Delhi, November , 2025: It is 80 years since the legendary Indian National Army (INA) trial began on 5 November 1945 at the Red Fort, Delhi. Veteran BBC and CNN broadcaster and journalist Ashis Ray details its impact on the Indian freedom movement in his latest book, The Trial That Shook Britain: How a Court Martial Hastened Acceptance of Indian Independence. The book is available for purchase on major online platforms and through Routledge’s global distribution network.
The work revisits one of the most defining moments in India’s struggle for independence: the court martial of three officers of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s INA, Captain Shah Nawaz Khan, Captain Prem Sahgal and Lieutenant Gurbaksh Dhillon. Commissioned officers of the British-commanded Indian Army, they were put on trial by the British for waging war against the British monarch, King George VI. A death sentence hung over their heads. However, the exercise badly backfired as Indians en masse exploded in fury, ranks of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied and dissent arose in the Indian Army itself.
Responding to the nationwide outrage and the misgivings within the then British commanded Indian armed forces, General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, commuted their sentences. As the book outlines, the trial and its aftermath became a defining moment in the history of decolonisation, echoing arguments that enslaved people have every right to rebel against their colonial rulers and cannot be branded as traitors.
Speaking about the book, Ashis Ray said, ‘I was privileged to be elected an Academic Visitor at St Antony’s College, Oxford, which gave me a golden opportunity to research the subject and produce a thesis length paper, now a book. As Jawaharlal Nehru put it, “No trial in India either by Court Martial or in the Civil Courts has attracted so much public attention or has dealt with issues of such fundamental national importance”.’
The Trial That Shook Britain draws extensively on primary sources, including one of few surviving transcripts of the trial, General Sir Claude Auchinleck’s papers and British parliamentary records, to reveal how the event forced Britain to concede the principle of complete independence (purna swaraj) from its previous stubborn stance of dominion status. Ray presents the trial as a watershed moment in Indian history.
Eminent academics specializing in Indian History have praised the book for its scholarly depth and narrative force. Professor Faisal Devji of the University of Oxford describes it as “a riveting account of one of the most important events in modern Indian history.” Professor Crispin Bates of the University of Edinburgh notes that it “sheds light on a crucial period in Indian history when British politicians finally came to realise that… India had become effectively ungovernable.” Professor Mridula Mukherjee formerly of Jawaharlal Nehru University adds that Ray “argues persuasively, with the help of extensive archival evidence, that the INA trials… undoubtedly hastened the achievement of Indian independence.”
Recommended as a textbook for MA courses in Indian and South Asian History, The Trial That Shook Britain is also a compelling read for anyone interested in India’s freedom movement. It shines a light on an important, often overlooked chapter in India’s post-Second World War push for independence.
Here’s another **premium, bold, super-engaging** CTC with a lively 3D pop: “`htmlAbout Ashis Ray
Ashis Ray has been a foreign correspondent since 1977, broadcasting on BBC, CNN and ITN and writing for Ananda Bazar Group, The Times of India, The Tribune, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, Financial Times and Nikkei Asia, among other publications. He was CNN’s founding South Asia bureau chief before becoming the network’s editor-at-large. He has been elected president of Indian Journalists’ Association (Europe) for several terms. In 1982, the Commonwealth Institute selected him among 10 ‘eminent Indians’ in Britain. In 1995, he was conferred a National Press Award in India. He was made an Academic Visitor by St Antony’s College, Oxford for 2021-22. He intends to continue in academia. The Trial that Shook Britain is his fourth book.
Read more such article on- Authors and Books
