Willem van Schendel is Professor of Modern Asian History at the University of Amsterdam and heads the Asia department of the International Institute of Social History at Amsterdam. Formerly, he held the chair of Comparative History at Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

• Figures, Plates, Tables; Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; 1. Studying Borderlands, 2. Partition Studies; 3. Radcliffe's Fateful Line; 4. A Patchwork Border; 5. Security the Territory; 6. Defiance and Accommodation; 7. The Flow of Goods; 8. Narratives of Border Crossing; 9. Migrants, Fences and Deportation; 10. Rebels and Bandits; 11. 'Rifle Raj' and the Killer Border; 12. Nation and Borderland; 13. Conclusion: Beyond State and Nation; Appendix, References, Index

'In this comprehensive studey, Van Schendel looks at cross-border linkages, interterritorial economies, the culture of the borderlanders, the policies of the respective states, and goods… A must-read for those interested in understanding South Asian politics.' —'Choice'