Asia's response to Western imperialism. After the last heirs of the Mughal Empire were killed and the Summer Palace in Beijing was destroyed, the Asian world seemed defeated by the West. For the first time, the essayist and writer Pankaj Mishra tells how, in this situation, intellectuals in India, China, and Afghanistan developed a wealth of ideas that became the foundation for a new Asia. They were the ones who inspired Mao and Gandhi and stimulated new currents of Islam. From here, the various countries took their respective paths into modernity. Pankaj Mishra entertainingly and compellingly depicts the emergence of anti-colonial thought and its consequences. A book that offers a completely new perspective on world history and provides the key to understanding today's Asia. "Brilliant. Mishra reflects the traditional Western view of Asia.".