201. The Raj at War

How did the Gulf War drive a permanent wedge between Osama bin Laden and the Saudi royal family? Why did the bin Laden family finally decide to disown him? How did he manage a global terror network from a farm in Sudan? In Episode 4 of this series, William and Anita are joined by ...  Show more

Who were the bin Ladens, and how did they build a construction empire in Saudi Arabia? What was Osama bin Laden’s childhood like, and how was he radicalised by a puritanical PE teacher? What did a young Osama see on his television in 1982 that inspired his plan to down America’s ...  Show more

Around 2.5 million Indian soldiers fought in the Second World War. Behind this staggering number lies a complex web of emotional experiences – and Diya Gupta unpicks that tangled web in her new book, India in the Second World War: An Emotional History. Diya speaks to Ellie Cawtho ...  Show more

In the second part of his documentary looking at the Asian contribution to WW1, Sarfraz Manzoor charts the experiences of soldiers and labourers in Mesopotamia and Gallipoli. The story for India changes as the war wears on. Recruitment becomes more draconian, British officers are ...  Show more

In the third part of his documentary looking at the Asian contribution to WW1, Sarfraz Manzoor examines the effect of WW1 on India, nationally and locally. Through letters from servicemen and families, the loss to loved ones becomes clear - not just on an emotional level, but als ...  Show more

The Indian Army was the largest volunteer army during the Second World War. Indian Army divisions fought in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy - and went to make up the overwhelming majority of the troops in South East Asia. Over two million personnel served in the Indian ...