India

Period of direct British Crown rule in most of the Indian subcontinent until partition and independence.

Major early modern Indian polity that grew from Shivaji’s kingdom into a confederated power across much of the subcontinent before its defeat by the British East India Company.

Global armed conflict from 1939 to 1945, including war in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, mass civilian suffering and major geopolitical change.

Period of the Greek city-states encompassing the Persian Wars, the ascendancy of Athens, the Peloponnesian War and the rise of Macedon before the death of Alexander the Great.

Nationalist movements and campaigns against British rule in India culminating in independence and partition in 1947.

Major anti-colonial uprising against the East India Company in northern and central India, followed by the transfer of authority to the British Crown.

Large ancient Indian empire founded under Chandragupta Maurya and expanded under his successors, including Ashoka, before its decline in the second century BCE.

Early modern empire in South Asia noted for its regional political reach, courtly culture and architectural legacy.

Global geopolitical rivalry and ideological competition centered on the United States and Soviet Union from the postwar era to the breakup of the USSR.

The People's Liberation Army's advance into Tibet in 1950 ends the period of relative isolation represented in the film and prompts Harrer's departure.

The partition of British India created India and Pakistan amid mass migration and communal violence.

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse in January 1948.

A major rebellion against the East India Company's rule in India began in 1857.

British Indian troops fired on a crowd at Amritsar in April 1919; events motivated Udham Singh's later campaign.

Gandhi's march to the sea against the British salt tax became a landmark of Indian civil disobedience.

Muslim League leader and founder of Pakistan.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, meets Harrer as a child and becomes his student and friend during the late 1940s.

The city where Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948, and where his funeral procession took place.

The Roman province containing Alexandria and the wider administrative and cultural setting of the story.

Punjab city associated with the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Coastal settlement in Gujarat where Gandhi made salt on April 6, 1930.

The city where Harrer lives, works, and meets the young 14th Dalai Lama.

The Himalayan country through which Harrer travels and where he resides from 1946 until 1951.

The mountain system forming the physical setting for Harrer's escape and trek to Lhasa.