Rather disjointed.

Mark Tully, now Sir Mark Tully, is well known for his impartial reports from India. His voice is familiar to listeners to BBC, up until 1994. He was born in Calcutta and educated in India and England and is perfectly positioned to understand the intricacies of life in India. His knowledge of the language also allows him to cross barriers.

Although this CD starts out well, with Indian music, a short speech from Neru and an introduction from Mark Tully, I found this method of presentation became increasingly disjointed as it progressed. Time skipped forward and back and vital dates were missing at times. On one occasion the narrator gave time to the minute, hour and day but neglected to update the year.
While Mark Tully's BBC voice is clear and concise, some of the audio clips of other people were difficult to understand.
The CD was originally published in 1997 and at least one of the statements about India's position in the world is now outdated.

In spite of these annoying drawbacks, I did learn a fair bit about the history of India since independence and for that reason I am giving this audiobook 3 stars. I doubt I will struggle through it again, however. ( )