The independence of India is not only an inflection moment for the subcontinent but also for the world, heralding the end of colonialism. Within a decade of India’s independence, almost all of Asia and Africa were free of European rule, able to chart their destinies for themselves.

August 15, 1947, was preceded by decades of struggle by the Indians and came in the immediate aftermath of World War II, when a weakened Britain was finding it difficult to keep its colonies.

As India celebrates the 71st anniversary of her independence, this quiz revisits some of the more noteworthy but also idiosyncratic aspects of the transfer of power from Britain.