I found #FloodOfFire and and the pages about battles. It was the #BattleOfAssaye that concerned one of a main characters, an Indian mercenary, Kesri Singh. Another character, a disgraced rajah, Neel Rattan Halder, watches a British/Chinese battle in Hong Kong and muses about how unfair it is that battles determine so much. Along with the #BattleOfKerbala he mentions #Panipat and #Plassey.
#AmitavGhosh
#Battles #Assaye #Kerbala #Gaugamela
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/books/review/amitav-ghoshs-flood-of-fire.html
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2015/november/flood-fire-amitov-ghosh