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India
Freedom At Midnight – Freedom Is Never Free.
Sep 09, 2009 03:42 PM 11652 Views
(Updated Sep 20, 2009 04:01 PM)

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Freedom At Midnight – Freedom Is Never Free.


Freedom at Midnight is one of my all time favorite books. A very well written book which gives an accurate account of Indian history during our Independence.


This book provides large amounts of information & different viewpoints on our Independence history . It is one of the hardest books to put down that I have ever read. It should be required reading in any course dealing with the history of the British Empire in India.


This book is Written by two writers Larry Collins & Dominique lapierre, There is no second thought that this is the best single read book to understand the situation & tensions between the modern states of India and Pakistan.


This book is all about the struggle for freedom in the modern Indian subcontinent and its consequences. India largely attained its freedom through satyagraha. The entire subcontinent opted for struggle for freedom through peaceful demonstrations, while at the same time the rest of the world was killing each other with newly invented bombs, tankers and planes.


This book begins from Jan 1947 and sketches most of the important happenings till early 1948. This book throws light on India’s liberation from British rule from the appointment of Lord Mountbatten as viceroy through to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. During this freedom journey the reader is introduced to many brilliant characters that shaped up the history in that part of the world and have since left their mark that is still evident. The decisions made by these great leaders defined the future of millions of people.


The British Empire considered India as their crown.But when it became clear after the end of the Second World War that Britain would be forced to grant independence to her Indian colony, Lord Mountbatten was appointed to the post of the final British Viceroy to the colony. Once the British flag was brought down at midnight, hence the title, it was left to the people of India to govern themselves, a huge task that seemed impossible at the time.


Collins and Lapierre has very well captured the poignant picture of the greatest migration in history. Thousand of massacred during the partition of India & Pakistan. The religious division resulted in more than five lakh deaths.


This book is little difficult to understand & takes some time to digest, but without a second thought it is one of the best books about the independence struggle of India & Pakistan. This book also throws some light on the current problems with Kashmir.


One of the unsolved matter since than that still afflicts both nations (India and Pakistan) and have since lead to three wars, Kashmir, is devoted a whole chapter.


I immensely enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to all those interested in knowing about India’s historic movement. The introductory chapter gives insight to the cultural diversity and Hindu-Muslim ideologies in the pre-independent India.


The best part of the book is it does not favour any leader (with the exception of Mountbatten) religion or person and leaves the reader make his own judgment of the actions of all those involved in the partition of India and its repercussions by explaining in detail the motives and dilemmas of the political leaders.


There are some major flaws in the book, firstly it glorify Mountbatten. For example, initially the book sketches a great detail to explain that it was Mountbatten's idea to give Independence quickly. It says that he fights with Churchill, and he goes against most of his colleagues to give India's freedom quickly. But later when Punjab is burning, the authors say that it was the Indian leaders' idea to give freedom quickly.


Secondly, the heroes are Mahatma Gandhi & Mountbatten. Jinnah and Pakistan are the villains. Every mention of Mahatma Gandhi and Mountbatten is full of eulogy. Every mention of Jinnah is spiteful. Is Jinnah really as evil as he was portrayed in this book?


To know more about Jinnah I have to read the new book 'Jinnah, India Partition, Independence,' by Jaswant Singh. It is very shocking to know that, JS has not only praised Jinnah but also demonized India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, charging them for being responsible for the partition of India.


What I have learned from the Indian Independence History is, Mahatma Gandhi wanted a secular nation with a Hindu majority, while Jinnah wanted a secular nation with a Muslim majority. Ultimately no matter how sweet Jinnah was his political ambition killed a lot of Indians and continues to do so. This cannot be forgotten or sidelined.


Anyhow the authors really did a great work on Mahatma Gandhi. Each and every event was recorded & written well. One of the most appealing qualities in the writing of the authors was their effort into giving some personal accounts into the lives of the common people.


I recommend this book to anyone who is a student of world history and precisely history of India. This book takes the reader through the year that lead to the birth of three nations, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.


In conclusion, this book discloses the history behind the conflict. Great book and a must read, but don't have your conclusion based on this book.


Freedom is a package deal - with it comes responsibilities and consequences


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