Freedom at Midnight

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India at transition is truly an awesome entity that will have to be managed when the British Raj departs: This book is eminently readable. It's probably the most easily readable book on the subject, which explains the insane amount of popularity it had enjoyed and still enjoys. a b Gordon, Leonard A. (August 1976). "Book review: Freedom at Midnight". The Journal of Asian Studies. University of Cambridge Press. 35 (4). doi: 10.2307/2053703. JSTOR 2053703. Wherever you go,” said Idriss in reply, “we shall always remain brothers, because we spilled our blood together.” Honestly speaking, not even the most lauding words of mine can do justice to this beautiful, poignant and soul-stirring historical documentary cum novel in which we glide through the charming yet terrifying history of our own nation during the period of 1939-49, stupefied, terrorized and wide-eyed in awe and chill, as the author duo take us on a once-in-a-lifetime kind of ride that is bound to change our very perceptions of history, beliefs and ideologies regarding the very country and society that we inhabit.

A main theme of the authors is the sheer size and breadth of the British Empire at its peak as the Age of Imperialism is about to come to an end: As you read, you'll find a great deal is written about Mahatma Gandhi, the "dejected bird" of Mountbatten, Nehru, the handsome Indian who is incredibly fascinated by the Mountbattens, Jinnah, the only guy who is shown in the bad light, and Patel, well... Let's just say he exists. It was written in 1975. All of the main players were dead with the exception of Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy. I am happy at the generation I am living in, but after reading this book, it made me wonder whether I have missed the most epoch making time of my country, well any country for that matter.The book is told in a casual style, similar to the authors' previous works, Is Paris Burning? and O Jerusalem!. This book is a fascinating and deeply moving account of one of the seminal events in world history, the emergence of India and Pakistan as sovereign nations. Collins and LaPierre, in their infinitely researched, nuanced account of the independence of the Indian subcontinent, relate their story in prose that approaches the lyrical rhythm of poetry. Some may take issue with the point of view of the account, insisting that it is written primarily from the British line of sight, but regardless of any bias, it so beautifully and successfully relates the stories of those in the highest seats of power and the impact of their often wrenching decisions on the common person. The book looks at events through the eyes of Lord Mountbatten,India's last viceroy.He is the good guy as far as the authors are concerned,and "must save India from itself." Maddox, Garry. 17 May 2017. " How Prince Charles steered filmmaker Gurinder Chadha to make Viceroy's House." The Sydney Morning Herald.

This book is recommended for anyone interested in knowing our freedom fighters, freedom movement, the Raj, the Maharajas and the Mahatma very substantially, if not wholly or in full measure. It is incredibly callous in its complete disregard of misfortune that fell upon Hindus of Eastern Bengal.Their great weakness was the distance from which they exercised their authority, the terrible racial smugness setting them apart from those they ruled. Never was that attitude of racial superiority summed up more succinctly than it was by a former officer of the Indian Civil Service in a parliamentary debate at the turn of the century. There was, he said, “a cherished conviction shared by every Englishman in India, from the highest to the lowest, by the planter’s assistant in his lonely bungalow and by the editor in the full light of his presidency town, from the Chief Commissioner in charge of an important province to the Viceroy upon his throne-the conviction in every man that he belongs to a race which God has destined to govern and subdue.” Freedom at midnight gives a comprehensive account of the last year of the crown rule in India and the rigid dichotomy between the 2 major religions viz. Hindu and Muslim ( written as 'Moslem' in the book) who not only molested and oppressed their counterparts blatantly but also killed each other with sadistic fury in their quest for independence ( Swaraj ). This was, in essence, the dichotomy between the fathers of the two nations that formed after the Partition of British India. Mahatma Gandhi was antagonistic to partition while Jinnah wanted a separate Muslim nation at all costs. The India represented by those men and women would be a nation of 275 million Hindus (70 million of them, a population almost twice the size of France, Untouchables); 50 million Moslems; seven million Christians; six million Sikhs; 100,000 Parsis; and 24,000 Jews, whose forebears had fled the destruction of Solomon’s Temple during the Babylonian exile.

Listner पत्रिका में छपा था, उसमे माउंटबैटन ने खुद ही अपनी बड़ाई हाँकी है कि कैसे देश को आज़ादी के बाद उन्होंने कैसे टेक ओवर किया था नेहरू एवम पटेल की मिन्नतों पर। वाह! And I'm quite sure that the author would not be someone looking at some British aristocrat (or their Nehruvian acolytes) with swooning eyes. Very rarely comes a defining moment that changes history to the extent of being un-recognizable and very rarely comes a book that changes your life, perceptions and everything that you presumed to be true once and for all. Independence of India was the defining moment in modern India and this book by the author duo Dominique Lappierre and Larry Collins on the before and after-math of the same is the defining book in my life.The quartet of Jinnah, Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel ( Iron man of India), along with Lord Mountbatten were the decision-makers for India's fate, which, to the chagrin of all Hindu leaders, was a 'Partition'. Later, Mountbatten described this partition as "sheer madness". Freedom at Midnight (1975) is a non-fiction book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre about the events around the Indian independence movement and partition. It details the last year of the British Raj, from 1947 to 1948, beginning with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last viceroy of British India, and ending with the death and funeral of Mahatma Gandhi.