FREEDOM AT MIDNIGHT

By: Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins

‘Freedom at Midnight’ by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins is a charismatic yet terrifying account of the Indian Independence Movement. The electrifying story of India's struggle for independence forms the basis of this book by two fine journalists who not only conducted hundreds of interviews with nearly all the surviving participants, from Lord Mountbatten to the assassins of Mahatma Gandhi but also altered the readers’ beliefs, perceptions and ideologies regarding the very country and society that they inhabit.

This international bestseller starts with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last Viceroy of British India and ends with the assassination and funeral of Mahatma Gandhi. The eclipse of the British Raj, the greatest empire history has ever seen and the birth of an independent India and Pakistan at midnight on August 14, 1947, leading to immediate partition, war, riots and bloodshed, form the subject of the book. Collins and Lapierre recount the transformation of a fabled India - a land of maharajas, holy men and strange customs, the India of Kipling's army, with its centuries of legendary heroism, the India that was the heart and soul of an empire - into the new India of Gandhi and Nehru which is a precursor of the Third World. The book also throws light on how independence came with a price for every citizen of the newly formed nations and how they helplessly react to political machinations.

In this outstanding reconstruction, the authors have efficiently examined the roles enacted by Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah among others in the violent transformation of a new India and Pakistan. According to them, this is the India of Jawaharlal Nehru who was heart-broken by the partition, of Mohammed Ali Jinnah who led 45 million Muslims to nationhood, of Mahatma Gandhi who stirred a subcontinent without raising his voice and of the last viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, who was beseeched by the leaders of an independent India and had to take back the powers he had just passed on.

With a fascinating narrative, Collins and Lapierre focus on the state-level negotiations on India’s independence. It closely follows the negotiations between Mountbatten, Whitehall, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi as they decide to partition India. However, the book almost exclusively emphasizes the “great men” of history by representing them as isolated personages, holding the fate of the Indian people in their hands. Thus, the people themselves are often lost in this depiction and appear as mere faceless masses. Despite this focus on the agency of the great men, the primary mechanism that takes the book forward is destiny. Another significant aspect of this book is the personification of Mahatma Gandhi, who is the central character in this depiction. Through certain skillfully arranged excerpts, one is bound to bow in humility as one gets to learn Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of life. Further, the book speaks of another eminent character, Lord Mountbatten who managed to acclaim the love and respect of India and its people within a short span of time. His wise and ingenious administrative skills depicted in various chapters throughout the book cannot be missed. Furthermore, the detailed portrayal of Sardar Patel’s role in aggregation of several independent states into ‘One India’ stimulated the scope of this book.

Every facet of the Indian Independence story including the involuntary appointment of Lord Mountbatten as the last viceroy of India, Jinnah’s stiff-necked demand for Pakistan leading to riots and violence all over the nation, Gandhi’s aversion to Jinnah’s demand of partition, successful clinching of the partition issue after a series of failed efforts, the merger issue with princely states and the post-partition tragedy have been dealt privately. The authors record the partition of India into India and Pakistan, the splintering of 3000 years of co-existence, the ensuing mass migration and the religious genocide on both sides of the newly fashioned border with the compassion it deserves. What stands out in this book is the distinctive style of the authors. They have successfully picked certain individuals and tracked them through the entire narrative while laying out the bigger picture in the background.

Gradually, Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins transform a historical story into a story of the masses, those who have the least ambitions but also have the most to lose. A must-read for every Indian, the book is a story of humanity that encapsulates the ingredients of both history and literature.