Midnight's Furies: Nisid Hajari's Exploration of India's Deadly Partition Legacy

abhijit aloni: Excellent and unbiased book

India on May 29, 2023

Arjun: 'Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition' by Nisid Hajari|

With millions killed and many more millions displaced, the violence that followed after the partition of British India is considered one of the greatest tragedies of the century. Yet so little is known about this tragic part of our history.

The author Nisid Hajair through this book provides a really insightful analysis of the Partition of British India and a detailed accounts of its consequences. The first few chapters focus on the initial fissures between communities and the strained equation between two main leaders Jinnah and Nehru, their irreconcilable differences. The latter half of the book focuses more on detailing the initial triggers, retaliation, and the atrocities during communal violence. Also discusses the role of various individuals, leaders, and organizations who were directly or indirectly involved in these killings.

While it was very interesting to read, yet the detailed description of the killings, rapes and violence made it a depressing read. Maybe that's the reason why not much is spoken about this despite being a very major event in our country's recent...

United States on Sep 30, 2021

Amazon Customer: When writing about partition many historians blame the British for the death toll. However in reality all the Indian religious factions were guilty of inciting hatred, committing murder and other atrocities against each other. This book also points the finger at Jinnah and Nehru. It makes a change to the usual partition history written from a partisan viewpoint. I would recommend this book for those who want an objective, not partisan view of the events in India in 1947

United Kingdom on Feb 03, 2021

Oliver Chandler: By far the best book I've read on partition. Very nuanced and well written account. However, for a book that says it is looking to analyse partitions affect on contemporary Indian-Pakistani relations, it could explore this a bit further. It hints to future animosities without anecdotally or analytically exploring any of these. Would highly recommend this book, but am only giving it four star because I don't feel it accurately portrays itself.

United Kingdom on Feb 21, 2020

KumarSS-Manitoba: My parents generation went through the turmoil of the separation of India and Pakistan at the end of the 40’s. Growing up in India till my teenage years, in the years following, I witnessed some of the aftermath of this event. I have always been curious about the details of what transpired during these events. This book provides a visceral account of the politics and the mindsets during that period. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the account, but it is a highly readable book.

Canada on Aug 12, 2019

Klaus: I enjoyed this book very much. It is a history book that I could hardly put down. Tension like a novel, although the events happened 70 years ago.

Germany on Jan 20, 2017

Phil in Magnolia: The Indian subcontinent had spent roughly 200 years under British rule when World War II approached and the desires for independence began to emerge with great vigor (the British East India company had ruled from about 1757 to 1858, followed by the British Raj where the British Crown ruled the subcontinent, from 1858 until the independence of Pakistan and India).

As the conflicts in Europe flared into full-scale war, the British Army made use of Indian troops (India at this time referring to the entire country as then defined). Those troops fought alongside Britains own soldiers in battle, while on the subcontinent the two movements that would develop into the driving forces behind independence - the Indian National Congress, and the Muslim League - gained strength. Britain needed that support from India, but also saw that independence was inevitable as soon as the war ended.

The Muslim league was led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and the Indian National Congress was led by Jawaharlal Nehru with support and spiritual backing from Mahatma Gandhi. A great number of other leaders and key personalities also played major roles in the development of the independence movements...

United States on Jul 25, 2015

C.P.M.: One of the greatest tragedies to ever occur in the history of the 20th century was the partition of India following the end of British rule of the subcontinent not just because a once large country was split in two, but because of the communal slaughter of Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus that occurred as each group, unsure of their future in either the new India or Pakistan, grouped together and began to see their neighbors as potential murderers-in-waiting. The massive slaughter of innocent people that occurred in 1947, which is the root cause of tensions and suspicions between India and Pakistan to this day, has never been fully told- until now. In this fine, short history of the partition of India, Mr. Hajari lays bare the the suspicions and savagery that characterized this confusing time in Asia's history. At its heart is the personal and political animosity between the founding political leaders of India and Pakistan: Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. From their outright hatred of each other, Mr. Hajari traces how their inability to compromise led first to the calls for partition, then sporadic rioting, then communal genocide on an inconceivable level and then finally, war...

United States on Jul 03, 2015