Author: Patrick French
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 1997
Language: English
Pages: 467
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8172233280
Description
It is a well-researched, beautifully written and immensely scholarly work on an important topical subject.
Patrick, a winner of the 1998 Sunday Times Young writers of the year Award, tackles a subject of extreme complexity, calling for scholarship, sobriety and considerable analytical power. Using a compelling mixture of travel and personal narrative, the author reveals the story behind this crucial period in world history. He analyses the rise of India's freedom movement in the early part of this century, the growth of Congress and the Muslim League, and the final, fateful struggle that led to the collapse of British rule and the transfer of power into Indian hands.
Liberty or Death offers a radical reinterpretation of the events surrounding India's independence and partition including the disastrous mistakes that were made by politicians and the bizarre reasoning behind many of their decisions.
With sources extending from newly declassified intelligence documents to the memories of families of Bihari refugees, Patrick French gives a riveting account of an epic debacle, the impact of which reverberates across the subcontinent to this day.
Wonderfully readable, this is a complex story, constantly zigzagging between tragedy and farce. Patrick is eloquent and judicious, and tells it extremely well.