Synopses & Reviews
Aand#160;and#160;few bloody months in South Asia during the summer of 1947 explainand#160;the world that troubles us today. Nobody expected the liberation of India and birth of Pakistan to be so bloody andmdash; it was supposed to be an answer to the dreams of Muslims and Hindus who had been ruled by the British for centuries. Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhiandrsquo;s protandeacute;gandeacute; and the political leader of India, believed Indians were an inherently nonviolent, peaceful people. Pakistanandrsquo;s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a secular lawyer, not a firebrand.and#160; But in August 1946, exactly a year before Independence, Calcutta erupted in street-gang fighting. A cycle of riots andmdash; targeting Hindus, then Muslims, then Sikhs andmdash; spiraled out of control. As the summer of 1947 approached, all three groups were heavily armed and on edge, and the British rushed to leave. Hell let loose. Trains carried Muslims west and Hindus east to their slaughter. Some of the most brutal and widespread ethnic cleansing in modern history erupted on both sides of the new border, searing a divide between India and Pakistan that remains a root cause of many evils. From jihadi terrorism to nuclear proliferation, the searing tale told in Midnightandrsquo;s Furies explains all too many of the headlines we read today.
Review
andldquo;This harrowing tale of political miscalculation and misunderstanding is recommended for all readers of history, politics, and current affairs.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash;and#160;
Library Journal andldquo;A fine unwinding of an epic event.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash;and#160;Booklist
andldquo;Hajari skillfully picks through this perilous history . . . A carefully restrained and delineated account makes for chilling reading.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash;and#160;Kirkus Reviews
andldquo;Pakistan is perhaps the worldandrsquo;s most dangerous countryandmdash;a combustible mix of nuclear weapons, jihadis, bloody borders, and a dysfunctional state. You can only truly understand the country by going to its roots. Nisid Hajari does just that in this powerful, intelligent, and beautifully written book. He finds in Indiaandrsquo;s partition and its aftermath mistakes, compromises, and cowardice as well as all the ideology, venom, and violence that have now erupted onto the global stage. Hajari presents the history like a detective story and you will be swept along. Except in this case, none of us knows how it will end.andrdquo; andmdash;and#160;Fareed Zakaria, author ofand#160;The Post-American World
andldquo;History is about grand cultural and geographical forces within which individual leaders must, nevertheless, take moral responsibility for better and worse outcomes. Nisid Hajariandrsquo;s meticulous study of Indiaandrsquo;s birth captures this dichotomy brilliantly.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Robert D. Kaplan, author ofand#160;Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power
andldquo;Indiaandrsquo;s partition in 1947 was a traumatic event unparalleled in its human toll since World War II. Its legacy continues to haunt both India and Pakistan and threaten global security. Yet the train of events that culminated in the paroxysm of violence and partition has remained shrouded in mystery.and#160;Midnightandrsquo;s Furiesand#160;relies on fresh historical sources to go beyond the familiar debate about why Hindus and Muslims were at odds over the future of India, and shows how decisions by leaders reacting to unfolding events sealed the fate of united India and produced the cycle of violence that forever marked the peoples and governments of the region. Well-researched and eminently readable, this haunting account puts into the proper perspective both history and current events.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Vali Nasr, author ofand#160;The Shia Revivaland#160;andand#160;The Dispensable Nation
andldquo;Nisid Hajari brings new research, deep involvement, and a keen intelligence to write a history that brings so many people to life and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Today, with Pakistan facing unprecedented extremist violence and a hardline right wing government in New Delhi that wants no dialogue with Islamabad, we could be on the brink of more furies being unleashed. A must read.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Ahmed Rashid, author ofand#160;Pakistan on the Brinkand#160;andand#160;Taliban
andldquo;The Partition of British-ruled India in 1947 was a momentous event in world history that has impacted the war on terror as well as the politics and economy of Asia to a degree that is still not fully understood. Nisid Hajariandrsquo;s book illuminates it with a rare political acuity, narrative verve, and stylistic elegance. Unravelling canonized reputations and highlighting obscure ones, he shows how a large part of humanity came into its political inheritance, and the wounds this violent process left on the body politic of India and Pakistan. Anyone wondering howand#160;nuclear-armed South Asia came to be vulnerable to religious extremism will find clear and profound answers here.andrdquo;and#160;andmdash; Pankaj Mishra, author ofand#160;From the Ruins of Empire
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Synopsis
Like the Rape of Nanking, the partition of India was aand#160;dramatic, bloody crisis that remains a key historical faultline today.
Synopsis
Named one of the best books of 2015 by NPR, Amazon, Seattle Times, and Shelf Awareness A few bloody months in South Asia during the summer of 1947 explain the world that troubles us today.
Nobody expected the liberation of India and birth of Pakistan to be so bloody -- it was supposed to be an answer to the dreams of Muslims and Hindus who had been ruled by the British for centuries. Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi's prot g and the political leader of India, believed Indians were an inherently nonviolent, peaceful people. Pakistan's founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a secular lawyer, not a firebrand. But in August 1946, exactly a year before Independence, Calcutta erupted in street-gang fighting. A cycle of riots -- targeting Hindus, then Muslims, then Sikhs -- spiraled out of control. As the summer of 1947 approached, all three groups were heavily armed and on edge, and the British rushed to leave. Hell let loose. Trains carried Muslims west and Hindus east to their slaughter. Some of the most brutal and widespread ethnic cleansing in modern history erupted on both sides of the new border, searing a divide between India and Pakistan that remains a root cause of many evils. From jihadi terrorism to nuclear proliferation, the searing tale told in Midnight's Furies explains all too many of the headlines we read today.
Synopsis
The searing, under-reported history ofand#160; the partition of India as aand#160;dramatic, bloody crisis that remains a key historical faultline today
About the Author
NISID HAJARI is the Asia editor for Bloomberg View. Prior to Bloomberg, he spent a decade at Newsweekandnbsp;as Asia editor, foreign editor, and eventually coeditor at the top of the masthead.andnbsp;He has appeared frequently as a commentator on foreign affairs on NPR, NBC, and CNN, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.