Freedom Comes at Midnight

In Indian historiography, 1947 is both the greatest date of gaining independence and a source of unresolved, painful questions. The partition of the country is perceived as a national tragedy. Was it inevitable? Who is to blame—the British authorities with their principle of “divide and conquer,” Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who sought to create a Muslim state at any cost, the Indian National Congress, or Mahatma Gandhi himself? How might history have unfolded if South Asia had maintained political unity? And finally, how are these events viewed from the outside? The main book about this dramatic moment in the history of India and the entire region since 1975 remains “Freedom Comes at Midnight” by Collins and Lapierre, two journalists who seriously attempted to tackle the complex historical and political issues, ultimately creating a great documentary work that captures the portrait of the era.