The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independencre - Softcover

Read, Anthony; Fisher, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0712661425 ISBN 13: 9780712661423

Publisher: Pimlico, 1998

Synopsis

1st trade edition paperback near fine condition. In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

About this title

Review

The birth of the Indian National Conference in 1885 served as the formal beginning to India's long struggle to evict the British. When independence finally arrived on August 15, 1947, India soon found itself fighting yet another enemy: itself. Without a solid blueprint from which to draw its own government and infrastructure, India's internal struggles meant enormous suffering for the population. As Anthony Read and David Fisher clearly point out, much of the turmoil resulted from the inability of Indian leaders to work in concert, pitting India and Pakistan against one another before they could even begin to celebrate their freedom. It's evident the authors find much to admire in India, but their even-handed analysis prevents even a touch of the hagiographical; even the failings of the legendary Gandhi are expanded upon. Nehru, Lord Mountbatten, and the Muslim leader Jinnah are also skewered for their poor choices and lack of vision and leadership. In all fairness, the transition to democratic self-rule was no small task, particularly in regard to dealing fairly with the multiple ethnic and religious groups that abound in India, but the authors elaborate on the past sins of the Indian government, because it is within these failings that the true story of modern India is found. These long gazes into the past also help determine what the impact of the current crisis within the Congress Party may be now that Hindu nationalists and religious fundamentalists are in control.

Review

"A thoroughly splendid history of an exceedingly complicated subject...Read and fisher review events before the 20th century at a brisk pace, as a prologue to the great drama spread across three quarters of their book...and as the narrative proceeds towards the final act at midnight on 14 August 1947, so it becomes more scholarly. the characteristics of the principal cast are memorably presented" (Geoffrey Moorhouse Daily Telegraph)

"What Indians needed in their golden jubilee year was some good old personality-driven political history of the Raj...and that is exactly what Read and Fisher have done...They have made the most eventful years of our history as fascinating as they should be" (Indian Sunday Express)

"The narrative goes beyond the chronicling of historical fact and assumes a quality of subtle story-telling. It is well-paced, intelligent and perceptive, scripted with a measure of the assurance that bridges the best of fiction and non-fiction writing. More importantly, there is love and sympathy for its subject, a human quality is achieved only when the text goes beyond mere documentation. The quality of writing - its pungency and sense of theatre - is matched by the rigorousness of the research...One of the profound epic tales of modern world history" (Financial Times)

About this edition

• Publisher: Pimlico
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0712661425
• ISBN 13: 9780712661423
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 592