Freedom and Partition offers a reconstruction of four momentous days which shaped the lives of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent: 14-17 August 1947. Based on primary archival material, newspaper reports, oral histories and private papers of leaders, it looks at how the outgoing British officials worked with the leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League to plan the ceremonies that would marking the birth of India and Pakistan. In doing so, this book offers a ringside view of events in New Delhi and Karachi.

Moving away from official ceremonies, Freedom and Partition uses a 'slice of life' approach to see how ordinary people in cities and towns looked at the approaching moment, capturing the sense of trepidation and insecurity felt by minority communities in Bengal, Punjab, Sindh and across much of north India. This volume provides vignettes of Gandhi's peace mission for the safety and security of the minorities in Calcutta and recounts how the euphoria of freedom came to be overshadowed by the Radcliffe Award of 17 August 1947. Finally, it examines how popular meanings and memories of 14-15 August 1947 have changed over the decades, as shown by shifts in narratives which have marked the 25th, 50th and the 75th anniversaries of Independence and Partition.

About the Authors

Tan Tai Yong is President of Singapore University of Social Sciences. He has been a faculty member of the Department of History, National University of Singapore (NUS) since 1992 and served as the President of Yale-NUS College during 2017-22. He is Chairman of the Institute of South Asian Studies (NUS) as well as the National Museum of Singapore and serves on the National Heritage Board, the National Library Board, and was a Nominated Member of Parliament from 2014 to 2015. He has authored and co-authored several books, including Singapore: Seven Hundred Years-A History of Singapore (2019) and The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab (2005).

Gyanesh Kudaisya is Associate Professor in South Asian Studies and Visiting Associate Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies (NUS). He has held visiting research appointments at Asia Research Institute, NUS and Research School of Pacific & Asian Studies of the Australian National University, Canberra, the Institute of Advanced Studies, JNU and the National Institute of Ethnology, Osaka. He has authored A Republic in the Making: India in the 1950s (2017; Hindi edn., 2022) and Region, Nation, Heartland: Uttar Pradesh in India's Body Politic (2006).

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

We first started out as ?The Paperback Exchange,? a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become ?PBShop.? This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first visit or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Pbshop.co.uk Ltd
Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road, Fairford, GL7 4BX, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.

Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.

Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
Please note the cost to return any...

More Information