Freedom at Midnight

Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre describes events in the Indian independence movement in 1947-8, beginning with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as last viceroy of British India, ending with the death & funeral of Gandhi.
The authors, having interviewed many of those who were there, give a detailed account of the last year of British India, the princely states reactions to independence (including descriptions of the Indian princes colorfully extravagant lifestyles), the partition of the subcontinent on religious grounds & the bloodshed that followed. It also covers in detail the events leading to the assassination of Gandhi, as well as the life & motives of British-educated Jawaharlal Nehru & Pakistani leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The book is a result of well researched events, which often are left out by other historians. F.i., the crucial maps setting the boundary separating India & Pakistan were drawn that year by Cyril Radcliffe. Radcliffe had never visited India before being appointed as Boundary Commission chairman. The description of the very British-style summertime capital Shimla in the Himalayas & how supplies were carried up steep mountains by porters is interesting. The book also explains the fury of both Hindus & Muslims, misled by communal leaders, during the partition, & the biggest mass slaughter in the history of India as millions of unfortunates were uprooted & tried to migrate laboriously by train, oxcart & on foot to new places designated for their particular religious group. Many fell victim to bandits & bloodthirsty religious extremists of both religions. One incident is particularly terrifying: it describes a Lahore canal that ran with blood & floating bodies. A tragedy that befell a poor interfaith peasant couple is heartrending.