Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition

Well researched and very well narrated, this book walks the tightrope of keeping an objective middle ground between two classic warring parties of Hindus and Sikhs versus Muslims successfully, while avoiding the pitfalls of expressing personal bias, although this must have been very tempting. After reading Midnights Furies it will become apparent why the prejudices between Hindus and muslims linger on and on, while there is no sight of any settlement in the Kashmir issue. Very well worth reading to gain insight into one of the worst episodes of mass carnage the world has ever seen.

By far the best book I've read on partition. Very nuanced and well written account. However, for a book that says it is looking to analyse partitions affect on contemporary Indian-Pakistani relations, it could explore this a bit further. It hints to future animosities without anecdotally or analytically exploring any of these. Would highly recommend this book, but am only giving it four star because I don't feel it accurately portrays itself.

Tells an excruciatingly painful story not just through the eyes of the big players, Nehru, Jinnah, Gandhi, Mountbatten but from the point of view of the hundreds of thousand of innocent victims of the roaming vicious sectarian murder gangs. A chilling example of how circumstances and the wrong political decisions can create a tsunami which can literally sweep nearly a million away. This is a monumental area of history about which I previously knew very little. Hajari has whetted my appetite for more.

This is a book everyone should read to understand what it feels like to have a sexuality not accepted in the society in which they live. Midnight’s Furies is set in post WWII Ireland, but the story applies equally to young people, and some not so young, in many parts of the world today. And it is a beautifully written book.

A valuable insight into the suffering that so many underwent at the time of partition.

Extremely detailed account of the run up to Partition. I read it in preparation for a trip to Northern India including Amritsar, where I visited the Partition museum and found my prior knowledge gained from the book useful and many of the same photographs on display. I knew the episode had been bloody but I hadn’t realised quite the extent or how long drawn out the process was, or that the end was so rushed that Partition came before they were really ready. It’s a very thoroughly researched book and I’m glad I ploughed through it so I gained an understanding of the times but I could have done with less fine detail. The last 100 pages are reference notes. Bit like a PhD thesis. Great if you’re a historian, less so if you’re a traveller wanting some background insight before your trip, maybe choose another book.

I bought this for my husband and he says it really is a great book. It had information that he didn't know and he thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Says it is a book which can be read again and again and still find something new.

I couldn't put this book down. The author brings to life the key actors in this most dramatic and tragic chapters of human history. The author helped me (a white, male, Brit) understand how the Indian sub-continent came to take the divided form it does today with all its anomalies e.g. Kashmir, and engendered a desire to find out more e.g. about modern day Bangladesh. The book also details the central but dubious role played by the UK in facilitating the divisions which beset the sub-continent today. A fascinating and deeply moving read.

My parents generation went through the turmoil of the separation of India and Pakistan at the end of the 40’s. Growing up in India till my teenage years, in the years following, I witnessed some of the aftermath of this event. I have always been curious about the details of what transpired during these events. This book provides a visceral account of the politics and the mindsets during that period. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the account, but it is a highly readable book.

"Midnight's Furies" by Nisid Hajari really gets your attention. His all-inclusive report of events occurring prior to and after India's partitioning disclosed viewpoints of the separation that may not be universally known. It was surprising to learn of Mahatma Gandhi's pivotal role in partitioning discussions moreover acknowledging his continuing mantra for an independent India. A well-written book.For centuries, Hindus and Muslims lived among each other with little or no violence. What could have possibly created the chasm between the two religious groups that caused the terror. From all accounts, The British Raj: During the colonial era, it was suggested Muslims create an opposition to the Hindu-controlled "Indian National Congress." The outcome was the "Muslim League".The leaders of the "League" and "Congress" iterated caustic and existential remarks as they vied to determine who would rule India after Independence.The tensions led to bloodbaths and random massacres the British forces could not control. The Viceroy attempted to assuage the disagreements; however, the atmosphere was a harbinger that went unnoticed until it was too late. The unraveling of centuries-old British imperial policies initiated tribal warfares, sectarian disputes, and quasi-independent states tethered to "Mother England" creating instability in the international community.A pyrrhic victory? Some will ask: did the leaders of the Muslim League accomplish their goals to form an independent state? "Pakistan is a Hard Country," wrote Anatol Lieven. Today, after sixty-eight years of independence, there are as many Muslims in India as in Pakistan.This book is a history lesson of the past that continues to live in the present. Hajari does not distort the facts. His excellent research and analysis revealed an objective account of the geopolitical quagmire involving the partitioning and the scope of fatalities that staggers the imagination.Bruce E. McLeod, Jr.Las Vegas, Nevada12 July 2015

A detailed version of how we got our freedom and what it cost us. The writer is a learned man and he has described the events with a perfection.

I enjoyed this book very much. It is a history book that I could hardly put down. Tension like a novel, although the events happened 70 years ago.

If you weren't sure what Midnight's Children was all about, this book will clarify it for you. An exceptional book.