The Great Indian Tamasha

I am currently reading "Freedom at Midnight" by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. It is an account of the last days of the "Raj" as viewed by the Last Viceroy of India. The chapter that really moved me to the core was the one where the days leading up to partition is described, especially in the context of Bengal and Punjab. These provinces were the most affected due to partition, with millions of people forced to migrate across both sides of the border, leaving behind their life-long earnings and losing their loved ones at the altar of wanton communal frenzy that gripped these provinces as the date of Independence approached and the boundary award was to be declared. An atmosphere of fear, anxiety and mistrust reigned in the cities of Lahore and Calcutta which along with Delhi signified the imperial dream that was British India. As the date of Independence approached, things began to unravel and the administration was on the verge of collapse. In orde...