Hindol Sengupta

As the title says, this is a frankly Patel-centered account of the India struggle for independence. It also covers the evolution of other leaders, like Jinnah from a nationalist unifier to a staunchly communalist splitter (indeed he finally decided that there were two nations rather than just religious communities, and that they could not live together under the same central government), Gandhi from a staunch anti-partitionist to accepting the inevitability of dividing the subcontinent, and Patel from a silent follower of Gandhi and acquieser to Nehru, to insisting on his own judgment in many crises during the transfer of power. An absorbing story, but may need supplementing from other authoritative sources such as V.P.Menon's book on the transfer of power and the treatment of India's princely states.… (more)