Disastrous Twilight: A Personal Record of the Partition of India - Hardcover

Shahid Hamid

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 043619077X ISBN 13: 9780436190773

Publisher: Secker & Warburg, 1986

Synopsis

"The Partition of India in 1947 probably created more problems than it solved. Any new assessment of the Partition is therefore doubly welcome - both as a contribution to history and as an aid to an understanding of what, in current jargon, is still very much an 'on-going situation'. General Hamid's book is of particular value in view of the unique vantage point from which it was written. In 1946 he was appointed Personal Secretary to Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, then Commander-in-Chief, India. Realizing that he had the good fortune to have been given a ringside seat for possibly the greatest of all the dramas tn his country's history, Hamid decided to keep a diary, which is only now being published because the author was made to promise that it would not appear during the Auk's lifetime, a gesture typical of that very great and good but essentially private man. Naturally, in his position, Hamid was in constant contact with all those people the sum of whose decisions were to lead to one oi the greatest mass migrations, accompanied by one of the greatest bloodbaths, in the history of mankind. His observations on the build-up to this appalling tragedy have the added value of being untainted by hindsight, and though many may not agree with all his opinions, few will deny that the views he expressed at the time have stood up to the judgement of history remarkably well. Nehru, Gandhi, Jinnah, Baldev, Wavell, Mountbatten, Cripps - they and many, many more come under the critical eye of the young colonel as he watches them unwittingly setting the scene for the great massacre that was to come. Auchinleck, of course, occupies the centre of the stage as seen from Hamid's seat, and to watch this formidably honest and upright man struggling to save the army he had loved and served for so many years makes compelling reading. Here is tragedy on the grandest scale and Gen Hamid proves himself a worthy chronicler thereof."

About this title

From Library Journal

Hamid's journal reports the actions and attitudes of Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, commander-in-chief of the Indian army during the 18 months preceding the 1947 partition of India. As Auchinleck's private secretary, Hamid (later adjutant general of the Pakistani army) presents a biased recording of British policy and events. Muslim in sympathy, Hamid's entries reflect favor only on Auchinleck, Wavell, and Jinnah. Nehru, Gandhi, and especially Mountbatten are viciously attacked on points of policy and elements of their personal lives. Although Hamid's loving apologia of Auchinleck strikes notes of interest, it lacks balance and insight and can not be considered an important addition to the literature of the partition of India.John F. Riddick, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Secker & Warburg
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 043619077X
• ISBN 13: 9780436190773
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 364