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The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan 10.6.2008 Edition

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Yasmin Khan (Author)
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Yasmin Khan (Author)
4 out of 5 stars 36 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 858-0001436630
ISBN-10: 0300143338
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Yale University Press; 10.6.2008 edition (November 5, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0300143338
  • ISBN-13: 978-0300143331
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe Great Partition -- an excellent history
By Ali Abunimah on September 26, 2007
Format: Hardcover
I bought this book after reading the positive review in The Economist. Khan does an excellent job showing the enormity and tragedy of Partition in people's lives -- more or less ignoring the diplomatic and political history that has been well covered in other works. History is always told with hindsight; Khan shows convincingly that while Partition was widely supported (and opposed), no one, not even the leaders who pushed it hardest had any understanding of what it would do to their country. Although there is an epilogue reflecting on the continued resonance of Partition today, the account ends in the immediate aftermath of partition. It left me wanting more -- a good sign. The book confirmed my conviction that modern nationalism is a folly that has cost humanity dearly. Anyone looking for a highly readable, thoroughly documented and moving account of the Partition of India and its human and social consequences should consider this book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe best book on this subject accessible to the general reader
By S. Mitra on March 16, 2009
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I was born and brought up in India and I have a keen interest in South Asian history. Out of the 15 or so books on partition that I read (sometimes just skimmed through!), this book is undoubtedly the best. (Patrick French's book 'Liberty or Death' is also VERY good, but it covers lot of other issues- not just Partition and is quite long!).
If you have an appreciation for good English writing, this book will be a pleasure to read- but don't expect something that panders to popular stereotypes about India/South Asia or interesting anecdotes about eccentric Indian kings or leaders- this is a serious work of scholarship suitable only for the deeply interested casual reader. The author appears to be a first rate scholar who has a very impressive command over the subject matter- she sometimes manages to convey more in a couple of paragraphs than some other historians will do in entire chapters. I needed all my prior knowledge of Indian history to begin to understand how good this book really is! In the interest of brevity, I will mention only two major strengths of this book relative to other general accounts of the Partition of India.

1.This is history from the bottom up- instead of focusing on the discussions between leaders of the Indian National Congress, Muslim League and high ranking British officials leading up to the partition, the author concentrates on how the politics related to the partition played out on the streets of India- the fears, insecurities and expectations of the common people and how politicians sought to engage them. The majority of studies on Partition concentrate only on the 'elite politics' aspect- what Nehru, Jinnah or Mountbatten did or didn't do or say etc.Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsA Biased View Disguised as Objective History
By Parul Kapur on January 27, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Please don't consider this book "objective" history. It's gotten great press, and it contains some valuable information, but reader beware: Yasmin Khan has a definite pro-Muslim bias. Her version of Partition is one deliberately shaped to make Muslims appear the victims of Hindus. Khan is smart enough not to make overtly prejudiced or inflammatory statements--how credible a historian would she be in that case? Her biases comes through in her selection of the facts. She repeatedly portrays Hindus carrying out violence during the Partition, while Muslims are for the most part terrified victims--running from this village, slaughtered in that town. Naturally she must describe Muslim violence to some extent, in the interest of credibility and conscience, one hopes, and to some extent she does portray the violence against Hindus as well, but the preponderance of her examples describe Hindus perpetrating violence and Muslims suffering at their hands. In one chapter,almost every attack noted is carried out by Hindus. I kept waiting for an example of Muslim violence and was shocked her sympathies for Muslims were so blatantly displayed. Khan is the granddaughter of a Muslim League politician of the 40s, and though she describes herself as being distant from those politics, not all her loyalties can be left behind. Curiously, in some instances when Khan describes atrocities committed against Hindus, she will not name the group who commits them. Instead of using the noun "Muslim," the attack on Hindus is simply described as if carried out by an anonymous force. Where she can, she will avoid assigning blame to Muslims and will spare them the slightly mocking tone she occasionally uses with Hindu leaders. Khan's biases are insidiously wrought, and her dishonesty is subtle.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsCommendable, succinct history
By Will Jerom on July 14, 2008
Format: Hardcover
While many books demonize India or Pakistan in the blame game of partition, Yasmin Khan indicates there was a shared breakdown of Hindu and Muslim trust leading up to the event. This was exacerbated by the clumsy imposition of premature partition upon India and Pakistan by the British government. Without making clear what partition meant or how it would be implemented, fears were greatly magnified, leading to some of the worst civil violence in India-Pakistan history; a virtual state of ethnic cleansing existed, perpetrated by extremists on both sides in 1947. So there is plenty of blame to be passed around. Khan's book seems to do historical justice to the even without detectable Hindu or Muslim bias. His history is vividly descriptive, but sometimes shies away from the political details and power plays one might have wished he had explored further. Nonetheless I found it to be a succinct, commendable book on the event of India's partition.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsThus we have land locked countries like Afghanistan suffering

Pakistan was demanded by Muslims and they got it through violence starting in March of 1947. Non-muslims only responded in defense after 15th August of 1947 when they knew the... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mr. Sandeep S. Bajwa
4.0 out of 5 starsPartition as Watershed, when religion became fossilized

The partition of India into two nation states in 1947 and the violence that accompanied the exchange of a population of 12 million people between India and Pakistan is surely one... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Raghu Nathan
4.0 out of 5 starsA serviceable survey of the subject

One of the more sizeable holes in my knowledge of twentieth-century history concerns the partitioning of the British Raj -- the dividing up of the British colonial territory on the... Read more

Published 5 months ago by R. M. Peterson
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat read

This book has been well researched .yasmin's a great story teller.

Published 7 months ago by Vincent S. Garcia
1.0 out of 5 starsThis book could have used better editing. It was very repetitive and...

This book could have used better editing. It was very repetitive and did not tell me anything I didn't already know. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Barbara Andersen
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Highly recommended.

Published 9 months ago by Amish
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Sharp and non-sectarian history of the horror ofpartition

Published 10 months ago by Tony
5.0 out of 5 starsA better understanding of Pakistan and India today

This book explains why things are the way they are today. A better understanding of the religious and political turmoil.

Published 10 months ago by Guy LaBossiere
3.0 out of 5 starsGood... But Could Have Gone One Step More

A well written book on the whole. This book takes a relatively unusual tack, in that it does not focus very much on the 'great leaders' of those times, but focusses a bit more on... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Rajiv Chopra
4.0 out of 5 starsExample of a perfect production of an e-book

The Yale University press has given the readers an e-book of outstanding quality. There are well laid-out sections such as The Contents, Illustrations with links, Maps,... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Kudladar

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