The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independence (Hardcover)

~ (Author), David Fisher (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The birth of the Indian National Conference in 1885 served as the formal beginning to India's long struggle to evict the British. When independence finally arrived on August 15, 1947, India soon found itself fighting yet another enemy: itself. Without a solid blueprint from which to draw its own government and infrastructure, India's internal struggles meant enormous suffering for the population. As Anthony Read and David Fisher clearly point out, much of the turmoil resulted from the inability of Indian leaders to work in concert, pitting India and Pakistan against one another before they could even begin to celebrate their freedom. It's evident the authors find much to admire in India, but their evenhanded analysis prevents even a touch of the hagiographical; even the failings of the legendary Gandhi are expanded upon. Nehru, Lord Mountbatten, and the Muslim leader Jinnah are also skewered for their poor choices and lack of vision and leadership. In all fairness, the transition to democratic self-rule was no small task, particularly in regard to dealing fairly with the multiple ethnic and religious groups that abound in India, but the authors elaborate on the past sins of the Indian government, because it is within these failings that the true story of modern India is found. These long gazes into the past also help determine what the impact of the current crisis within the Congress Party may be now that Hindu nationalists and religious fundamentalists are in control.

From Library Journal

Although Britain's entire involvement in India is implied by this book's title, the British writing team of Read and Fisher (The Fall of Berlin, LJ 3/15/93) concentrate primarily on the period after the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885. Written for the general reader, their sweeping portrayal of the quest for independence at times seems more journalistic than historical. In contrast to most works on this topic, the authors treat Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, more favorably than Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of modern India. Unfortunately, some factual and spelling errors may cause problems for some readers. Libraries actively collecting general world histories may want to consider this work.ADonald Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 565 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st U.S. Ed edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393045943
• ISBN-13: 978-0393045949
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,207,209 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Richly Detailed Story. . ., July 9, 1999

By A Customer

Given that so much has been written on the movement towards independence already in the last few years, I came with skepticism to this book, given that neither of the authors had significant experience in Indian history before. This becomes clear in their research and writing, which at times seems to borrow too extensively from prior works and in effect surveys previous surveys. Nonetheless, The Proudest Day accomplishes one singular feat: it paints a coherent story of more than 60 years of struggle, full of coloured yet flawed personalities such as Jinnah and Gahndi and momentous occasions, from the Amritsar Massacre to the endgame hysteria after WWII. It gives form to what more than anything was a series of stop and goes over a half a century.

Much of the author's criticism of the main protagonists is not new. The myth of Gahndi's pacifism is debunked. In Nehru's uncompromising idealism, the authors lay the blame for eventual partition. Jinnah is the consumate lawyer, manipulating and playing with legal vagueries. But it is for Mountbatten and the Congress hard-liners that the harshest criticism is reserved. Partition comes down to one missed chance in the summer of 1946. Whether or not in the emotional-charged atmosphere of Indian-Pakistan history you accept this proposition, the authors succeed in leaving that bitter feeling in the reader's mind- that partition, the holocaust that ensued after August 1947 in Punjab, and years of ensuing conflict could have all been avoided even after 50+ years of heated struggle if only in that last instance, the main protagonists laid aside their prior histories, showed their courage and seized the moment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful and instructive overview of British India., August 19, 2000

By	Kersi Von Zerububbel "Kersi" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I am glad I bought this book. There is nothing new here for the reader well versed in the history of India. However, the language and presentation model is quite brisk and makes for a easy read. The material is fairly encompassing given that the purpose of the book is for the general reader. I found the narrative both interesting and fast moving. A good start for someone desiring to know present day India.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excelent read, both informative and gripping, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

The book is one of the most comprehensive historical works on the British Raj in India. I was pleasently surprised to read a relatively unbiased approach to history. The authors view of historical fact is remarkably uncolored by reverence and they are presented as such. The book is also not judgemental of history and reader is presented with differing historical reactions, leaving the reader to make up his own mind. The research is extensive and well documented. All in all a must read for anybody interested in the History of the India during the British Rule.