Khalidmendi at 15:22, 3 March 2026

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{{Short description|Book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins}}
{{For|the album by David Benoit|Freedom at Midnight (album)}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Freedom at Midnight
| image = Covrt art.jpg
| language = English
| published = 1975
| genre = Non-fiction, history
| caption = First edition
| author = [[Larry Collins (writer)|Larry Collins]] and [[Dominique Lapierre]]
| subjects = [[British India]], [[Partition of India|partition]], [[colonialism]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]]
| isbn = 9780706904062
| publisher = [[William Collins (publisher)|William Collins]] (UK)<br>[[Simon & Schuster]] (US)
| audio_read_by = Frederick Davidson (1993)
| oclc = 813178801
}}

'''''Freedom at Midnight''''' (1975) is a book by [[Larry Collins (writer)|Larry Collins]] and [[Dominique Lapierre]] about the events surrounding the [[Indian independence movement]] and [[Partition of India|partition]]. It details the last year of the [[British Raj]], from 1947 to 1948, beginning with the appointment of [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten of Burma]] as the last [[viceroy]] of British India, and ending with [[Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi|the death]] and funeral of [[Mahatma Gandhi]].

==Content==
The book provides a detailed account of the last year of the [[British Raj]]; the reactions of [[Princely states of India|princely states]] towards independence, including descriptions of the colourful and extravagant lifestyles of the Indian princes; the [[Partition of India|partition]] of British India (into [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]) on religious grounds; and the bloodshed that followed.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gray |first=Paul |date=27 October 1975 |title=Books: The Long Goodbye |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913599,00.html |magazine=Time }}{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

There is a description of [[Shimla]], the British [[Summer capital|summertime capital]] in the [[Himalayas]], and how supplies were carried up steep mountains by porters each year. Also covered in detail are the events leading to the [[assassination of Mahatma Gandhi]], as well as the life and motives of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] and [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]].

Regarding partition, the book—providing maps of [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], and [[Kashmir]]—relates that the crucial maps setting the [[Radcliffe Line|boundary separating India and Pakistan]] were drawn that year by [[Cyril Radcliffe]], who had not visited India before being appointed as the chairman of the [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Boundary Commission]]. The book depicts the fury of both [[Hindus]] and [[Muslims in India|Muslims]], misled by their communal leaders, during the partition; and the biggest [[Mass murder|mass slaughter]] in the history of India, as millions of people were uprooted by the partition and tried to migrate by [[train]], oxcart, and on foot to new places designated for their particular religious group. Many migrants fell victim to bandits and religious extremists of both dominant religions. One incident quoted describes a canal in [[Lahore]] that ran with blood and floating bodies.

The book is told casually, similar to the authors' previous works, ''[[Is Paris Burning? (book)|Is Paris Burning?]]'' and ''[[O Jerusalem!]]''.

==Background==
The authors interviewed some people related to the events, including a focus on [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten of Burma]].<ref name="JAS">{{cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Leonard A. | authorlink =Leonard A. Gordon|date=August 1976 |title=Book review: Freedom at Midnight |journal=[[The Journal of Asian Studies]] |publisher=University of Cambridge Press |volume=35 |issue=4 |doi=10.2307/2053703|jstor=2053703 }}</ref> They subsequently wrote a book based on their research on the British officer, titled ''[[Mountbatten and the Partition of India]]'', containing interviews with Mountbatten and a selection of papers in his possession.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Krishan |first=Y |date=February 1983 |title=Mountbatten and the Partition of India |journal=[[History (journal)|History]] |publisher=[[Historical Association]] |volume=68 |issue=222 |pages=22–38 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1983.tb01396.x}}</ref>

==Reception==
''Freedom at Midnight'' aroused controversy for portraying the British [[expatriate]]s, the native rulers of India, and members of India's first cabinet.<ref name="JAS" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brasted |first1=H. V. |last2=Bridge |first2=Carl |date=1994 |title=The transfer of power in South Asia: An historiographical review |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=93–114 |doi=10.1080/00856409408723200}}</ref> [[James Cameron (journalist)|James Cameron]] described it as the result of deep research into events often neglected by other historians.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Cameron|first1=James|date=October 26, 1975|title=Book Review: Freedom at Midnight|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C07E5D61630E23ABC4E51DFB667838E669EDE|magazine=New York Times Book Review|accessdate=22 November 2014}}</ref>

The book was criticised as "misleading," "biased," and "yellow journalism."<ref name="b713">{{cite book | title=Parlance | publisher=O.P. Shah | issue=v. 9, no. 4 | year=1985 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=km5DAAAAYAAJ | access-date=2024-07-30 | page=26}}</ref><ref name="t236">{{cite book | title=The Concept | publisher=Raja Afsar Khan | issue=v. 2 | year=1982 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fp9tAAAAMAAJ | page=20|quote=Freedom at Midnight " . It is no doubt a biased one - sided book}}</ref> Earl Drake found the book's illustration of [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]] "totally biased."<ref name="y698">{{cite book | title=A Stubble-jumper in Striped Pants: Memoirs of a Prairie Diplomat | publisher=University of Toronto Press | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-8020-4464-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_ihLMivwyMC&pg=PA56 | page=56}}</ref> Journalist Shyam Ratna Gupta remarked, "One might ask, did the authors intend to provide us with fictional documentation, politico-historical gossip, or pop journalism on events and personalities of that time?"<ref name="k246">{{cite book | title=Indian and Foreign Review | publisher=Publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India | issue=v. 13 | year=1975 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGpDAAAAYAAJ | page=26}}</ref>

Gopal Godse demanded a ban on the book for claiming that [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]] and [[Nathuram Godse]] had a homosexual relationship. Gopal Godse had challenged Collins and Lapierre to "produce any evidence" to substantiate their version.<ref name="p215">{{cite web | title=March 19, 1976, Forty Years Ago: Book Ban Sought | website=The Indian Express | date=2016-03-19 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/forty-years-ago-book-ban-sought-mahatma-gandhi-nathuram-godse/}}</ref>

==Adaptations==
This book was one of the inspirations for the 2017 film ''[[Viceroy's House (film)|Viceroy's House]]''.<ref name="SMH">Maddox, Garry. 17 May 2017. "[http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/how-prince-charles-steered-filmmaker-gurinder-chadha-to-make-viceroys-house-20170511-gw2sv1.html How Prince Charles steered filmmaker Gurinder Chadha to make Viceroy's House]." ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''.</ref> [[Freedom at Midnight (web series)|''Freedom at Midnight'']], the 2024 Hindi-language historical drama [[web series]] directed by [[Nikkhil Advani]] and produced by [[SonyLIV]], is adapted from the book.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-01-30 |title='Freedom at Midnight': Nikkhil Advani begins shooting for SonyLIV series |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/freedom-at-midnight-nikkhil-advani-begins-shooting-for-sonyliv-series/article67792436.ece |access-date=2024-07-31 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1975 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:History books about India]]
[[Category:Books about British India]]
[[Category:Books about foreign relations of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:William Collins, Sons books]]

Freedom at Midnight - Revision history

Khalidmendi at 15:22, 3 March 2026