Skip to main content

Book Review: 1942 When British Rule in India was Threatened by Krishna Kumar

How did India get independence from British Rule in 1947? This question, even today, at large remains unanswered. There have been many books and mentioning of freedom fighters and their struggling tales but none runs away with full credit. It will be a mystery then, and now, and forever. India’s freedom struggle dates back to medieval time when the East India Company was setting up and the Mughal Rule was dying.


Author Krishna Kumar attempts to solve the puzzle by highlighting the watershed year 1942 through his books that broadly examines Subhash Chandra Bose, INA, and Japanese power…collectively they undermined the roots of British in India so much that the Raj was staring at defeat not only in India but also in the WW-II. Though the book only 169 pages, ironically it encompasses encyclopedic information about the events of the deciding year 1942.

Not only the events of 1942 but the narration also underlines the historic events like the rebel of 1857 and what led East India Company set up its roots so strongly in Bengal region, at first. If one focuses on 1942, the world war was going on. Germany and Japan were causing havoc in British colonies. In 1942 when Japan captured Singapore, Malaya, and Burma after attacking the US in Pearl Harbour, British went numb with shock. Soon as it was unexpected Japan launched attack on India from the east in collaboration with INA – the army which was founded by eminent leaders like Subhash Chandra Bose and some Indian officers once part of the British Army.

In that year British was surrounded by external attacks as well as India’s internal challenges. The book delves deep in the backdrop of the year and lists out major events that collapsed the foundation of British in India. However, the main focus was put on the Eastern side of India, where Burma located, the part of India. But it was captured by Japan in 1942. Though Britian didn’t see it coming, the air force power of Japs took away much more from them. After Burma, Japan bombarded Madras, Vizag, and Calcutta. A lot was going on before these attacks on the Brit colony.

The initial chapters of the book highlight the working of Japan as one of the Axis powers and what amount of damage it did to British. That coverage could be seen as external force. However, in India it was Subhash Chandra Bose, who escaped to Germany and designed the foundation of INA with the help of Indian soldiers captured by Japan as POWs.

For much time the book remains on Bose and his working for INA. While doing that it also lies open the political motives of Indian National Congress and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and M.K. Gandhi. The reasons behind 1942 Quit India Movement will shock readers in awe with movements operated by non-violent political leaders.

This book marks the entry of India’s journey towards freedom struggle. It points out major and critical part of military history and geopolitical essence that led India to the route of freedom by weakening its enemy…colonizer. Without confusion and complexity, the book presents a clear picture of the events that will leave an indelible mark on readers who are in admiration with history related to Indian independence.

Buy the book from Amazon/Kindle

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond

Among all Ruskin Bond books, The Blue Umbrella has, so far, gathered immense applaud from readers and critics alike.  This is a short novel, but the kind of moral lessons it teaches to us are simply overwhelming. This is a story of Binya, a poor little girl living with her mother and an elder brother, Bijju, in a small hilly village of Garhwal. One day while herding her two cows back home, she stumbles upon some city people enjoying the picnic in the valley. She is enthralled to see them well-groomed and rich. She craves to be one like them and among many other things of their, a blue frilly umbrella catches her attention. She begins craving for it. On the other hand, the city people get attracted by her innocent beauty and the pendant in her neck. The pendant consists of leopard’s claw – which is considered a mascot widely in the hills. Binya trades her pendant off with the blue umbrella. The blue umbrella is so much beautiful that soon it becomes a topic of conversatio...
65 comments
Read more

Poem Summary: Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore

Poem by Rabindranath Tagore: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Short Summary: This poem is written by Rabindranath Tagore during pre-independence days, when India was a colony of the British. The underlying theme of the poem is absolute freedom; the poet wants the citizens of his country to be living in a free state. According to the poem, we see that the poet is expressing his views there should be a country, like where people live without any sort of fear and with pure dignity…they should ...
68 comments
Read more

Character Sketch of Binya from ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond

The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond is a popular children’s story. It features Binya as the main character, though there are other important characters as well, but the story revolves around Binya and her little beautiful umbrella. The story is widely popular among children, thus it has also been included in the schools’ syllabus all across the country. Since it is often taught in the school, thus the character sketch of Binya is often demanded by students from year to year. Character Sketch of Binya from The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond Binya is the main character of the novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond. Her full name is Binyadevi. As in the hills or anywhere in India it is a kind of trend to call children with their short nicknames. Binya’s elder brother’s name is Bijju, whereas his real name is Vijay. Binya aged eleven is a hilly girl. She lives with her small family in the hills of Garhwal. Her father died when she was two years of age. For sustenance, the...
41 comments
Read more