A Time of Madness: A Memoir of Partition

Nice to read, but not much is going on. Thought there will be more information and story about partition.

Heartfelt account and beautifully written.

An incredible memoir by a incredibly honest - if a little (understandably) angry - man. Salman Rashid - NOT to be confused with Rushdie - comes from a family in Lahore, Pakistan who were displaced and suffered greatly in the violent aftermath of the 1947 Partition of India. His grandfather, grandmother along with their children were born and lived in Jalandhar, Punjab (now in India) and were all murdered during the upheaval of Partition. Somehow the author's father escapes this fate, and subsequently moves to Lahore (in Pakistan). Despite the grief this sordid history is not talked about in the family as the author is growing up in Lahore. In 2008 the author travels to India to uncover what happened to his grandfather, who by all accounts, was considered a respected and much loved doctor in Jalandhar. This book is an account of that journey.What Rashid finds and relates in this book is remarkable and even more remarkable is the peace and forgiveness he is able to find in his own heart and among many whose family members participated in the violence and lived to regret their heinous acts. It is the kind of "truth and reconciliation" one can only dream of, and yet is the ONLY kind that can bring lasting peace to that region. As a grandchild of Partition I was very moved by this memoir and applaud Rashid's honest and merciless telling.I was also amused by the anger and criticism he heaps on Pakistan, often comparing it rather unfavorably to arch enemy India. I cannot tell how much of the comparison is valid - having never been to Pakistan - but I know he must face a lot of anger for making such claims. Because both India and Pakistan can stand unfavorable comparisons to almost any part of the world, but never to each other. When blood brothers fight, it is the deepest kind of wound for which often there is no forgiveness, nor reconciliation possible. I dream of peace in that region but I know it won't happen in my lifetime. But I thank people like Rashid for the islands of peace and forgiveness they create in vast oceans of madness, against all odds.

An incredible memoir by a incredibly honest - if a little (understandably) angry - man. Salman Rashid - NOT to be confused with Rushdie - comes from a family in Lahore, Pakistan who were displaced and suffered greatly in the violent aftermath of the 1947 Partition of India. His grandfather, grandmother along with their children were born and lived in Jalandhar, Punjab (now in India) and were all murdered during the upheaval of Partition. Somehow the author's father escapes this fate, and subsequently moves to Lahore (in Pakistan). Despite the grief this sordid history is not talked about in the family as the author is growing up in Lahore. In 2008 the author travels to India to uncover what happened to his grandfather, who by all accounts, was considered a respected and much loved doctor in Jalandhar. This book is an account of that journey.What Rashid finds and relates in this book is remarkable and even more remarkable is the peace and forgiveness he is able to find in his own heart and among many whose family members participated in the violence and lived to regret their heinous acts. It is the kind of "truth and reconciliation" one can only dream of, and yet is the ONLY kind that can bring lasting peace to that region. As a grandchild of Partition I was very moved by this memoir and applaud Rashid's honest and merciless telling.I was also amused by the anger and criticism he heaps on Pakistan, often comparing it rather unfavorably to arch enemy India. I cannot tell how much of the comparison is valid - having never been to Pakistan - but I know he must face a lot of anger for making such claims. Because both India and Pakistan can stand unfavorable comparisons to almost any part of the world, but never to each other. When blood brothers fight, it is the deepest kind of wound for which often there is no forgiveness, nor reconciliation possible. I dream of peace in that region but I know it won't happen in my lifetime. But I thank people like Rashid for the islands of peace and forgiveness they create in vast oceans of madness, against all odds.

For a number of years I have generated a deep interest in Indian history and the period around Partition, collecting a wide range of books on the subject. This is very much a valued addition to my collection bringing a very personal perspective, sharing the emotion of the events, along with the frustration of retrospectively tracing a family history.Well written and engages the reader right from the first page, that being a regal photograph of the main personality of the book.It is an honour to get an insight into a really personal journey of the author.The book concludes with some real transparency, that you would not readily expect from a book written by a Pakistani based writer. It is this that has truly connected me with the author. A remarkable man.Highly recommended for all who are interested in the partition of India and the bath of a new country.

Salman Rashid is an excellent travel writer and he uses his craft very well here, welding it with his own family's and countless other painful stores of partition. His love for the original united Panjab seeps through his words and he repeatedly laments the needless bloodshed.What grates a bit though towards the end is his rather long rant about the ills of his own country and how it all started going downhill ever since the partition. Perhaps a Pakistani will identify more with this but as an East Panjabi it's a bit weird to find soany faults with one's own state and people. Nevertheless this book is a must read for Indians to get a window into the minds of leading intellectuals in Pakistan. Better than watching news room fights between loonies from both sides.

This is my personal view about the book.The author sees his family members, even departed ones, as a source of truth. They can never be wrong for him. Even at one place when the author discovers that his grandfather was communalised and wanted to sacrifice a cow in Jalandhar out in open, he defends him by moving the blame to the local and national leaders. I find it very strange that a doctor's mind is brainwashed and all the blame is of some leaders. No, the person cannot be absolved of the responsibility for communalisation.The last chapter was but a memoir. It's a sort of quick distorted lesson of history. If someone is reading this book or planning to read it, skip the last chapter. It's better to take lessons on history from a respected historian than from a person who is writing a memoir in a biased way.The author not only blames people but everyone in Pakistan. All its leaders starting from Mohammad Ali Jinnah. When I was reading this book, I felt that the author is just using the means of the book to blame for all Pakistani problems to the leaders of the nation and not talking about any problems which could be from bottom up.Had the book been just a memoir, I would have rated it a five. But the book jumps the boundary of a memoir and enters the history. So, 2 stars to it

Perhaps, I'm not meant to understand the void partition left in lives that it affected. Rashidji's book is a must read to anyone on either side of Radcliffe line who acknowledges the people on the other side as brothers lost to opportunistic politics of yesteryear's ruling majorities

Great flow, the writer addresses all the problems his country faces with a very honest and brave outlook, often self critical, fanatic read, go for it, unlike any other book written on this subject