Book Review: Indian Summer
The more I read, the more I introspect. The more I introspect, the less I judge. Myopia in understanding any historical personality is based on mostly hearsay, read as opinions. Such myopia prevails because of sustained narratives which dilute the thinking of impressionable young minds. History is the most invective of such subjects that are very perspective driven for the shallow minds, and perception-driven, for those who decide to delve deep.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
― George Orwell
No race is pure. History is made of immigration, conquests, a confluence of cultures, and divisions in the name of identity and liberty — for the oppressor is different from the oppressed. The colonization of the British, who started as a trading organization but ended up as despots, has given many a country or people scars that won’t heal for a long time.
In this context, the deeper and more specific narratives bring out interesting points and dynamics of the people involved. It is this background that Alex Von Tunzelmann, the British Historian, takes a perceptible approach involving five major characters of the Indian Independence, the partition, and the aftermath, tracing their lives and legacies in the form of a novel.
These characters influenced the destiny of the Indian subcontinent and Britain. Still, the way their paths crossed and the outcome of their trysts is more palatable than reading a distant account loaded with the author's perspectives.
Almost one-third of the book is bibliography and references, indicating the amount and depth of research Tunzelmann has put in, to bring a cogent narrative.
The characters are :
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Mahatma)
Jawaharlal Nehru ( Jawahar)
Louis Mountbatten of Burma ( Dickie)
Edwina Mountbatten ( Edwina)
Mohammed Ali Jinnah ( Jinnah)
The first chapter starts with a profound opening.
“IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE TWO NATIONS. ONE WAS A vast, mighty and magnificent empire, brilliantly organized and culturally unified, which dominated a massive swathe of the earth. The other was an undeveloped, semi-feudal realm, riven by religious factionalism and barely able to feed its illiterate, diseased and stinking masses. The first nation was India. The second was England.”
Like Dalrymple, the feeling that I was left with reading the first few pages is that India was a glittering elephant, a master of its destiny, despite the weakening Moghul Empire, rich enough to generate more than half of the world’s wealth and gross domestic products, which was brought down to its knees by a pack of wolves — the scheming British East India Company.
The book moves quickly covering the events from 1577 to the Indian Sepoy Mutiny ( The First Revolution of Independence) in 1857. The quick opening sets the background and introduces the first of the characters — Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Following this, it shifts the action to the Nehru family, right from Motilal Nehru, who was one of the taller leaders in the Indian National Congress.
The book ends with the untimely demise of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who is killed in the IRA bombing of his holiday boat and was found floating face down in the water.
In between the two, the book travels revealing contemporaneous developments between the characters and others. The most striking of them is the relationship that Jawahar and Edwina developed. It was indeed romantic, the author has extolls and details the relationship over the 15 months before Independence till Edwina’s demise.
Dickie’s flair for symbols and ceremonies, his less-than-average performance as a Navy Captain and his on-and-off relationship with the Windsors, and finally his success as the uncle of the King-consort Philip is a charming story by itself.
The escapades of Edwina and subsequently her evolution as a daring and caring persona, diving into dire situations during the Burma War and the violent refugee camps during partition, tending the wounded, and organizing support for the victims is a track on its own.
The shining star of the Mahatma, then his fading away to the background, and finally, coming from oblivion, with the power of his charisma and obstinate fastings-unto-death, and his special connection with Edwina is a compelling arch.
The hero of the book is Jawahar. The first Prime Minister, temperamental yet charismatic, moderate and sane, bringing balance in negotiations. His trysts with women, and his intelligent and reticent ways, after the demise of Kamala Nehru, appealed to many a woman — including Padmaja Naidu, the niece of Sarojini Naidu, and finally, Lady Mountbatten herself. Their relationship forms one of the most riveting narratives, and how it played a part in India’s journey to freedom is a story within the story.
A few surprises that might be of interest:
a) The close relationship between Churchill and Jinnah — Churchill hated the Hindus, especially Gandhi, and thereby India, and was the vocal advocate of the formation of Pakistan.
b)Edwina was found dead in her room in 1960, suffering a heart failure. She was holding a clutch of letters in hand, and a few were strewn across her bed. They were all from Jawaharlal Nehru.
c) Feroz Gandhy ( Gandhi) served Kamala Nehru, cleaning after her spit, and was in love with her, but quickly changed his attention to Indira, chasing her with his marriage proposal.
There are many more trivia for the curious reader. But for the more discerning, this is a compelling narrative of intertwining destinies between the five characters. As the author focuses on these characters, the story holds the line, setting the stage for mini-climaxes and turns, more like an imagined plot despite being neck-deep in reality.
The character arcs of each protagonist are explored in depth, particularly, that of Dickie, Jawahar, and Edwina. The relationship between these three was complex, layered, and nuanced. It requires a mature reader to respect the fine line that the author walks while sharing vivid details about their relationship.
There are areas where the story could have been elaborated, but given the structure, the rushed narrative post the Mahatma’s death to Mountbatten’s is understandable. The Edwina-Dickie-Jawahar triangle is the clincher in the book. A must-read for history buffs.
“The end of the British Empire in India was not inevitable — but it was a fascinating story of the conflict between personalities, politics, and history, played out on the grandest possible scale.” — Alex von Tunzelmann, “Indian Summer”
~Ashok Subramanian © 2023
