'Gandhi was Thakur and Gabbar was Jinnah.'
'Why are we deliberately taking apart an electoral system that has worked?' 'There is no answer to that, and there is no data and has never been any on the absurd slander that foreigners are voting here,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Nikkhil Advani, a master of long-form storytelling, reflects on Freedom At Midnight and what it was to make a two-part series on the most difficult period of India's history in these polarised times.
Instead, they argue, three actors shaped the division, "Jinnah, who demanded it; the Congress, which accepted it; and Mountbatten, who formalised and implemented it."
At Border Pillar 609 at Babliyan near Jaisalmer, the one thing that dominates the landscape is something entirely different, something central to our identity -- the Tiranga -- flying boldly above the blazing desert.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on country's first premier Jawaharlal Nehru, claiming he prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from fully integrating Kashmir into the Indian Union.
Whether Freedom At Midnight 2 has a political agenda, a bias or two will be read into it, depending on the affiliation of who is watching, notes Deepa Gahlot.
Rajaji, an ardent follower of Gandhi, was a freedom fighter, scholar, jurist, statesman and the first recipient of the Bharat Ratna along with S Radhakrishnan and C V Raman.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that singing 'Vande Mataram' will be made compulsory in every school and educational institution of the state.
Abul Kalam Azad chose not to contest Congress Presidency and to throw his weight behind Nehru, instead of Patel, a decision he would come to regret. Patel would have seen his plan through, while Nehru, in Azad's opinion 'gave Jinnah the opportunity to sabotage' it, notes Aakar Patel.
The Congress party has intensified its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the Vande Mataram controversy, alleging that he has insulted the Congress Working Committee of 1937 and Rabindranath Tagore. The party demands Modi address current issues instead of historical debates.
Operation Sindoor has not yet been formally called off. What was the crying need to send a team when it was known that there could be a match with Pakistan? asks Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
'As we read and assess what is going on around us in the India of 2025, it is instructive to do this through the lens of 75 years ago and the events that led to the formation of the BJP as we know it,' recalls Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Sunday paid homage to those who lost their lives during the Partition as the Congress accused the ruling party of using the traumatic events as a 'fodder' for its political battles.
On the 83rd anniversary of the Quit India movement, Utkarsh Mishra recalls the conditions under which the Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, launched the final struggle for independence.
The varsity will send a proposal in this regard to the University Grants Commission and the ministry of education.
A day after saying that there would have been no partition if Muhammad Ali Jinnah was made the first prime minister of the country, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar blamed the RSS on Thursday for the historic event.
'When a common man's house is on fire, he is infused with extraordinary strength.' 'He will go to any length to save his home and family even if he is not as big and strong as Sunnyji.'
Freedom At Midnight is a bold attempt to revisit the whole discourse about Partition, its causes, and the predicament under which the Congress leaders accepted it. It perfectly captures the extremely confused and complicated situation to which it seemed the only viable solution, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Wednesday said there would have been no Partition had Mohammed Ali Jinnah been made the first prime minister, adding to the row on a remark by Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
'I need to work to find some joy in this life.'
'When you watch Freedom At Midnight, I want you to feel like you are sitting on a ticking time bomb.'
'Had these leaders known that Jinnah was dying...'
I think the 'What-if-it-had-been-Patel?' sentiment represents a yearning for more of what we are already seeing around us in India today, observes Aakar Patel.
Jaswant Singh's book has raised a fresh controversy on who was responsible for the Partition of India. Some think it was Mohammed Ali Jinnah; others say Jawharlal Nehru/Sardar Patel. The truth is that the seeds for Partition were sown at least 80 before Partition actually happened.
'Whatever you do will spark controversies, so it is best do what your heart tells you to do. Simple.'
The tide has turned for Sunny. He has another actioner in the upcoming Jatt and has reteamed with Rajkumar Santoshi after almost three decades for the Aamir Khan produced Lahore 1947.
'Amit Shah and his fellow travellers need to realise that India was divided because of competitive communalism of forces like Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League, prodded, aided and abetted by the colonial power,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
The year was rich in content as far as Web series were concerned.
Cautioning that there will be social and psychological consequences for the rest of the country too, Guha said the migrant tragedy could have been averted or at least minimised if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given them a week's notice to return home before the lockdown kicked in.
'Most Indians know very little about Patel which is a great shame.'
Gandhi will now be seen in two upcoming OTT series -- Hansal Mehta's Gandhi, starring Pratik Gandhi in the title role, and Freedom at Midnight by Nikkhil Advani.
The British administration ignored the mounting evidence of violence between Hindus and Muslims... Military historian Barney White-Spunner traces the countdown to the tragedy in his book, Partition.
'Nehru had multiple chances to make compromises, that would have preserved a united India, and he chose not to,' Nisid Hajari tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar 2 has crossed Rs 400 crore mark (Rs 4 billion) at the domestic box office, the makers said on Wednesday.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah did not win Pakistan as Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 'conceded' Pakistan to the Quaid-e-Azam, with the British acting as an ever helpful midwife, claims senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh.In his new book Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence, which will hit the stands on August 17, he recalls the events leading to the Partition as well as the "epic journey of Jinnah".
The original Gadar: Ek Prem Katha has been re-mastered at a cost of Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million). Not only that, the newly enhanced viewing experience will have extra scenes that were not a part of the film when it originally released.
A series of events were held across the country to mark the day and government officials, security personnel and others took a pledge 'to preserve the unity, integrity and security of the nation and also strive hard to spread this message'.
Sir Osborne Smith was the first governor of the Reserve Bank, serving from April 1, 1935, to June 30, 1937.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
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