Monday, October 29, 2007

Book Review: Alai Osai

Book Title: Alai Osai (Tamil)
Author: Kalki Krishnamoorthy
Publisher: Saradha publication.

The story happens in the context of the period preceeding Indepedence. It describes the mindset of people during that era.

The author has visited the hindu refugee camps in Delhi to depict the emotions of people driven out of their land that is currently known as pakistan.

The largest exodus in human history took place during the partition of our Bharat. Unlike the abundent literature that describes the Jewish Exodus, there is very limited literature that describes the tragic patition of our motherland. This is the first major work in Tamil that I have come across that gives adequate coverage partition.

When our Hindu brothers in exile were shivering in the refugee tents and experiencing the Delhi's severe winter, Gandhiji was more interested in the protection of muslims in West Bengal. He was stationed in Kavkali in west bengal for this cause. The successive Congress governments also downplayed the suffering of millions of Hindus for the purpose of muslim appeasement.

I am particularly amazed to see a gandhian like Kalki giving a detailed description of Hindu sufferings during patition.