<ul><li><keyword id="15585803" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="asha-bhavan-centre" source="Orion">Asha Bhavan Centre</keyword>, with the support of <keyword id="8099" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="lapierre" source="Orion">Lapierre</keyword>, set up multiple schools in Bengal over the years.</li><li>The French author, who was honoured with <keyword id="100507" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="padma-bhushan" source="Orion">Padma Bhushan</keyword> in 2008, breathed his last on December 4.</li><li>Born on July 30, 1931, at <keyword id="15707478" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="chatelaillon" source="Orion">Chatelaillon</keyword> in France, Lapierre had begun his career as a journalist.</li></ul> The winter sun had just set on Sunday when Asha Bhavan Centre got to know about the demise of celebrated French author <keyword id="8101" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dominique-lapierre" source="Orion">Dominique Lapierre</keyword>, who had donated much of the royalties he received from his 1985 novel 'City of Joy' to establish the Howrah NGO and fund several other humanitarian causes in Bengal. Mourning the loss, <keyword id="15708723" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="john-mary-barui" source="Orion">John Mary Barui</keyword>, the director of the centre, said a prayer meet was arranged as soon as its members came to know about his death. Asha Bhavan Centre, with the support of Lapierre, set up multiple schools in Bengal over the years, stated Barui. Lapierre would often say that India was his second home, he recalled. The French author, who was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2008, breathed his last on December 4. "At 91, he died of old age," his wife Dominique Conchon-Lapierre told French newspaper Var-Matin. 'City of Joy', his novel on the underprivileged of Kolkata, had received acclaim from far and wide. It was adapted into a film, starring <keyword id="51838" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="patrick-swayze" source="Orion">Patrick Swayze</keyword>, in 1992. In an interview with PTI in 2013, Lapierre had said that the novel was like his "song of love for India, the place where I have been coming very regularly since the last 50 years. It has been an emotional journey for me where I have got a lot of love and support from the people". Lapierre, following the success of his novel, had supported many humanitarian projects in Kolkata, including refuge centres for children affected with polio, schools, NGOs and rehabilitation workshops, Asha Bhavan Centre being one of them. "As and when he visited India, Lapierre would always find time to spend with children of the schools and destitute homes that he helped set up with the centre in Kolkata and other districts, including South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, <keyword id="1021970" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="purba-medinipur" source="Orion">Purba Medinipur</keyword>, Murshidabad and Birbhum," said Barui. All such schools held a condolence meet for the author on Monday, he added. Born on July 30, 1931, at Chatelaillon in France, Lapierre had begun his career as a journalist. His other well-known works include 'Is Paris Burning?' and 'Freedom at Midnight', both of which he had co-written with <keyword id="326622" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="larry-collins" source="Orion">Larry Collins</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/unlimited-wifi-plans-for-home-check-the-full-list/articleshow/90908792.cms">Unlimited wifi plans for home — check the full list below</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/most-valuable-companies-with-least-number-of-employees-as-per-the-hurun-report/slidelist/96006513.cms">‘Most valuable companies’ with least number of employees, as per the Hurun report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/the-science-behind-selling-a-dress-to-an-indian-woman-according-to-the-ceo-of-latin-quarters/articleshow/96003617.cms">The science behind selling a dress to an Indian woman, according to the CEO of Latin Quarters</a>

City of Joy mourns the loss of Dominique Lapierre

The <keyword id="6355302" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rupee" source="Orion">rupee</keyword> declined 24 paise to 82.09 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as heavy selling pressure in domestic equities and rising crude prices overseas weighed on investor sentiment. Besides, foreign fund outflows put pressure on the domestic unit, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 81.94 against the dollar, then slipped further to 82.09, registering a fall of 24 paise over its previous close. In the previous session on Monday, the rupee had settled down by 52 paise at 81.85 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.07 per cent to 105.22. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.94 per cent to USD 83.46 per barrel. In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 353.44 points or 0.56 per cent lower at 62,481.16. The broader NSE Nifty fell 99.30 points or 0.53 per cent to 18,601.75. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,139.07 crore, according to exchange data. The <keyword id="50847" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="reserve-bank" source="Orion">Reserve Bank</keyword>'s rate-setting panel on Monday started brainstorming for the next round of monetary policy amid expectations of a moderate interest rate hike of 25-35 basis points as inflation has started showing signs of easing and economic growth tapering. The <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword> has hiked key benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points (bps) thrice since June over and above an off-cycle 40 bps increase in the repo in May. RBI Governor <keyword id="6359111" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="shaktikanta-das" source="Orion">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> would be announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy on Wednesday (December 7) at the conclusion of the three-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tvs-motor-adani-enterprises-hdfc-among-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-tuesday/articleshow/96018386.cms">Sensex, Nifty50 open in the red amid negative global cues – TVS Motor, Adani Enterprises, HDFC among stocks to watch out for</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/all-except-three-indian-sectoral-indices-have-outperformed-their-us-counterparts-in-2022-so-far/articleshow/96004159.cms">All except three Indian sectoral indices have outperformed their US counterparts in 2022 so far</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/city-of-joy-mourns-the-loss-of-dominique-lapierre/articleshow/96019071.cms">City of Joy mourns the loss of Dominique Lapierre</a>

Rupee falls 24 paise to 82.09/$ amid rising crude, foreign fund outflows

'<keyword id="400044" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freedom-at-midnight" source="Orion">Freedom at Midnight</keyword>', a <keyword id="6785745" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-web-series" source="Orion">new web series</keyword> about the Partition of India, based on the book of same name by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, is currently in the works. The show, described as an epic political thriller/drama that highlights several incidents from the year of India's independence and interconnected stories about crucial events and personalities who played a significant role in writing the country's history as we know today. The series will see 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' director Nikkhil Advani as the show runner with the story penned by Abhinandan Gupta, Adwitiya Kareng Das and Gundeep Kaur. Commenting on the development, Nikkhil said in a statement, "The year 1947 has been etched in India's history as the year that shaped its fate. A riveting, emotional tale of an incident that altered the course of the nation, 'Freedom at Midnight' is an attempt to bring to Indians the whole truth about the events that led us to our freedom - the courage, and the hope instilled in people by the personages who gave us the new India." StudioNext and Emmay Entertainment (Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani and Nikkhil Advani) have joined the forces on the project to co-produce the same. Once ready, the series will stream on OTT platform SonyLIV, which recently clocked 18.2 million subscribers placing it as India's second largest video-on-demand or SVoD service only after Disney+ Hotstar, media report said. Nikkhil further mentioned in his statement, "This is a story every Indian should know, and I feel honoured to be able to tell it along with my partners, Monisha and Madhu, and the team of writers, along with StudioNext. It is even more special for Emmay Entertainment that we get to bring this story to SonyLIV after our successful stint with 'Rocket Boys'. The platform has been at the forefront of narrating the stories of the homeland, and I look forward to associating with them on this project too." Danish Khan, Head - Sony LIV, Sony Entertainment Television and StudioNext added to Nikkhil's comments as he said, "Our goal has been to bring to light untold stories from contemporary history. From 1947 to present day, India experienced many watershed moments that are significant in shaping our futures. "One such story of the country's struggle for independence is 'Freedom at Midnight'. We are delighted that StudioNext and Emmay Entertainment are collaborating on this intriguing series, and cannot wait to get started on this one with Nikhil and his talented team." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-flipkart-and-myntra-sales-all-unaffected-by-low-consumer-sentiment/articleshow/92245806.cms">Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra sales – all unaffected by low consumer sentiment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/remote-connectivity-platform-teamviewer-appoints-new-india-business-head/articleshow/92247325.cms">Remote connectivity platform TeamViewer appoints new India business head</a>

The most famous book on Indian independence 'Freedom at midnight' to be made into a web series

<ul><li><keyword id="6365313" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="East-India-Company" source="Orion">East India Company</keyword> is the world’s first company to issue equity shares – kickstarted a reign of evil in India.</li><li><keyword id="236128" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="louis-mountbatten" source="Orion">Louis Mountbatten</keyword>, the last viceroy of India, came to ensure smooth transfer of power from the crown to India.</li><li>His predecessor hands him over a job which has been nicknamed ‘<keyword id="14706171" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Operation-Madhouse" source="Orion">Operation Madhouse</keyword>’.</li></ul>Prologue: The history of the British Raj in India is so vast and so full of life that no movie – be it the action-heavy RRR, a gamified Lagaan or even the many passionate Bhagat Singh movies – could scratch the surface of it. But an American and a Frenchman paired up to achieve this in their book ‘Freedom at Midnight’. It’s the story of India that many Indians know little about. For years, I have regaled many with the unbelievable anecdotes from the book, which is soon to be made into a web series. As we complete 75 years of independence, I believe a brief summary of this epic is in order for we all need to know the history of how we got here today, breathing free in a country we can call our own. A century and a half after Vasco da Gama discovered India, most of Europe had given up bland meals, and now pepper mills are on every dinner table. But India remained a free country only until the 1600s. That’s when Dutch traders decided to raise the rates of a pound of pepper by five shillings — a move that made a cartel of Englishmen receive an official sanction from Queen Elizabeth I to exclusively trade in all countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope. The company, called East India Company (EIC), also the world’s first company to issue equity shares – kickstarted a reign of evil, by a race which believed was ‘destined to govern and subdue’, according to Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre’s classic Freedom at Midnight. <img src="https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/53NU6qcsiVy9w2RUUhBdxn5fU0m4flIIDHzw3b-7yx4rPzfqHa4yhL7cixBLIcit3Ie6opO8_nESx0xhK3QTiuu6ORa_C_i6Vu38ROwPZdUF7G1HFzJNRl_tQhMYvVrFfgzkwlLoaPeDKSUTVAU68DCjP-HhUzhRU7je9Q=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.businessinsider.in/thumb/msid-93508039,width-800,height-640,resizemode-75/93508039/Master.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" /> Freedom At Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre Amazon.com The wolf of this yet to be formed Wall Street was Captain William Hawkins, a seaman who was more of a pirate than an explorer. He soon found himself in the court of Jahangir, in an empire so vast and wealthy that his own Queen would have appeared to be the ruler of a provincial hamlet in contrast. Queen, Kipling and memsahibs EIC’s coffers filled but India, with its numerous territories and squabbles, would not let him hold on to their policy of ‘trade not territory’. But white supremacy is to prevail amongst ‘lesser breeds without law’ as Jungle Book writer Rudyard Kipling puts it. Even the British born writer believed that the right to rule Indians was placed on British soldiers by “the inscrutable decree of the providence”. The British shouldered it and region after region was lured by treasures if not treachery, weak and powerful kings won with weak enemies. The great Maratha Shivaji himself was known to have admired the British who fought for their honour, as he laid siege on Surat. Droves of young English men arrived in this strange land – with men in sagging dhotis and bare-armed women in sarees, and travelled the length and breadth of the country into villages with rations and letters that proclaimed their rights. And, they were all taught one principle - The English ran the country but they dwell apart. Memsahibs in India started running a very large version of Downton Abbey – with dinner parties that boasted of a servant per guest. They also set the tone for the Victorian era social seclusion – probably to keep their men away from the exotic temptations of the state. But it also made the British much different from many rulers that made India their home. Also, they were sending away taxes they collected from them back to the crown, as Indians starved. The British in India lived it up, served by coolies, and none were ‘better than Gunga Din’, a poetic character that saves an Englishman. They hunted tigers and killed ‘almost all’ cheetahs, the smallest of the big cats - which are now extinct in India, thanks to the Raj. They were having champagne in silver buckets and golfing, in style – golf arrived in India 30 years before New York. They also built the world’s highest golf course at 11,000 feet on the Himalayas. Almost a century after India became a British colony directly under the Queen’s rule, after the devastating Second World War, the country’s parliament voted to ‘leave the country’. George VI was sad that he had let go of a country he always wanted to visit but couldn’t. To ensure there was a smooth transfer of power that didn't lead to anarchy, he chose his handsome cousin, who was known as much for his charm as his military prowess. The former trait would serve Louis Mountbatten more than the latter, as he became the lord and the last viceroy of India, as he took over what his predecessor called, ‘Operation Madhouse’. <img src="https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/lL4pFU6Nf_3PcQgpQAsqQEcqD0_ufyxjUhiTNKW0b9Z5uxoA_PFupPeRzrLu2wdqs4kYRmqC7ROEtNSW0W43MG9Hy-SEtIUZwJHNCmmh5vO8s1xAmEB_9qk_DhPaif3NlwAuR0WqSxojhUjgPwbSaMOlOgRNsUs6T13LRQ=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.businessinsider.in/thumb/msid-93508078,width-800,height-640,resizemode-75/93508078/Master.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" />Louis MountbattenWikimedia commons The new-age Buddha and Christ Elsewhere in another continent and another British colony, a young lawyer who was an utter failure in Bombay, landed in South Africa and to his own surprise found success. He profusely read Henry Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy and the Gujarati brain of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was working in wonderful ways. <img src="https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/-U77BNJ0qUHEb4kmr4T5g6bNCclVNUuOXCrGkzxqXudrDcqaDPrgZL8gW_lHCKxqi2jCOoaGYaStRbJjT_MRh-BAMSbEbpzW8DJQulzVFmLg1F_8528W48Og5PvdGVg0OGo5SZE421vG-PjOQ60qcjFe-1TkteiVWCmDaQ=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.businessinsider.in/thumb/msid-93508085,width-800,height-640,resizemode-75/93508085/Master.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" />Mohandas Karamchand GandhiBCCLWhen the British government irked him by closing Transvaal borders to India, he led a movement of Thoreau’s civil disobedience with over 2,000 people that included women and children. He added his own twist – non-violence and he brought it back to India. Now called Gandhigiri, his principles continue to inspire generations across continents. The man who took a vow of poverty, had held on to his Ingersoll watch for years until it was stolen when he was travelling in a train. He was moved to tears as he told this story with child-like pain to Lord Mountbatten, but his loss was short-lived. The man who stole it, returned it and begged his forgiveness – which was given with a hug and a chuckle. Gandhigiri had taken over India at the time of Mountbatten’s arrival. Mountbatten knew that this man who Winston Churchill sneered at, ‘as a half-naked fakir’ was not to be taken lightly. After all, Gandhi had already sent back Sir Richard Cripps without a deal, refusing UK’s offer during the war to rule India as a British dominion. Goat curd and surgical precision Mountbatten called it Operation Seduction and while he forged a great friendship with Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi was another soul altogether. He insisted on eating his own goat curd at the Viceroy House, took prayer breaks and insisted that India should remain one – keep the baby alive instead of cutting it into two. Jinnah, however, was all vanity, which was deeply hurt when he received fewer seats during the 1937 provincial elections. He demanded a Muslim state. India would be divided with surgical precision, he promised Mountbatten. The King’s cousin, the book says, dealt with him like a sailor rather than a statesman but Mountbatten knew that he could not move the unmoved, and most of Congress were in favour of two nations. Rooms full of rubies and a pen pistol But it took India’s iron man, Vallabhai Patel, to keep the rest of India intact and convince over 500 rajas, princes, nawabs and nizams as they called themselves to shift their allegiance from the crown to the nation. Stronger than the unity statue built in his honour, Patel continued summing up a case for the jury even after he was handed a note saying that his wife passed away. <img src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Tg5fY-1m5Ss0GRW5lyxI5EOOqGIj6wI8Khjk4H_6IPLQ5CHpoAlHdVgl55Ywl13wypgztoO0RsSkrzRWG9wE6xrWjgyCKl8VMD5Eq3wVdi7gTBeh=s0-d-e1-ft#https://www.businessinsider.in/photo/93508178/93508178/Master.jpg" class="CToWUd a6T" />The Statue Of Unity BCCLPatel and the career bureaucrat, V.P. Menon, executed their operation seduction to gain control over men who were already seduced by sex, sport and the worst of all maladies - boredom. Most of them amused themselves with Lancaster pistols made of solid gold, rubies the size of pigeon eggs and working train sets on silver rails. The Jeff Bezos of that time, known to be the world’s richest, was the Nizam of Hyderabad, who had rooms full of precious stones eaten away by rats as the miser spent nothing and resorted to smoking the leftover cigarette butts of his departed guests! Most of the eccentric rajas sided with India – even Hari Singh of Kashmir, who wanted to be independent, was worn down by logic that a landlocked state would forever remain in a state of war. But the young Maharaja of Jodhpur, certain that his lavish life wouldn’t be approved by the Congress socialists, tried to go over to Jinnah’s side. But Menon’s watchful spies got wind of it, cornered him, and the Maharaja held a pen-pistol to the bureaucrat's forehead until Mountbatten confiscated it – and used it later to liven parties back home. Cursed by the stars Mountbatten was warned by the most popular astrologist of the time that August 15, 1947 was a ‘day cursed by stars’. He, however, chose sentiment over astrology – the date was the anniversary of the day Burma won against Japan, a war he was part of. It wasn’t just the viceroy, even Nehru and Jinnah did not see the bloodbath that followed. What stopped them from seeing what was to come was their own tolerance and atheism. Communal passions ran so high and so deep that right after the Union Jack came off the Viceroy house, Punjab and Bengal fell into a riotous rage – something a wily Gandhi always knew. That’s why the 78-year-old spent the midnight far away from the celebrations, spinning and lamenting the night India became independent, 75 years back.

SIMPLY PUT: What happened before India got Freedom@Midnight

Prologue: The history of the <keyword id="81273" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="British-Raj" source="Orion">British Raj</keyword> in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> is so vast and so full of life that no movie – be it the action-heavy RRR, a gamified Lagaan or even the many passionate Bhagat Singh movies – could scratch the surface of it. But an American and a Frenchman paired up to achieve this in their book ‘<keyword id="400044" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Freedom-at-Midnight" source="Orion">Freedom at Midnight</keyword>’. It’s the story of India that many Indians know little about. For years, I have regaled many with the unbelievable anecdotes from the book, which is soon to be made into a web series. As we complete <keyword id="2177193" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="75-years-of-independence" source="Orion">75 years of independence</keyword>, I believe a brief summary of this epic is in order for we all need to know the history of how we got here today, breathing free in a country we can call our own. <div type="image" title="India at 75" msid="93508033" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;India at 75&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> A century and a half after Vasco da Gama discovered India, most of Europe had given up bland meals, and now pepper mills are on every dinner table. But India remained a free country only until the 1600s. That’s when Dutch traders decided to raise the rates of a pound of pepper by five shillings — a move that made a cartel of Englishmen receive an official sanction from Queen Elizabeth I to exclusively trade in all countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope. The company, called East India Company (EIC), also the world’s first company to issue equity shares – kickstarted a reign of evil, by a race which believed was ‘destined to govern and subdue’, according to Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre’s classic Freedom at Midnight. <div type="image" title="Freedom At Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre" msid="93508039" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Freedom At Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The wolf of this yet to be formed Wall Street was Captain William Hawkins, a seaman who was more of a pirate than an explorer. He soon found himself in the court of Jahangir, in an empire so vast and wealthy that his own Queen would have appeared to be the ruler of a provincial hamlet in contrast. Queen, Kipling and memsahibs EIC’s coffers filled but India, with its numerous territories and squabbles, would not let him hold on to their policy of ‘trade not territory’. But white supremacy is to prevail amongst ‘lesser breeds without law’ as Jungle Book writer Rudyard Kipling puts it. Even the British born writer believed that the right to rule Indians was placed on British soldiers by “the inscrutable decree of the providence”. The British shouldered it and region after region was lured by treasures if not treachery, weak and powerful kings won with weak enemies. The great Maratha Shivaji himself was known to have admired the British who fought for their honour, as he laid siege on Surat. Droves of young English men arrived in this strange land – with men in sagging dhotis and bare-armed women in sarees, and travelled the length and breadth of the country into villages with rations and letters that proclaimed their rights. And, they were all taught one principle - The English ran the country but they dwell apart. Memsahibs in India started running a very large version of Downton Abbey – with dinner parties that boasted of a servant per guest. They also set the tone for the Victorian era social seclusion – probably to keep their men away from the exotic temptations of the state. But it also made the British much different from many rulers that made India their home. Also, they were sending away taxes they collected from them back to the crown, as Indians starved. The British in India lived it up, served by coolies, and none were ‘better than Gunga Din’, a poetic character that saves an Englishman. They hunted tigers and killed ‘almost all’ cheetahs, the smallest of the big cats - which are now extinct in India, thanks to the Raj. They were having champagne in silver buckets and golfing, in style – golf arrived in India 30 years before New York. They also built the world’s highest golf course at 11,000 feet on the Himalayas. Almost a century after India became a British colony directly under the Queen’s rule, after the devastating Second World War, the country’s parliament voted to ‘leave the country’. George VI was sad that he had let go of a country he always wanted to visit but couldn’t. To ensure there was a smooth transfer of power that didn't lead to anarchy, he chose his handsome cousin, who was known as much for his charm as his military prowess. The former trait would serve Louis Mountbatten more than the latter, as he became the lord and the last viceroy of India, as he took over what his predecessor called, ‘Operation Madhouse’. <div type="image" title="Louis Mountbatten" msid="93508078" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Louis Mountbatten&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The new-age Buddha and Christ Elsewhere in another continent and another British colony, a young lawyer who was an utter failure in Bombay, landed in South Africa and to his own surprise found success. He profusely read Henry Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy and the Gujarati brain of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was working in wonderful ways. <div type="image" title="Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi" msid="93508085" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> When the British government irked him by closing Transvaal borders to India, he led a movement of Thoreau’s civil disobedience with over 2,000 people that included women and children. He added his own twist – non-violence and he brought it back to India. Now called Gandhigiri, his principles continue to inspire generations across continents. The man who took a vow of poverty, had held on to his Ingersoll watch for years until it was stolen when he was travelling in a train. He was moved to tears as he told this story with child-like pain to Lord Mountbatten, but his loss was short-lived. The man who stole it, returned it and begged his forgiveness – which was given with a hug and a chuckle. Gandhigiri had taken over India at the time of Mountbatten’s arrival. Mountbatten knew that this man who Winston Churchill sneered at, ‘as a half-naked fakir’ was not to be taken lightly. After all, Gandhi had already sent back Sir Richard Cripps without a deal, refusing UK’s offer during the war to rule India as a British dominion. Goat curd and surgical precision Mountbatten called it Operation Seduction and while he forged a great friendship with Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi was another soul altogether. He insisted on eating his own goat curd at the Viceroy House, took prayer breaks and insisted that India should remain one – keep the baby alive instead of cutting it into two. Jinnah, however, was all vanity, which was deeply hurt when he received fewer seats during the 1937 provincial elections. He demanded a Muslim state. India would be divided with surgical precision, he promised Mountbatten. The King’s cousin, the book says, dealt with him like a sailor rather than a statesman but Mountbatten knew that he could not move the unmoved, and most of Congress were in favour of two nations. Rooms full of rubies and a pen pistol But it took India’s iron man, Vallabhai Patel, to keep the rest of India intact and convince over 500 rajas, princes, nawabs and nizams as they called themselves to shift their allegiance from the crown to the nation. Stronger than the unity statue built in his honour, Patel continued summing up a case for the jury even after he was handed a note saying that his wife passed away. <div type="image" title="The Statue Of Unity" msid="93508178" hostid="261" sizebytes="162276" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The Statue Of Unity&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Patel and the career bureaucrat, V.P. Menon, executed their operation seduction to gain control over men who were already seduced by sex, sport and the worst of all maladies - boredom. Most of them amused themselves with Lancaster pistols made of solid gold, rubies the size of pigeon eggs and working train sets on silver rails. The Jeff Bezos of that time, known to be the world’s richest, was the Nizam of Hyderabad, who had rooms full of precious stones eaten away by rats as the miser spent nothing and resorted to smoking the leftover cigarette butts of his departed guests! Most of the eccentric rajas sided with India – even Hari Singh of Kashmir, who wanted to be independent, was worn down by logic that a landlocked state would forever remain in a state of war. But the young Maharaja of Jodhpur, certain that his lavish life wouldn’t be approved by the Congress socialists, tried to go over to Jinnah’s side. But Menon’s watchful spies got wind of it, cornered him, and the Maharaja held a pen-pistol to the bureaucrat's forehead until Mountbatten confiscated it – and used it later to liven parties back home. Cursed by the stars Mountbatten was warned by the most popular astrologist of the time that August 15, 1947 was a ‘day cursed by stars’. He, however, chose sentiment over astrology – the date was the anniversary of the day Burma won against Japan, a war he was part of. It wasn’t just the viceroy, even Nehru and Jinnah did not see the bloodbath that followed. What stopped them from seeing what was to come was their own tolerance and atheism. Communal passions ran so high and so deep that right after the Union Jack came off the Viceroy house, Punjab and Bengal fell into a riotous rage – something a wily Gandhi always knew. That’s why the 78-year-old spent the midnight far away from the celebrations, spinning and lamenting the night India became independent, 75 years back. Before we let you go, here's what we like you to know-Innovaccer's solutions have been transforming the healthcare industry their unique approach to data analytics. Sandeep Gupta Co-Founder and COO, Innovaccer details this scion's growth as they continue to make healthcare data accessible, useful and transformative. Register Now: <a href="https://saasscions.com/" target="_blank">https://saasscions.com/</a> <div type="image" title="Business Insider India brings you SaaS Scions" msid="93508208" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Business Insider India brings you SaaS Scions&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

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City of Joy mourns the loss of Dominique Lapierre

PTI

Rupee falls 24 paise to 82.09/$ amid rising crude, foreign fund outflows

PTI

The most famous book on Indian independence 'Freedom at midnight' to be made into a web series

IANS

SIMPLY PUT: What happened before India got Freedom@Midnight

Katya Naidu

SIMPLY PUT: What happened before India got Freedom at Midnight