Guha's India after Gandhi --Refugees and the Republic.

'The refugees who came to India after Independence numbered close to 8 million. These people were resettled with time, cash, effort and, not least, idealism. There was indeed much heroism and grandeur in the building of new India. There were also errors and mistakes, loose ends that remained unties. There was pain and suffering in the extinguishing of the princely order, and there was pain and suffering in the resettlement of the refugees. Yet both tasks were, in the end, accomplished.'

'Notably, the actors in this complicated and tortuous process were all Indian. This, at least on the British side, was completely unanticipated.... Admittedly, the rulers had left behind a set of functioning institutions.'

We read about how, the Punjabi refugees settled in the land vacated by the Muslims who had moved across the border. They were allotted land, but not equal to what they had lost. The land they had left behind was more fertile, but they worked hard and coped well. Many who were not farmers moved to Delhi and made a life for themselves. Sindhis were settled in Bombay, Pune and Ahmadabad. Being businessmen and resourceful started business activities again and thus creating competition between the locals and them. Refugees from east Bengal settled in Calcutta. (Was surprised to learn that there were expectations, by the West Bengal government, of refugees going back after things settled. I remember that the Sindhis who chose to move to Bangalore appeared well to do and there were grumbles that they were the cause for the increased rentals.)

It is inspiring to read about how Nehru held firm and worked hard to face the threats to his new Government by the activities of RSS and communists. An interesting fact mentioned was that Nehru, Golwalker and Ranade were all Brahmins. At the same time the plight of the women held captive and their unwillingness to go back home after being rescued, for fear of not being accepted, brings us back to reality with a bang.