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Delhi Reborn: Partition and Nation Building in India's Capital
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 15, 2026
"One of the most puzzling questions confronting the statesmen of the newly developing nations is: to what extent may a government arrogate to itself in the name of democratic tutelage the power to regulate the rules of political interaction without, by this very action, jeopardizing the long-run development of democracy?"
It is by a pure chance that I finished reading this important and historic and political narrative of the nation's capital at the most important juncture on our Independence Day. This book by no means was an easy read as one has to navigate through much of technicality but regardless very important and dare I say a must.
Delhi Reborn takes us through a journey that is filled with many important stops, from the start of Indian Nationalist Movement, Delhi through the backdrop of World War 2, how the capital of the British India saw the movement for Pakistan come to life leading to the partition of a vast empire that led of the greatest migration in the history which led to the horrors of communal violence at an unprecedented scale. Eventually being born into the capital of a newly independent nation, taking the center stage in laying down its foundation leading into the post colonial transformation.
And finally how it was all well concluded in the epilogue connecting the past to its present. How we as a nation at its 80th Independence Day have a long way to go.
Particularly impressed by the objectivity of the author, Rotem Geva who laid down the facts providing an unmuddled narrative of the history and politics. And at the same time it all felt very personal to me who grew up in the very center of the Nation's Capital.
Thank You for making me homesick.
August 2, 2025
An amazing book. Full of historical insight and description of the situation on ground in Delhi post-partition. I recommend the book to those who want to understand the situation of Delhi through the eyes of the Historians quoted in the book, away from divisive and poisonous media reports that are written to further engineer a devide among the people and communities, and not give an impartial account of the events before and after the heartbreaking episode of partition to the readers.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews