Background
Rajendra Prasad was born in Ziradei, India on December 3, 1884, into the Kayastha, or scribe, caste.
(Tears in Paradise Suffering and Struggles of Indians in...)
Tears in Paradise Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji 1879-2004 reveals the horrific treatment of Indian indentured workers (Girmitiyas) in Fiji by the British from 1879-1919. Indenture system (Girmit) under which they were recruited was slavery by another name. Working and living conditions were so atrocious that Fiji had the highest rate of suicide in the world and highest rate of infanticide among the colonies that deployed indentured labour. Author, Rajendra Prasad, a descendant of Girmitiya grandparents, graphically captures the suffering, struggles and sacrifices of the pioneer generation, Overseers whip comes down upon her half-naked back and legs. The child is struck also. Both are crying Barnicoat poured boiling water on Poligardus genitals Blomfield bashed Narainis head on stones her face covered in blood... The British had recruited 60,965 Indians to work in the sugarcane plantations in Fiji. Deceit and deception was widely used in the recruitment process to trap the innocent, poor and ignorant peasants for countries they never knew or dreamt of going. It tore their hearts when they realized that it was separation from their motherland. In 1882 when ships Berar and Poonah I set sail for Fiji, fifteen recruits jumped overboard and drowned. In the ships, many fell sick and some died of homesickness. In the fields, they worked for long hours and ritually suffered whips, kicks and sticks of the white Overseers. Women in advanced stage of pregnancy were forced to work. Some gave birth in the fields and most were required to return to work within days of child birth. The rigors of plantation life changed their demeanour. Methodist missionary, Hannah Dudley, in her letter to the Indian leaders on November 4, 1912, asked for the abolition of the indenture system. She wrote, I shall never forget the first time I saw indentured women. They were returning from their days work. The look on those womens faces haunts me The second part of the book captures the contemporary history of Fiji under the theme An Uncertain Future, echoing racial discrimination and marginalization of Indo-Fijians by successive Governments, as anxiety and insecurity about their future kept them on the edge. Tears in Paradise eloquently captures the gruesome events - suffering that will haunt, endurance that will challenge, violence that will confound and struggle that will inspire. One reader wrote, once in my hand, I could not put it down and cried at several places. It eloquently brought out the human element often missing in other historical publications on the subject.
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(The question of the partition of India into Muslim and Hi...)
The question of the partition of India into Muslim and Hindu zones assumed importance after the All-India Muslim League passed a resolution in its favour in March 1940 in Lahore. Most of India Divided was written in prison and it was published in 1946, a year before India was divided. The book specifically examines the theory that the Hindus and Muslims of India were two nations, and concludes that the solution for the Hindu Muslim issue should be sought in the formation of a secular state, with cultural autonomy for the different groups that make up the nation. It traces the origins and growth of the Hindu Muslim conflict, gives the summary of the several schemes for the partition of India which were put forth, and points out the essential ambiguity of the Lahore Resolution. Finally, it deals with the resources of the Muslimmajority states and shows how the suggested scheme of Partition was impracticable, and proposes a new solution to the Hindu Muslim question.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143414151/?tag=2022091-20
Rajendra Prasad was born in Ziradei, India on December 3, 1884, into the Kayastha, or scribe, caste.
A devout Hindu, he received his early education in Bihar and then attended Presidency College, Calcutta. The Swadeshi movement and particularly the Dawn Society influenced him to become a nationalist. He continued his education, earned advanced degrees in law, and practiced law in Calcutta and then in Patna.
When Mohandas Gandhi arrived in Bihar in 1917 to assist the peasants in Champaran, Prasad soon joined in this activity, becoming a lifelong disciple of Gandhi. Following Gandhi's lead, Prasad joined the Indian National Congress and participated in the noncooperation campaigns of 1919 and 1921-1922. Forsaking his law practice almost entirely, he became principal of the National College in Bihar, edited nationalist papers, and mobilized peasant support for the movement. During the internal split in the Congress, he was a spokesman for the No-Changer group, which whole-heartedly supported Gandhi's constructive program, particularly the production of indigenous cloth (or khadi) by hand spinning. Prasad, along with Vallabhbhai Patel and others, led the Gandhian Old Guard, which usually dominated the Congress organization. They opposed the Congress Socialists. Prasad was Congress president in 1934 and at Gandhi's request again served as president after the serious internal struggle of 1939. Prasad was a member of the Congress Parliamentary Board, which directed the election campaign of 1936-1937. While spending most of World War II in prison, he wrote his Autobiography in Hindi (trans. 1958) and a book opposing Moslem proposals for the partition of India, India Divided (1946). After serving as minister for food and agriculture in the interim government, Prasad became president of the Constituent Assembly that eventually completed the constitution of the Republic of India in 1949. He was chosen interim president of his country and was elected the first president in May 1952. Five years later he was reelected for a second term. The difficulties of the postindependence years were eased by the close cooperation between President Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Prasad died on February 28, 1963, in Patna.
(Tears in Paradise Suffering and Struggles of Indians in...)
(The question of the partition of India into Muslim and Hi...)
He was a comrade of Mahatma Gandhi early in the noncooperation movement for independence and was president of the Indian National Congress (1934, 1939, and 1947).
During his presidency, he toured India and many countries of Asia. In his speeches he stressed national and communal unity, the need for a national language, the scarcity of food and the ways to increase food production, and the achievements of Indian culture. He often drew upon the words and achievements of his mentor, Gandhi, and gave importance to the need for more extensive educational programs, particularly the implementation of Gandhi's basic education scheme.