The book discusses the lack of sensitivity among policymakers in acknowledging the distinct socio-cultural differences and linguistic and community identities of the refugees that often got merged. It explores how different categories of refugees received different treatments.
According to historian Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, apart from rejecting caste, the original Matua philosophy as propounded by Harichand Thakur offered a powerful critique of the classical Vedic Hinduism by negating key ideas like Guruvaad, Avatarvaad, and the practice of worshipping multiple deities.
As Bipan Chandra and the others wrote: “The British decision to transfer power was not merely a response to the immediate situation prevailing in the winter of 1945-46, but a result of their realisation that their legitimacy to rule had been irrevocably eroded over the years.”
Both Ambedkar and Shyam Sundar feared the ‘tyranny of the Hindu majority’ and tried to negotiate it in different ways. The label of ‘Razakar’ never left Shyam S