The Battle for Baramulla (Songs of Freedom Series) by Mallika Ravikumar
My take on the book:
August 1947 — India became an independent country but Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir has refused to be a part of either India or Pakistan and wanted his state to remain an independent entity. In October, the northwest frontier tribesmen supported by Pakistani Army started attacking — first Muzaffarabad, and next Baramulla.
Twelve-year-old Zooni lived in Baramulla with her grandparents, parents and younger brother. With rumours of an impending attack on their town, most non-Muslim families left for safer towns as they believed that Muslims will be spared by the Pashtuns. As a heavily pregnant neighbor Chanda is sent to the Mission hospital in an attempt to escape the attackers, Zooni volunteers to accompany her for the night.
All hell breaks loose when the Pashtuns descend on the hospital as well, plundering it, kidnapping women, killing people mercilessly and setting parts of it to fire. Will Zooni and Chanda be able to escape the attack? Will Zooni’s cousin Maqbool Sherwani who has been planning to thwart the attackers succeed in his plan, forms the rest of the story.
The Battle for Baramulla is a mix of fiction and facts as the author narrates a major historic event by adding few fictional characters like Zooni. This brings in much needed sensibility to the story while making it apt for kids to also read as it is narrated from the point of view of a young girl. The story while narrating history subtly addresses multiple emotions faced by residents in such tragic events.
The unrest and insecurity among residents of multiple religions when there are rumours of one religion targeting others is also well handled by the author as the miscreants ultimately target all residents and loot them irrespective of their religious or political affiliations. The story has a strong message of humanity, bravery and resilience and they have been exhibited by all age groups, be it kids of Zooni’s age or a teenage Maqbool or elders.
The usage of Kashmiri and Urdu words bring authenticity to the backdrop. The story along with the historical note at the end explain the origin of the conflict in this beautiful state. Pick this one to read a historical fiction which has the right dose of emotions while delivering a strong message.
My rating:
4/5.