"India Wins Freedom" by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
The Delayed Publication
What happened:
Maulana Azad completed his autobiography before his death in 1958
He stipulated that 30 pages (approximately 3 chapters) should be kept sealed and not published until 30 years after his death
The main book was published in 1959
The sealed portion was finally released in 1988
Content of the Sealed Pages
The delayed chapters contained critical assessments of key Congress leaders and partition decisions:
Main revelations included:
Criticism of Nehru and Patel: Azad blamed both for accepting partition too readily, suggesting they were more interested in power than keeping India united
Mountbatten's role: Critical comments about Lord Mountbatten's handling of partition and his alleged bias
Internal Congress conflicts: Details of disagreements between top leaders during crucial 1946-47 negotiations
Azad's opposition to partition: His strong belief that partition could have been avoided if Congress leadership had been more patient and strategic
Criticism of hasty decisions: Azad felt the Congress leadership accepted partition without exhausting all alternatives
Why the Delay?
Azad likely requested the delay because:
The content was highly critical of living political figures (Nehru, Patel)
It could have caused political embarrassment during sensitive post-independence years
He wanted historical truth recorded but delayed to avoid immediate political fallout
The sealed portions remain controversial among historians, with debates about Azad's assessments of partition's inevitability. Also doubts on his own role in thise as well as even in constituent assembly and as education minister of country puts doubt on his assessment. If he was honest he shouldn't have delayed uniform civil code and uniform education which isolated Indian muslim and gave devisive forces another chance to rise. Particularly madarsa education is crime he should have banned it immediately and advocated for uniform civil code.
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