DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE
6th December, 2022
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About
- Dominique Lapierre, the French author and Padma Bhushan awardee, passed away at the age of 91 on 4th December.
- He was born on 30th July 1931 in France.
- His father was a diplomat (Consul General of France) in the United States, and he spent many years travelling across the US and doing irregular jobs to fund his travels.
- He developed an interest in writing. His travelogues would often be published in papers in the US.
- He received a scholarship to study economics at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
- Afterwards, he began his career as a reporter for the weekly news magazine, Paris-Match.
- He also served in the French army.
- Lapierre and Collins wrote many bestselling books, including;
- O Jerusalem! (1972) on the creation of the state of Israel.
- Freedom at Midnight (1975).
- Is Paris Burning? (1965), about the liberation of Paris during World War II, which sold close to 10 million copies in 30 languages.
- The Fifth Horseman (1980).
- Is New York Burning? (2005)
- He had a special bond with India, he spent a lot of time in Calcutta, as well as in Bhopal.
- His best-known work centred on India is ‘Freedom at Midnight’, which told the story of India’s struggle for independence and the great humanitarian tragedy of the Partition.
- His novel “City of Joy” was set in the slums near Howrah in West Bengal and traced the experiences of an impoverished rickshaw puller, as well as the work of missionaries in ameliorating the living conditions of the city’s countless poor.
- He won the 1986 Christopher Prize for this novel.
- He set up the ‘City of Joy Foundation’ and donated a large share of his royalties to it to support humanitarian projects in West Bengal, which included the setting up of dispensaries, care centres for those suffering from leprosy and tuberculosis, hospital boats, schools and rehabilitation centres.
- His novel ‘Five Past Midnight in Bhopal: The Epic Story of the World’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster’, traced the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
- The royalties from the sale of the book were directed to an NGO clinic in Bhopal, which provides free medical treatment to the victims of the tragedy.
- In 2008, He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award.
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