Ramachandra Guha, Rebels Against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom, Gurugram, Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd. 2022.
Introduction
Another deserving feather in the scholarly cap of Ramachandra Guha. He is one of the contemporary writers, particularly in modern history. As usual, he has written this book in his unique style. This book is not only for scholars but even a layman like me can find it easy to read.
Engaging Writing Style
The way he has written this book didn’t allow me to put it down. Sometimes I felt as if I was reading a thriller, wanting to know the end of the story for each character. Particularly, I was curious about how their lives ended. The way he makes us wait by interweaving the narratives of the heroes and heroines of this book, suddenly leaving them in the early part of their lives and later giving a complete picture, is remarkable. In order to know the end, you cannot skip one character to know about another. Unless one reads through all the pages, one cannot understand how their lives ended. A remarkable book.
Translation and Curriculum Inclusion
This book should be translated into all major Indian languages. If possible, it should be included in the curriculum of college students to know the unthinkable contributions of these people from the West to the freedom struggle alongside Mahatma Gandhi. We know some of the stories of our own freedom fighters, but rarely do we know about these non-Indians. Even though I have already read the biography of Satyanand Stokes [Asha Sharma, An American in Khadi: The Definitive Biography of Satyanand Stokes, New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1999], the way Guha presented his life in this book adds more richness to his story.
Neutrality in Curriculum
However, to include it in the college curriculum, his regular rhetorical remarks about ‘Hindutva’ could be removed or edited differently so that it remains neutral. Though Guha is very open and candid about his anti-Hindutva views, unless one hears the defense from the Hindutva camp, it’s better to remove these remarks to remain neutral for students learning about our contemporary history, particularly the freedom struggle. Even if we remove his anti-Hindutva rhetoric, still the main theme will remain the same. It doesn’t match with the sprit such book. Without reading this book, our knowledge about our contemporary history, especially related to the freedom struggle, will remain incomplete. By writing this book, Guha made it complete. Thanks, and I wish him good health and long life, expecting many more books from him. I have already been blessed by reading several of his books, and one will never get tired of reading more from him, as each work remains unique in every way.
Emotional Impact
When I read about the sacrifice of Annie Besant, B. G. Horniman, Madeline Slade [Meera Ben], Philip Spratt, Ralph Richard Keithan, Samuel Stokes [Satyanand], Catherine Mary Heilmann [Sarala Ben], sometimes I cannot control my tears and bow my head at their feet. This is not the place to give even a small account of their stories as it would distort the original writing of Guha. However, the way Guha gives a one-line summary about them at the end completely presents their ideology and commitment in life. That alone I would like to share here,@ as it might encourage others to grab a copy early and read the whole book to know more about them.
Mention of Other Works
Before that, I must also mention that, besides these people, Guha mentions one book by P. Kodanda Rao, Foreign Friends of India’s Freedom (Bangalore: The P. T. I. Book Company, 1973). It is worth reading from the preface of Rao’s book as given by Guha:
“It was the bounden duty of Indian patriots to have striven and even suffered for India’s Swaraj. They deserve the homage of all who have inherited the fruits of their efforts. But the Americans and the Britishers had no obligation to work and suffer for India’s freedom. And yet there were many of them who strove and sacrificed for India’s freedom. They deserve Indians’ gratitude even more” (pp. v-vii, 411-412).
However, this book by Rao, unfortunately, ‘was little known in its day and is wholly forgotten in ours. It probably never circulated outside the town in which it was printed’ (p. 412). Guha stumbled across a copy in a second-hand bookstore in Bangalore. Though that book included twenty-one non-Indians, endorsing similar contributions of others, Guha gives a reasonable answer for not including some of them [like C. F. Andrews, also called Dheenabandhu, a very close friend of Mahatma Gandhi], saying: ‘On the other hand, the seven individuals featured in this book all chose to come out to India and become Indians unilaterally, on their own, alone’ (italics original, p. 415).
Rhetoric About Hindutva
Regarding Guha’s rhetoric about Hindutva, which one has to agree and disagree with simultaneously, it cannot be discussed here as it deserves a separate ‘brainstorm’ from me. As a scholar, one can hardly disagree with Guha. Though I am not even close to being a learned person, still remaining a student of history [my passionate subject since my teenage years], I have some questions which I will raise in another brainstorm [see: Phobias Part One and Two]1. He not only began by criticizing, outright mentioning Modi along with others in his preface (p. xix), but he also ends with the same (p. 417). However, won’t I quote and ask my question here to such a historian and scholar who is an authority in his own right, as it won’t well suit to the spirit of this review.
Must-Read for All Indians
This book is a must-read for all Indians regardless of their particular political affiliation. Many, like me, feel that we are caught between two extremes of ultra-nationalism and pseudo-secularism. Reading about the lives of these remarkable non-Indians brings some consolation and clarity about my stance against the principle that: “If you are not WITH US, then you are AGAINST US or even the nation.”
Gurukulam
22-6-2024
1https://dayanandbharati.in/phobia-part-one/
Ramachandra Guha, Rebels Against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom, Gurugram, Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd. 2022.
Introduction
Another deserving feather in the scholarly cap of Ramachandra Guha. He is one of the contemporary writers, particularly in modern history. As usual, he has written this book in his unique style. This book is not only for scholars but even a layman like me can find it easy to read.
Engaging Writing Style
The way he has written this book didn’t allow me to put it down. Sometimes I felt as if I was reading a thriller, wanting to know the end of the story for each character. Particularly, I was curious about how their lives ended. The way he makes us wait by interweaving the narratives of the heroes and heroines of this book, suddenly leaving them in the early part of their lives and later giving a complete picture, is remarkable. In order to know the end, you cannot skip one character to know about another. Unless one reads through all the pages, one cannot understand how their lives ended. A remarkable book.
Translation and Curriculum Inclusion
This book should be translated into all major Indian languages. If possible, it should be included in the curriculum of college students to know the unthinkable contributions of these people from the West to the freedom struggle alongside Mahatma Gandhi. We know some of the stories of our own freedom fighters, but rarely do we know about these non-Indians. Even though I have already read the biography of Satyanand Stokes [Asha Sharma, An American in Khadi: The Definitive Biography of Satyanand Stokes, New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1999], the way Guha presented his life in this book adds more richness to his story.
Neutrality in Curriculum
However, to include it in the college curriculum, his regular rhetorical remarks about ‘Hindutva’ could be removed or edited differently so that it remains neutral. Though Guha is very open and candid about his anti-Hindutva views, unless one hears the defense from the Hindutva camp, it’s better to remove these remarks to remain neutral for students learning about our contemporary history, particularly the freedom struggle. Even if we remove his anti-Hindutva rhetoric, still the main theme will remain the same. It doesn’t match with the sprit such book. Without reading this book, our knowledge about our contemporary history, especially related to the freedom struggle, will remain incomplete. By writing this book, Guha made it complete. Thanks, and I wish him good health and long life, expecting many more books from him. I have already been blessed by reading several of his books, and one will never get tired of reading more from him, as each work remains unique in every way.
Emotional Impact
When I read about the sacrifice of Annie Besant, B. G. Horniman, Madeline Slade [Meera Ben], Philip Spratt, Ralph Richard Keithan, Samuel Stokes [Satyanand], Catherine Mary Heilmann [Sarala Ben], sometimes I cannot control my tears and bow my head at their feet. This is not the place to give even a small account of their stories as it would distort the original writing of Guha. However, the way Guha gives a one-line summary about them at the end completely presents their ideology and commitment in life. That alone I would like to share here,@ as it might encourage others to grab a copy early and read the whole book to know more about them.
Mention of Other Works
Before that, I must also mention that, besides these people, Guha mentions one book by P. Kodanda Rao, Foreign Friends of India’s Freedom (Bangalore: The P. T. I. Book Company, 1973). It is worth reading from the preface of Rao’s book as given by Guha:
“It was the bounden duty of Indian patriots to have striven and even suffered for India’s Swaraj. They deserve the homage of all who have inherited the fruits of their efforts. But the Americans and the Britishers had no obligation to work and suffer for India’s freedom. And yet there were many of them who strove and sacrificed for India’s freedom. They deserve Indians’ gratitude even more” (pp. v-vii, 411-412).
However, this book by Rao, unfortunately, ‘was little known in its day and is wholly forgotten in ours. It probably never circulated outside the town in which it was printed’ (p. 412). Guha stumbled across a copy in a second-hand bookstore in Bangalore. Though that book included twenty-one non-Indians, endorsing similar contributions of others, Guha gives a reasonable answer for not including some of them [like C. F. Andrews, also called Dheenabandhu, a very close friend of Mahatma Gandhi], saying: ‘On the other hand, the seven individuals featured in this book all chose to come out to India and become Indians unilaterally, on their own, alone’ (italics original, p. 415).
Rhetoric About Hindutva
Regarding Guha’s rhetoric about Hindutva, which one has to agree and disagree with simultaneously, it cannot be discussed here as it deserves a separate ‘brainstorm’ from me. As a scholar, one can hardly disagree with Guha. Though I am not even close to being a learned person, still remaining a student of history [my passionate subject since my teenage years], I have some questions which I will raise in another brainstorm [see: Phobias Part One and Two]1. He not only began by criticizing, outright mentioning Modi along with others in his preface (p. xix), but he also ends with the same (p. 417). However, won’t I quote and ask my question here to such a historian and scholar who is an authority in his own right, as it won’t well suit to the spirit of this review.
Must-Read for All Indians
This book is a must-read for all Indians regardless of their particular political affiliation. Many, like me, feel that we are caught between two extremes of ultra-nationalism and pseudo-secularism. Reading about the lives of these remarkable non-Indians brings some consolation and clarity about my stance against the principle that: “If you are not WITH US, then you are AGAINST US or even the nation.”
Gurukulam
22-6-2024
1https://dayanandbharati.in/phobia-part-one/
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