4.0
Rebels Against the Raj
ByPublisher Description
An extraordinary history of resistance and the fight for Indian independence—the little-known story of seven foreigners to India who joined the movement fighting for freedom from British colonial rule.
Rebels Against the Raj tells the story of seven people who chose to struggle for a country other than their own: foreigners to India who across the late 19th to late 20th century arrived to join the freedom movement fighting for independence from British colonial rule.
Of the seven, four were British, two American, and one Irish. Four men, three women. Before and after being jailed or deported they did remarkable and pioneering work in a variety of fields: journalism, social reform, education, the emancipation of women, environmentalism.
This book tells their stories, each renegade motivated by idealism and genuine sacrifice; each connected to Gandhi, though some as acolytes where others found endless infuriation in his views; each understanding they would likely face prison sentences for their resistance, and likely live and die in India; each one leaving a profound impact on the region in which they worked, their legacies continuing through the institutions they founded and the generations and individuals they inspired.
Through these entwined lives, wonderfully told by one of the world’s finest historians, we reach deep insights into relations between India and the West, and India’s story as a country searching for its identity and liberty beyond British colonial rule.
Rebels Against the Raj tells the story of seven people who chose to struggle for a country other than their own: foreigners to India who across the late 19th to late 20th century arrived to join the freedom movement fighting for independence from British colonial rule.
Of the seven, four were British, two American, and one Irish. Four men, three women. Before and after being jailed or deported they did remarkable and pioneering work in a variety of fields: journalism, social reform, education, the emancipation of women, environmentalism.
This book tells their stories, each renegade motivated by idealism and genuine sacrifice; each connected to Gandhi, though some as acolytes where others found endless infuriation in his views; each understanding they would likely face prison sentences for their resistance, and likely live and die in India; each one leaving a profound impact on the region in which they worked, their legacies continuing through the institutions they founded and the generations and individuals they inspired.
Through these entwined lives, wonderfully told by one of the world’s finest historians, we reach deep insights into relations between India and the West, and India’s story as a country searching for its identity and liberty beyond British colonial rule.
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4.0
Alex K
Created about 2 years agoShare
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Umar Lee
Created over 2 years agoShare
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“This was an amazing read that I'll review in-depth later. I took a lot of notes! Guha tells us the stories of a number of Westerners (mostly British, Irish, and North American) who traveled to India and joined the freedom struggle against the British Raj. Some were motivated by religion, be it Hinduism or Christianity, others more on the lines of anti-colonial struggle, and all seemed to have to share the belief that in India exists ancient wisdom and cultural teachings that are more humanistic than Western norms. Fascinating book.”
A.G
Created about 3 years agoShare
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Parasuram
Created about 3 years agoShare
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“An amazing and what I consider an altogether unexpected book on seven foreigners who made India, their land of adoption, the centre of their universe. They all came seeking different goals but even while pursuing them made India's freedom from the colonial yoke of the British Empire the primary objective of their lives.
These are Annie Beasent, B.G.Horniman, Samuel Evans (Satyanand) Stokes, Madeliene Slade (Mira Behn), P.Spratt, Ralph Richard Keithahn, and Mary Heilmann (Sarala Behn).
While I was certainly aware of Anne Beasent, Satyanand Stokes, Mira Behn and Sarala Behn, and heard of Horniman (Horniman Circle in Mumbai: hopefully they haven't changed its name in utter ignorance of history), hadn't heard of the other two.
Only a Ram Guha could have painstakingly researched each of these characters of whom, barring possibly Annie Beasent, the rest would soon have been forgotten.
That humanity can transcend narrow boundaries of sectarianism, and that it does not recognise even the overpowering pull of nationalism is something only a Gandhi or a Tagore could have appreciated.
In his own easy style Guha has done yeoman service to the student of history of India's freedom movement in taking time off to write this book. Not many might read it. But for those who do its a treat..”
Trek Trekkerson
Created about 3 years agoShare
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About Ramachandra Guha
RAMACHANDRA GUHA has taught at Yale and Stanford universities, the University of Oslo, the Indian Institute of Science, and the London School of Economics. His books include Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948, Gandhi Before India (a 2014 New York Times Notable Book and a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year), and the award-winning India After Gandhi. He has written on social and political issues for The New York Times, and for the British and Indian press, including columns in the Daily Telegraph and the Hindustan Times. He lives in Bangalore, India.
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