The Skull of Alum Bheg


Book Description

In 1963, a human skull was discovered in a pub in Kent in south-east England. A brief handwritten note stuck inside the cavity revealed it to be that of Alum Bheg, an Indian soldier in British service who was executed during the aftermath of the 1857 Uprising, or The Indian Mutiny as historians of an earlier era described it. Alum Bheg was blown from a cannon for having allegedly murdered British civilians, and his head was brought back as a grisly war-trophy by an Irish officer present at his execution. The skull is a troublesome relic of both anti- colonial violence and the brutality and spectacle of British retribution. Kim Wagner presents an intimate and vivid account of life and death in British India in the throes of the largest rebellion of the nineteenth century. Fugitive rebels spent months, even years, hiding in the vastness of the Himalayas before they were eventually hunted down and punished by a vengeful colonial state. Examining the colonial practice of collecting and exhibiting human remains, this book offers a critical assessment of British imperialism that speaks to contemporary debates about the legacies of Empire and the myth of the 'Mutiny'.




The History of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58: Vol 3


Book Description

Volume III of VI Best edition of the standard work (with analytical index in Vol. VI) Contemporary review from the Athenaeum: "It only be remarked that Colonel Malleson wields his pen with so much skill that while giving a realistic account of all important operations, passing over no really noteworthy act of talent or heroism, and acutely criticising everything which demands criticism, he abstains from overlaying his narrative with details which would have increased the bulk of his book beyond all reason. Another characteristic of Colonel Malleson is that he never hesitates to condemn conduct of which he disapproves or to draw attention to errors which he conceives were committed, whatever the rank or position of those who are the objects of his criticism. The result is that many of the actors in the drama will find their laurels somewhat injured, while others, who from official prejudice have not yet received full credit for their exploits, obtain from the author due praise for their services. The rewards given for the Mutiny were liberal, but it is distressing to find that some of them were undeserved, while on the other hand, many able and gallant men have received no recognition at all ... There are many highly-placed officials whose fame is sadly tarnished by the frank, truthful criticisms of the fearless, uncompromising author of the book before us."




1815-1866


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Early Writings on India


Book Description

This book, first published in 1975, is a comprehensive list of all the books on India, written in English before 1900. It is an invaluable reference source on India of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Apart from the work of professional writers, there are the writings of a cross-section of society from soldiers to scientists. We find dictionaries of obscure dialects written by government officials, descriptions of their travels by visiting clerics, homely details of everyday life by housewives, as well as technical and scientific works written by scholars.




The Great Mutiny


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Bahadur Shah Zafar and the War of 1857 in Delhi


Book Description

Even Though Much Literature On Bahadur Shah Zafar And The 1857 Revolt Exists, Mahdi Husain S Book Continues To Be Of Considerable Relevance To The Historians Of Modern India. It Is Rich In Details, And Offers A Dispassionate Interpretation Of The 1857 Revolt. The Book Brings Alive, To The Present-Day Reader, The Trauma Of Living In 1857, A Trauma That People Like Syed Ahmad Khan And The Poet Mirza Ghalib Experienced.




British India and Victorian Literary Culture


Book Description

British India and Victorian Culture extends current scholarship on the Victorian period with a wide-ranging and innovative analysis of the literature of British India.