A Tale of Two Revolts

by Rajmohan Gandhi

Two wars - the 1857 Revolt in India and the American Civil War - seemingly fought for very different reasons, occurred at opposite ends of the globe in the middle of the nineteenth century. But they were both fought in a world still dominated by Great Britain and the battle cry in both conflicts was freedom. Rajmohan Gandhi brings the drama of both wars to one stage in A Tale of Two Revolts. He deftly reconstructs events from the point of view of William Howard Russell - an Irishman who was also perhaps the world's first war correspondent - and uncovers significant connections between the histories of the United States, Britain and India. The result is a tale of two revolts, three countries and one century. Into this fascinating story Rajmohan Gandhi weaves the choices of three towering figures of world history - Karl Marx, Leo Tolstoy and Abraham Lincoln - to show the continuities between the nineteenth century and the world we live in today.

Genres: India, History

402 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Rajmohan Gandhi (born 1935)is a biographer and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and a research professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.

Until end-December 2012 he taught political science and history at the University of Illinois and divided his time between India and the United States.

Reviews

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am giving this book a two star rating, because I believe that it is built on the wrong premise. While it is written in a pacy manner, it does not do justice to the promise. What I like, from my perspective, is the introduction to William Howard Russell.

First off, I do not see a connection between the Indian Mutiny and the American Civil War, except that they were fought at approximately the same time in history. A few years divides them both. However, the Civil War is that - a Civil War. If the blacks had mutinied, I would have seen a connection. A parallel to the American War of Independence would have been better.

The fact that Russell covered both to an extent, is not enough to connect the two.

Two, the "connections" at the end of the book are tenuous at best, barring the estimable Mr Hume who founded the Indian National Congress and Mohammed Sayyid. I fail to see the relevance of Bakim Chandra, Tolstoy and Karl Marx in the larger picture of these two wars. How do they connect the two wars?

What are the lessons of each war that make them similar? I fail to see this. The analysis of both wars is, in my opinion, superficial. There is no real analysis of their connection, barring the fact that Russell was present during both, and the fact that they both took place in the 1850's.

Not a book to invest your time on.

[Kusaimamekirai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, this book was fine. If you don’t know anything about the 1857 uprising in India against British rule, there’s a lot here. Clearly very heavily researched and mostly pretty well written, even if it does get bogged down with probably too many characters for anyone new to this material like me.
What this book is not however, despite its title, is a comparative history of the 1857 uprising and the American Civil War. This is about 75% the former and a token 25% the latter.
It felt at times that even the sparingly brief section on the American Civil War was simply there to justify the title as the most tenuous links to the two are even attempted. The book in fact barely goes beyond saying they’re linked because a particular journalist covered both, they happened roughly in the same 10 year period, and both were rebellions(?). Those are really the only things that link these events together.
It was clear to me at least that the author wanted to write mainly about the 1857 uprising. Perhaps he thought there was no market for it in America without linking it to the American conflict?
I can only speculate of course but that was my impression.
That being said, it is an interesting read if you are interested in this period of Indian history. Just don’t expect more than that.

[Megan Easley-Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting insights, drawing together two areas of history that are often kept very separate.

[Saravana Sastha Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally good book which analyses he Indian sepoy rebellion of 1857 and the Amercian Civil war of 1861-65 and while doing so, compares the reasons, events and responses of the winning and the loosing sides, important personalities in both these wars and the immediate aftermath, the short-term and long-terms impacts of these events. In more places than few, the political affiliation of the author is apparent but that wouldnt take away the credit for bringing out such a fantastic book.