Reversing the Gaze - Amar Singh's Diary, A Colonial Subject's Narrative of Imperial India

by Susanne Hoeber Rudolph

Amar Singh, a Rajput nobleman and Edwardian officer, records in this book his sense of discovery and surprise at diverse the Jodhpur court, the women's quarters of the Jaipur Haveli, the British Expeditionary Force in China, and much more.

Genres: India, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, British Literature, Diary

625 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2002

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating selections from the diary of Amar Singh, a minor Rajput nobleman and Indian Army Officer. He kept a diary for 44 years from 1898 when he was 20, until 1942 when he died. The actual diary is vast, 89 volumes (800 pages each): even Pepys only managed a dozen or so. This is a selction from the years 1898 to 1905. This is a shame as I would liked to have seen Amar Singh's development over the years and also his service in the First World War in Turkey and on the western front in Belgium.
There are copious footnotes (a necessary evil) and glossaries and sometimes it is difficult to hear Amar Singh's voice between the authors' explanations and reflections (intersting as these are). He began the diary as an exercise set by his tutor to improve his education. Amar Singh was also a great reader and keeps a record annually of what he has read (he would have loved Goodreads). His range is wide, from popular long forgotten novels, to Conan Doyle, Rider Haggard and the like, to histories of his local area, to spiritual tomes (Hindu and Christian), self help books and even sex education (in preparation for his marraige).
The extracts cover Amar Singh's time with his memtor Pratap Singh (he was sent from the age of 10 with several other young men for training), his time in the Imperial Cadet Corps, family life and marraige, ceremonial occasions, relationships with the British. There is a great deal of detail and family relationships are complex, but it is all fascinating.
Amar Singh is no saint and we see his struggles and attempts to do the right thing. He talks in detail about the relationships with those around him, including his wife, but especially his contemporaries at the Cadet Corps, the British Officers, his mentors and servants.
Amar Singh is very influenced by his tutor and friend Ram Nathji who was a scholar and widely read; and Amar Singh's style of writing picks up Ram Nathji's post Rankian positivism laced a sense of moral drama influenced by Carlyle.
Amar Singh describes his time in China in 1900/1901 fighting for the Empire in the Boxer rebellion. He spends a good deal of time dealing with his love of horses and polo and occasionally hunting. There are tenderer moments, his marriage, the birth of his daughter and her subsequent death. His wife continues to have daughters and Amar Singh is pressurised by his family to take a second wife (to produce a son); a pressure he resists.
Amar Singh is a mix of traditional views and customs and modern ideas. Some customs he feels should be maintained, but he is not afraid to question and challenge as well.
The most interesting parts are his relationships with the British, officers and political representatives. He writes about his conclusions; some of the British he likes and they treat him as an equal; some do not and there are instances of racism and prejudice.This is the point of the title "Reversing the Gaze"; it's him looking at them and analysing their relationships.
Amar Singh's conclusion in 1905 "I wish God would show a day to me when we Indians would be a free nation moving about at our own free will and ranked as a nationality on the same footing as England, France or Russia. I fear I shall never see it ..."
Sadly he did not
My only quibble is I would have liked to have seen how Amar Singh developed over the years; he is still young and inexperienced at this time; but it was a fascinating diary.

[Kishan Raj]

want to read

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than India through the eyes of the British, this is Britain through the eyes of India. Amar Singh, a Rajput of noble birth, has been well educated in an English-speaking school, is a skilled horseman and soldier, loves to read, and keeps a diary all his life. This volume is a selection of his diary entries, meticulously edited and explained by his editors. A very interesting document and surprisingly readable and entertaining.