Let My Country Awake: Indian Revolutionaries in America and the Fight to Overthrow the British Raj

by Scott Miller

"Scott Miller tells a compelling and little-known story about India's freedom struggle―one involving a brave band of students and workers in America. This is a fascinating prism through which we see the wartime machinations of Germany, Britain, and the United States―and it all comes together in a made-for-Hollywood trial." ―Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's GPS and author of Age of Revolutions


On the eve of World War I, a band of Indian immigrants living in the United States hatched an audacious plan to liberate their homeland from British colonial rule. Founded by a group of student radicals at UC Berkeley, the Ghadar movement recruited thousands of supporters via its underground newspaper and sent hundreds of freedom fighters across the Pacific in an attempt to smuggle guns and seditious literature into India. With the world descending into global war, the movement quickly became a geopolitical flash point. Germany, hoping to distract Britain from the fighting in France, poured spies and money into the Ghadar operations in California. The British, horrified by the unholy alliance, launched their own teams of spies, all while the US Department of Justice desperately tried to figure out what was going on. The result was one of the most complex trials to date, culminating in a courtroom gun battle that shocked the nation. Part of a larger narrative of American immigration, Let My Country Awake tells a story of America filled with contemporary resonance.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Politics

Unknown Binding

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

As a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Miller spent nearly two decades in Asia and Europe, reporting from more than twenty-five countries. He covered fields as varied as the Japanese economic collapse, the birth of a single European currency, and competitive speed knitting. His articles have also appeared in the Washington Post and the Far Eastern Economic Review, among others, and he has been a contributor to CNBC and Britain's Sky News. The President and the Assassin stems in part from several years of researching and writing about global trade.

Mr. Miller holds degrees in economics and communications and earned a Master of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Cambridge. He now lives in Seattle with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys mountain biking, back-country skiing, fly fishing and college football.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes it takes a story revealing a history we are unfamiliar with, to make us readers stand back, wonder and question, how has this past shaped our present?

Especially when the main topic addresses immigration. Question being…

How did this past, possibly influence our present views on immigration? If at all. It is hard not to wonder when the topic of immigration seems to be at the forefront of America’s current GOP administration.

As I continued to read, (which as a non-fiction book, reads like a well-crafted fiction story), I couldn’t help but feel beckoned to ask some questions of my own. Like…

Who are we America? What defines us? What have we become? And, how do we recognize what we have become without knowing what brought us here. To this moment.

Miller’s writing provides many insights, through careful research and discussion, as readers are introduced to a wide-variety of ‘characters’ who made up this history.

At one point, Miller reminds readers of a play, titled, “The Melting Pot” written by Israel Zangwill. It was 1909. He goes on to share that…

“The performance told a story of immigrants who came to the United States to escape persecution in Europe and join a new society free from ethnic divisions.”

What happened to this belief about how America viewed its immigrants?

Once revered as the ‘great melting pot,’ we could boast diverse ethnicities and cultures that assimilated into a cohesive national identity. All working towards blending customs and values that would hopefully unite America.

In today’s America it is hard not to feel disheartened by the seemingly immense hate emanating from this GOP administration and their determination to remove immigrants from this country.

Why?

Is it because immigrants weren’t born here originally? Or, because someone has deemed that immigrants don’t belong, because of the color of their skin, the type of jobs they perform, or the second language they speak? Or, is it because only a white person is what defines America? Even if Native Americans were here first. Or, if the excuse is to rid the country of the ‘criminal element’ how come the majority of immigrants currently being targeted are legitimately hard-working, employed, long-term residents who are non-criminals?

“Populist politicians, playing to voters’ economic concerns and racist attitudes, ranted that this was exactly what happened when too many foreigners were let in.”

Is this quote defining today’s world view?

Because it certainly sounds like it the way this current GOP administration is treating immigrants with their focus on aggressive enforcement, mass deportations and severe restrictions on legal and humanitarian immigration pathways.

What is happening to the responsibility of protecting constitutional freedoms?

Miller’s focus is on what ‘populist politicians’ believed during the early 1900’s prior to WWI.

So, it becomes clear, based on these observations through Miller, that as readers, we can’t help but surmise that prejudice, bias and racism is unfortunately a long arc that has existed within the framework of American thought for much longer than what we are experiencing today. Or, would like to admit about ourselves as a once respected United States of America.

“When they looked in the mirror, most Americans saw themselves not only as white but as northern-European, English-speaking and Protestant.”

How does that belief fit today? Are people still afraid immigrants are taking away their low-wage jobs, livelihoods, or something greater?

Especially when there are still some of us who believe in diversity, equality, inclusion and the beauty and celebration of differences and what each individual brings – like opportunities for: economic growth, scientific discovery and intervention, and/or increased innovation.

But this GOP administration showcases a political view that unfortunately lives on from a past that believed… “America faced ruin from within” because of immigrants.

Because politicians of yesterday believed that immigrants were assimilating “to the point where the national identity of their children was almost entirely lost and forgotten.”

So, what happened? How did we end up repeating history’s attitude about immigrants, in this disturbing way?

Miller takes us back in time to a point in history not well-known. With quick, easy-to-read short chapters, and a captivating writing style similar to best-selling authors, Erik Larson and David Grann’s non-fiction storytelling, Miller introduces us to the Indian revolutionaries in the early 1900’s. Originally from India, they were now part of the American landscape who were poised to overthrow the British hold over their country.

Wanting desperately to assimilate and learn through university education, some Indians just wanted to fit in to American society. Others, wanted them to maintain their allegiance to British ruling factions, and stay ‘in their place.’

So, what happened through this difference in thinking?

Part of the problem was how Indians saw British rule as interference in a person’s natural rights. In viewing America, one such individual felt that “…America is ruled by its own people.” He goes on to reflect that, “In India,…the people have no voice to the administration of the country.”

Through introductions to the many vast ‘characters,’ readers will feel as if they are a part of the tension leading up to the conflict that amplified these differences in thinking.

There was even a poster encouraging revolt.

“Wanted: Brave soldiers to stir up revolt in India
Remunerations: Death;
Prize: Martyrdom;
Pension: Freedom;
Field of Work: India.”

And, even if this was just the beginning of discussions of a revolution, was it enough to incite one? Even if WWI got in the way?

Still, is this really what the people wanted – a revolution in India? Or was it just an independence in thinking and respect for those differences?

The book comprises a prologue, five parts, an epilogue, a section on ‘the fates of the main characters,’ as well as notes and bibliography. Miller is obviously well-researched. His ‘Notes’ and ‘Bibliography’ section is at least 45 pages.

Through Miller’s telling, readers will be introduced to many forms of leaders, from both sides of the argument. The politics. The vast legislation presented. The court cases. The immigration battle and impact on Indians. The divisiveness. The fight for American citizenship. The fight to be released from British rule.

Leading readers to wonder, would a softening in US immigration policy toward India ever emerge? Miller provides answers.

In this powerfully told story, Miller allows readers to explore this history and how it had shaped the world’s view. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Miller is detailed, compelling, candid, and unpretentious, especially when keying into the sense of foreboding through his vivid descriptions of the time, place and people.

It certainly gives readers a chance to pause in consideration of their own current views on immigration.

Last thoughts. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Especially for history buffs, students and those questioning what is happening in today’s America.

I want to thank the author and publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for this complimentary book for our Little Free Library Shed. I am providing an honest review.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was honored to get a private message from the author offering to send me his ARC book and of course I did! I have read one of his other works and was impressed. I received it shortly thereafter with a personal note tucked inside from Mr. Miller. I will treasure it.

I have read much about the Raj and India's fight for independence but was totally unaware of the early efforts by the revolutionaries that took place in the US. We always think of Gandhi or Nehru, but these individuals were unfamiliar to me and have not received their due.

It all started to take shape in 1912 at UC Berkeley under the leadership of a young student, Har Dayal. He was an educated man with a talent for persuasive speech and a thirst for Indian freedom from the British Empire. And it took place at a Christmas party, of all places! And thus began a movement that not only took hold in the US but also in Canada as the students sent information and individuals to gain support.

Soon the US, Britain, and Canada became aware of the movement and began to take action to squash it. The US entered WWI in 1917 and now the Germans became involved. They were delighted to support the Indian revolutionaries which would strip the British Empire of its largest colony and then take it for themselves.

I will go not further except to say that what started as a peaceful and well-meaning movement turned into a nightmare. The author has mined the archives for source material and turns this history into a true gem. I would highly recommend it. It will be released the 28th of October, 2025.

[Julian Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historian gave a book launch at my work and I was able to read an advance copy. The story is about Indian revolutionaries in the U.S. and their real and alleged connections with Germans during WWI to procure arms and promote Indian independence in the radical Ghadar magazine. The tone of the book is very fast-paced, and it is well researched, but would appeal to a wide audience. These events and Miller’s depiction of them show a lot about the politics of immigration, race, the security state, and anti-colonialism, and in the early decades of the 20th century, using primary sources from British and American surveillance agencies.

[David Carriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let My Country Awake is a gripping, meticulously researched narrative that reads with the urgency of a political thriller and the emotional depth of a historical epic. Scott Miller brings to life the overlooked story of the Ghadar movement Indian revolutionaries who, from American shores, sought to ignite a nationwide uprising against British rule.

Miller masterfully interweaves espionage, global politics, immigration history, and human courage. The cast of spies, students, radicals, and government agents on three continents creates a vivid, cinematic experience. What truly elevates the book is how it connects a century old struggle to contemporary conversations about diaspora identity, political activism, and the meaning of freedom.

Compelling, thought-provoking, and stunningly relevant, Let My Country Awake is a standout work of historical nonfiction that deserves wide discovery across history lovers, academic circles, and readers of global political narratives.

[Kathy Lundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just attended Scott Miller’s book talk introducing Let My Country Awake. He teased us with stories to set the historical scene leaving us eager to read the book. I witnessed storytelling at its finest as Mr. Miller drew us into the skilled world of espionage and painted the picture of a people primed for revolt. I’m ready to jump back in time to immerse myself into Scott Miller’s incredible narration of this little known piece of our history.

[Stan Prager · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been said the United States is a nation of immigrants that despises immigrants. At first glance that seems counterintuitive and smacks of hyperbole, but simmering beneath the satire lies more than a single kernel of truth. Benjamin Franklin worried that German immigrants might alter the character of the Republic for the worse. In 1798, just a decade after the Constitution was ratified, the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed. A massive influx of the Irish fleeing starvation during the potato famine fueled a nativist panic in the 1850s that brought the Know Nothing Party to national prominence. The heinous Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882. Twenty years later, Woodrow Wilson complained of the coming of “multitudes of men of the lowest class from the south of Italy and men of the meaner sort out of Hungary and Poland … as if the countries of the south of Europe were disburdening themselves of the more sordid and hapless elements of their population.” Such sentiments were codified into law with the Immigration Act of 1924 that set strict national quotas not abolished until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Sixty years later, the news is dominated by ICE roundups across the country and detainment centers like Alligator Alcatraz, with the president even citing a statute from the Alien and Sedition Acts to justify his widescale crackdown on the undocumented.
I was long familiar with this history, but what was entirely new to me was that just a few years after Wilson was bemoaning the “meaner sorts” from certain parts of Europe flooding American shores to the east, on the west coast there was a full scale race riot in Bellingham, Washington, about ninety miles north of Seattle, that saw mobs violently physically assault and eventually expel hundreds of immigrants from India who had been working at lumber mills in the vicinity. Nor was I cognizant of the fact—although perhaps I should have guessed—that in this Jim Crow era citizenship was largely out of reach for South Asian emigres because white supremacy jealously guarded that privilege. I was also surprised to learn that the same University of California Berkeley that was the hotbed for student antiwar sentiment in the 1960s was in the early 1900s home to an increasingly radicalized community of Indian expatriates who, while struggling against discrimination in the US, became laser-focused upon overthrowing British rule back home on the subcontinent, spawning the revolutionary Ghadar Movement. And I was completely unaware that the machinations of Ghadar operatives came to jeopardize the neutrality enforced by now-President Wilson as World War I raged in Europe, while Germans and Brits competed to alternately court or persecute these insurgents abroad. Finally, I had no clue that the activities of these Indians became one of the key ingredients that drove passage of the lesser-known Immigration Act of 1917 that established an "Asiatic Barred Zone," and banned so-called “undesirables” from entering the country.
That’s a lot to unpack, but Scott Miller proves more than up to the task in his latest work, Let My Country Awake: Indian Revolutionaries in America and the Fight to Overthrow the British Raj [scheduled for publication in October 2025], a well-researched, highly readable, and fast-moving account that manages—in less than three hundred pages—to brilliantly capture a long neglected if pivotal series of events that touched three continents with some consequence. Moreover, Miller’s critical eye for detail and talented prose masterfully reaches back more than a century to breathe life into colorful characters who walk the earth no longer. These include Indian activists Lala Har Dayal and Taraknath Das, the villainous Canadian immigration agent William Hopkinson, noted anarchist Emma Goldman, pioneering female jurist Annette Adams, assistant attorney general Charles Warren, and a whole host of British and German diplomats and spies. Likewise, episodes long forgotten or at least neglected elsewhere are skillfully slotted back into the historical narrative to fill in some highly significant blanks that speak to the recurring fever of rising nativism in North America, as well as a pre-Gandhi Indian nationalism that was fierce and transoceanic.
The prevailing wisdom has long been that British imperialism represented a kinder and gentler subjugation for its inhabitants than they might have suffered had they been conquered by the Belgians, French or Germans. Perhaps. But also perhaps not. Tasmanian novelist Richard Flanagan would remind you that British colonists directed the genocide that resulted in the near extermination of aborigines in what was then Van Dieman’s Land. British soldiers used machine guns to mow down thousands of Ndebele warriors in southern Africa in the 1890s. Nonwhite combatants clearly were not treated with the kind of “civilized restraint” that would have been afforded fellow Europeans during and after hostilities.
This was also true in India, occupied by England since the eighteenth century. In the process of putting down the Sepoy (AKA Indian) Rebellion of 1857, the British killed more than 800,000 Indians! Miller notes that a popular method of executing Indian rebels was a technique termed “blowing from a gun” that had the condemned strapped to the mouth of a cannon, which when fired created a grisly public spectacle as the body was blown to bits. In 1858, India was placed under direct crown rule, known as the British Raj, which endured until independence came in 1947. But these atrocities were never forgotten by the Indian people, nor its activists, at home or abroad.
Because we were allied with England back then, and remain favorably disposed to the UK today, it is easy to forget that despite our antipathy towards the wanton aggression and brutal conduct of Germany in World War I, taking sides was not such a clear cut process for the subjects of British colonial rule. Sir Roger Casement, a British diplomat famous for helping to expose the inhumanity that reigned over King Leopold’s Belgian Congo, was also an Irish nationalist who was stripped of his knighthood and then hanged for treason during the war. As we learn more about the routine oppression of Indians under the thumb of the Raj, it is not at all surprising that Ghadar conspirators would welcome collaboration with German agents in the US to help achieve their ends, while the British naturally would do everything they could to derail such efforts.
It is the unlikely confluence of people and events in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Indian subcontinent as global war is breaking out that makes Let My Country Awake such a fascinating tale—especially since much of what Miller covers here is hardly familiar ground. Apparently, it was once just as obscure to the author himself: it turns out that a random headline reporting the Bellingham race riot unexpectedly spotted at a museum display planted the seeds for what evolved into this book. As such, I do attach some comfort to the fact that I am not the only student of American history wondering at my own ignorance in this regard. On the other hand, just like the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, incidents such as these had a way of being overlooked in the textbooks assigned to me back in the day.
Miller, a former international correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and other outlets, knows how to take a good story and run with it, as he did in The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century [2011], which also established his reputation chronicling history that meets the standards of academia while appealing to a much broader audience. In his latest effort, as a critic I struggled to find fault, but I could detect few flaws other than in the book’s title—plucked from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore—which while relevant strikes me as a somewhat dull designation for such a vibrant, exciting work! Spoiler alert: Ghadar does not succeed in toppling the Raj, but along the way the author treats us to plenty of action and intrigue marked by espionage, plots and counterplots, cloakroom diplomacy, courtroom drama, and assassinations.
The unstated irony in Let My Country Awake is that few residents of the United States—which had fought two wars for independence against Britain—found sympathy in the plight of the Indians chafing under the weight of British colonialism. Nor were they welcomed as refugees. Instead, as people of color with an alien culture and religion, they were mostly shunned and detested—or violently driven off as at Bellingham in 1907. In the course of the narrative, Miller relates the unsettling tale of Bhagat Singh Thind, a US Army veteran who skirted customary prohibitions against naturalization by arguing that as a Sikh high-caste Indian he was effectively white. Thind attempted to coopt white supremacy and at first he succeeded. Citizenship was granted, but then stripped away in a subsequent Supreme Court ruling that Thind was not really white and non-white immigrants were ineligible to be American citizens, which also resulted in retroactively revoking the naturalization of more than seventy other Indians.
There was a time when I believed that we were moving away from all that as a nation—Thind actually had his citizenship restored in 1935—but I no longer hold that view. Still, whether you choose to hang on to optimism or pessimism when it comes to such things, whether your glass is half-full or half-empty or simply shattered, the historical record matters. The more you know about the past, the better you can perceive the present, and the more it can inform your vision of what lies ahead, however you conceive it. To that end then, this is an important book that I would urge you to read, as simply a chapter of our past, or perhaps as a parable for our future.


NOTE: This review is based upon an uncorrected proof of this book issued prior to publication.

I reviewed a previous book by Scott Miller here: https://regarp.com/2024/09/02/review-...

I have reviewed several novels by Richard Flanagan, including this one: https://regarp.com/2015/07/23/review-...

For more about Roger Casement, I recommend this book by Adam Hochschild, reviewed here: https://regarp.com/2016/02/27/review-...

Some years ago, I published a journal article about the Know Nothings, which can be accessed here: https://know-nothings.com/wp-content/...




Latest review & podcast review ... Review of: Let My Country Awake: Indian Revolutionaries in America and the Fight to Overthrow the British Raj, by Scott Miller https://regarp.com/2025/09/21/review-...

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really well written history that looks that the first attempts at the movement to free India from the British Raj, and what role America played in shaping these young men's beliefs, and how it treated them when the British turned their eyes on them (hint: not well). This focuses on the early 1900s up till just before World War II, and the movement that while not successful, would ultimately inspire Ghandi's campaign. Worth a read!

[Book Club of One · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one thinks of Bellingham, Washington, not much might come to mind. Maybe its nearness to Seattle, or if an indie music fan the fact that it was the home of Death Cab For Cutie. Scott Miller's curiosity was piqued when, on a visit to the Seattle Museum of History and Industry he saw the front page of The Bellingham Herald from 1907. It detailed an organized body of over 500 loggers and merchants who drove around 250 Indian immigrants from town. This single article was the impetus that expanded into Let My Country Awake: Indian Revolutionaries in America and the Fight to Overthrow the British Raj a work focused on the Indian independence movement and United States immigration before, through and after the First World War.

Miller opens with a preface explaining the path of discovery that led to the research for this book, and that what began in Bellingham spread throughout the nation. He then transitions to the common trope of America as a melting pot of cultures. From there the book is sectioned off into five parts, arranged chronologically, each with sub chapters focused on specific events or individuals. The central focus is on the anti-colonial Ghadar (Urdu for revolt) movement, one formed by Indian immigrant workers and students in the United States, who were attracted by the ideals and organization of labor movements. Their longterm goal was to overthrow British rule of India.

It is a complicated history full of many different figures, encompassing several territories and nations. There are the Indian intellectuals who sought to organize the Indian students: Har Dayal and Taraknath Das. Party founder Sonhan Singh Bhanka. Also, American officials and presidents, British agents and German agents or officials. The Ghadar movement was founded in 1913, the eve of World War I, the events and differing political nations of the warring or neutral nations add more complexity to the narrative. While Miller offers biographies and backgrounds of some key figures, others are not explored to the same depth, and the in-fighting or coalition forming in revolutionary politics also is less the focus. Much of the narrative centers on the immigrants and what it means and has meant to belong as an American citizen.

The British were very keen to monitor the actions and planning of the Ghadar movement, but were stymied by initial reluctance of US officials to grant the British that level of access, especially as the US was vehemently neutral at the outbreak of the First World War. As the war continued and tensions between the US and Germany hardened, this opened opportunities for both the British and the Germans. For the British it helped strengthen ties with the US and offered increased partnership and espionage. For the Germans, the Indian revolutionaries became pawns in the war to distract or undermine British war priorities by trying to foment rebellion in India. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend).

Unfortunately for the Ghadar members, none of the plans ever seemed to come to fruition and cost money, effort and membership as many were arrested or otherwise restricted. Moods and levels of acceptance shifted in America during and following the First World War, most notably during the 'Red Scare' of 1919 that saw mass arrests and racial unrest following a conservative crackdown and sweeping immigration reform later in the 1920s that would drastically restrict who could enter the United States.

Recommended to readers of American History, espionage during World War I, or anti-colonial movements of the twentieth century.

I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

[Katie Putz · Rating 5 out of 5]

💫 The British Empire is spread across the world, an indomitable colossus. As World War I looms in Europe, in California's San Francisco Bay area an Indian activist named Har Dayal, smeared later as anarchist, prints off the first issue of an underground revolutionary paper, the Hindustan Ghadar.

✏️ In Let My Country Awake, Scott Miller explores a bit of overlooked history: the most significant challenge to British colonial rule until the rise of Gandhi was mounted from the American West Coast by would-be revolutionaries and students, attracted to American ideals but viewed with suspicion by much of the American political system. Even then, even despite objectively racist immigration laws and treatment, American authorities were not always quick to bow to British pressure to do something about them.

Free speech, after all.

It wasn't really until World War I was in full swing, and the activities of the Indian Independence activists began violating U.S. neutrality laws -- scheming to, and actually shipping guns and revolutionaries to India, conspiring with German agents -- that what had come to be known as the Ghadar movement met with the full opposition of the U.S. government.

❤️ I'm a bit fan of compellingly written histories that explore complex parts of American history that aren't well know and histories that remind us how connected the world has always been. History is a cacophony of echoes. 

✉️ U.S. history, part immigration history, part revolutionary history, part spy-vs-spy and certainly a "meanwhile back on the West Coast..."

👥 History fans, especially those who have interest in revolutionary movements.

📍 Read in DC, wishing more people were more aware of how complex and multifaceted and multinational U.S. history has always always been.

❗Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux (@fsgbooks) for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Are

[Diana (Reading While Mommying) Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, this book reaffirmed the old adage for me: if we don’t learn from history, we really are doomed to repeat it.

Journalist Scott Miller uncovers a fascinating and woefully overlooked chapter of American history—how, in the years leading up to and during World War I, a powerful anti-British independence movement took shape not in India, but among Indian immigrants living in the United States. The spark was lit by Har Dayal, a charismatic young lecturer at Stanford. He started the Ghadar movement, a revolutionary push to end British rule in India.

Miller’s account is packed with striking historical details. The movement spanned social classes, drawing in both Indian students and Indian farmworkers and laborers in California. Anti-immigrant sentiment—so depressingly familiar in our own era—was rampant in the early 1900s as well, shaping how Indian immigrants were treated and how their activism was policed.

Members of the Ghadar movement became some of the first people prosecuted under the newly passed Espionage Act during WWI. They also suffered devastating violence both in the United States and abroad: the Bellingham Riot targeted South Asian laborers in Washington State, and across the ocean, British troops massacred peaceful demonstrators in the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. Miller shows how that massacre became a tipping point, galvanizing Gandhi and helping usher in a new phase of the struggle for independence.

All in all, this book is another stellar and deeply engaging work of nonfiction—one that illuminates history we should know but often aren’t taught. It’s sobering and heartbreaking, to realize how much of the racism, xenophobia, and distrust woven through this story still echoes in our present.

[Mandeep Kaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must‑Read for Anyone Interested in South Asian American History

This book is the first work to uncover, with meticulous detail, the story of Vaishno Das Bagai, a colonial informant whose espionage undermined the very revolutionaries who dreamed of India’s freedom. Scott Miller documents how Bagai infiltrated the Ghadar network, reported on its members, and betrayed the students and workers in San Francisco and Berkeley who were risking everything to challenge the British Empire.

Today, a City of Berkeley street bears the name of Kala Bagai, the wife of this same British colonial spy who betrayed members of the San Francisco– and Berkeley‑based Ghadar movement. Kala Bagai, a socialite whose lifestyle was supported by the proceeds of her husband’s intelligence work, publicly denied that Vaishno Das Bagai was an “English spy.” However, archival records tell a different story.

Despite the absence of evidence, Barnali Ghosh, Anirvan Chatterjee, the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), and Rani Bagai (granddaughter of Vaishno Das Bagai and financial donor to SAADA) helped construct and promote a feel‑good but historically inaccurate portrayal of Kala Bagai as a community activist, community builder, and victim of racism. This narrative has been widely circulated without grounding in archival fact, overshadowing the real sacrifices of the Ghadar revolutionaries who fought for India’s freedom.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let my Country Awake covers the tumultuous time in World War I where the United States was coming into its own as a great power and found itself seeking an identity. It focuses on the efforts of the British to counter the freedom movements that were arising to break India away as the crown jewel of the empire to independent state as well as German efforts to foment such a break. There are plots within plots categorize din this book as multiple weapons shipments are taken from the US and tried to send to India (they all failed). This books shows the general lack of interest in the United States against prosecution those Indian radicals who agitated for independence until finally a bomb plot and some over zealous prosecutors took the British bait. This book also builds upon the excellent research done by Howard Bluhm on counter intelligence operations against the Germans on the east coast and shows what was happening in the west. While providing lots of details this book does not get bogged down in itself and keeps the story moving. Overall a very enjoyable read.

[Kelly Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

*“Let My Country Awake is a gripping and meticulously researched account of a little-known revolutionary movement that reshaped the global struggle against empire. Scott Miller brings the Ghadar movement vividly to life, tracing how Indian immigrants in early-20th-century America transformed exile into resistance.

Figures such as Har Dayal emerge with striking clarity intellectual, radical, and uncompromisingembodying the urgency and idealism that fueled the movement. The narrative skillfully weaves espionage, international politics, and courtroom drama into a story that reads with the momentum of a thriller while maintaining rigorous historical depth. By situating this struggle within the broader arc of American immigration and global power, the book feels both revelatory and urgently relevant

[Mohsin Mirza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating history that has been largely forgotten or overlooked. While I enjoyed the spy thriller parts of the book, learning about the history of anti-Indian sentiment and immigration felt especially important and relevant to our current time.

A great mix of history about a social movement, espionage, and immigration history that South Asians in the US, and especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, should not lose sight of again.