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1857 Rebellion: Articles and Talks
I’m writing a book on the 1857 Rebellion in Colonial India — on its legacies in the Indian imagination before and after independence from Britain. In the process I will take up questions about nationalism and anti-colonial struggle in both Marxism and postcolonial studies.
In the meantime, I’ve been writing and speaking about 1857 for a while now. Here are some of the top hits, including more widely accessible introductions for a broad audience and some scholarly articles available through university libraries. I’ve added links when possible.
I’ll just note that while there’s some repetition here, I’ve also shifted some of my earlier positions, becoming more critical of nationalist portrayals of 1857 over time and also of Marx’s writings on the subject.
I’m just so thankful to the scholars and activists who’ve invited me to speak and given me opportunities to write and publish — from India, the UK, and the US. 1857 has been on my mind since 1993, at the very least, when I read Marx’s articles on it in Dr. Patrick Brantlinger’s class at Indiana University-Bloomington. This has been a long ride, but worth it.
What keeps me drawn to this project is the power of the event itself, sitting at the cusp of a new imperialism powered by the industrial revolution, and preceding the structured nationalist organizations…
