Rebels Against the Raj
Western Fighters for India's Freedom
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
An extraordinary history of resistance and the fight for Indian independence—the little-known story of seven foreigners to India who joined the movement fighting for freedom from British colonial rule.
Rebels Against the Raj tells the story of seven people who chose to struggle for a country other than their own: foreigners to India who across the late 19th to late 20th century arrived to join the freedom movement fighting for independence from British colonial rule.
Of the seven, four were British, two American, and one Irish. Four men, three women. Before and after being jailed or deported they did remarkable and pioneering work in a variety of fields: journalism, social reform, education, the emancipation of women, environmentalism.
This book tells their stories, each renegade motivated by idealism and genuine sacrifice; each connected to Gandhi, though some as acolytes where others found endless infuriation in his views; each understanding they would likely face prison sentences for their resistance, and likely live and die in India; each one leaving a profound impact on the region in which they worked, their legacies continuing through the institutions they founded and the generations and individuals they inspired.
Through these entwined lives, wonderfully told by one of the world’s finest historians, we reach deep insights into relations between India and the West, and India’s story as a country searching for its identity and liberty beyond British colonial rule.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brits and Americans who joined India's struggle against British rule are remembered in this vibrant historical study. Historian Guha (India After Gandhi) profiles seven Westerners who moved to India and participated in its 20th-century independence movement: Annie Besant, a British-born theosophist and leader in the Indian National Congress; Benjamin Guy Horniman, a British pro-independence newspaper editor; Samuel Stokes, an American-born missionary and farmer who converted to Hinduism; Mira Behn, a British-born concert pianist who became Mohandas Gandhi's ardent ashram disciple—even monitoring his bowel movements—and envoy; Philip Spratt, a Communist organizer from England who drifted from Marxism to Gandhism; Dick Keithahn, an American missionary and organizer; and Catherine Mary Heilemann, another British-born ashram student of Gandhi. Guha gives a lively recap of their exploits—crafting defiant articles and speeches, organizing peasants and workers, sparring with imperial officials, stewing in jail—but at heart their stories are about Anglo-Americans falling in love with Hindu culture and spirituality; with Gandhi, the charismatic "Mahatmaji" whom they revered; or, in some cases, with ordinary people. Guha's elegantly written group portrait ably conveys the passion and idealism of the Gandhian independence movement and its hold over the Western imagination. Photos.
