There is perhaps no event in the long history of the British empire in
India that continues to exert so strong and abiding a fascination as the
great uprising of 1857. Referred to variously as the Indian Mutiny, the
First War of Independence, or the ghadr (rebellion), the sheer volume
of writings on the subject over the last 150 years bear testimony to the
enduring nature of its appeal. A recently published bibliography alone
runs into over 850 pages (Harold E Raugh Jr, The Raugh Bibliography
of the Indian Mutiny: 1857-1859, West Midlands: Helion, 2015). This
edited volume is published in collaboration with the Alkazi Collection
of Photography, New Delhi. Its title comfortably bridges the gap
between colonial and nationalist perspectives, and sets the tone for the
balanced and well-nuanced essays that appear within its pages. The
volume consists of nine essays, introduced by the editor, who is a well known
authority on the culture and history of Lucknow and old Awadh.
The book is remarkable both for the quality of its written content as
well as the visual delight afforded by the inclusion of numerous rare
photographs, maps and illustrations, which mark its association with
the outstanding Alkazi collection. As may be expected, the quality of
images reproduced in the volume is of the highest standard.
In her introduction, Rosie Llewellyn-Jones broadly examines the
imagery associated with the revolt, including contemporary sketches,
lithographs and photographs. These are put into current context based
on fresh perspectives of the events of 1857. In her own words, the book
'...marries little known photographs with new texts on the Mutiny by
current scholars'. In addition, she has also contributed an essay on
'Lucknow and the Royal Family of Awadh' which recounts the sorry
tale of perfidy and betrayal that led to the annexation of Awadh and the
destruction, not only of the city of Lucknow, but its rich cultural
heritage as well.
Three essays, by Shahid Amin, Mahmood Farooqui and Nayanjot
Lahiri, respectively, deal with aspects of the uprising in Delhi. The
first, by Shahid Amin, 'History of the Sepoy War: A View from the
Delhi Ridge and Cavalry Lines' revisits 'the logic of Empire' and the
dynamics of contemporary commemoration through an examination of
the linkage between written historical accounts and the images that
recorded the events and locations they described. Mahmood Farooqui in his essay 'Two Muslim Intellectuals of Delhi and 1857' views the
complex Indian response to the Uprising through the contemporary
writings of Mirza Assadullah Khan Ghalib and Moulvi Mohammed
Baqar. Of particular interest is his observation of the manner in which
the Indian secular nationalist narrative of the 1857 Uprising has over
the years marginalised the contribution of the Muslim Ulema who had
played a leading part in the revolt. Nayanjot Lahiri offers an interesting
view on the processes of commemoration and memorialisation of the
Uprising through a study of the documentary evidence - including
photography - in the essay 'Commemorative intent as seen through
Images of Delhi'. In The House of the Ladies: Cawnpore' Andrew
Ward recalls the horrors of the Bibighar at Kanpur, whilst Tapti Roy
traces the events of the revolt in Central India in 'Uprising in
Bundelkhand'. In it Roy focuses on the involvement of the rebel
Marathas and Bundela Rajputs and the role of the three kingdoms of
Orchha, Jhansi and Datia, both before and during the uprising. Susan
Gole provides a hithertofore unexplored analysis in her 'Maps for the
Uprising of 1857'. The cartographic images accompanying her article
are particularly unique and fascinating. Two of the contributors have
specifically focused on the use of photography to document the events,
and educate and influence viewers. Zahid R Chaudhary's essay
'Colonial Violence and Photography' examines the use of the camera
as a weapon of colonial subjugation while Stephanie Roy Bharath's
'Photographing the Uprising of 1857' discusses the photographers,
official, private and amateur, who documented the aftermath of the
conflict through their lens. While it is not a book of photographs, the
images that accompany the essays within the pages of this scholarly
work are undoubtedly unique and set the publication apart from the
numerous other books on 1857 that have preceded it. The impact of the
images upon the reader is best described by a writer quoted in the book:
'A photograph is a bullet shot from the past into the future.'
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