THE YEAR OF BLOOD. ESSAYS ON THE REVOLT OF 1857


RUDRANGSHU MUKHERJEE


HARDBACK. 174 PP


ISBN NO. 978-93-83166-00-8


PUB DATE: DECEMBER 2013


TENTATIVE PRICE: RS. 550


'An engrossing collection of essays by one of the foremost historians of the events of 1857 . Rudrangshu Mukherjee writes about the world of the purabiya sipahis (including the famous Mangal Pandey), the popular upsurge and the violence of the Ghadar with a sureness of touch that is rare among professional writers of history. A popular academic book with an assured shelf life'


Shahid Amin


Professor, Department of History, University of Delhi


‘Rudrangshu Mukherjee has firmly established his reputation as a historian of the 1857 Revolt. Now, his essays will surely enhance our understanding of the turbulent phase in our history. They merit serious attention.


Mushirul Hassan


Nehru Fellow and former Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia


The Year of Blood: Essays on the Revolt of 1857


Rudrangshu Mukherjee


Rudrangshu Mukherjee’s essays on the Revolt of 1857 have been brought under one cover in The Year of Blood: Essays on the Revolt of 1857. The book traces the eminent historian’s changing perception of the idea of the Revolt, from his undergraduate days to the present.


The Revolt of 1857 was a passionate phase in Indian history and the quality of writing in this book reflects this intensity. Violence has rarely been described with so much realism and subtlety. The imaginative use of primary source materials add clarity to accounts such as the massacre in Satichaura Ghat and the trial of Mangal Pandey.


Rudrangshu Mukherjee places the ‘soldier-peasant’ at the forefront of the Revolt. In lucid prose, he is able to unravel the motives, strategies and organization skills of the mutineers, while exposing the layers of complexity that defined the relationship between the rulers and the subjugated.


The horrific killings described in depth in this book cover specific parts of Uttar Pradesh; however, the mood of the wider holocaust is captured through the detailed captions which describe several illustrations, most of which are from private collections.


Contents:
List of Illustrations
Introduction: In Pursuit of a Revolt
The Azimgarh Proclamation and Some Questions on the Revolt of 1857 in the Northwestern Provinces
‘Satan Let loose Upon Earth’: the Kanpur Massacres in India in the Revolt of 1857
The Sipahi and the Sepoy Mutinies
Two Intellectual Traditions of the Revolt of 1857: A study of Popular Resistance
Responses to 1857 in the Centenary Year

MANGAL PANDEY : BRAVE MARTYR OR ACCIDENTAL HERO?
29 March 1857
Life of a Sepoy
The Greased Cartridge
Chapati, Rumours and Prophesy
The Trial
Epilogue
Appendix
Bibliography

About the Author: Rudrangshu Mukherjee is the Editor, Editorial Pages, The Telegraph. He taught in the department of history, University of Calcutta and held visiting appointments at Princeton University, Manchester University and the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author and editor of a number of books that include Spectre of Violence: The Massacres in Kanpur in 1857, Delhi, 2007 (1998), New Delhi: The Making of a Capital (co-authored) Delhi, 2009, The Penguin Gandhi Reader (edited), Delhi, 1993, Awadh in Revolt, 1857-58: A Study of Popular Resistance (Delhi, 1984; repr. Delhi and London, 2001), and Dateline, 1857: Revolt Against the Raj ,Delhi, 2008 among others.