Reflections on 1857
VENKATESH ATHREYA
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Anthology of essays offering the Left perspective of the great national revolt
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THE GREAT REVOLT — A Left Appraisal: Edited by Sitaram Yechury; People’s Democracy Publications, 15, Talkatora Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 300.
The year 2007 saw the official celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the great national revolt against the British colonial rulers in 1857. Given the nature of the policies of the government of the day, it was not surprising that these celebrations did not seek to critically analyse the events of 1857 and draw lessons from such an analysis for the present times. Fortunately, this lacuna has been addressed and a considerable advance in our collective understanding of the events of 1857 facilitated by the volume under review. The book brings together a total of 36 articles carried first in the pages of the English weekly People’s Democracy from January 26, 2007 to October 21, 2007. The editor of the volume, Sitaram Yechury, who has contributed an article and written the Introduction, notes in his brief editor’s comment that though it was planned that the series would begin with the Republic Day issue of 2007 and end with the Independence Day issue, the response from scholars, activists and others who contributed on one or another theme relating to 1857 was so overwhelming that the series had to be continued for another 10 issues.
Relevance
A variety of contributions from persons widely different in their professional pursuits and academic backgrounds enriches the volume, as it offers the reader varieties of content, concerns, style and articulation. But the unifying thread that runs through the volume is that the lessons of 1857 remain relevant today, and have a particular resonance in these times when global finance capital, with the backing of the advanced capitalist countries and, international financial and trade bodies such as the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO, seek to hegemonise the global economy and limit the options open to other countries to pursue paths of independent development. The contributors include an eminent galaxy of academics and political leaders of the Left as well as activists in various fields committed to the values of secularism, national self-reliance and, social and economic justice. The contributions are, by and large, very readable, competent and thought-provoking. Some are simply outstanding.
Themes
Among the themes dealt with in this volume are: the class character of the various constituents of the population in revolt; the class and political nature of the revolt as a whole; the causes underlying the revolt, in particular the role of colonial rapacity and its plunder and despoliation of the agrarian economy; the role of the peasantry; the extent to which the revolt symbolised the overcoming of divisive religious identities; the consequences of the events of 1857 for British colonial policies in the post-1857 period; the remarkably prescient analysis of Marx on the consequences of British rule in India, as reflected in his writings in the New York Daily Tribune, anticipating the revolt and empathising with it totally when it actually occurred; the events outside the main regions of the revolt, especially in the East, North East and the peninsular South of the Indian subcontinent, that also constituted rebellious opposition to colonial rule; and, throughout, the contemporary relevance of the great national revolt of 1857.
Twin challenges
The courage of the mutineers from the ranks of the Army, the commitment of the ordinary peasantry of India to the overthrow of the hated colonial regime, the role played even by some sections of the feudal ruling elements such as zamindars and taluqdars, and the leadership provided by these sections with all its weaknesses and vacillations, and the fierce and vengeful response of the colonial rulers both during the rebellion and when they had finally crushed the rebellion, have all been brought out very well in this volume.
The contributions bring out the barbarity and bestiality of the colonial rulers. After reading the volume, one is simply revolted by attempts to embellish colonial rule by inane and servile references to “a meeting of two great civilisations” as a way of describing the impact of colonial rule on the Indian people. Many contributors note both the rise of virulent communal forces in India’s body politic at present, and the increasing stranglehold of neo-imperialism and the global finance capital on our economy. They remind us that the key lessons of 1857 are the need to unite our people transcending religious and parochial divides and to rouse the anti-imperialist consciousness of our people in seeking to deal with the twin challenges of fighting communalism and neoliberalism. The fact that our rulers persist with policies of further opening up and liberalisation of the economy even in the midst of a severe global and national economic crisis, and that the communal agenda flourishes (in part because of the vacillations of the major secular formations in fighting it) today are reasons enough to reflect on 1857 and draw the appropriate lessons for contemporary India. The volume is an invaluable aid in that exercise of reflection.
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