Dateline 1857

Untraceable in their origin and unverifiable in their import, the rumours of 1857 ? forcible conversion, greased cartridges, end of the Companys rule at the centenary of Plassey, the disarming of native regiments ? moved in a powerful current through the bazaars and sepoy lines making the sepoys as well as the local citizenry unsure of their future. The revolt against the Raj was the end of Mughal rule as well as the East India Companys rule in India replacing it with direct rule of the British Government. Though the causes were many, ranging from social to cultural, and from economic to political, the uprising of the people against all things British was the first event in the history of Hindoostan when people from different religions, castes and economic backgrounds came together to redeem their own past. Dateline 1857: Revolt Against the Raj, relooks at the sepoy rebellion charting its journey from Barrackpore to Jhansi. A splendidly illustrated book with maps of the six major storm centers and rare photographs of the destruction that brought the people of India together to fight for their right and their country. About The Author: Rudrangshu Mukherjee is a historian and journalist. Currently running the editorial pages of The Telegraph, he has held various academic posts and taught, among others at Calcutta, Princeton and Manchester universities. He is the author of several books, most recently Mangal Pandey: Brave Martyr or Accidental Hero, India Then and Now, Awadh in Revolt, 1857-58: A Study of Popular Resistance and Spectre of Violence: The 1857 Kanpur Massacres and is the editor of The Penguin Gandhi Reader and Great Speeches of Modern India. Rudrangshu Mukherjee lives in Calcutta.