Colonial imaginings?

It is also true that there was huge demobilisation of soldiers during the first half of the 19th century. Mughal rule was on its last legs and small rulers did not have the resources to maintain a regular army. Many of these men, Muslims and Hindus alike, did take to highway robberies. But thugs are a different story. Were they for real or were they just a figment of the Company Bahadur’s imagination? The question deserves an answer. (via Colonial imaginings?).

The real tragedy here is not the colonial falsification of history. It is the abdication of the Indian academia in correcting colonial history. The entire

Perplexed … Angry … Disappointed!

Sometime back, another book , on the Ghadar Party is a demonstration of how Indian Universities are letting us down.

Ghadar Party has not got its due from our historians or even from the official chroniclers of India’s freedom movement. The author, Savitri Sawhney, is the daughter of Pandurang Khankhoje, one of the co-founders of Ghadar Party.

Parag Tope’s forth coming book, Operation Red Lotus, on the life and wars of Tatiya Tope; another non-specialist book on Mahadji Shinde, are all non-specialists, trying to do the job that a specialist should have done a long time ago. While on the subject of thugee and dacoits, Parag Tope's write up on the Pindaris is worth a read.

Another book reveals how 'Thuggee and Dacoity Department' established with William Sleeman as Superintendent in 1835, could capture more than 3000 highway robbers - of which only 400 were executed. In nearly a decade! Some of the most infamous like Behram was attributed to have committed more than 900 murders - for which he never faced any trial, for murders he confessed to, even after being captured. Most of these thugs were actually rebel peasants who were waging a war against the dispossession of the lands - like the Santhals, Bhils, Gujjars, etc. Of course how many innocents were killed on trumped up charges, I will not estimate!

Indian academicians and historians - especially in higher education, in non-technology, non -science related fields are big let down.

Why are academicians (paid for doing this research) not doing this research? Why are non-specialists doing this job? My dissatisfaction is not a reflection on the non-specialists - but on the specialists.

Indian school texts have seen some basic ’spit-and-polish’ on the colonial text and syllabus. Of course, the dominance of English language in higher education must take a major blame for this.