A Tale of Two Revolts: India 1857 and the American Civil War

Two wars––the 1857 Revolt in India and the American Civil War—seemingly fought for very different reasons, occurred at opposite ends of the globe in the middle of the nineteenth century. But they were both fought in a world still dominated by Great Britain and the battle cry in both conflicts was freedom.

Rajmohan Gandhi brings the drama of both wars to one stage in A Tale of Two Revolts. He deftly reconstructs events from the point of view of William Howard Russell—an Irishman who was also perhaps the world’s first war correspondent—and uncovers significant connections between the histories of the United States, Britain and India. The result is a tale of two revolts, three countries and one century. Into this fascinating story Rajmohan Gandhi weaves the choices of five extraordinary inhabitants of India—Sayyid Ahmed Khan, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Jotiba Phule, Allan Octavian Hume and Bankimchandra Chatterjee—and of three towering figures of world history—Karl Marx, Leo Tolstoy and Abraham Lincoln—to show the continuities between the nineteenth century and the world we live in today.

Scholarly, insightful and gripping, A Tale of Two Revolts raises new questions about these wars that changed the world.

‘‘ ‘There’s nothing quite like this book: a discursive, knowing account of two of the nineteenth century’s most harrowing and consequential struggles—the 1857 uprising against British rule in India and the battle over slavery in the United States of America. Luckily, Rajmohan Gandhi understands both worlds and the result is a sure-handed, idiosyncratic delight.’’
Geoffrey C. Ward, award-winning biographer of Franklin D. Roosevelt and co-author of The Civil War

‘‘With his keen eye for historical parallels [Rajmohan Gandhi], through his insightful portrayal of personalities and events, enables the reader to enter the multi-hued mental climate of nineteenth-century India, Britain and America … Unputdownable for both style and substance.’’
S. Jaipal Reddy, Member, Indian Cabinet