‘A narrative of startling originality ... As discussions of Britain’s colonial legacy become increasingly polarised, we are in ever more need of nuanced books like this one’ SAM DALRYMPLE, SPECTATOR ‘Fascinating and provocative’ LITERARY REVIEW

Here is the first volume of a magisterial biography of Mohandas Gandhi that gives us the most illuminating portrait we have had of the life, the work and the historical context of one of the most abidingly influential—and controversial—men in modern history. Ramachandra Guha—hailed by Time as “Indian democracy’s preeminent chronicler”—takes us from Gandhi’s birth in 1869 through his upbringing in Gujarat, his two years as a student in London and his two decades as a lawyer and community organizer in South Africa. Guha has uncovered myriad previously untapped documents, including private papers of Gandhi’s contemporaries and co-workers; contemporary newspapers and court documents; the writings of Gandhi’s children; and secret files kept by British Empire functionaries. Using this wealth of material in an exuberant, brilliantly nuanced and detailed narrative, Guha describes the social, political and personal worlds inside of which Gandhi began the journey that would earn him the honorific Mahatma: “Great Soul.” And, more clearly than ever before, he elucidates how Gandhi’s work in South Africa—far from being a mere prelude to his accomplishments in India—was profoundly influential in his evolution as a family man, political thinker, social reformer and, ultimately, beloved leader. In 1893, when Gandhi set sail for South Africa, he was a twenty-three-year-old lawyer who had failed to establish himself in India. In this remarkable biography, the author makes clear the fundamental ways in which Gandhi’s ideas were shaped before his return to India in 1915. It was during his years in England and South Africa, Guha shows us, that Gandhi came to understand the nature of imperialism and racism; and in South Africa that he forged the philosophy and techniques that would undermine and eventually overthrow the British Raj. Gandhi Before India gives us equally vivid portraits of the man and the world he lived in: a world of sharp contrasts among the coastal culture of his birthplace, High Victorian London, and colonial South Africa. It explores in abundant detail Gandhi’s experiments with dissident cults such as the Tolstoyans; his friendships with radical Jews, heterodox Christians and devout Muslims; his enmities and rivalries; and his often overlooked failures as a husband and father. It tells the dramatic, profoundly moving story of how Gandhi inspired the devotion of thousands of followers in South Africa as he mobilized a cross-class and inter-religious coalition, pledged to non-violence in their battle against a brutally racist regime. Researched with unequaled depth and breadth, and written with extraordinary grace and clarity, Gandhi Before India is, on every level, fully commensurate with its subject. It will radically alter our understanding and appreciation of twentieth-century India’s greatest man.

The Global Revolt against the Raj and the Hidden History of the Singapore Mutiny, 1907 - 1915 In 1907, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Indian Mutiny, a global revolt against the British Raj was taking shape. Known as the Ghadar or Mutiny Movement, this global network launched an uprising in 1915 that spilled over into the snug British settlement of Singapore. Exactly 27 years before its fall to the Japanese in World War II, Singapore thus faced a mutiny by its garrison of British Indian Army soldiers or sepoys. Stoked by Indian rebels based in California, activists on a migrant voyage to Canada to contest its race laws, a German sea raider, and renegades preaching holy war, the 1915 Singapore sepoy mutiny fused several plots against imperial power in the region. This book reveals the hidden history of the mutiny and exposes the forces that converged on the small island enroute to the revolt against the British Empire in India. The story of the men and women behind the world-wide rebellion and the Singapore mutiny is brought to life in this thrilling non-fiction narrative that spotlights the legacy of the forgotten uprisings.

In late-eighteenth-century India, the glory of the Mughal emperors was fading, and ambitious newcomers seized power, changing the political map forever. Enter the legendary Maharajah Ranjit Singh, whose Sikh Empire stretched throughout northwestern India into Afghanistan and Tibet. Priya Atwal shines fresh light on this long-lost kingdom, looking beyond its founding father to restore the queens and princes to the story of this empire's spectacular rise and fall. She brings to life a self-made ruling family, inventively fusing Sikh, Mughal and European ideas of power, but eventually succumbing to gendered family politics, as the Sikh Empire fell to its great rival in the new India: the British. Royals and Rebels is a fascinating tale of family, royalty and the fluidity of power, set in a dramatic global era when new stars rose and upstart empires clashed.

They Say In Jhansi That The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Their Town Was Lakshmi Bai&' The 400-Year-Old Town Of Jhansi Still Feels That It Owes Its Fame To A Young Rani Who Ruled For Four-And-A-Half Years. In The Uprising Of 1857 Which Came To Be Known As The First War Of Indian Independence', She Was A Singular Figure In A Gallery Of Heroes. Rani Lakshmi Bai Also Became The Protagonist In A Different Kind Of Story Fiction By British Writers To Dramatize The Horrific Experience Of The Mutiny In Which An Oriental Queen, Full Of Passion, Added A Thrilling Dimension. But Despite An Incredible Career, It Took Eighty Years For Indians To Write A Comprehensive Description Of Rani Lakshmi Bai'S Life. It Was Not Because She Was Forgotten But That People Who Lived In Her Time Did Not Leave Any Writing Behind And The Few Who Knew Her Were Too Afraid Of Reprisals To Profess Links With Her. How Did A Young Marathi Woman Come To Wield So Much Influence In A Strongly Rajput-Dominated Region In The Grip Of An Alien Power? The Life Of The Warrior Queen Has Inspired Historians, Writers And, More Recently, Film-Makers. But For The First Time, In Biographer Tapti Roy'S Vivid Rendition, Lakshmi Bai Is Located Within The Wider Context Of Her Time And Space.

Ever wonder why militant groups behave as they do? For instance, why did Al Qaeda attack the World Trade Center whereas the African National Congress tried to avoid civilian bloodshed? Why does Islamic State brag over social media about its gory attacks, while Hezbollah denies responsibility or even apologizes for its carnage? This book shows that militant group behaviour depends on the tactical intelligence of the leaders. The author has extensively studied the political plights of hundreds of militant groups throughout world history and reveals that successful militant leaders have followed three rules. These rules are based on original insights from the fields of political science, psychology, criminology, economics, management, marketing, communication, and sociology. It turns out thereâs a science to victory in militant history. But even rebels must follow rules.

A Corner of a Foreign Field seamlessly interweaves biography with history, the lives of famous or forgotten cricketers with wider processes of social change. C. K. Nayudu and Sachin Tendulkar naturally figure in this book but so, too, in unexpected ways, do B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, and M. A. Jinnah. The Indian careers of those great British cricketers, Lord Harris and D. R. Jardine, provide a window into the operations of Empire. The remarkable life of India’s first great slow bowler, Palwankar Baloo, provides an arresting new perspective on the struggle against caste discrimination. Later chapters explore the competition between Hindu and Muslim cricketers in colonial India and the destructive passions now provoked when India plays Pakistan. For this new edition, Ramachandra Guha has added a fresh introduction as well as a long new chapter, bringing the story up to date to cover, among other things, the advent of the Indian Premier League and the Indian team’s victory in the World Cup of 2011, these linked to social and economic transformations in contemporary India. A pioneering work, essential for anyone interested in either of those vast themes, cricket and India, A Corner of a Foreign Field is also a beautifully written meditation on the ramifications of sport in society at large.