The last Mughal

William Dalrymple’s new book ‘The Last Mughal’ is out. I am going to buy my copy ASAP. His last book ‘The White Mughals’ rocked. I expect this one to be just as good. Dalrymple writes in a very entertaining and engaging style. Not academic and pedantic, the his writing is simple, humourous and fun to read. At the same time he challenges conventional wisdom and opens up new vistas of thinking.
The Last Mughal is about the great 1857 revolt or war of independence (depending on how you view it). The title refers to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the poet who tragiucally became a figure head for the revolutionaries. But a dozen other characters also put in an appearance including the famed urdu poet Mirza Ghalib. Significantly, Mangal Pandey is a minor character, though he is deified as central to the events of 1857 in certain Indian quarters.
The book is bound to ruffle feathers in India and Britain because it challenges the views held by both countries about the empire-shaking events of 1857. What makes the narrative more credible is that Dalrymple’s primary source were papers in Urdu and Persian written by Indians about the revolt. This assumes significance because till now (or so dalrymple says) all accounts about what happened relied on European records. There were presumed to be no Indian eyewitness accounts. Even Indian historians relied on European accounts. For instance Marxist historians allege that the conflict occurred due to economic reasons. Dalrymple disputes this view. According to him the main reason was religion since evangelical Christianity was on the rise at this time. The enfield rifle controversy (documented in the film Mangal Pandey that starred Amir Khan) was the fuse that ignited the issue.
At the same time I feel sad. A foreigner (no doubt Dalrymple is an indophile, but a firang nevertheless) comes and discovers ANOTHER aspect of India’s past that we have not bothered about. What is it about us that makes us neglect our own country and leave it to foreigners to tell us about ourselves? The documents that Dalrymple used were lying in the Nehru memorial library all these years for anyone to access. But it just so happened that no Indian bothered to read them.