Revolutionary History of Interwar India

Violence, Image, Voice and Text

Maclean Kama

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Focussing on the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA), "A Revolutionary History" delivers a fresh perspective on the ambitions, ideologies and practices of this influential organisation, formed by Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh and inspired by transnational anti-imperial dissent. It is a new interpretation of the activities and political impact of the north Indian revolutionaries who advocated the use of political violence against the British.

Kama Maclean contends that the actions of these revolutionaries had a direct impact on Congress politics and tested its policy of non-violence. In doing so she draws on visual culture studies, demonstrating the efficacy of imagery in constructing – as opposed to merely illustrating – historical narratives. Maclean analyses visual evidence alongside recently declassified government files, memoirs and interviews to elaborate on the complex relationships between the Congress and the HSRA, which were far less antagonistic than is frequently imagined.

About the Author

Kama Maclean is Associate Professor of South Asian and World History at UNSW in Sydney, and Editor of South Asia. Her book, "Pilgrimage and Power", was awarded an honourable mention in the Ananda Coomaraswamy Prize (2009).

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