The study embodied in the above book, is a well-planned study of the region which has contributed immensely into the making of the Uprising of 1857, a memorable event. The purabias, (as the Indian sepoys of the Bengal army were known) have taken the leadership of the event in the city of Delhi which altered the character of the anti imperialist struggle in the initial month of the uprising.
The purabias sepoys themselves were fighting at the major centers of the uprising, but what was happening in the region to which they belonged i.e. the Eastern U.P. or roughly the region between of river Ghaggar and Nepal Terai. The area was full of dense forest, wild life swamped and even mosquitoes and malaria. Such ecological conditions and hardships of life in the region had made the people of this locality stubborn, sturdy, and capable of surviving under heavy odds.
The present work is a focused study to understand the ‘world of rebels’ in this region. Using the Archival Records, Settlement Reports, Official Publications, Memoirs of the British officials and the Indigenous discourse, the present study breaks new grounds which remain untouched in the modern writings on the subject. By providing numerous numeral appendices, the author provides minute details at the micro level for the punishments, confiscations and also rewards to the loyalists and spies. This is also an important exercise to understand the region in a better way.
A map showing the major centres of uprising and the hideouts of the rebel leaders will be of good help to the readers / research scholars.
This book has brought new material to the light before the scholarly world and has also raised important region specific questions. By taking up this micro study, the author has made an important intervention in the existing literature on the Uprising of 1857 in a meaningful manner.
The book includes elaborate appendices which include for the first time ever in a research work on 1857:
[a] The names of Rebels available in the cotemporary written record Kashful Bagaavat, Gorakhpur which was written by Syed Ahmad Ali Shah who was the caretaker of Imambara, Gorakhpur who was an eye witness of the revolt of 1857 and therefore this record can be treated as authentic. Kashful Baghaavat, Gorakhpur was a non-governmental source of information written in poetic form in Urdu Nazm. Published in 1860 by Arifin Press, Mirzapur, this work has never been consulted by any historian for their research work until Professor Rizvi, the author of the book, has revealed this information in his present work. This is the first time when this work has been used for research in history and printed in this book form.
[b] Details of Punishments given to Rebels according to Kashful Bagaavat, Gorakhpur [c] List of Rebels of Poorbi Uttar Pradesh in the unpublished Contemporary English Record who actively participated in the Revolt of 1857
[d] A List of Rebels of Poorbi Uttar Pradesh in the Published Records
[e] A List of Persons who were the Martyrs in the Revolt of 1857 in Poorbi Uttar Pradesh
[f] List of major Supporters of Britishers and their assistants in Poorbi Uttar Pradesh
There are notes and references given at the end of each chapter. The book is appended with elaborate bibliography, important terminology of 1857 and an index.
Professor Syed Najmul Raza Rizvi [SNR Rizvi] did his Masters in History from Gorakhpur University and D.Phil. from University of Allahabad. He is a retired professor and ex-head of the department of History, Deendayal Upadhyaaya Gorakhpur University. He is also actively associated with U.P. History Congress for the past several decades and held various designations in UP Indian History Congress as Secretary, President, and also was a member of executive committee. Some of his edited works include: Studies in Indian History (1999); The Great Uprising of 1857 (2009); proceedings of U.P. History Congress. Along with this, his published titles are: Atharvein Sadi Ke Zamindaar (1988); Nepal ka Itihas (2001); Zamindaar’s and Revenue Farmers of Eastern Utter Pradesh (2004) and many more published works to his credit. He is currently the editor-in-chief of UP Historical Review.
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