Gentlemanly terrorists : political violence and the colonial state in India, 1919-1947 / Durba Ghosh, Cornell University, New York.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ghosh, Durba, 1967- author.

Series:

Critical perspectives on empire

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National liberation movements--India--History--20th century.

National liberation movements.

Political violence--India--History--20th century.

Political violence.

Revolutionaries--India--History--20th century.

Revolutionaries.

Nationalism--India--History--20th century.

Nationalism.

History.

India.

India--History--British occupation, 1765-1947.

India--Politics and government--1919-1947.

Politics and government.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 275 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Summary:

In 'Gentlemanly Terrorists', Durba Ghosh uncovers the critical place of revolutionary terrorism in the colonial and postcolonial history of modern India. She reveals how so-called 'Bhadralok dacoits' used assassinations, bomb attacks, and armed robberies to accelerate the departure of the British from India and how, in response, the colonial government effectively declared a state of emergency, suspending the rule of law and detaining hundreds of suspected terrorists. She charts how each measure of constitutional reform to expand Indian representation in 1919 and 1935 was accompanied by emergency legislation to suppress political activism by those considered a threat to the security of the state. Repressive legislation became increasingly seen as a necessary condition to British attempts to promote civic society and liberal governance in India. By placing political violence at the center of India's campaigns to win independence, this book reveals how terrorism shaped the modern nation-state in India.

Contents:

Introduction

The reforms of 1919: Montagu-Chelmsford, the Rowlatt Act, Jails Commission, and the Royal Amnesty

The history of revolutionary terrorism through autobiography

After Chauri Chaura: the revival and repression of revolutionary terrorism

After the Chittagong Armoury raid: revolutionary terrorism in the 1930s

From political prisoner to security prisoner

Revolutionary autobiographies: postcolonial tellings of nationalist history

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781107186668

1107186668

9781316637388

1316637387

OCLC:

983113048