A review of the book 'Doolally Sahib and the Black Zamindar: Racism and Revenge in the British Raj' written by M. J. Akbar.
Drawing upon the letters, memoirs and journals of traders, travellers, bureaucrats, officials, officers and the occasional bishop, Doolally Sahib and the Black Zamindar is a chronicle of racial relations between Indians and their last foreign invaders, sometimes infuriating but always compelling.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'Doolally Sahib and the Black Zamindar: Racism and Revenge in the British Raj' written by M. J. Akbar.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
M. J. Akbar is a distinguished author whose many books have focused on the fractured history of the Indian subcontinent, with emphasis on social schisms and religious tensions fomented by colonial policy.
His first book India: The Siege Within Challenges to a Nation's Unity broke fresh ground in the analysis of forces that were disrupting the emergence of a modern nation state. His internationally acclaimed books include Nehru: The Making of India; Kashmir: Behind the Vale; The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity; Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan; Blood Brothers, a novel; Gandhi's Hinduism: The Struggle Against Jinnah's Islam and Gandhi: A Life in Three Campaigns.
In addition there have been four collections of his columns, reportage and essays. He has had a parallel writing career as editor and reporter. After a spell in The Illustrated Weekly of India [then edited by the remarkable Khushwant Singh] he launched, in 1976, as editor, India's first mass-market weekly political news magazine, Sunday for the Ananda Bazar Group of Publications. In 1982 he brought out The Telegraph which broke the mould of daily newspapers and engineered radical change in print media. He has also been editorial director of India Today and The Sunday Guardian.
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
Drawing upon the letters, memoirs and journals of traders, travellers, bureaucrats, officials, officers and the occasional bishop, Doolally Sahib and the Black Zamindar is a chronicle of racial relations between Indians and their last foreign invaders, sometimes infuriating but always compelling. A multitude of vignettes, combined with insight and analysis, reveal the deeply ingrained conviction of 'white superiority' that shaped this history. How deep this conviction was is best illustrated by the fact that the British abandoned a large community of their own children because they were born of Indian mothers. The British took pride in being outsiders, even as their exploitative revenue policy turned periodic drought and famine into horrific catastrophes, killing impoverished Indians in millions.
There were also marvellous and heart-warming exceptions in this extraordinary panorama, people who transcended racial prejudice and served as a reminder of what might have been had the British made India a second home and merged with its culture instead of treating it as a fortune-hunter's turf.
The power was indisputable-the British had lost just one out of 18 wars between 1757 and 1857. Defeated repeatedly on the battlefield, Indians found innovative and amusing ways of giving expression to resentment in household skirmishes, social mores and economic subversion. When Indians tried to imitate the sahibs, they turned into caricatures; when they absorbed the best that the British brought with them, the confluence was positive and productive. But for the most part, subject and ruler lived parallel lives.
From the celebrated writer of the bestselling Gandhi's Hinduism, the Struggle Against Jinnah's Islam comes this extensively researched and utterly engrossing book, which is easy to pick up and difficult to put down.
UNQUOTE
The central theme of the book revolves around the deeply ingrained conviction of "white superiority" and the resulting parallel lives led by the colonizer and the colonized.
The title itself is a masterstroke. “Doolally” (from Deolali transit camp near Nashik in Maharashtra) was Victorian slang for going mad under the Indian sun; “Sahib” the honorific whites demanded; “Black Zamindar” the derogatory term some Britons used for educated, assertive Indians who dared to claim equality.
The narrative is peppered with colorful stories — from a British judge who complained that Indian lawyers “smelled of ghee”; a memsahib who wrote home that “the only thing these natives understand is the whip”; a district officer who described the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre (before it happened) as the logical outcome of giving “coloured people” ideas above their station.
While focusing on the negative, the author also points out the "marvellous and heart-warming exceptions"—individuals who managed to transcend the racial divide, offering a glimpse of what could have been if the British had truly integrated into Indian society.
Akbar’s writing blends history with engaging storytelling, often layering humour, sarcasm, and anecdotal evidence on top of archival material. His prose is studded with mordant one-liners (“The British did not rule India; they misruled it with a superiority complex”) and deliciously malicious footnotes.
Akbar’s work successfully counters a romanticized version of the British Raj by presenting documented facts of colonial conduct and the resilience and varied responses of the Indian populace, from subtle revenge in household skirmishes to the absorption of beneficial Western influences.
Final verdict:
Doolally Sahib and the Black Zamindar is a compelling, thought-provoking, and entertaining exploration of the British Raj through the lens of race, power, and everyday life. It is a thoughtful and engaging read that brings out lesser-known facets of colonial India while prompting reflection on how racial perceptions shaped an era.
I give this book 4.25/5 and highly recommend it to anyone interested in colonial history with narrative richness.
The book also includes 16 colour plates featuring various characters mentioned in the book like Robert Clive, Job Charnock, Colonel James Skinner, etc… along with pics of famine stricken Indians which aren’t exactly for the faint at heart.
The book is currently available in Hardcover, Paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon India and in Hardcover and Kindle formats on Amazon USA. The book is yet to be made available in Audible format. I have given the respective buy link in the show notes. Please check it out for the latest price.
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