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UID:pretalx-wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026-RSMDUV@pretalx.com
DTSTART;TZID=KST:20260627T152000
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DESCRIPTION:This paper analyzes the play of Orientalism in Evelyn Wood’s 
 "Revolt in Hindustan\, 1857-59\," which has become the accepted historical
  narrative of the Revolt of 1857 in mainstream academia. The narratives on
  the Revolt did not emerge in isolation but had become deeply ingrained in
  British consciousness with the publication of the "History of British Ind
 ia" by James Mill in 1817. In Wood’s discourse\, the projection and oper
 ation of tropes such as barbaric\, uncivilized\, exotic\, religious\, effe
 minate and “casteist” other not only empowered the narrative by advanc
 ing and sustaining British hegemony but also stripped the revolting Indian
 s of their agency. By deconstructing Wood’s discourse to expose the imag
 ined reality of his British mind\, this paper seeks to offer an alternativ
 e to the prevailing narrative. A careful and systematic examination of the
  history of British India reveals the persistent and structurally embedded
  oppression of peasants and workers- the very communities from which the s
 epoys were drawn. These groups faced exorbitant land-revenue demands\, for
 ced cultivation of cash crops in ecologically fragile areas\, the destruct
 ion of indigenous handicrafts industry\, low wages\, and deplorable living
  conditions. Under the Raj\, famines became a recurring feature of rural l
 ife\, especially in Bengal\, western India\, and the northern plains—the
  areas where the Revolt took place—and they were all British-engineered.
  Yet the dominant historical narrative does not foreground economic exploi
 tation or injustice. By privileging religion over morality\, the Orientali
 st discourse has turned the revolting native Indians into the “other-wor
 ldly religious” other for whom the this-worldly and human concerns of ju
 stice and economic well-being do not matter.
DTSTAMP:20260412T123926Z
LOCATION:Room 208 (Seats 40)
SUMMARY:The Play of Orientalism in Evelyn Wood's Narrative of the Revolt of
  1857 - Pranav Vats
URL:https://pretalx.com/wha-annual-meeting-korea-2026/talk/RSMDUV/
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