2026-06-27 –, Room 208 (Seats 40)
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 India" by James Mill in 1817. In Wood’s discourse, the projection and operation of tropes such as barbaric, uncivilized, exotic, religious, effeminate and “casteist” other not only empowered the narrative by advancing and sustaining British hegemony but also stripped the revolting Indians of their agency. By deconstructing Wood’s discourse to expose the imagined reality of his British mind, this paper seeks to offer an alternative 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 sepoys were drawn. These groups faced exorbitant land-revenue demands, forced cultivation of cash crops in ecologically fragile areas, the destruction of indigenous handicrafts industry, low wages, and deplorable living conditions. Under the Raj, famines became a recurring feature of rural life, 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 exploitation or injustice. By privileging religion over morality, the Orientalist discourse has turned the revolting native Indians into the “other-worldly religious” other for whom the this-worldly and human concerns of justice and economic well-being do not matter.
Pranav Vats completed his Master's degree in History from the University of Delhi, specializing in modern Indian history with a strong research interest in colonial discourse and postcolonial theory. His paper was selected for presentation at the World History Association Conference in Utah, 2020. His current research examines the Revolt of 1857 through an expository analysis of Evelyn Wood's "The Revolt in Hindustan, 1857-59." By locating the rhetorical and representational tropes embedded in Wood's account, his work aims to recover-and restore to the centre of scholarly discussion-the impact that the structural subjugation of peasants, workers and sepoys by the colonial state had on the Revolt, countering colonial discourse that portrays these groups as religious and other-worldly "other" devoid of agency.
Beyond his work on 1857, Pranav is interested in investigating how the colonial archives and narratives construct the "native" as an object of knowledge and governance, and how these constructions continue to shape contemporary understandings of Indian history.
Outside of his academic pursuits, Pranav has a passion for exploring the world, delving into civilizational history, and experiencing diverse cultures and cuisines.