From Mutiny to Revolt

Women and the Beginning of 1857

Quantity

Why did the nonviolent Meerut mutiny of 1857 in India explode into a violent military revolt? Breaking new ground on the events of May 10, William Pinch reexamines the evidence, shifting our focus toward the identity of female participants and their actions in the hours before the revolt began. Drawing upon a wide range of sources, including Hindi folksongs, military records, police reports, literary fiction, and Urdu memoir, he creates snapshots from the perspective of key figures to uncover the social and emotional world of the military 'cantonment' and its rural hinterland. By foregrounding the lives of ordinary 'military women' and 'their men' - the Indian sepoys who peopled the revolt - Pinch challenges conventional narratives and guides readers through the literary and historiographical echoes of the fateful decision to take up arms against the British.

• The first study of the events of 1857 to focus on the identity of the women in the revolt
• Draws on a range of materials including Hindi folksongs, military record, police reports, Urdu memoir and literary fiction
• Guides readers through the discovery and interpretation of primary sources