Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence by Anita Anand

2 reviews

theluckiestclover's review against another edition

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adventurous informative sad fast-paced

4.75

This was such a well-told, well-researched book. I saved it on my to-read after listening to a History Extra podcast and managed to pick the audiobook up in a 3 for 2 sale. The book examines the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, an atrocity which inspired Udham Singh to assassinate those responsible for the crime. Anita Anand seeks to find the truth of the massacre, the men responsible (Rex Dyer and Michael O'Dwyer), and Udham Singh, the man who sought revenge. It would be comforting to think that the villains and heroes in this story are one dimensional but of course they are not. Anand highlights a variety of aspects of the players in this story, especially with Udham. The book highlights the white supremacist attitudes of Dyer and O'Dwyer. How Michael in particular extolled these values back in England. Udham's journey and his travels are fascinating and exciting. His flaws are demonstrated throughout the book, and I don't think Anand encourages you to like him, although I did. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is a part of British history many more of us should be aware of. <Particularly moving for me, was the repatriation of Udham's remains to India in the 1970s, and how his ashes were distributed to different regions with different religious majorities.>
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arachan's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

5.0

This is a fascinating biography of the assassination of Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the man responsible for the Amritsar Massacre and Udham Singh, the man who pulled the trigger.  It's a very thorough book that looks, unflinchingly, at the imperial atrocities of British rule in India and O'Dwyer's chilling racism.  This is not a heroic tale.  Udham Singh is a very human figure, part of global influences and often passing without much notice.

Highly recommended for both people who only know Amritsar massacre from a single paragraph in a school history book or those who are more familiar as Anand does a very good job separating the myth of the patriotic hero from the messy and very human facts of the case.  It doesn't detract from the symbolism of Udham Singh's actions or do anything to excuse the vile imperial racism that O'Dwyer never repented of.
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