Gentle Setting of the Empire's Sun: Prisons, Prisoners & Forgotten Stories of India's Freedom Struggle - Hardcover

Raghuvendra Tanwar

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9374518627 ISBN 13: 9789374518625

Publisher: Manohar Books, 2026

Synopsis

The story of India’s struggle for freedom is one of several shades and forms. By design perhaps, just one, the Gandhian ‘non-violent’ and stayagrahi version came to be ingrained in the nation’s memory and become common historical discourse. As the struggle progressed, the British had come to believe that the more serious threat to their empire was from the other movement which had resulted from a heady mix of patriotism, cultural and spiritual pride. This was represented by the revolutionaries, the secret societies and others like them.

This monograph discusses how the British based on threat perceptions had categorized freedom fighters as ‘dangerous’ and ‘less dangerous’. Threat perceptions determined prison conditions and punishments. The Cellular jail (Andaman) and the Lahore Fort Prison that housed leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Dr. Rammanohar Lohia and V.D. Savarkar were for example a different world when compared with the Naini jail, the Ahmednagar Fort prison, the Yerwada jail and the Agha Khan Palace where senior Congress leaders were usually detained.

The monograph also explains how the British managed an exit that was smooth, friendly and free of embarrassment. Lord Mountbatten had attended over 200 farewell events in his about 15 months of stay as Viceroy and Governor General of India in 1947-48. The friendly, informal and personal relations between important British functionaries and senior Congress party leaders in a way diluted the emotion ridden anti British foundational narrative of the freedom movement. Many of India’s problems it is suggested can also be traced to the informal decision making that is a defining feature of the times.

About this title

About the Authors

Raghuvendra Tanwar is Professor Emeritus at Kurukshetra University, where he taught history for about 38 years. With an outstanding academic record, among other honours, is a First Class First history masters. Some of his writings on the Punjab, mainly its partition (1947) as also Jammu and Kashmir have been received as seminal studies. These include, Reporting the Partition of Punjab: Press Public & Other Opinions 1947 (2006); The Politics of Sharing Power: The Punjab Unionist Party 1923-1947 (1999). His, Story of India’s Partition (2022 English & Hindi), narrates the story with 240 rare, mostly unpublished photographs and illustrations. Be Clear Kashmir Will Vote for India: Jammu & Kashmir 1947-1953 (2019) has received acclaim for important new insights. His latest study (ed.) is titled Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh Through the Ages: Visual Narrative of Continuities & Linkages (2025).

He has been a National Fellow (Research Awardee) of the University Grants Commission of India and Director of the Haryana Academy of History and Culture. At present Tanwar is Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), New Delhi. He is a Padma Shri Education and Literature.

Edition details

• Publisher: Manohar Books
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9374518627
• ISBN 13: 9789374518625
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 159