Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780-1870 (Cambridge Studies in Indian History and Society) - Softcover

Bayly, C. A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521663601 ISBN 13: 9780521663601

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2000

Synopsis

In a penetrating account of the evolution of British intelligence gathering in India, C. A. Bayly shows how networks of Indian spies, runners and political secretaries were recruited by the British to secure information about their subjects. He also examines the social and intellectual origins of these informants, and considers how the colonial authorities interpreted and often misinterpreted the information they supplied. As Professor Bayly demonstrates, it was such misunderstandings which ultimately contributed to the failure of the British to anticipate the mutinies of 1857. He argues, however, that, even before this, India's complex systems of communication were challenging the political and intellectual dominance of the European rulers.

About this title

Book Description

Christopher Bayly, already established as one of the most eminent historians of his day, writes a penetrating account of the evolution of British intelligence in India. He describes how Indian spies were recruited to secure political and social information about their subjects, and how the colonial authorities interpreted, and, in some cases, misinterpreted the information supplied. This book will become a classic in the field of Indian and imperian history, and will be read by both scholar and student alike.

Review

"This...delivers far more than it initially promises. C.A. Bayly has produced a fascinating study that marries social, material, and intellectual history and that has implications far beyond this particular period in Indian history." Margaret MacMillan, American Historical Review

"This...delivers far more than it initially promises. C.A. Bayly has produced a fascinating study that marries social, material, and intellectual history and that has implications far beyond this particular period in Indian history." margaret MacMillan, American Historical Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0521663601
• ISBN 13: 9780521663601
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 428