PositiveIrish Times (IRE)There were a small number of foreigners who worked for India’s freedom. This book is their story, if a specialised one ... Guha has done well to remind us of these forgotten stories, all the more as India, like much of the world, is becoming more xenophobic and intolerant, believing all the virtues lie within national frontier.
Isabel Wilkerson
MixedThe Irish Times (UK)Wilkerson ignores the fact that Nazis drew on centuries of European anti-Semitism which dated back to the dawn of Christianity and led to many European Jews fleeing to America ... She also simplifies the very complex Indian caste system. There can be no question Hinduism’s treatment of the so-called lower castes, now known as the Dalits, is its original sin which has caused untold misery to millions of Indians over many centuries. Wilkerson is right that caste puts people in containers but while caste imprisons individuals, caste containers can move ... Wilkerson’s book is full of heartrending stories of the oppression suffered by African-Americans, and her description of her own experiences of discrimination is very evocative, but her attempts to link America with Nazi Germany and India does not quite work and is at times simplistic.
Anita Anand
PositiveThe Irish TimesThis is both a crime thriller and a historical study of what proved a crucial turning point in the British rule of India ... On the day of the massacre Anita Anand’s grandfather could have been at Jallianwala Bagh but for being on errand. She combines interesting details with forensic research and an eye for colour making this little told story into a page turner.
