Amaresh Misra | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer, politician, scripts at OTT and TV |
| Language | Hindi |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | University of Allahabad |
| Notable works | War of Civilisations: India AD 1857 |
Amaresh Misra is an Indian writer and a self-professed revolutionary.1 He was the convener of the Anti Communal Front in Uttar Pradesh state for Indian National Congress for four years, until 2014.2
Misra's research on the 1857 uprising drew press attention. The Guardian reported on his 2007 claim that British reprisals following the 1857 rebellion resulted in the killing of ten million people over a ten-year period.3 This research formed the basis of his two-volume work War of Civilizations: 1857 A.D.
Misra has written as a political columnist for the Economic and Political Weekly4 and has contributed columns to The Indian Express.5
In 2013, Misra led a campaign, the "Rashtriya Apmaan Virodhi Abhiyan," to alter epitaphs on the graves of British colonial-era officers in Lucknow, including an attempt to deface the grave of Major William Hodson at La Martinière College.6
During his college years, Misra was a student leader of the Left CPI-ML (Liberation) party in the University of Allahabad.7 He co-wrote the script for the movie Bullet Raja.8
He started the movement to restore India's pride in Freedom Fighters' contributions to its journey to independence.
Controversies
He wanted to rewrite modern Indian history to reflect an Indian perspective instead of the British accounts.9
He unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow on the ticket of Ulema Council. He joined the Congress party for five years after that. Today, he runs a peasant based Kisan Kranti Dal and Mangal Pandey Sena based in Uttar Pradesh.
Awards
- The Urdu Press Club of India gave Amaresh the Jasarat Award in 2007.10
- Aligarh Group with renowned historian Irfan Habib awarded him for historical work in 2022.
Publications
- Lucknow: Fire of Grace: The Story of its Renaissance, Revolution and the Aftermath (Delhi: HarperCollins, 1999) ISBN 978-8172232887
- The Minister's Wife (a novel—Penguin, 2002) ISBN 978-0143028161
- Mangal Pandey: The True Story of an Indian Revolutionary (Delhi: Rupa, 2005)
- War of Civilizations: India AD 1857, Vols 1 and 2 (Delhi: Rupa, 2007)
References
References
- Ramesh, Randeep (24 August 2007). "India's secret history: 'A holocaust, one where millions disappeared...'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- "Amaresh Misra". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
-
Ramesh, Randeep (24 August 2007). "India's secret history: 'A holocaust, one where millions disappeared...'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
{{cite news}}: line feed character in|title=at position 38 (help) - Misra, Amaresh (1997). "Uttar Pradesh—Transfer of Power: Permutations and Combinations". Economic and Political Weekly. 32 (38). Retrieved 6 July 2026.
{{cite journal}}: line feed character in|title=at position 23 (help) - "Amaresh Misra". The Indian Express. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
- "Activists, historians rewrite epitaphs of British soldiers". The Asian Age. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
{{cite news}}: line feed character in|title=at position 50 (help) - "Minorities vs. Minorities: The new right-wing game plan for 2014". The Times of India. 22 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- "Writer held for 'communal' tweets". The Times of India. 15 May 2014.
- Wagner, Kim A. (2010). The Great Fear of 1857: Rumours, Conspiracies. Peter Lang. ISBN 9781906165277.
- IndiaFM (21 May 2008). "Ajay Devgan honoured with the Jasarat Award". Sify. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.