Many things pointed by Guha would sound quiet obvious now a days. But, if it’s obvious, is because he (they) said it and was took into account. In my opinion, this is a text related to theory of history (hence, very important to be read here). It is a text of theory of history especially because the main discussion is about the historiographic discourse of the British historians (or what was understood by a historian) in the XVIII-XIX century about the insurgencies in India. His first argument is to point that there is no neutrality or objectivity (something that is fully accepted today) in the sources that are used by this historians, and of course, their text aren’t either. Guha shows that the vocabulary used by the British to refer to the rebellions is full of words that express their dislike of the situation. In many of the examples he gives we can find expressions like “fanatics”, “breaking the established order”, etc., concepts that reflect the point of view of the empire. Thus, we assist to the appear of the “prose of counter-insurgency”, where the the historiographic text is much more than a simple “tale” of “what happened”. It is actually a judgment and a sentence to the “rebels”.

Now, why would be important to read this text in a class like this? I think that history and literature share many things, and of them is precisely the act of reading texts/sources. Precisely, what Guha is doing is an act of reading. He is re-reading (critically) the text that were presented as the official version of what “actually happened” during the insurgencies. What he is realizing is that “their own” history was written by the empire who conquer them, not by themselves. And also, that most of the references they have about this kind of issues were legated by the empire. Pointing this out, Guha presents the importance of re-reading from a postcolonial point of view. This would mean that is important to read literature and theory (and of course history) as discourses touches by the domination. The colony is still there, and is important to see it. Only in that way you can re think your own identity, literature and history, by yourself.