John Lang: A Chronicler of 19th Century India

John Lang: Wanderer of Hindoostan, Slanderer in Hindoostanee, Lawyer for the Ranee by author Amit Ranjan is a meticulously researched work on John Lang—an Australian lawyer and writer who made his career in India and is remembered in history for being the lawyer of Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi.

This book takes you through Lang's life, his exploits, and his literary output. Amit Ranjan spent nearly a decade chasing this elusive and yet so important figure down musty archives and dusty by-lanes, through ghostly cemeteries and ghastly bureaucratic tangles, across India and Australia.

On LHI Circle, Amit Ranjan shares with us the many stories of Lang and how this book opens up a forgotten chapter of 19th century India.

Amit Ranjan undertook his undergraduate studies at St. Stephen’s College and has MA, MPhil and PhD from JNU, Delhi. He was a Visiting Fellow at UNSW, Sydney; and a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at Miami—with eye to the sky, and ear to the ocean. Amit is a lecturer of English at NCERT, Delhi.

Here's an excerpt from the LIVE session that took place on 21st July 2021.