There are very few journalists and historians who have succeeded in their impartial recollection of the other side of The Empire. And Anita Anand will have her name embellished in the annals of history for her undeterred passion to sift through centuries of archives and re-write stories often untold or worse yet, mistold. Her proclivity to question the Kiplingesque representations of The Empire in the mainstream industry and hence, write an antidote on the lesser-known facts is perhaps, best reflected in her latest publication. The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj' beat six other titles for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2020. But how did the King’s College graduate embark on this journey of uncovering and reporting the truth?
Recalling her journey into news, she said, “I started working on magazines and newspapers as early as secondary school. Later, at university, I started working for the university newspaper and I was lucky to have won a Guardian’s Young Journalist Award for my features. I was the first Asian to have been honoured with this award then and winning that prize gave me a certain degree of confidence that I might be able to pursue a career ahead in this industry.
“I was called into the newly started TV station then known as TV Asia. They did not tell me initially but it later emerged that they had treated my TV interview as a screen test. So, I was still at university and they informed me that they liked my work asking if I would be able to work with them. I remember I would finish my lectures and essays and rush to the studios to record programs. It was the most fantastic opportunity and I eventually worked my way up to become the Head of News at TV Asia which was then bought out by Zee TV.”
The rest they say is history. Soon enough, the BBC noticed Anand’s nose for news, her in-depth understanding of all things Asian, and often requested her expert analysis on South Asian history, politics, and current affairs. Winner of the prestigious Nazia Hassain Award, over the years, Anand has presented several programmes for BBC radio and television, including The Anita Anand Show on Radio 5 Live, Radio 4’s Any Answers, presenting Newsnight and co-hosting The Daily Politics show on BBC2.
Feeling incredibly “lucky” and “proud” of her trajectory, Anita then embarked on a tangential journey of excavating the hidden truths and chronicling the Indian perspective of British history. Her first book, Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary, a biography of a campaigner for women’s suffrage and Indian independence, was published in 2015. Anita confirms that six publishers wanted to publish her account of Indian princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh. Since then Anita has penned several accounts of British Indian history alongside renowned historians such as William Dalrymple with whom she co-authored for Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond.
Discussing the significance of lending an Indian voice to British history, she said, “There is an appetite for looking at the past and re-appraising it. That happens when second and third generation Asians grow up and realising that something doesn’t feel or sound right. The Kiplingesque, rose-tinted picture that has been presented in our education system is no longer satisfying. The fact that ‘The Patient Assassin’ won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize which is a very prestigious history prize tells me that there is an appetite for looking at these subjects from the Indian perspective now and re- writing the narrative. A lot of the books that I had read about the massacre and the times around it was written from the British perspective. I made a real effort in going through the Indian archives and look at the Indian voices to narrow these accounts and present the Indian perspective and I was delighted that this book was so well-received.
“I am a product of the relationship between Britain and India and thus, a lot of my stories or the subjects that interest me centre around the British Indian history. I am extremely proud of my roots, culture and heritage that has made me who I am today.”
