The Republic of Orissa | Shoshee Chunder Dutt | Reading by Mizpah

This is a prescribed text for MA English students at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. “The Republic of Orissá; A Page from the Annals of the Twentieth Century” is an early work of Indian speculative fiction by Shoshee Chunder Dutt (S. C. Dutt). It was first published in The Bengal Hurkaru and India Gazette in 1845 and was subsequently included in Bengaliana: A Dish of Rice and Curry, and Other Indigestible Ingredients. The story imagines a dystopian colonial India in which the government enacts a law supporting slavery. This injustice provokes a revolt, resulting in the defeat of the British. However, the British subsequently disregard the agreement they had made. The narrative therefore explores colonial oppression, slavery, resistance, and the failure of imperial authorities to honour their commitments.