The Missionary and the Maharajas - by Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Cecil Tyndale-Biscoe polarised opinion in early 20th century India through his unconventional methods of "educating" Kashmiris and, through them, changing the social order of a society steeped in what he saw as old superstitions. He was a man of contradictions: an ordained Priest and a violent boxer; a supposed educator who supported imperialism; a missionary who made very few converts and a friend of Kashmir's political reformers. He made enemies of the Hindu Establishment, who described him as an 'exceedingly a bad man' but earned the respect of two successive Hindu Maharajas, as well as the Muslim leader who succeeded them.

Written by Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe, grandson of Cecil Tindale-Biscoe, The Missionary and the Maharajasexplores Cecil Tindale-Biscoe's trip to India and attempts to convert Hindu and Muslims to Christianity, as well as his medical missions, which his grandson finds had little success. The result is an insight into British imperialism from the perspective of someone who benefitted from it.

Review Quotes

"This book represents personal history at its best ... [and] offers a clarion call and personal testimony that is challenging." --Anglican and Episcopal History

"This is a marvellous book written by a gifted and entertaining author, grandson of the remarkable Canon Cecil Biscoe, covering a significant period of history where the subject's involvement in Kashmir resonates to this day, not just in fascinating biographical material, but also in the Kashmiri conflict and geopolitical dilemmas expressed as recently as a few weeks ago when Pakistan downed an Indian jet fighter over the disputed border, a legacy of the powerful, eccentric, and culturally embedded British India vividly evoked in Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe's writing." --Roger MacDonald, author of When Colts Ran (2010), The Ballad of Desmond Kale (2006), and Mr Darwin's Shooter (1998)

"An absorbing, balanced and informative record of unrelenting imperial proselytism, personal moral certitude and ineradicable, uncompromising courage in an outpost of the British Empire." --Professor J.A. Mangan, author of The Games Ethic and Imperialism

"This is an engaging narrative of missionary work in Kashmir, based on diaries, correspondence and school records. The text is crammed with much fascinating incidental detail." --Francis Robinson, Professor of the History of South Asia, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

About the Author

Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe, grandson of Cecil Tyndale-Biscoe, was born in Kashmir, India, where he attended the school run by his parents. A marsupial biologist best known for his book Life of Marsupials, he served as Chief Research Scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisations Division of Wildlife Research and lectured at the Australian National University in Canberra. In 2018 he was made a member of the Order of Australia.