New Books in Law Alastair McClure, "Trials of Sovereignty: Mercy, Violence, and the Making of Criminal Law in British India, 1857-1922" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Dec 27, 2025
Alastair McClure, an Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong, delves into his book on the intertwining of mercy and violence in British India’s criminal law. He explains how colonial discretion was utilized as a tool of governance that managed social hierarchies. The discussion highlights significant events like the trial of Bahadur Shah II and nationalists like Tilak and Gandhi, who used the state's mercy to challenge colonial authority. McClure links these historical practices to contemporary legal systems, emphasizing their lasting impact on justice.
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Mercy As A Tool Of Sovereignty
- Mercy and judicial leniency functioned as a deliberate technique of colonial sovereign power rather than mere benevolence.
- Alastair McClure shows discretion helped the British manage difference and build fragile legitimacy amid widespread violence.
Bahadur Shah's Trial Revealed State Weakness
- The trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar II exposed a foundational political dilemma: killing a recognized sovereign would signal sacrifice, not mere punishment.
- The state used spectacle and mercy (exile) to mask weakness and avoid creating a martyr that could legitimize resistance.
Proclamation's Amnesty Rewrote Political Agency
- The Queen's Proclamation framed amnesty as reconciliation while requiring surrendered rebels to relinquish political agency.
- Mercy operated selectively and graded rewards/punishments to reconstruct loyalty and erase popular legitimacy of the uprising.