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In The Other Side of the Medal (1925), Edward Thompson is a critique of British colonial historiography and the psychological impact of the 1857 Indian Mutiny on British-Indian relations. Thompson argues that the British version of history has been deliberately one-sided, suppressing the record of British atrocities while amplifying Indian ones to justify continued imperial rule. This historical imbalance, he asserts, is at the root of Indian "irreconcilability" and the growing bitterness between the two nations.

The Context of British Indifference and Caricature

Thompson begins by noting a profound British lack of interest in India, where Indian studies are "dying" and interest in Indian thought is dismissed as "watery mysticism". This indifference is hardening into anger and dislike. He critiques the way British writers portray Indians as caricatures—the "babu," the "Failed B.A.," or the "swarthy devil"—while the Englishman is always the "inflexibly just" hero. This narrative frames the Mutiny as a purely military revolt caused by "greased cartridges," ignoring the deeper political reasons, such as Lord Dalhousie’s rapid annexations, which created a sense of universal conquest and bad faith.

[Thompson quotes several authorities in support here, including Benjamin Disraeli who in 1857 was still a critic of expansionist colonialism. The quote from Romesh Dutt is worth reproducing in full: 

“It is beyond a doubt that political reasons helped a mere mutiny of soldiers to spread among large classes of the people in Northern and Central India, and converted it into a political insurrection. Lord Dalhousie’s vast and rapid annexations had created an impression that the East India Company aimed at universal conquest; that they disregarded treaties and the laws of the country in order to compass their object. The minds of the people were unsettled; and leaders of the insurrection issued Proclamations dwelling on the bad-faith and the earth-hunger of the alien rulers.”

The "Other Side": British Atrocities in the Mutiny

The core of the book is the documentation of what Thompson calls the "other side" of the medal: the indiscriminate "government by gallows" and massacre practiced by British forces. He argues that while the horrors of Cawnpore (committed by Nana Sahib) are well-known, the British response was marked by extreme savageness and a refusal to show quarter.

Thompson highlights several specific examples of British brutality:

• Execution by blowing from guns: This method was used to "strike terror" into the population, as seen in Peshawar where forty men were blown to pieces in a "punishment-parade".
• The Ujnalla [Ajnala] Massacre: Frederick Cooper, Deputy-Commissioner of Amritsar, oversaw the execution of nearly 500 disarmed and panic-stricken sepoys of the 26th N.I. Many suffocated in a bastion (a "Black Hole" re-enacted), and the rest were shot and thrown into a well. Cooper celebrated this as a "ceremonial sacrifice," and Thompson notes that India remembers the "well at Ujnalla" just as England remembers the "well at Cawnpore". [The well at Ajnala has been recently revisited by archeologists, who confirmed Thompson's account: 282 bodies were recovered there in 2014. --AS] 
• Renaud’s Column: Before the Cawnpore massacre even occurred, Major Renaud’s forces were ordered to slaughter all men in "guilty" villages and hang insurgents indiscriminately.
• The Capture of Delhi: Thompson describes the entry into Delhi as a "season of indiscriminate massacre" where harmless citizens and trembling old men were bayoneted or shot.

The "Mutiny-Trained Mind" and Subsequent Tragedies

Thompson argues that these events created a "Mutiny-trained mind"—a psychological state of fear and hysteria among the European community in India. This obsession leads the British to view any Indian dissent through the lens of another potential Cawnpore, resulting in a pathological reliance on "stern justice".

He traces the legacy of this mindset through three major episodes:

1. Maler Kotla (1872): Mr. Cowan had forty-nine namdhari Sikh blown from guns without a trial [the Kuka Revolt], an act Thompson attributes to a mind obsessed with the Punjab tradition of "swift, stern retribution".
2. The Second Afghan War (1879): Reprisals in Kabul involved hanging men in batches and ravaging the country, driven by a "new principle of retribution".
3. Jallianwala Bagh (1919): Thompson identifies this tragedy as the direct descendant of Mutiny-era paranoia. General Dyer’s actions—pouring lead into a densely packed crowd to "strike terror"—were driven by "inherited thought concerning the Mutiny" and the ghosts of Cooper and Cowan.

The Failure of Historiography

A major theme is the failure of British historians to be honest. Thompson critiques works like Sir George Forrest’s History of the Indian Mutiny, which he claims manages to avoid any reference to British excesses, concluding with the "smug effrontery" that "justice was done". He also attacks popular histories like Fitchett’s The Tale of the Great Mutiny for being "insolently self-righteous".

Thompson argues that this misrepresentation of history has alienated the educated classes of India and poisoned the mental atmosphere of cities like Delhi, where the memory of "unforgotten wretchedness" lingers. He notes that even Indians who wish to remain moderate are embittered by the fact that their boys are forced to read about Indian "fiendishness" while British "fiendish work" is entirely expunged from textbooks.

The Call for Atonement

In his conclusion, Thompson calls for a "new orientation" in the history of India. He argues that it is impossible for the British to govern India without trusting Indians, yet they continue to assess Indian virtue solely by "servile deference" which they call "loyalty". He notes that Indians do not necessarily want larger measures of self-government as much as they want a "magnanimous gesture" or atonement (prāyaschitta).

This atonement requires the British to:

• Face the facts of what was done in their name.
• Stop the distortion of history that flutters national esteem.
• Recognize that the "homicidal insanity" of 1857 was shared by both sides and should not be used to justify a perpetual feud.

Thompson believes that by sweeping their minds clear of "poison and untruth," the British can create an atmosphere where "friendship and forgiveness" are possible. He insists that truth and fairness are more essential than "Christian statesmanship" or expediency, and that only by admitting past wrongs can a new beginning be made.