A Butterfly’s Revolution is a powerful memoir in which the narrator paints a searing portrait of life for Indian indentured labourers in colonial South Africa, while providing a devastatingly honest account of the inhumanity of Hindu caste hierarchy. Above all,however, it is a startling celebration of the gritty strength of the human spirit. As children, Leo, the son of a British plantation owner, and Ram, the son of an Indian indentured labourer, become close intimate friends. As young adults, the two become attracted to humanitarian work. They travel to a Hindu village called Sugarbush-‘a place,’ Mohandas Gandhi tells them, ‘in desperate need of human development at its most basic level.’ Upon their arrival, they discover that although the labourers have earned their freedom from their British and Dutch owners, a new class of master has taken their place-the land-owning men belonging to the Hindu forward castes-and so little has changed for the masses. They embark on a fi ve-year struggle to bring progress to Sugarbush and to instill the concepts of human dignity and equality. Will these two young men succeed in realizing their noble intentions? Readers will find themselves engrossed in this riveting story as they uncover more revelations and witness a surprising end.
