"I thought it would be interesting to write about early Americans in India because, at that time, there were no border controls, no surveillance, no way of monitoring people who crossed borders. The Americans were not conscious state actors unlike the British, French, Dutch or even the Danes, who were all supported by their respective governments. I was interested in these brave individuals from a faraway land who just marched into a new life. My curiosity about them got me going. And because these people were outsiders and did not come with institutional backing, apart from the missionaries, they were able to see the problems in Indian society, the divisions and the hierarchy, far more quickly"

- Anuradha Kumar, author, 'Wanderers, Adventurers, Missionaries; Early Americans In India' talks to Manjula Narayan on the Books & Authors podcast about Ira Scudder who set up the Christian Medical College, Vellore, the Alters of Landour who have contributed in many ways to India, Satyanand Stokes who introduced apple cultivation to Himachal Pradesh, and Black soldier Herman Perry, who worked on the Stillwell Road, among many others.

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