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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
dark
informative
fast-paced
informative
reflective
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medium-paced
Shashi Tharoor, a UN diplomat of 29 years, and long seated Lok Sabha MP representing the district of Thiruvananthapuram, has turned his encyclopedic knowledge of Indian History, and intimate experiences of the international environment to write a scathing criticism of the British colonization of India for close to 200 years.
The onus for this work was the general consensus prevalent among some British scholars and public that, the British rule over India left it with benefits and infrastructure, which allowed her to rise to the state it is today.
Mr. Shashi proceeds to dismantle this argument, brick by brick, by taking into perspective the various 'benefits' that the British conferred onto India.
Whether it be the railway Infrastructure they built, or the educational system, the English language, Civil rights, British legal system, Unification of the nation, or something gentry like Tea and Cricket; Tharoor disproves this notion of 'benevolence of the rulers', by painting a clear picture of events, backed up by historical sources and narratives.
He comes to a conclusion that, much of what was good which India got from the British, she acquired by the sweat of the brow, and pigheaded determination. The British were interested in developing India, only so far as it allowed them to further exploit our natural resources, and to repatriate capital back to their home Islands.
In fact, an argument could be made that, 200 years of British rule turned India, from a precolonial trade mogul, which contributed to a quarter percent of the global GDP, to one which added less than 4% by 1947, when they left.
Tharoor thwarts another common apologist argument that 'without the British, India would've remained a fragmented conglomerate of princely state'. The counter argument is one made by drawing parallels to Imperial Japan. Before the East Indian company, large portions of the subcontinent were under the rule of the Maratha confederacy, and there nothing to indicate, they or someone else couldn't have unified the nation, like the Mauryas and Guptas centuries before.
And even without the British governance, Imperial Japan, another Asian power had managed to modernize following the Meiji restoration. Who was to say that, under similar conditions, an import of western technology and values couldn't have been spearheaded by some Indian ruler, who wished to stay ahead of the curve of power struggles?
There would've been much conflict and suffering, no doubt. But it's not like the British Raj itself was free from either of those. But this scenario would've allowed Indians to realize their self identity much earlier, not being beholden to an island to make their decisions for them. Perhaps, having no need to go through the terrifying human meat grinder that was the Indian Partition.
All in all, Mr. Tharoor gives the reader much to ponder on. Those who are interested in learning about the extensive history of Indian under colonialism, in a easy digestible manner, can pick up this book. But a word of advise, do keep the dictionary on hand. As exemplified by his online persona, Mr. Tharoor has a Lovecraftian penchant of using esoteric English words and phrases. Hey, any chance to expand your vocabulary....
The onus for this work was the general consensus prevalent among some British scholars and public that, the British rule over India left it with benefits and infrastructure, which allowed her to rise to the state it is today.
Mr. Shashi proceeds to dismantle this argument, brick by brick, by taking into perspective the various 'benefits' that the British conferred onto India.
Whether it be the railway Infrastructure they built, or the educational system, the English language, Civil rights, British legal system, Unification of the nation, or something gentry like Tea and Cricket; Tharoor disproves this notion of 'benevolence of the rulers', by painting a clear picture of events, backed up by historical sources and narratives.
He comes to a conclusion that, much of what was good which India got from the British, she acquired by the sweat of the brow, and pigheaded determination. The British were interested in developing India, only so far as it allowed them to further exploit our natural resources, and to repatriate capital back to their home Islands.
In fact, an argument could be made that, 200 years of British rule turned India, from a precolonial trade mogul, which contributed to a quarter percent of the global GDP, to one which added less than 4% by 1947, when they left.
Tharoor thwarts another common apologist argument that 'without the British, India would've remained a fragmented conglomerate of princely state'. The counter argument is one made by drawing parallels to Imperial Japan. Before the East Indian company, large portions of the subcontinent were under the rule of the Maratha confederacy, and there nothing to indicate, they or someone else couldn't have unified the nation, like the Mauryas and Guptas centuries before.
And even without the British governance, Imperial Japan, another Asian power had managed to modernize following the Meiji restoration. Who was to say that, under similar conditions, an import of western technology and values couldn't have been spearheaded by some Indian ruler, who wished to stay ahead of the curve of power struggles?
There would've been much conflict and suffering, no doubt. But it's not like the British Raj itself was free from either of those. But this scenario would've allowed Indians to realize their self identity much earlier, not being beholden to an island to make their decisions for them. Perhaps, having no need to go through the terrifying human meat grinder that was the Indian Partition.
All in all, Mr. Tharoor gives the reader much to ponder on. Those who are interested in learning about the extensive history of Indian under colonialism, in a easy digestible manner, can pick up this book. But a word of advise, do keep the dictionary on hand. As exemplified by his online persona, Mr. Tharoor has a Lovecraftian penchant of using esoteric English words and phrases. Hey, any chance to expand your vocabulary....
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Not a perfect book, but a solid read about what the British did to India including genocide and looting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, War
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
Very informative! Although everything after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre seemed more like an afterthought and didn't seem to mesh nor flow well within the book.
A pretty devastating condemnation of British rule in India. His strongest arguments relate to the economic cost of British rule to the subcontinent and how the British further exaggerated tensions between different religious and social groups. He does a good job of addressing the common arguments in favor of imperial rule.
fast-paced