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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Its good to know about the past to understand where you are heading to in the future. A good account of what happened in during the British Raj in India. the book is interesting and to avoid a monologue bashing of the raj, it tries to highlight some good points too.... but all in all, fairly negative portrayal. Very informative and doesnt become boring at any point. would recommend
This book is not 4* but at least 4.5* and I may later change it to 5*.
I must admit, not having too much knowledge in Indian history nor colonial history of any country in the world for that matter.
What Mr. Tharoor does is counter all the colonial romantics in one fell swoop. The book is eloquently penned, does not rant, but provides for very credible and cogent explanations on Indian colonisation.
Reparations and acknowledgement of wrongs are what colonial masters owe to their subjects. Britain stole and plundered like the Nazi's did, whereas Germany returned stolen loot, the Brits inexorably retained them without an ounce of regret.
India was once one of the powerhouses of trade, but was left destitute and divided after the Brits left. It was through their thorough dismantling of Indian institutions for hundreds of years did the damage become irreversible.
Now India is a developing country and its people growing in stature which is about time.
I must admit, not having too much knowledge in Indian history nor colonial history of any country in the world for that matter.
What Mr. Tharoor does is counter all the colonial romantics in one fell swoop. The book is eloquently penned, does not rant, but provides for very credible and cogent explanations on Indian colonisation.
Reparations and acknowledgement of wrongs are what colonial masters owe to their subjects. Britain stole and plundered like the Nazi's did, whereas Germany returned stolen loot, the Brits inexorably retained them without an ounce of regret.
India was once one of the powerhouses of trade, but was left destitute and divided after the Brits left. It was through their thorough dismantling of Indian institutions for hundreds of years did the damage become irreversible.
Now India is a developing country and its people growing in stature which is about time.
challenging
informative
It's supposed to be an accessible read to enlighten minds broadly. Accessible perhaps. Easy? No.
This book is a sustained factual fusillade. It's a hard march, recounting deprivation, commercial and imperial theft and murder. It packs in 250 pages without repetition, listing grievances.
And it's in no way overblown or hyperbolic.
There's so much in here that I'm ashamed to admit I didn't know. Worth enduring.
This book is a sustained factual fusillade. It's a hard march, recounting deprivation, commercial and imperial theft and murder. It packs in 250 pages without repetition, listing grievances.
And it's in no way overblown or hyperbolic.
There's so much in here that I'm ashamed to admit I didn't know. Worth enduring.
I was never naïve enough to believe the altruistic intention of colonialism peddled by the British schools in my day, but I never even imagined how the British, locust like, completely devastated India for a period of more than two centuries. ‘Inglorious Empire’ presents fact after fact, incident after incident, and the result is damning. We just about totally screwed India in whatever way was possible. The book is successful in what it sets out to achieve. However, while I have always been critical of my country’s overseas exploits and convinced of its guilt in many more than one foreign intervention, I finished this book left with one question, a question of complicity. The actions of the empire builders can never be forgiven, but the extent of the damage could never have been so horrific without complicity from inside. Complicity is never really dealt with directly. The level of destruction could never have been ‘achieved’ without people from inside the country, on seeing a possible rise to wealth and power, siding with and climbing on the backs of the oppressors, and sharing at least some part of that guilt. This certainly doesn’t exonerate the British in any way, but is included to remind us that a simplistic Country A versus Country B probably doesn’t tell the whole story, not just in the case of Britain and India, but in every conflict between nations, especially in modern times. Let’s look beyond the facts and to the factors that underpin those facts – the whole story.
Eigentlich nicht vollkommen gelesen, aber symbolisch fpr die Seminarfacharbeit und die Zeit, die ich darein investiert habe und nicht fürs lesen hatte, kann man als Lesezeit verstehen
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The Myth of Enlightened Despotism is that one chapter I'd recommend anyone and everyone to read. Not Shashi Tharoor's best written book (I believe it could have done with better editing) but content-wise it packs a powerful punch; in that sense it's probably the best of his non-fiction work.
At a time where the legacy of colonialism sees many back-and-forth discussions the book carves out its space by offering perspective on something which statistics at the end points of one's dataset and the dehumanizing long term view of history often miss - that many ordinary people suffered grievously, and that millions died at the hands of the policies (and deliberate neglect) of colonial leaders. This at a scale and over a period never before seen in India.
It's a great book because it directly addresses many hearsay theories about the supposed good the Empire did; it gives the reader a chance to build an edifice of facts for any conversation on India's colonial past. Tharoor by no means aims to demonize the British; indeed his own passion for many things British is freely admitted and expressed. He only points out that the colonial project of extraction and exploitation spread over some centuries should not, at the very least, be whitewashed by presumptuous theories about there being good intentions behind the actions taken by the oppressors. It's hard to refute this claim.
At a time where the legacy of colonialism sees many back-and-forth discussions the book carves out its space by offering perspective on something which statistics at the end points of one's dataset and the dehumanizing long term view of history often miss - that many ordinary people suffered grievously, and that millions died at the hands of the policies (and deliberate neglect) of colonial leaders. This at a scale and over a period never before seen in India.
It's a great book because it directly addresses many hearsay theories about the supposed good the Empire did; it gives the reader a chance to build an edifice of facts for any conversation on India's colonial past. Tharoor by no means aims to demonize the British; indeed his own passion for many things British is freely admitted and expressed. He only points out that the colonial project of extraction and exploitation spread over some centuries should not, at the very least, be whitewashed by presumptuous theories about there being good intentions behind the actions taken by the oppressors. It's hard to refute this claim.
informative
reflective
medium-paced