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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I'm going to hold my hands up and start this review with a sentence that borders dangerously close to "I can't be racist some of my best friends are black." I vehemently believe that the colonial period for the UK and other European nations are stains on our histories and the legacy of colonialism continues to do damage, although I'd argue less so some of the former colonies as they shake off the challenges left and (return?) to their former greatness while the UK and Europe struggle to find their place in a 21st century rapidly realigning to other poles of power.
Tharoor captures the truly evil nature of empire explaining in sometimes almost lurid detail how the sun may have never set, but the blood never really dried.
Where I differ from the author is in believing that the India (and Pakistan) we know today would look like they do today or better. I think that the true banality of the evil behind colonialism was in making all of us believe that how the world looks today is the only game in town. As Tharoor shows, different political and educational systems existed in pre-colonial India that were either deliberately extinguished or left to wither on the vine, and ethnic cleavages exacerbated under a divide and conquer approach. It's the robbing of this diversity in how the world thinks which makes the whole exercise of colonialism wrong and shows clearly just why the empire was so violent. Nobody lets their entire way of thinking and beliefs slip away quietly.
Tharoor captures the truly evil nature of empire explaining in sometimes almost lurid detail how the sun may have never set, but the blood never really dried.
Where I differ from the author is in believing that the India (and Pakistan) we know today would look like they do today or better. I think that the true banality of the evil behind colonialism was in making all of us believe that how the world looks today is the only game in town. As Tharoor shows, different political and educational systems existed in pre-colonial India that were either deliberately extinguished or left to wither on the vine, and ethnic cleavages exacerbated under a divide and conquer approach. It's the robbing of this diversity in how the world thinks which makes the whole exercise of colonialism wrong and shows clearly just why the empire was so violent. Nobody lets their entire way of thinking and beliefs slip away quietly.
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
This shit will make your blood boil
NOTES
India owned 25% of the worlds textile industry
India had 27% of the world's GDP, after it was 3%
The textile industry opened doors for other industries to trade with the rest of the world like shipbuilding
Bengal had fleets of 5000 ships constructed in Indian ports and had world class quality
India was ahead in steel. Arabs imported steel and weapons from India
When British took power, they took apart all industry in the region.
They made it so that only they could buy Indian products which they would then resell to the rest of the world. Making them a middle man
They would pay for Indian products using tax revenue collected from India. Essentially not spending anything
British still couldnt compete. They smashed Indian looms and broke fingers of weavers
Then they put a tariff on Indian goods which meant any products made in India sold to UK would not compete with the rest of the world.
This made it so that only raw materials could be sent to UK from India. UK would make the products and sell them back to India for a premium
All British were aware of what they were doing
All Indians could do was to go into agriculture
Land could not sustain so much, causing famines and poverty
Then Indians were taxed at 50% - 80% and were taxed before the harvest actually happened. This usually meant their taxes were greater than their income.
66% of people were displaced because they could not afford to live under British rule
Tax defaulters were confined in cages, parents had to sell their children, peasants were tortured and had their land taken away.
Tens of millions of landless peasants were created with nothing
By late 1800s, India was Britain's largest source of revenue, largest purchaser of exports, huge source of employment for rich British and this was all paid by Indian taxes.
Modern economists estimate $43 trillion was taken from India.
Railway argument assumes Indians wouldnt build railways like Japanese
India was the richest of Asia, Japan was nowhere, now completely opposite
Railways also paid out 5% return to British shareholders, when they couldn't meet the revenue targets, Indian taxes were used.
The cost to build in India was $18000 per mile, in America it was $2000. More exploitative pricing
All parts of the railway were built in UK because Indians weren't allowed to manufacture.
The railways were used to export food from India, not for actual development.
This lead to 35 million people dead because of famines, 5 times more than the Holocaust.
Famine non-intervention was official government policy
When people tried to help hungry, the government would make efforts to stop them
"Scores of corpses were tumbled into old wells because the deaths were to numerous for the relatives to perform funeral rites. Mothers sold their children for a single meal. Husbands flung their wives into ponds to escape the torment of seeing them perish from hunger. Amid these scene of death, the British government in India was unmoved. Newspapers were persuaded into silence. Strict order were givento civilians. Do not acknowledge that civilians are dying of hunger."
There has not been a single famine in India since the British left.
NOTES
India owned 25% of the worlds textile industry
India had 27% of the world's GDP, after it was 3%
The textile industry opened doors for other industries to trade with the rest of the world like shipbuilding
Bengal had fleets of 5000 ships constructed in Indian ports and had world class quality
India was ahead in steel. Arabs imported steel and weapons from India
When British took power, they took apart all industry in the region.
They made it so that only they could buy Indian products which they would then resell to the rest of the world. Making them a middle man
They would pay for Indian products using tax revenue collected from India. Essentially not spending anything
British still couldnt compete. They smashed Indian looms and broke fingers of weavers
Then they put a tariff on Indian goods which meant any products made in India sold to UK would not compete with the rest of the world.
This made it so that only raw materials could be sent to UK from India. UK would make the products and sell them back to India for a premium
All British were aware of what they were doing
All Indians could do was to go into agriculture
Land could not sustain so much, causing famines and poverty
Then Indians were taxed at 50% - 80% and were taxed before the harvest actually happened. This usually meant their taxes were greater than their income.
66% of people were displaced because they could not afford to live under British rule
Tax defaulters were confined in cages, parents had to sell their children, peasants were tortured and had their land taken away.
Tens of millions of landless peasants were created with nothing
By late 1800s, India was Britain's largest source of revenue, largest purchaser of exports, huge source of employment for rich British and this was all paid by Indian taxes.
Modern economists estimate $43 trillion was taken from India.
Railway argument assumes Indians wouldnt build railways like Japanese
India was the richest of Asia, Japan was nowhere, now completely opposite
Railways also paid out 5% return to British shareholders, when they couldn't meet the revenue targets, Indian taxes were used.
The cost to build in India was $18000 per mile, in America it was $2000. More exploitative pricing
All parts of the railway were built in UK because Indians weren't allowed to manufacture.
The railways were used to export food from India, not for actual development.
This lead to 35 million people dead because of famines, 5 times more than the Holocaust.
Famine non-intervention was official government policy
When people tried to help hungry, the government would make efforts to stop them
"Scores of corpses were tumbled into old wells because the deaths were to numerous for the relatives to perform funeral rites. Mothers sold their children for a single meal. Husbands flung their wives into ponds to escape the torment of seeing them perish from hunger. Amid these scene of death, the British government in India was unmoved. Newspapers were persuaded into silence. Strict order were givento civilians. Do not acknowledge that civilians are dying of hunger."
There has not been a single famine in India since the British left.