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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
This book is a perfect example of why a debate, however good should not be turned into a book. Dr Tharoor repeated the same thing again and again. In order to add more pages, he has added unnecessary things, like Nirad C. Chaudhuri's attitude and quotes from his book. Nirad C. Chaudhuri is an insignificant figure in the history of India. Another few pages were added by discussing P. G. Wodehouse.
He had to show the revenue of India was very high and he decided to say that during Aurangzeb's time it reached an all-time high. He never said that the money was mostly spent in warfare and not improving the infrastructure of the country. Also, the revenue during the British rule probably did not include the revenues of the semi-autonomous 500 odd kingdoms of various sizes. He again gave the impression that there were no riots before the British came and it is difficult to believe. Hindus were living under Islamic laws for most parts and rioting against Muslims would have had serious consequences. It would have been better to say that the country of the Maurya's, Gupta's and the Chola's lost the fighting spirit, willingness to learn at about 1200AD and hence suffered all sorts of defeats and ruled by various foreign rules.
It is true the British took advantage of the weak nation and got as much as possible from the empire. However, it was only possible because the Indians helped them to do so. Towards the end, he acknowledges the fact that the Indian soldiers joined INA (without naming Subhas Chandra Bose), and then there was unrest in the Navy as well in 1946.
Overall, It is not a good book, I am sorry to say.
He had to show the revenue of India was very high and he decided to say that during Aurangzeb's time it reached an all-time high. He never said that the money was mostly spent in warfare and not improving the infrastructure of the country. Also, the revenue during the British rule probably did not include the revenues of the semi-autonomous 500 odd kingdoms of various sizes. He again gave the impression that there were no riots before the British came and it is difficult to believe. Hindus were living under Islamic laws for most parts and rioting against Muslims would have had serious consequences. It would have been better to say that the country of the Maurya's, Gupta's and the Chola's lost the fighting spirit, willingness to learn at about 1200AD and hence suffered all sorts of defeats and ruled by various foreign rules.
It is true the British took advantage of the weak nation and got as much as possible from the empire. However, it was only possible because the Indians helped them to do so. Towards the end, he acknowledges the fact that the Indian soldiers joined INA (without naming Subhas Chandra Bose), and then there was unrest in the Navy as well in 1946.
Overall, It is not a good book, I am sorry to say.
Wow.
I was unaware of just how horrific the Raj and the East India Company truly were.
Certainly opened my eyes about Winston Churchill too.
Only complaint is there are some sections where there is excessive use of obscure words.
I was unaware of just how horrific the Raj and the East India Company truly were.
Certainly opened my eyes about Winston Churchill too.
Only complaint is there are some sections where there is excessive use of obscure words.
As a kid growing up in India celebrating 50 yrs of independence and having read about the freedom fight in school history books, I have always had a neutral standpoint when it came to what British rule meant for India. Fast forward to 2021, when a lot of my fellow Indians debate the life of the royal family's progeny and eagerly watch "The Crown", "Bridgerton" etc., I have tried to keep away from paying homage to our erstwhile Queen by a simple act of refusing to follow such news/shows that glorify the family. It is quite common to hear our elders talk about the benevolence of British -- railways/industrialization; social reform like ban on Sati, rule of law, etc. and we take it at face value. So it is quite heartening to listen to Mr. Tharoor surgically expose the anatomy of our beliefs. Winners do write history and we will be hard pressed in this era to find texts like these which dare to say otherwise. This book is akin to the recent publications - "The 1619 Project" and "These Truths by Jill Lepore - that portray US history in a new light. Of course, one can't expect the author to be mincing his words on various points he highlights, when his sole intention is to fill in the gaps left by British apologists and revisionist historians. All in all, I would recommend this book to all Indians, especially youngsters, who have been fed the same rote history through the decades.
informative
slow-paced
I found this to be very informative and well-conceived, with a good dose of humour to counteract the maddening statistics cited throughout.
My one gripe, especially for the audiobook version, was that the chapters felt a little too long and sometimes thematically incohesive, and I would have preferred shorter, sharper chapters instead.
My one gripe, especially for the audiobook version, was that the chapters felt a little too long and sometimes thematically incohesive, and I would have preferred shorter, sharper chapters instead.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
informative
This was a good book. Non-fiction can be particularly hard to get through, especially if authors decide to be rather stuffy, but Tharoor manages to (mostly) stay away from that.
My one critique, however, is I did find jumping around the time periods to be a disservice. Granted, Tharoor acknowledges that the book would not be chronological, but it was still confusing at points.
Nonetheless, if you’re wanting to read up on colonialism, I would recommend this book!
My one critique, however, is I did find jumping around the time periods to be a disservice. Granted, Tharoor acknowledges that the book would not be chronological, but it was still confusing at points.
Nonetheless, if you’re wanting to read up on colonialism, I would recommend this book!
So, here I'm with my first book review of 2023, and what a remarkable read it has been. Inglorious Empire by Shashi Tharoor is a detailed interpretation of the despotism foisted by the British Empire on the Indian Subcontinent, exclusively based on facts and figures. The author penned the role of East India Company in the unending looting of the subcontinent, and ultimately the policy of "Divide Et Impera" (divide and rule) that lead to the establishment of India and Pakistan. Tharoor investigates the cultural, social, political, and economic crevasse that the British Empire imposed on the Crown Jewel of the World.