Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India

Inglorious Empire tells the real story of the British in India - from the arrival of the East India Company to the end of the Raj - revealing how Britain's rise was built upon its plunder of India. Remarkable . . . The book is savagely critical of 200 years of the British in India. It makes very uncomfortable reading for Brits. ''A necessary antidote to the romantic falsehood that the British civilized and modernized India, when in fact they built railways, roads and an administrative structure for the sole purpose of efficiently carrying their loot to Indian ports.'' Eloquent . . . a well-written riposte to those texts that celebrate empire as a supposed ''force for good''. ''[M]agnificent.'' ‘Erudite and beautifully written . . . page after page of biting critique.’ Rare indeed is it to come across history that is so readable and so persuasive. His writing is a delight and he seldom misses his target . . . Tharoor should be applauded for tackling an impossibly contentious subject . . . he deserves to be read. Indians are not the only ones who need reminding that empire has a lot to answer for. Those Brits who speak confidently about how Britain''s ''historical and cultural ties'' to India will make it easy to strike a great new trade deal should read Mr Tharoor''s book. It would help them to see the world through the eyes of the . . . countries once colonised or defeated by Britain. Ferocious and astonishing. Essential for a Britain lost in sepia fantasies about its past, ''Inglorious Empire'' is history at its clearest and cutting best. Tharoor''s impassioned polemic slices straight to the heart of the darkness that drives all empires. Forceful, persuasive and blunt, he demolishes Raj nostalgia, laying bare the grim, and high, cost of the British Empire for its former subjects. An essential read. Tharoor convincingly demolishes some of the more persistent myths about Britain''s supposedly civilising mission in India . . . [he] charts the destruction of pre-colonial systems of government by the British and their ubiquitous ledgers and rule books . . . The statistics are worth repeating. ''Inglorious Empire'' both reiterates long­-standing, persuasive and well­-founded critiques of the British Raj''s countless exploitative activities and the damage done under colonialism, and expresses [Tharoor''s] surprise and disappointment that such basic points still need to be made anew today. Chapter by chapter, the book convincingly demolishes the nostalgic, self­-serving arguments voiced by imperial apologists. ''Inglorious Empire'' is a timely reminder of the need to start teaching unromanticised colonial history in British schools. A welcome antidote to the nauseating righteousness and condescension pedalled by Niall Ferguson in his 2003 book ''Empire''. Tharoor''s book -- arising from a contentious Oxford Union debate in 2015 where he proposed the motion ''Britain owes reparations to her former colonies'' -- should keep the home fires burning, so to speak, both in India and in Britain. . . . He makes a persuasive case, with telling examples. ‘[Inglorious Empire] seethes with anger and resentment … [it] lays out in chillingly plain prose how the British empire plundered India’s resources and riches and left the country broken.’ An ''indispensable book on race issues’

''In Inglorious Empire, Shashi Tharoor documents the realities of the British empire in India and makes a compelling case for the need to acknowledge, and, atone for, these realities.''

''A brilliant work . . . distinguished among this literature in its manner of presentation and dazzling arguments . . . an eye-opener and a valuable source of reference for students and others to understand India''s experience under British colonialism.'' ‘Well researched . . . this book is an extremely useful corrective to nostalgic imperial history and well worth reading.’ Brilliant . . . A searing indictment of the Raj and its impact on India. . . . Required reading for all Anglophiles in former British colonies, and needs to be a textbook in Britain. ''Tharoor has built an impressive argument against colonial rule and the book is a masterpiece in terms of explaining the subcontinent’s experience as a British colony.'' ''With telling examples and scathing statistics . . . the book is a timely and helpful antidote to other contemporary works. . . the evidence that Tharoor presents to debunk the myths about Britain''s civilising mission is staggering.'' ''Easy to read and extremely entertaining. [Tharoor] fills a vital space in our understanding of how Britain came, saw and destroyed a flourishing portion of the globe.'' ***THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER*** In the eighteenth century, India''s share of the world economy was as large as Europe''s. By 1947, after two centuries of British rule, it had decreased six-fold. Beyond conquest and deception, the Empire blew rebels from cannon, massacred unarmed protesters, entrenched institutionalised racism, and caused millions to die from starvation. British imperialism justified itself as enlightened despotism for the benefit of the governed, but Shashi Tharoor takes on and demolishes this position, demonstrating how every supposed imperial ''gift'' from the railways to the rule of law was designed in Britain''s interests alone. He goes on to show how Britain''s Industrial Revolution was founded on India s deindustrialisation, and the destruction of its textile industry. In this bold and incisive reassessment of colonialism, Tharoor exposes to devastating effect the inglorious reality of Britain''s stained Indian legacy.

• | Author: Shashi Tharoor
• | Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• | Publication Date: Mar 02, 2017
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781849048088
• | ISBN-10: 1849048088