Shashi Tharoor
Hardcover | Pages: 360 pages Rating: 4.16 | 6021 Users | 781 Reviews
List Books In Favor Of An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India
| Original Title: | An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India |
| ISBN: | 938306465X (ISBN13: 9789383064656) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Explanation As Books An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India
In 1930, the American historian and philosopher Will Durant wrote that Britain’s ‘conscious and deliberate bleeding of India… [was the] greatest crime in all history’. He was not the only one to denounce the rapacity and cruelty of British rule, and his assessment was not exaggerated. Almost thirty-five million Indians died because of acts of commission and omission by the British—in famines, epidemics, communal riots and wholesale slaughter like the reprisal killings after the 1857 War of Independence and the Amritsar massacre of 1919.Besides the deaths of Indians, British rule impoverished India in a manner that beggars belief. When the East India Company took control of the country, in the chaos that ensued after the collapse of the Mughal empire, India’s share of world GDP was 23 per cent. When the British left it was just above 3 per cent.
The British empire in India began with the East India Company, incorporated in 1600, by royal charter of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I, to trade in silk, spices and other profitable Indian commodities. Within a century and a half, the Company had become a power to reckon with in India. In 1757, under the command of Robert Clive, Company forces defeated the ruling Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal at Plassey, through a combination of superior artillery and even more superior chicanery. A few years later, the young and weakened Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II, was browbeaten into issuing an edict that replaced his own revenue officials with the Company’s representatives. Over the next several decades, the East India Company, backed by the British government, extended its control over most of India, ruling with a combination of extortion, double-dealing, and outright corruption backed by violence and superior force. This state of affairs continued until 1857, when large numbers of the Company’s Indian soldiers spearheaded the first major rebellion against colonial rule. After the rebels were defeated, the British Crown took over power and ruled the country ostensibly more benignly until 1947, when India won independence.
In this explosive book, bestselling author Shashi Tharoor reveals with acuity, impeccable research, and trademark wit, just how disastrous British rule was for India. Besides examining the many ways in which the colonizers exploited India, ranging from the drain of national resources to Britain, the destruction of the Indian textile, steel-making and shipping industries, and the negative transformation of agriculture, he demolishes the arguments of Western and Indian apologists for Empire on the supposed benefits of British rule, including democracy and political freedom, the rule of law, and the railways.
The few unarguable benefits—the English language, tea, and cricket—were never actually intended for the benefit of the colonized but introduced to serve the interests of the colonizers. Brilliantly narrated and passionately argued, An Era of Darkness will serve to correct many misconceptions about one of the most contested periods of Indian history.
Describe Epithetical Books An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India
| Title | : | An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India |
| Author | : | Shashi Tharoor |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 360 pages |
| Published | : | November 15th 2016 by Aleph Book Company (first published March 1st 2000) |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. Cultural. India. Politics |
Rating Epithetical Books An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India
Ratings: 4.16 From 6021 Users | 781 ReviewsWrite Up Epithetical Books An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India
Tharoor is an excellent orator; well-spoken, warm and articulate, his Cambridge University speech inspired this book. What is surprising is-or, on reflection, perhaps not, is as greater a orator as Tharoor is, his writing style, although well-researched and engaging, is didactic and lacks the elegance of his vocal abilities; some of his puns lose their verve without the cadence of his voice, some of his homilies became slightly platitudinous but, with that being said, Inglorious Empire is one ofThe author provides passionate rebuttals to the traditional histories of all the good things England did for it's appreciative colonies. His analysis of the English divide and rule strategy, using religious differences and the caste system, was fascinating. He also shows the lack of English investment in education and health and little regard to the welfare of the Indian people. He also shows how a great country was demeaned and devalued in the pursuit of profits.
Shashi Tharoor is a die hard nationalist, so are many of us. But one thing that keeps him at the edge is the deep recognition of facts and the courage to speak it out on a national and international platform. Tharoor begins with an stunning preface, putting the book into the context. He talks about the talk he gave at Oxford which in turn prompted him to write this book. He explains the importance of history, that it is neither for excuses nor for revenge. It is to know our past better to learn
What is history for most of the Indians?A subject which they have to mug up till tenth standard to get marks and if in future any person who is preparing for any public service examinations has to memorise certain events of history in order to pass out the general studies paper . Nobody gives a damm about studying history we just memorise it and then forget.How do they teach us history ? I was a student of a state board school (Madhya Pradesh Board), we had a book from sixth standard to tenth
What an in depth analysis of India under the British Empire. Excellent review.
While a lot of arguments and cases in discussions seemed (and very well could be) biased and hypocritical,there have been multiple statements and illustrations which I not only agree but thank the author for adding to my database of Indian History :- Unlike any other foreign influence/immigrants (namely Portuguese, Mughals, Persian etc) , British were in India with the sole purpose of making money and not to settle in. Makes quite sense with his illustrated examples. - If not for anything else,
I wish there were such history books when I was younger, in high school studying history as well as geography and many other subjects. I learned a lot from this book. Wow! Interesting, shocking and disturbing history book of India.The short chapter about cricket is also included, even a bit about very famous Indian movie "Lagaan".The last chapter, conclusions and overview is really excellent and author accepts that the troubled Kohinoor diamond will stay on English crown.I am really glad I read
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