Inglorious empire : what the British did to India / Shashi Tharoor.
By: Tharoor, Shashi [author.]
Publisher: London : Hurst & Comany, 2017Description: xxix, 295 pagesContent type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9781849048088Other title: What the British did to IndiaSubject(s): Imperialism | India -- History -- British occupation, 1765-1947 | Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- India | India -- Foreign relations -- Great BritainDDC classification: 954.03 Summary: '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. 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.
| Item type | Current library | Class number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | House of Lords Library - Palace Dewey | 954.03 THA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 014606 | ||
| Book | House of Lords Library - Palace Dewey | 954.03 THA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 013735 |
Originally published as 'An era of darkness: the British Empire in India'. New Delhi : Aleph Book Coampny, 2016.
'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. 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.