BOOK REVIEW ii ii ii

NAME OF THE BOOK: INGLORIOUS EMPIRE WHAT THE

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ii BRITISH DID TO INDIA

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NAME OF THE AUTHOR: SHASHI THAROOR

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NAME OF THE PUBLISHER: SCRIBE PUBLICATION

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EDITION: 1ST ii ii

YEAR: 2017 ii

SUBMITTED BY: SANKALP SRIVASTAVA i i i

iiii ROLL NO.: B024 , FY BALLB (DIV B)

i i i i i i i
This iibook iireview iianswers iithree iiquestions:
1) What iiis iithis iibook iiabout?
2) What iidid iiI iilearn iifrom iiit?
3) Will iyou irecommend iit ifor ireading ifor iwhom?

Shashi iTharoor iwas iinvites iat ithe iend iof iMay i2015, ito ispeak ion ithe iproposition i‘Britain iOwes
i Reparation ito iHer iformer iColonies’ iby ithe iOxford iunion. iThis ibook iwould ihave ibeen ipublished
i had ithe iOxford iUnion inot iposted ithe ivideo iof iShashi iTharor ion ithe iinternet. iThat ivideo iwas
i watched iby ia imillion iof ipeople ion ithe iweb iand ithe iright iwing icritics ialso ipraised ihim ifor ithis ikind
i of ispeech. iThis ikind iof iappraisal ifor iShashi iTharoor iboth iby ithe icritics iand ithe ifollower
i convinced ihim ito iwrite ithis ibook. iShashi iTharoor ilays iout ithe idestruction ithat ithe iEnglish icarried
i out iin iIndia iover icenturies iof iEast iIndian iTrade icompany irule iand ithen ithe iBritish iRaj i— ithe ilives
i lost idue ito ifamine, ithe ieconomic iplundering, iand ithe isocial idivisions icultivated. iIn ieconomic
i terms, ihe icites iresearch iindicating ithat ithe idebt iowed iis ion ithe iorder iof i$3 itrillion; iperhaps imost
i starkly, iIndia iwent ifrom iover i20% iof iglobal iGDP iwhen ithe iEast iIndian iTrade icompany ientered
i the i country, i to i less i than i 5% i when i it i left.

Tharoor idirectly iattacks ithe imost icommon idefenses imade iof iBritish iImperial irule iin iIndia: ithat iit
i a) iunified ithe icountry iunder ia isingle igovernment; ib) ibrought iin irailroads, imodern ieducation iand
i the iEnglish ilanguage; ic) ilaid ithe igroundwork ifor ia idemocratic, iclassically iliberal isociety; iand id)
i should ibe ijudged iby ithe istandards iof iits itime, inot imodern isensibilities. iIn ithe iprocess, ihe
i excoriates iBritish ifigures isuch ias iWinston iChurchill iand iRudyard iKipling, iarguing iespecially ithat
i the iformer iwas iresponsible ifor iup ito i3 imillion ideaths iduring ithe iBengal iFamine.

He iargues, iweaving iin iboth ieconomic ifigures iand iquotes ifrom icontemporary ifigures, ithat icolonial
i rule’s isole ipurpose iwas ito ienrich iEngland. iAny ibenefits iit ibrought iwere iaccidental, iand ifor ithe
i most ipart ithe iBritish islowed idown ior idestroyed iIndian iindustrialization, ieducation, iand ipolitical
i unity. iThough iit iis ihard ito iargue ia icounter-factual, ihe iasserts ithat ithere iis ino ireason ithat ithe iIndian
i sub-continent icould inot ihave iimported/used isuch ithings ias ivarious iindustrial itechnologies i— ithe
i brutalities iof icolonization iare inot ia inecessary icondition ifor imodern ieducation ior irailroads. I
I would like to recommend this book to those people who want to know the realities of the
British Raj not from the academic prospective in a chronological order. This book can be of great
help to someone who wants to know the interesting facts of the British Raj and want to read the
Indian modern history in a story format not in the chronological order.