Unveiling the Injustices of British Colonialism in India: A History of the Inglorious Empire

George Tharcisius: The truthful history of the British Empire and oppression caused to the Indian subcontinent. Must Read it.
Fantastic Book

Germany on Apr 20, 2023

fergus: This book should be required reading for history students in the UK.
The same Britons who condemn the ravages and abuse of British working class men, women and children during the 19th century, would defend the much harsher treatment of Indians and Africans as a civilising force.
Shashi Tharoor with a wealth of research, demolishes the myth of a benevolent British rule, that treated it's subjects with kindness and charity and lifted them from a state of barbarism to civilization.
And the silly argument that railways, roads, technology, an effective Civil Service could only happen in the British Empire, is demolished. For example, Japan, in 1850, was in an isolated and primitive state, India at that time was impoverished by British greed. In 1900, Japan was a rich and powerful country and "British Imperial Benevolence" had made India even poorer.
Shashi Tharoor does not romanticise India or absolve it of responsibility for it's own condition, nor does he criticise everything that Britain did.
He does not fall into the trap of the British left, who criticise Imperial Britain and defend communism. In fact, he draws parallels with what communists did in the Soviet Union...

United Kingdom on Apr 11, 2023

Gagi: The reason why this book is maybe a bit longer than necessary lay also in colonialism. The author has to make a point for almost all his statements, by providing a western (or better say Anglo-American) sources.
I'm looking forward for a world in which that would be unnecessary.

United States on Mar 16, 2023

Mominul Khan: So far so good and I am enjoying the book although I didn’t finish yet!

United States on Feb 22, 2023

TK Sharma: The book provides a good overview of harms from the colonial era for India based on facts and numbers from the time. It also explains the thoughts that have led to current predicament in the region. Highly recommended read for anyone who would like to become or already claims to be well read on the matter.

United States on Jan 21, 2023

Catherine: The book is really an eye-opener, but the quality of papers is not good, and took longer to receive (like 2-3 weeks)

Italy on Sep 26, 2021

Novel Devouress: Shashi Tharoor became one of my favorite authors when I 'discovered' his novel, The Great Indian Novel, which is a clever, contemporary retelling of the Mahabharata by substituting the epic's well-known characters with India's political characters in the 1900s when Indian freedom fighters were trying to rid the country of the British.
I trust Shashi Tharoor's knowledge of imperialism, especially as it relates to India. At the time this book was written, there were not too many books out there critical of British imperialism. In 'Inglorious Empire' not only does Dr. Tharoor criticize the British empire, but also lay out the details of how the British essentially destroyed one of human history's most advanced and prosperous societies.
This book is written with knowledge and depth, but also in an engaging manner. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to understand why most of the countries colonized by European imperialists became so impoverished in the past few centuries.

United States on Apr 02, 2021

Bayard B.: This is an excellent polemic and intellectual critique of the British colonial looting of India. It describes in horrifying detail what colonialism really was: the exploitation of a land for the benefit of the colonizers at the expense of the colonized. The book discusses the many unfair impositions of the British on the Indians: the overt discriminatory racism, the taxation, the creation of import and export tariffs for the benefit of British manufacturers and traders, the forced deindustrialization or prevention of industrial development of the country, the famines, and the political subjugation of the country.

I thought the book, though, paid insufficient attention to how the British were able to occupy a huge and populace country such as India. To a certain extent, I think it was a coincidence or combination of events that happened to occur at the same time. The Mogul dynasty and central government collapsed, and India was invaded by the Persians, just when the British East India Company and the French went to war all over the world, including in India. The author (Shashi Tharoor) also, I think, misjudges the significance and effects of the European Industrial...

United States on Oct 18, 2020

ARUN KUMAR: I always wondered how come the narrative on the two sides of the aisles so different. If you have lived in India and you can hear the stories of the elders and a lot of indigenous literature in the native languages like Hindi, you will find so much of the excesses that British did to India. While on the other hand if you read the books by British writers which floods the western world you will find the romanticized starry eyed description of the India as the crown jewel of the colony. Trying to gloss over their cruelty and masquerading their wrongdoings as some kind of reform. This book cuts through that narrative and fills this gap.

How systematically industries were destroyed, exorbitant taxes were levied and used as the market for the finished goods from Britain. Natives were denied fair competition their industries, arts and cultures were destroyed and Economy decimated. Kohinoor was not the only diamond looted from India read Pitts Diamond and how it helped him buying the parliament seat and helped create the prime minister in UK, William Pitt junior and senior. No wonder no British remained in India after the Independence of India in 1947 like South Africa or...

Canada on Jun 29, 2020

alfredo arche: No es frecuente en Occidente ver editados libros sobre la época colonial inglesa en India que escapen de la visión romántica de los oficiales de caballería cargando contra los malvados rebeldes nativos o bailando valses en Darjeeling,como se presenta el Raj en el reciente libro de David Gilmour. La continua explotación de los recursos y los pobladores de la India,que tenían una avanzada cultura cuando llegaron los inglese está detalladamente expuesta en este libro. No permite olvidar que la East India Company fue una aventura comercial respaldada por la corona y la élite financiera inglesa durante unos dos siglos.

Spain on Nov 13, 2018