Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India
    Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India
    Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India
    Ebook427 pages7 hours

    Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India

    By Shashi Tharoor

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    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 — and reveals 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.

    In this bold and incisive reassessment of colonialism, Tharoor exposes to devastating effect the inglorious reality of Britain’s stained Indian legacy.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScribe Publications
    Release dateJul 31, 2017
    ISBN9781925548518
    Author

    Shashi Tharoor

    Shashi Tharoor served for twenty-nine years at the UN, culminating as Under-Secretary-General. He is a Congress MP in India, the author of fourteen previous books, and has won numerous literary awards, including a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Tharoor has a PhD from the Fletcher School, and was named by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1998 as a Global Leader of Tomorrow.

    Read more from Shashi Tharoor

    Related to Inglorious Empire

    Related ebooks

    Politics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Forgotten Holocaust

      May 11, 2020

      The Forgotten Holocaust
      43 min read

    • Article

      The Apostle Of Hate

      Jan 9, 2020

      The Apostle Of Hate
      43 min read

    • Article

      Natal Was ‘Ripe For Indenture’

      Nov 1, 2020

      DURING the height of colonial expansions preceding the 19th century, planters and industrialists in European colonies around the world relied heavily on slavery for the massive profits they generated and the immense wealth they amassed. England aboli

      4 min read

    • Article

      Prize Crossword

      Nov 24, 2022

      10 She remains a notorious character in popular culture, despite being acquitted of the 1892 murder of her stepmother and father in Massachusetts (6,6) 11 British name of the South African town, which Cetshwayo, king of the Zulu, made his new capital

      4 min read

    • Article

      On This Day April 17

      Apr 17, 2021

      1397 Geoffrey Chaucer tells the story of The Canterbury Tales, which would become enormously popular in medieval Europe, for the first time at the court of Richard II. The greatest contribution of The Canterbury Tales to English literature was the po

      1 min read

    • Article

      Georgian Terrorists

      Feb 20, 2020

      Georgian Terrorists
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Men Who Made The Empire Run

      Mar 18, 2021

      The Men Who Made The Empire Run
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Victorians And The Empire

      Sep 3, 2020

      When Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, the British Empire was a loose assortment of colonies mostly accrued for reasons of trade. By the time of her death nearly 64 years later, the Empire had expanded to become a coherent and dominant show of ec

      5 min read

    • Article

      Holding Out For Your HEROES

      Sep 9, 2022

      Holding Out For Your HEROES
      5 min read

    • Article

      Prize Crossword

      Apr 11, 2024

      Prize Crossword
      2 min read

    • Article

      On November This Day 14

      Nov 14, 2020

      1532 King Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife, Anne Boleyn. 1666 Samuel Pepys reports on first blood transfusion (which took place between dogs) 1770 Scottish explorer James Bruce finds the source of the Blue Nile at Ethiopia.

      1 min read

    • Article

      On This Day May 22

      May 22, 2021

      334BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia. Alexander remains undefeated in battle until his death in 323BC, by which time he had constructed one of the largest empires in ancient history and forged a reputation for being one of the most

      1 min read

    • Article

      On This Day April 17

      Apr 17, 2021

      1397 Geoffrey Chaucer tells the story of The Canterbury Tales, which would become enormously popular in medieval Europe, for the first time at the court of Richard II. The greatest contribution of The Canterbury Tales to English literature was the po

      1 min read

    • Article

      Waging The War Against Slavery

      Aug 31, 2023

      Waging The War Against Slavery
      3 min read

    • Article

      On This Day March 20

      Mar 20, 2021

      1616 Explorer Walter Raleigh is released after 13 years of being locked up in the Tower of London and told to go seek gold in Guyana. 1703 Akō incident: 46 of the 47 surviving Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for avenging their master’s death

      1 min read

    • Article

      Merchants of Doom

      Oct 23, 2017

      Merchants of Doom
      9 min read

    • Article

      On This Day December 19

      Dec 19, 2020

      1642 four of abel Tasman’s crew killed at Murderers Bay, new Zealand by the Māori; Tasman’s ships leave without landing. 1783 William Pitt the younger becomes the youngest British Prime Minister at age 24. 1900 British General and secretary of Wa

      1 min read

    • Article

      War Of Words

      Dec 29, 2020

      The Civil Wars saw a veritable explosion in printed material, as King and Parliament did all they could to win the three kingdoms over to their respective causes, and malign the reputation of their opponents. Printing presses churned out thousands up

      1 min read

    • Article

      Merchants Of Doom

      Oct 12, 2018

      Merchants Of Doom
      8 min read

    • Article

      Modern Coinage of Thailand

      Aug 30, 2021

      Modern Coinage of Thailand
      11 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Aug 31, 2023

      Q&A
      3 min read

    • Article

      On This Day March 20

      Mar 20, 2021

      1616 Explorer Walter Raleigh is released after 13 years of being locked up in the Tower of London and told to go seek gold in Guyana. 1703 Akō incident: 46 of the 47 surviving Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for avenging their master’s death

      1 min read

    • Article

      Making History

      Jan 12, 2020

      Making History
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Inglorious Empire

    4/5

    32 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      The Empire Strikes OutThe plight of India under British rule is not as common a body of knowledge as it should be. Worse, the British continue to insist they were not merely benign, but actually enlightened colonizers. Inglorious Empire exposes the rather more harsh truth. In outrage after outrage, Shashi Tharoor explores the social, political and economic facets of 200-350 years of abuse that left India a third world country. When the British arrived, India was enjoying a quarter to a third of world trade. It had an effective and comprehensive education system. Hindus and Muslims worked together. By independence in 1947, it was battlefield basket case. In a 150 year period, British GDP increased 347%, while India’s rose 14%. This is far worse than benign neglect. This is world class looting and pillaging.By the early 1800s, India had been reduced from a land of “artisans, traders, warriors and merchants, functioning and thriving in complex and commercial networks, into an agrarian society of peasants and moneylenders. Extensive scholarship has shown how the British created the phenomenon of landlessness, turned self-reliant cultivators into tenants, employees and bondsmen, transformed social relations and as a result, undermined agrarian growth and development ... There are no victimless colonial actions. Everything the British did echoes down the ages,” Tharoor says. Not to put too fine a point on it, they chopped off the thumbs of weavers so the British could rule the textile trade and made India an importer instead of the lead exporter. Tharoor also shows the difference a country can make. France, a monarchy, indoctrinated it colonies in its language and culture, seeking to include them and spread its influence. Britain, a democracy, sought to crush its colonies, destroying their self-sufficiency, extorting their wealth, and keeping the colonists separate from them, out of government, out of business and out of education. The British took a loosely unified country and split it as many ways as possible to keep it subservient. They specified religions and castes, and prevented citizens from crossing faint lines between them. Certain occupations could only be performed by certain castes. Armed forces units were caste-pure. Using Brahmins to translate documents into English, the British allowed that caste to write its own ticket. They promptly promoted themselves into the civil service and built a dominating and domineering status for themselves in Indian society, which they did not have before the British improved things.The British formula could also be seen in Ireland, where the Irish were kept out of office and business. Divide and Rule was the British modus operandi. It led to absurd situations where Indian divisions were sent to Poland by the British, to defend democracy against the fascist invaders. There is a special place in Hell for Winston Churchill, whose intolerance, racism and apparent hatred of all things Indian was a continuous stab in the back to the whole nation. (One example: during a 1943 famine, he ordered Indian foodstuffs be diverted to British soldiers, already well fed, and to top up stockpiles in eastern Europe, while also turning down offers of aid from the US and Canada for starving Indians.) Rather than elevating India to a functioning democracy, as the British like to claim, they created so many cultural, religious and geographic conflicts and obstacles that India was a time-bomb that went off at independence.Even as India exported its grain to Britain in the 1800s, 17 million died in famines back home. Compare this to the estimated war dead of five million worldwide during the entire 19th century. (This too was no different than the way the enlightened British treated the Irish.) During Indian famines, it became illegal to lower food prices, illegal to offer charity, and taxes were raised even higher. For relief, the British created workhouses that paid less than the slave labor at Buchenwald. Women sold their children for a single meal. Farmers sold their cattle (from 5 million annually to 115 million), destroying their ability to be self-sufficient. So while there was never a shortage of food in India, Indians couldn’t afford it and died by the millions. Much like the nonsense we hear now, the British claimed the market had to be free to find its own level, with no help of any kind to anyone. Except of course, that Britain stacked the deck on behalf of its businesses, especially the East India Company. Because India was not taken over by the British government; it was taken over by a public company. Members of Parliament and Lords were prominent stockholders, and the government gave the company the right to govern, the soldiers to back it up, and the tariffs to ensure success. This is the same gang that leveled Indian forests to grow poppies, then went to war to force the Chinese to import the resulting opium and cocaine. Twice. The British government itself ran 7000 cocaine shops in India. Tharoor tells the story patiently, calmly and almost dispassionately, in classic Indian demeanor. The book is thoroughly documented and recounts the litany of horrors as if it were simple history. But it isn’t of course. As Tharoor himself points out, there are still millions of Indians who lived it, and the country has yet to fully recover and take its former position in the ranks of the greatest. Inglorious Empire puts the British in their place as horrific managers, greedy, prejudiced and bloodthirsty as any in history. And that makes this an important book.David Wineberg

      2 people found this helpful

    Book preview

    Inglorious Empire - Shashi Tharoor

    x ^book_preview_excerpt.html}}YGUDFZH@@ (,I $bTAzZ"™DWݡc-2G>Jd{f@23[tyTi77ݾ釺Y{X|{7a<śC~(8ŪXc"Ltş_nrnں S08p1џ_Cūy%n;9<O*nFzs7K]bxu(>}7 ?)~z6bfS<ﻪ6'^<{a+, Wdz0jzj uW<4 $+]-w%Hiv_7x(R;oT<͡Ÿ듇Ƴ}lKũ8>*l~9 -IU|ƏSu)~P_qĚ`4|oyI<0{ 5ޠ*KpUŠyµԝWJ"l!c&.!-m8C_e67c91 C`[:A8v J݈M|@M9zˏ?ۈKbK*x觞s6xI2#4JpaQ4Vqhq4hFӒek`v-!Җf0`a|ߗO>O>GY"V5{W~/>{^OW$r8MWhB݄-V񥶌vbyx$oUٷWao/ob}a Ͼ wXn#݆#oXݬz]\틉z,7 fRAnxǃv6Nr*n %\\Q3A R. wʨE,Ƽ Mx= +X< IV4ͲM|o|:we Ϥ>;mS`1kzs߼KÜanc<Xn%B Cy?3da${1XP-} GP"4v) 4m>1{0B|[trY^3-*|Om vӡvŌhe-V+zvej٢\r: ͳo^6o'|7K\jP~J؞|2 yDW= =Ю}ʏS9}9l*'FOZ?m&c#X<莂 ZB.Y؋3 x54ɑ2V-̷[ WIe/<_M ^v.2 L&izO] {9"߼ +em p<|@h/~z/hX ^?{a!}#3[ _ mG3LOSJ&[-!6G.XiG aIq"3%0f.bghBe kPWY*  sCCSnidm^uw7wO3dф1!'v4 oħ0 0|V2ǰ!GuN V (j9M$pј? ̿U4W5?">'tWXF,E<=OgpK 1Ħxz:!9*<"CɎo.Ŷx@TeSs'!Nw a{՝h uW(A#9s_sUL A!ɫaeETm +f&=3+B|@ā`θh/ Db2gep͕ 2 elqNRB.NJ]$K euVA8 YMdTeg;omUm/cÆ7Vk{G3ԺM|{G}pJ?l" TK+Nh /Ɛ!XzX`s9k0eWH}Pe_Џ#fV&8!!d`4ܬ Հ"l;lHy%O e#JrR")hĺ0!z8j 7 16@W//^mD K3Ao3)__!bm{ǞNN`ߜ[ǟ",-^J'tuoH" ?vĞLK܎OV Qxa+2 >LKeo vԶpGf%}c{;j}Yӛu ՓsFرBV=MtfD%@MY[ Oo Ia#pץ2n̙o>_7^6f]Ii__x=!/C?åOV=-9od)?Zxzv+p<Y89p ϝlO 20t1= Becw`7@+E6s&8E[JEGvn78>A ddD҄8 @x3rw8(: k0I=k쌹{O-v3KK)Bdh\ G?b4g=_$?ƹۅ7<,H)vƦQ*9iqױ>"Z=(Rp4ጟqAq K'yRwբ,ұ5JR$r庄FüpVB兞+_z+a.bt҂b2DGO蓂J *JߌHda7^QC ?m%30Xq  + h zp $ZX2GE<}HaY&Sxc2)G5>=y'D")='|Ui sp3 QdX/`Z׸u! kZJEx [$I G MQ)'NS'O &I%_jޚN0g_bTq%&_Qk\=|7^bČi^3 +SdS;aɕawu<'L"Is0>UF3ur{UBap2LLH@<])9h$3zL62m$D7P_S3- g!‰ u+f'^6HKSM0BCR&&0AP-@0A< \Bjg(p%5H ) C$ T(앀Ĝ{:|}vr <g?sn{¬1x9ж31WaAfNK´DȍUEᓠ5yJ3]Ca%98THB{|=vU(#ezbG'O9`@܇2\`*ai [X9q[d[L{?RdqBwG)PNlZDZ(`7YSk'n͘cHO#hï!_ArkFZ.=<ʳiq\O~K5ebZI?p AS8f3;Lg|1& +‹3I4UzLVa<&D˔+TT֢a ĵOxF*ǚ {/&ƲI"xE+5^~ lݍeSG#<z`adC_[F urE2+{1g&]nZH8F> ɺpiW S.r4PLt5ĭ?Sl00̦dVݛTRi'rf;c$bJ)b"re7>T 2j\{ΆzQ3l2.0]BbǸd9vyi,B=aNtB8i45%dąJ:FR6mJz>&jk1m<(^* TվfZ D%)UNy5dԔ C)\0j?4"h|GHO1侳%f4u\EiKmܼ- f/P?0aւ,,3٣Ae#N77-M+ Lڽ(Kbu*0ނS*DjW~EvXTSڎw,t _Aћڇr|M3LJ$͔kxŹ\/(*ff"C">y+Z/YLRjceo]l+$LRj}x L֝J'z c3f<ɟNp847N z/It.G3S rnMچ9d+9 ހu"xCRJxOċ1bGD#d(HbTqU|F,ec^99`&c>+/EeZE?Bb6֝;+=,IJ_)SҲ>qlRhQQ .Tl&A gٝS$vV>b%`Jզ]O~",]Gw|q-rP`! R6[29-+̪-XQԏ+<6*3kgō:kcYvϫo;=1#1m{\s@!8Qc7f}m=-0dgȭ[ȥU{ Pmeae~PnBbI۶Hnhɾ8G1o.8]rw}31M+G+\%a%GuBA'|.՜B(Idbgvu.Kkך9W_W~Riiɯ/K()鮳墰ETђl>v51g wu*eԢ8<ȡF̟ՍRJe-6E5O[yM0rQ%Ipxw&r-I$V(%:wq&'c)KhpN9F*T p4~RMD5f<;\ذ*&OK['!Dc˽fAj5iQZgGQ]%nϫ5y1Pqha': ,x8Zf=1% mF&=LjAPWw^Xe}tH꣡g#_T0;u,Id}Ur2k08".cxsBbfΤYzd9qWYscxւ];Pfe37X%_cvة ±JLY+-y!/zHPwhvi`< sZ%[VG5#wyc \YCH(g. ^ΉŗR- / +a[ mXGRLt;ʹdYM grK9Q&0lU,\C'| lP[eM7b-5l.&8Q RݥꂘVqlV8{*Q!k *L8+Xc/@sjIqQ.ts!cq紽쫮(l4ӄ)+=m ccM'a=kќqwjl<0,PKY *o^w@ T$jWzBYEM.^@8 \K2)_pŹ72Eb~lѮSDOtPP99$6z([TOm`SlĽ$$vyyj%̪X\0sxc"@׿7U/= Ě11`Mx.{U-fInU}Ѵn5 b~E|WlD${ ,xV`gu/xmK?Nl͊, Wˆu^ŠF9ILo6Z:8{7Qۙsu}*^kmNcѽlbɰΣHhaqaHֿ6,̛iLSǒ(U)=ʣP%[/kvrsMC6+>J Py%40 sR rZmQ  sC&Nu^}0c~*X:.&tvac e!|E+Z"TcE^GNѽo%[2,e/qlV܍x Pz Uhi`}:]*su/_`$+@a8e2[ <`b#nW-9yi5v̩lyk:NRU :_?D{ɯM bcGLA; !/@{B \2^Sgİt7k(ihRAnZԮ{ (.d1 =3:3ˊ2ϫqّ}/uUȠGXXyߓ_Osϳ]W[cq)mU^^)vժ6KJ!u&r2vr'cYW{ʣCFVya/\wK rt]%C.Qih{33 x /^m.4|_[4EX'΋ȊZ;<<DzQ(LȄA{zAn;vv*(<zAؚ"7_KSد7)YRWŷ,)UdK)IpfzZV"O^kEXM {uSdqE#Z"_eꕘ(IYL-zv~!DX[bᕗaKv'w٪R6sEY0u俓5"u)LzJ, {6{ɴzŃZu}[/<g7n.Xeyy幟Aklpʉse&tEqMݯ =DXemv(qU?[)z⍊ QENJfk8*9TnZnY8n{=;R{]owU֨1oqL$v a{x`GXI9Hc\*8`Uj~ɩp*? vtE&JyxZ??{zJD7pu|<OcFlVúTxbz~ǍЄ28S>{U`4|^(8YC.,w,"amg#>Jkdc0˃?6m O$/m{c}+eT:|GΞO7*YtMYSU&QU ϋkx>tpwg[WsLF?pN qr;9&os5'IIʞ?f0.NjR+E!-{!j8dO8'J6t?qKS?lκ' @echX\dDkhԉw.ڒUdWW5j#dƫhIp c\㾐҇~sIH ЅѢ[/!ø`RS-'H,NF GQvѓ[I5LM:m16L(na31*: UmTdB ?X7ӸDzHh㸔bgxKQ,*QC,x /YPloUj2S5VD;sz|r6RsF+ւH5ΰvΌ!1S=o` =e][3Fj:f,uw'gt%D}L =y)'5J sR}ib+iɽDuEĦCWx-Gg> )7j<{ܘ$ݪj[{mQ GBE_/2*iZ wO\e?R#@]fݳ½t`YuF$t KaK7)KyG(v"Zv/Tc,L=SS(^/=șXnlo7Q)jh%(KeRQ, R8ʖSs:3(3"a{6*W5oq"iD:DKm\&re_j [ꔈ!w=w 'Zszoޯr1u:9H*l11Xn,ilQc*VYUQ?דXp_yf >0`EE<$IH^07GpX.5ϝy!" ͞a:]٘t2w<z&F|d xulΏ*VEׄOg 7,W=Ad^-MK}SYK0! ؅2#ܳ?=:QZadk ²*ii{B][skzbu\tԣ6 1ǎ*P .".Kj?06lDNS4~Zw:?Rt0OKx:7ꂣYw |eAbZUסa<:z<T¼*B J PӾ ~ LDS :$S1Ud3Nۃ#[ !Y4Is>-TRE+KS8*I v+ѓD]5f(IBДDQ#!e3m_lZ5+am0(ZlD:Ter|t\HR}% Vj*MXjBSJڍ`E=᧯tvX.NĘ v$k ԛ*זí1{}VR^jxlVu"ev/[V_o!7<S<{^oWUbxUGR.pkr>bLj< ,*+2DtTW@+hR#J]VƱ*o8ˈGė.J<TrΟEޅ2A\Gƫ^ baes3v7rC3 Ar'4[6m#/4=X鐳OwS/ aD2+| j*>z끮-2&f.Dž>'iM y}@=ԜL3-bBHZ,ʫ (U-`TR}FE;NZ͔ڜߋU~}p[bihՊ&qS'g9JX`ȭmKVm\+YM^AwP='4Gz 8k V_AAgUi9jDѯZG,"s XzQ^~j袻5lWnT d&uFlzrebʘ\Hy5+d`j
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1