![]() ![]() ![]() He freely admits the failures of Indians which permitted the English to subjugate them and also recounts the resistance that eventually put British Dominion to an end. Tharoor is pretty fair, which is refreshing. I also understood from this study for the first time how so many upper class Britons in the 18th, 19th and early 20th Centuries managed to lead lives of such idle affluence - they did it directly or indirectly by picking India's pocket. Well, the answer is, they were siphoning off the human and material wealth of India and using it to prop themselves up against what otherwise would have been insuperable enemies. This book answers questions that I have often fleetingly considered, such as how England ever managed to dredge up the resources to win the Napoleonic Wars, the Boer War, and WWI and WWII - apart from getting bailed out by the USA in the latter two. ![]() The more history I read, the fewer heroes I have. Having lived in India for two years and having researched and written two books while there, I vaguely knew a fair bit of Tharoor's thesis, but this book drew threads of information that I was vaguely aware of into a carefully woven Bayeaux tapestry of the corrupt British Raj. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |