Indian Politician and Member of Parliament Mr. Shashi Tharoor win a debate by two third majority at Oxford university which was about the “Britain owes reparations to her former colonies”. Where in his powerful arguments he demanded an apology to India from Brutish (sarcastically word Shashi uses in the preface for British) and asked to pay reparation symbolically 1 pound a year for 200 years. The speech went viral on social media. After that Shashi Tharoor thought to write this book which is an elaboration and very good compilation of the events about British Raj. This book is not an exactly a history book I would imagine but it is a well-researched essay which argues against 20 decades of British Raj in India. Good point about this book Shashi has tried to put balanced arguments with facts and proofs and it's reasonably well cited. Also, a list of notes and reference and bibliography is provided at the end of the book.
The book is basically divided into several chapters taking multiple related issues per topic. The book is not in chronological order but its arrangement is topic and relevance based but it's beautifully designed. It is an extensive examination of the economic and cultural, political Social damage made to India by British colonization.
What British give to India? sometimes British Raj in India is glorified British and Indian British apologist. They have been claiming for all these years most of which I also studied in textbooks is British gave India Industrialization, Political unity, Democracy, Free press, Rule of law, Bureaucracy, Railway, Modern Education, Cricket. Tea. Shashi has argued and demolished all of these false claims of so called gifts to India from British raj.
The book starts with how British invaded India and how they dismantled Indian manufacturing sector and made policies to favor them. How the taxation was used to make India poor favored British tread. Shashi has argued strongly with facts against British claim that Indian industries went down not because they miss the bus of the industrial revolution but because of British policies. He has quite well described three important industries that time in which India was world leader Textiles, shipbuilding, and steel. These all three industries were brought down through well-organised policies.
Next chapters he talks about the claims of the political and geographic unity of India where he explains how the social system and political institutions were deliberate destroyed. British never gave the geographical unity to India this idea and identity of India is thousand years of old and what British left with divided India leaving 3 counties current India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Most brutal and shameful part of it as Shashi describes Indian famine and in the same situation how British behaved. How Indian rupee value was high when 35 million people died in famines. I quote exact lines from book “Indian starved but their currency stayed high and value of British assets in India is protected”. Also shashi talk about the Jallianwala bagh for which british awarded to the Butcher of Amritsar General Dyer.
Shashi then talk about tax system, tea, railway, post communication, where he argues all the so called development by British were never for the Indians but they always served the British purpose of exploitation. For example he claims that India paid 9 times high to build railway and paid very high for on travel in third class.Indians literally paid for their suppression.
Most important part of book which i felt is when he talk about the education system and divide and rule policy. So called Macaulay's modern Indian education which played important role in the colonizing the Indian minds. There were no efforts made by British to establish any higher education systems or institutions universities. The resources spent on actual academic research and science was negligible.
Good part of all arguments I liked that whenever necessary Shashi has given his speculation what would have been situation if British were not ruling.
All over the book and also the end of the book Tharoor doesn’t want Britain to pay in cash or money to india so he does not also ask for femous for the return of the Kohinoor diamond, instead he wants to leave the Kohinoor where it does not belong, and it will serves as a reminder of the loot and plunder of British raj.
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