“The Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India” by Dr. Shahi Tharoor is a very informative and well-written book about British rule in India. Dr. Tharoor got his inspiration to write this book from one of his Oxford Union debates at Oxford University in May 2015 titled ‘Does Britain owe reparations’. The video is available on YouTube. The book has 8 chapters focusing on the British looting of the Indian subcontinent to its post-colonial effects on the Indian subcontinent. The book shows us the dark history of the British colonial rule. It dispels the myth of British benevolence that is often argued by the West to some extent. The book shows us how the British have plundered India economically leading to mass inequality, famine, and the destruction of traditional industries of India.
The first chapter of the book delves into the origin of the British conquest of India. Along the way, Dr. Tharoor gives an idea of pre-colonial India when it was one of the most prosperous regions in the world. It had almost 23% of the world’s GDP before the British came. This India along with its industries and wealth was plundered by British rule for more than 200 years.
One thing many British historians argue is that Britain gave India political unity which is largely false because India was already unified long before the British came here. The Indian subcontinent was first unified by the Maurya dynasty and reached its peak during the Mughal era and we can even see traces of a unified in the ancient Indian epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The book introduces these facts against British prejudices and dispels the illusion.
The later chapter of the book focuses on democratic inclusion, the spreading of vernaculars, and the use of law to repress the natives. The British often regarded their law as the highest order but in the subcontinent, they ruled with an iron fist. The book argues that the rule of law during the empire rule of law was that of ‘The Boot and the Spleen’. There was a rule of law but that did not apply to the ruling Britishers. The colonial law then favored the white settlers. The book also gives a detailed account of the administration of that time.
The chapter Divide Et Impera analyses the British tactics of ‘Divide and Conquer’. Before the empire came to India there was not any creed-based division among the natives but after the British came here things started to get a bit fuzzy. Under British rule, the existing caste system in India was made more distinct than before. The Hindu-Muslim dividend that we see today which is responsible for so many woes of this region date back to the British era when the colonial masters gave jobs based on religious identity and thus created religious pluralism which hitherto did not exist. The interesting thing I liked most about this book is the use of statistics to support the writers’ argument. The Britishers always argue that they have civilized India but have plundered it instead, Dr. Tharoor masterfully shows this through relevant statistics, and this use can be seen as the greatest strength of this book.
The writer in his writing style unfazed to call out the hypocrisy of the British apologists. The book is essentially a historical and economic critique along the lines of social and cultural damage that was caused due to colonialism. In the rest of the chapters, the writer just extended his discussion on how the colonial legacy has left cultural, economic, and industrial decay from which India still suffers to this day. Dr. Tharoor not only advocates for a reappraisal of the colonial legacy for India but for other nations suffering from post-colonial amnesia.
Like every other book, this book has its failings but that is not very eye sore. To me, the book in its part might seem a bit too one-sided. In the book, the writer very little engages with the complex structure of colonial rule. He also did not recognize the influence and role of certain Indians that have helped the British rule. The writer also had little discussion about the persons who at various moments adopted the British rules in various ways that have shaped India’s modern identity.
In conclusion, “The Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India” is a compelling read. The book is thoroughly well-researched. Dr. Tharoor’s writing style and obstinacy in calling out colonial era injustice make this a must-read book for readers interested in colonial history and India’s struggle for independence. After reading the book the reader is left with little doubt that the British Empire might have been glorious for Britain, but it was certainly inglorious for India.
