Intended AudienceTrade
ReviewsTharoor convincingly demolishes some of the more persistent myths about Britain's supposedly civilizing mission in India...[he] charts the destruction of pre-colonial systems of government by the British and their ubiquitous ledgers and rule books...The statistics are worth repeating., "Tharoor's book--arising from a contentious Oxford Union debate in 2015 where he proposed the motion "Britain owes reparations to her former colonies"--should keep the home fires burning, so to speak, both in India and in Britain...He makes a persuasive case, with telling examples.", "Eloquent ... a well-written riposte to those texts that celebrate empire as a supposed "force for good".", 'Eloquent ... a well-written riposte to those texts that celebrate empire as a supposed "force for good".', 'His writing is a delight and he seldom misses his target ... Tharoor should be applauded for tackling an impossibly contentious subject ... he deserves to be read. Indians are not the only ones who need reminding that empire has a lot to answer for.', A brilliant work...distinguished among this literature in its manner of presentation and dazzling arguments...an eye-opener and a valuable source of reference for students and others to understand India's experience under British colonialism., Remarkable...The book is savagely critical of 200 years of the British in India. It makes very uncomfortable reading for Brits., 'Ferocious and astonishing. Essential for a Britain lost in sepia fantasies about its past, Inglorious Empire is history at its clearest and cutting best.', Listening to Tharoor is addicting enough, and this book, born out of his speech at The Oxford Union (which went viral) is just as captivating. Tharoor compellingly posits why the British Raj in India should never be ennobled or confused as a gift, and exposes the destructive rape of India at the hands of its colonizers., Ferocious and astonishing. Essential for a Britain lost in sepia fantasies about its past, Inglorious Empire is history at its clearest and cutting best., His writing is a delight and he seldom misses his target...Tharoor should be applauded for tackling an impossibly contentious subject...he deserves to be read. Indians are not the only ones who need reminding that empire has a lot to answer for., 'Brilliant ... A searing indictment of the Raj and its impact on India. ... Required reading for all Anglophiles in former British colonies, and needs to be a textbook in Britain.', 'Tharoor's book -- arising from a contentious Oxford Union debate in 2015 where he proposed the motion "Britain owes reparations to her former colonies" -- should keep the home fires burning, so to speak, both in India and in Britain ... He makes a persuasive case, with telling examples.', 'Remarkable ... The book is savagely critical of 200 years of the British in India. It makes very uncomfortable reading for Brits.', 'Those Brits who speak confidently about how Britain's "historical and cultural ties" to India will make it easy to strike a great new trade deal should read Mr Tharoor's book. It would help them to see the world through the eyes of the ... countries once colonised or defeated by Britain.', ' Inglorious Empire is a timely reminder of the need to start teaching unromanticised colonial history in British schools. A welcome antidote to the nauseating righteousness and condescension pedalled by Niall Ferguson in his 2003 book Empire .', Inglorious Empire is a timely reminder of the need to start teaching unromanticised colonial history in British schools. A welcome antidote to the nauseating righteousness and condescension pedalled by Niall Ferguson in his 2003 book Empire ., [A]t once a moral indictment and a moralistic polemic, both intended to expose the ''totally amoral, rapacious imperial machine'' the British devised to plunder India., Inglorious Empire both reiterates long-standing, persuasive and well-founded critiques of the British Raj's countless exploitative activities and the damage done under colonialism, and expresses [Tharoor's] surprise and disappointment that such basic points still need to be made anew today. Chapter by chapter, the book convincingly demolishes the nostalgic, self-serving arguments voiced by imperial apologists., "I had read only a few pages of Inglorious Empire before I thought, "What a wonderful book this would be to teach from." It's witty and fast-paced, the what-ifs and what-might-have-beens set up to provoke discussion. And the author's digressions, sometimes more enthralling than the topic under discussion, raise important questions about who he is [and] the country that has made him.", With telling examples and scathing statistics...the book is a timely and helpful antidote to other contemporary works...the evidence that Tharoor presents to debunk the myths about Britain's civilising mission is staggering., 'Tharoor convincingly demolishes some of the more persistent myths about Britain's supposedly civilizing mission in India ... [he] charts the destruction of pre-colonial systems of government by the British and their ubiquitous ledgers and rule books ... The statistics are worth repeating.', Tharoor's impassioned polemic slices straight to the heart of the darkness that drives all empires. Forceful, persuasive and blunt, he demolishes Raj nostalgia, laying bare the grim, and high, cost of the British Empire for its former subjects. An essential read., '[A]t once a moral indictment and a moralistic polemic, both intended to expose the ''totally amoral, rapacious imperial machine'' the British devised to plunder India.', Well researched...this book is an extremely useful corrective to nostalgic imperial history and well worth reading., "Those Brits who speak confidently about how Britain's "historical and cultural ties" to India will make it easy to strike a great new trade deal should read Mr Tharoor's book. It would help them to see the world through the eyes of the...countries once colonised or defeated by Britain.", 'Tharoor's impassioned polemic slices straight to the heart of the darkness that drives all empires. Forceful, persuasive and blunt, he demolishes Raj nostalgia, laying bare the grim, and high, cost of the British Empire for its former subjects. An essential read.', 'Well-referenced and full of fascinating facts, quotes and anecdotes, Inglorious Empire is a scorching indictment of British rule in India, and of British imperialism more broadly.', 'This book burns with the power of intellect married with conviction ... this is erudite, well-written, thoroughly documented and persuasive history that focuses varied sources into a coherent critique of colonialism in the Indian context. Tear up your copies of Ferguson's neo-liberal mind rot and get angry like Tharoor.', Well-referenced and full of fascinating facts, quotes and anecdotes, Inglorious Empire is a scorching indictment of British rule in India, and of British imperialism more broadly., This book burns with the power of intellect married with conviction...this is erudite, well-written, thoroughly documented and persuasive history that focuses varied sources into a coherent critique of colonialism in the Indian context. Tear up your copies of Ferguson's neo-liberal mind rot and get angry like Tharoor., Brilliant...A searing indictment of the Raj and its impact on India...Required reading for all Anglophiles in former British colonies, and needs to be a textbook in Britain.
SynopsisIn 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 deindustrialization 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., Inglorious Empiretells the real story of the British in India and reveals how Britain's rise was built upon its plunder of India.