Inglorious Empire

The Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller on India's experience of British colonialism, bythe internationally-acclaimed author and diplomat Shashi Tharoor

'Tharoor's impassioned polemic slices straight tothe heart of the darkness that drives all empires ... laying bare the grim, and high,cost of the British Empire for its former subjects. An essentialread' Financial Times

In the eighteenth century, India's share of the world economy was aslarge as Europe's. By 1947, after two centuries of British rule, it haddecreased six-fold. The Empire blew rebels from cannon, massacredunarmed protesters, entrenched institutionalised racism, and causedmillions to die from starvation.

British imperialism justifieditself as enlightened despotism for the benefit of the governed, butShashi Tharoor takes demolishes this position, demonstrating how everysupposed imperial 'gift' - from the railways to the rule of law - wasdesigned in Britain's interests alone. He goes on to show how Britain'sIndustrial Revolution was founded on India's deindustrialisation, andthe destruction of its textile industry.

In this bold andincisive reassessment of colonialism, Tharoor exposes to devastatingeffect the inglorious reality of Britain's stained Indian legacy.

Reviews

Persuasive and well-founded ... the book convincingly demolishes the nostalgic, self-serving arguments voiced by imperial apologists