Inglorious Empire – Shashi Tharoor

ISBN: 978-0-141-98714-9

Verdict: 👍👍👍

What could be better than a ‘fact based’ book on Indian History written by an Indian politician / author.

Some great snippets to be found in this book e.g. “There is a statue of limitation on colonial wrongdoings, but none on human memory, especially living memory – History belongs in the past: but understanding it is the duty of the present– (p235)

The East Indian Trading Company was abhorrent, using mafia tactics to achieve its commercial goals allowing it to move from a trading partner to rulers and eventually handing over for British rule who promoted opium use e.g. “In 1930, Durant found 7000 opium shops in India, every single one of them British Government Owned, and conducting their business over the protests of every Indian nationalist organization and social service group.”

This book gives facts, dates, references and examples - for me the passage on p51 is worth noting  “The British ruled nineteenth-century India with unshakeable self confidence, buttressed by protocol, alcohol and a lot of gall. Stalin found it ‘ridiculous’ that a ‘few hundred Englishmen should dominate India ‘. He was not arithmetically accurate, but in principle was right. “

I think the last few lines in the book sum up the context of the book i.e. “We have to realize sometimes the best crystal ball is a rear-view mirror’