Author: Shashi Tharoor
Publisher : Aleph Book Company
Pages : 360
Format : Hard Cover
Kindleandkompass rating : 4.5/5
This book is an extended version of Sashi Tharoor’s viral speech “Britain Does Owe Reparations”
If you are looking for a chronological narration of the rise and fall of the Crown, then this is not one of them. Tharoor writes here about the bitter truth of colonization in India. The Brits looted a nation that was once thriving in every single industry. They treated Indians as subjects and not as citizens, maneuvered to penetrate deep in our society leaving an impoverished economy and finally weakened a solid body by their policy of “Divide et Impera” .
Tharoor smashes the “Brits did good to us” notion and documents about the famines and the unfair tax system that drained the Indian economy, racism and policies that only benefited the Brits. They never wanted to change India or the lives of the Indians, but only to make money. Tharoor narrates all this and much more with eloquence. Trust me, reading history has never been so interesting.
Towards the end of the book, the author writes about the reparations the English owe the Indians. It is totally impractical for the Brits to return the wealth looted or go through the all sufferings and the blood shed. An apology on the 100th year anniversary of the Jalianwala Bhag Massacre is the recompense Tharoor demands .Let’s wait and watch.
The history here is much more than what the British influenced school text books taught us. It is not a quick read – informative and educational with a whole lot of thoroughly researched facts and data. It is not an easy read- the author does not follow a chronology in documenting the incidents. There is a lot of referencing and cross referencing, which is a distraction. The anecdotes and the impeccable vocabulary sometimes makes you turn pages in a dictionary that retards the reading pace. The rodomontade-ism 😉
An era of darkness does not make you sad or depressing reading about the past, but only makes you proud about how far we have come. This book is highly recommended if you have the time and interest in knowing the unknown truth of the Crown rule and the less spoken atrocities that prevailed in their colonies.
Overall, an informative read!
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Sounds like an informative read.
Not something I’m familiar with. Does sound intriguing.
Great review. Glad you enjoyed it!
Great review.
Hold their feet to the fire!
Great review, sounds intriguing.
Such a deep book. Thank you for sharing.