In 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.