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The preface frames key arguments around colonial power, institutional change, and political consequences. The chapters analyze economic extraction, the creation (and limits) of political unity, colonial democracy and the press, divide-and-rule dynamics tied to caste and communal identities, and the narrative of enlightened despotism, including famine policy and forced migration.",{"@graph":69,"@context":127},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/an-era-of-darkness-the-british-library/299761/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/an-era-of-darkness-the-british-library/299761.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Emma Wilson","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-18",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",12,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119,123],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What themes are introduced in the preface?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The preface frames arguments around the Oxford speech and the surrounding Indian reactions, including criticisms and how history should be understood without excuses or revenge.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the book explain British economic control in India?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"The section on the looting of India covers corporate conquest, the East India Company, deindustrialization, destruction of textiles, extraction through taxes and diamonds, corruption, revenue collection, and resource drain.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What does the book claim about political unity under British rule?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"It questions the British claim of creating unity, discussing the idea of India, centralized impulses, disruption of political institutions, changes to local governance, and shifts in control and administration.",{"name":124,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":125},"How does the book treat the idea of “enlightened despotism”?",{"text":126,"@type":114},"It contrasts the purported moral justification with discussion of famine, colonial policy, key debates about starving India, and evidence including attitudes during the Bengal famine and forced migration.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":129,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":131,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":133,"site_id":62},299761,1790103690,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":136},{"doc_id":133,"user_id":137,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":138,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":139,"file_id":140,"file_url":141,"file_type":142,"file_size":143,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":144,"language":145,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":146,"faqs":147,"seo_title":148,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":149,"read_time":150},3848291630094,"https://eur-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_085a072bc5b1113ac321206ff7593b45","ALSO BY SHASHI THAROOR  \nNON-FICTION  \nIndia Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in Our Time India: the Future is Now (ed.) Pax Indica: India and the World ofthe 21st Century Shadows Across the Playing Field: 60 Years ofIndia-Pakistan Cricket (with Shahryar Khan)  \nIndia (with Ferrante Ferranti)  \nThe Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell Phone: Reflections on India in the 21st Century  \nBookless in Baghdad  \nNehru: The Invention ofIndia Kerala: God’s Own Country (with M. F. Husain) India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond Reasons ofState  \nFICTION  \nRiot  \nThe Five Dollar Smile and Other Stories Show Business  \nThe Great Indian Novel  \nALEPH BOOK COMPANY  \nAn independent publishing firm  \npromoted by Rupa Publications India  \nFirst published in India in 2016  \nby Aleph Book Company  \n7/16 Ansari Road, Daryaganj  \nNew Delhi 110 002  \nCopyright © Shashi Tharoor 2016  \nAll rights reserved.  \nThe views and opinions expressed in this book are the author’s own and the facts are as reported by him/her which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.  \nWhile every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission, this has not been possible in all cases;  \nany omissions brought to our attention will be remedied in future editions.  \nNo part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means,  \nwithout permission in writing from Aleph Book Company.  \nISBN: 978-93-84067-88-5  \nThis book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is  \npublished.  \nFor  \nmy sons, Ishaan and Kanishk, whose love of history equals, and knowledge ofit exceeds, my own  \nBut ’tis strange.  \nAnd oftentimes, to win us to our harm,  \nThe instruments of darkness tell us truths    \n—William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I, scene iii  \nThy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall;  \nAnd universal darkness buries all.  \n—Alexander Pope, The Dunciad  \nWe live in the flicker—may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday.  \n—Joseph Conrad, Heart ofDarkness  \nIndia—a hundred Indias—whispered outside beneath the indifferent moon, but for the time India seemed one and their own, and they regained their departed greatness by hearing its departure lamented…  \n—E. M. Forster, A Passage to India  \n———————  \nCONTENTS  \nPREFACE  \nThe Oxford speech – Indian reactions – criticisms taken into account – history is neither for excuses nor for revenge  \n1. THE LOOTING OF INDIA  \nDurant’s outrage – the conquest ofIndia by a corporation – the East India Company – the deindustrialization ofIndia – destruction ofIndian textiles – extraction, taxes and diamonds – Clive and Plassey – the ‘nabobs ’ – corruption – revenue collection and the drain of resources – the Permanent Settlement – Indian military contributions to Empire – Naoroji ’s indictment – the destruction of shipping and shipbuilding – stealingfrom Indian steel – how India missed the Industrial Revolution – the Scots benefit  \n2. DID THE BRITISH GIVE INDIA POLITICAL UNITY?  \nBritish claim to creating Indian unity – the ancient ‘idea of India ’ and the centralizing impulse – counterfactuals of history – the destruction ofpolitical institutions – overthrow of‘native princes ’ – weakening of village self-governance – Indian social structures unfamiliar to the British – increasing British control – deinstitutionalization of governance – native rulers not worse than Company – the Crown takes over its jewel – imperial ostentation and‘ornamentalism ’ – Curzon and British self-regard – the un-Indian Civil Service – lifestyles of the rich and infamous – Indians in imperial service – exclusion and suppression ofIndian talent – Chetty, Tagore, Banerjea, Ghosh – imperial racism: ","cbCaijLrLpdArVO5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijLrLpdArVO5","pdf",1862235,209,"English","# PREFACE\n## The Oxford speech – Indian reactions – criticisms taken into account – history is neither for excuses nor for revenge\n# 1. THE LOOTING OF INDIA\n## Durant’s outrage – the conquest of India by a corporation – the East India Company – the deindustrialization of India – destruction of Indian textiles – extraction, taxes and diamonds – Clive and Plassey – the ‘nabobs ’ – corruption – revenue collection and the drain of resources – the Permanent Settlement – Indian military contributions to Empire – Naoroji ’s indictment – the destruction of shipping and shipbuilding – stealing from Indian steel – how India missed the Industrial Revolution – the Scots benefit\n# 2. DID THE BRITISH GIVE INDIA POLITICAL UNITY?\n## British claim to creating Indian unity – the ancient ‘idea of India ’ and the centralizing impulse – counterfactuals of history – the destruction of political institutions – overthrow of‘native princes ’ – weakening of village self-governance – Indian social structures unfamiliar to the British – increasing British control – deinstitutionalization of governance – native rulers not worse than Company – the Crown takes over its jewel – imperial ostentation and‘ornamentalism ’ – Curzon and British self-regard – the un-Indian Civil Service – lifestyles of the rich and infamous – Indians in imperial service – exclusion and suppression of Indian talent – Chetty, Tagore, Banerjea, Ghosh – imperial racism: only disconnect – British governance, the swadeshi movement and the advent of Mahatma Gandhi – the Montagu– Chelmsford ‘reforms ’ – the Great War and the great betrayal\n# 3. DEMOCRACY, THE PRESS, THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM AND THE RULE OF LAW\n## The British case for liberal democracy – the (partly) free press –freedom and constraints – the rise of Indian newspapers – the Vernacular Press Act – The Hindu – the Amrita Bazar Patrika & its Kashmir exposé – the Press Act of 1910 – the Parliamentary system in India –‘rule of law ’: the boot and the spleen – Can Englishmen murder Indians?– misogynous laws – racism – ‘criminal tribes ’ – colonial-era prejudices entrenched in Indian Penal Code – Section 377, sedition & adultery – British laws outlived colonialism\n# 4. DIVIDE ET IMPERA\n## Divide and rule as a colonial project – caste, race and classification – the creation of community feeling – the British punditocracy – how the census undermined consensus – British colonialism self-justified – caste reified by colonialism – the Hindu–Muslim divide – communalism as a colonial construction – the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League – the British and the Shia–Sunni divide – British communal bias – a saint among sinners – separate electorates – stumbling towards Armageddon – Congress resignations – Quit India – the revival of the Muslim League – the Cripps Mission – endgame: election, revolt, division – negotiations over withdrawal – two surrenders: the British give up and the Congress gives in – quitting India, creating Pakistan – a ‘tryst with destiny ’\n# 5. THE MYTH OF ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM\n## The case for enlightened despotism – feast and famine: the British and ‘starving India ’ – the British colonial holocaust – famines and British policy – Adam Smith & Malthus – troubled consciences, untroubled indifference – Lord Lytton ’s benign neglect – Indians active in relief – ‘numerical rhetoric ’ – the Bengal Famine and Churchill’s attitude – forced migration: transportation and","[{\"question\":\"What themes are introduced in the preface?\",\"answer\":\"The preface frames arguments around the Oxford speech and the surrounding Indian reactions, including criticisms and how history should be understood without excuses or revenge.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book explain British economic control in India?\",\"answer\":\"The section on the looting of India covers corporate conquest, the East India Company, deindustrialization, destruction of textiles, extraction through taxes and diamonds, corruption, revenue collection, and resource drain.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the book claim about political unity under British rule?\",\"answer\":\"It questions the British claim of creating unity, discussing the idea of India, centralized impulses, disruption of political institutions, changes to local governance, and shifts in control and administration.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the book treat the idea of “enlightened despotism”?\",\"answer\":\"It contrasts the purported moral justification with discussion of famine, colonial policy, key debates about starving India, and evidence including attitudes during the Bengal famine and forced migration.\"}]","An Era of Darkness - The British - Library | PDF",1789771234,322]