An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India (Condition NEW) Hardcover – 1 Jan. 2016

An excellent read. A more refreshing, unbiased, factual and well evidenced portrayal of the atrocities carried out the British. These are the same people who like to show good moral standing and preach democratic values where they actually practised brutal and inhumane deeds. The book makes great use of language and is one of great pieces of literature I have read in a while.

This is a book that should be a compulsory text book for all history lessons in schools here so that children will know and understand the dark deeds as well that were perpetrated on the countries of the Commonwealth and not only the glorious victories of GREAT BRITAIN's EMPIRE and of Britannia ruling the waves!

Only part way through the book, and although extremely informative, the writing style and content does seem to bounce around quite a bit making it difficult to become totally engrossed.

The book is in good shape and almost new.Book has historic revealments hidden to the general public as to what British Raj did to India plundering her for centuries.

Insightful and thought provoking. The author wonderfully narrates his views on both sides of the argument and sets up for an interesting read.

Read this book in India,it's the exact same book as " Inglorious Empire" I did feel quite frustrated and angry, though I'm a Brit but with Indian ancestory. As this book explains the negative impact of what the British did in India, I think it's rather apt as there are a plethora of books about the great achievements of the colonialist. This book rather tips the apple cart and will make you question why in UK we are not taught this. Shashi's writing is somewhat dull and repetitive at times.

Excellent book, loved reading it

Excellent book! Well referenced and facutal.

In his precisely worded book “An Era of Darkness”, Shashi Tharoor puts forth many powerful arguments, that will no doubt convince the staunchest Anglophile, about why the British rule in India meant nothing but violence, injustice and deprivation. This extensively researched book describes in great detail the physical and emotional value of the loot and damage that the country suffered because of the excesses of the East India Company officials. It makes for a difficult read, especially for a generation that was not affected by the British rule, and tends to forget or ignore the sacrifices and sufferings of our forefathers. It is a brilliant book, but I give it a 4 because of the one-sided argument of a skilled debater. There is no mention of the many excellent research and educational institutions, the extensive railway system, the system of government or the judiciary that India has today; all a legacy of the British Raj rule. This in my opinion is the flaw of this otherwise excellent book.

To all Raj fanboys, your redemption from ignorance is in there. The Brutish raj was nothing less than an abomination and I hope India manages to negate its effects in near future. India was always better off without colonization by the squalid low-lifers from a criminal empire.

Sashi Tharoor has brilliantly elucidated the loot and the deceit indulged in by the British. He has successfully carried the conviction with the readers with irrefutable facts and impeccable presentation. Overall, the book is simply brilliant and is a must read. The lone sore spot is that the packaging of the product (book) is very poor and it came crumpled at its edges. In fact, rating have to be 4 stars, but keeping in mind the value of the content of the book I am giving it 5 stars. I have bought a number of books on Amazon but shabby packaging, though price is very reasonable and the quality is good, has forced a rethink on ordering some more books. Sincerely hope that the product comes in good shape when I order my next book.

Very lucid language . Good facts .keep the readers bind with it to read complete..A must read book ...specially for students and scholars of history and political science as well as who wants the problems of our present where these were rooted during the British period.

Shashi Tharoor whose brilliance enchanted over 3 million people on YouTube with his debating skills at an Oxford Union debate continues in the same vein in his new book "An era of darkness".Essentially the debate was about whether colonialism was good or bad. It may seem anachronistic and even cruel for the victims of Colonialism in Asia, Africa and Latin America that such thing can even be debated. But anything can be debated in public school debating clubs of UK ! In the English tradition all these schools prepare you for a legal or a parliamentary career where you could argue either way on any issue depending on the context. Many of our own parliamentarians are trained in the same tradition and argue brilliantly in Indian courts as well as in the Indian Parliament and we can see them hold forth brilliantly on the pro of a policy and equally brilliantly on the cons of it depending on whether they are in the treasury benches or in the opposition, inducing inevitable cynicism.However the sincerity of Tharoor in arguing that British colonialism did inestimable all sided harm to India shows through this tome where he marshals literally hundreds of facts (well organised quotes run into nearly 300). His passion for the subject comes through every page, his sardonic tone and twist of the English phrase even while cursing the power that imposed English language with "Tommy jackboots" hits the reader with a genuine force.Along with accolades from Indians in all walks of life, including PM, Narendra Modi, Tharoor got some feeble criticism as well after his short Oxford Union talk. That has prepared him for much more disdainful and patronising vitriol from apologists of British colonialism. All his arguments and quotes seem to be in preparation of that assault. He does not leave any leaf unturned in his endeavour including the Tea leaves of Assam, Bengal and Oooty.In fact the topics he chooses to argue include the whole gamut of issues which are normally quoted as "gifts" of two centuries of British rule over India: good governance, English sense of fairplay, Austinian judicial system, Railways, social reform of Hindu society, Cricket, Tea and even the English language. He tears them up one by one with profuse facts and anecdotal quotes from largely British and other Western sources.Some of the insights he provides are important for colonial studies. He points out that the public finance in pre-colonial India was based on taxing trade where as the British themselves being traders made a drastic change and made agriculture and land revenue the focus, (and even called their chief district level representative: Collector) thereby causing immense hardship to peasantry. He traces the creation of the landless peasant and the increased dependence of large segment of the population on agriculture for livelihood due to the destruction of artisans and manufacture and also large scale man made famines under colonialism.In these days when corruption, its roots and elimination often becomes a matter of public discussion he narrates its massive rise due to the practices of the East India Company and its officers.He makes an astute observation that despite historical animosities between England and Scotland a compact was established to include Scotland into the United Kingdom ( though initiated by a fudged parliamentary vote in 1707) by promising plum positions for Scots in colonial India. That explains the unusually large proportion of Scots in the administration and the army in India. Twisting the knife further he adds that perhaps the loss of this income from India into Scottish homes is leading to disenchantment and fueling separatism in Scotland !His remarks on the creation of a decadent gentry of Rai Bahadurs and Diwan Bahadurs and even the more abhorrent profligate and promiscuous Princes replacing the older far more grounded aristocracy are insightful.Besides going into the financing of Indian Railways and how gold plating was done by many an English investor assured of guaranteed returns and how Railways during construction and later were used to drain the Indian economy and increase the national debt, Tharoor makes an important point that in the operational finances of Railways it was the third class passengers traveling in sub human conditions that subsidised freight and the first class !His discussion of British communal divide and rule as well as re-imposition of caste inequalities through the Gentoo Code under Warren Hastings and in the post-1857 construction of colonial state are extremely important but often forgotten in the modern Indian discourse on communalism and casteism.It is an enjoyable read, passionately written smooth in flow while being richly cross referenced. The blemishes are few. Note worthy ones are his quoting Marx completely out of context to show purportedly that Marx supported British colonialism in India which is contrary to facts; and frequent comparisons of genocidal massacres under British with unsubstantiated figures of deaths caused supposedly by Stalin etc. Perhaps we can ascribe it to his anxiety towards taking a swipe at his leftist political rivals in his parliamentary constituency in Kerala.Other weakness of the "Era of Darkness" is total neglect of the role of Ghadar revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh and his comrades and even the war of Independence --the Great Ghadar of 1857, chronicled as the biggest war of 19th century world, and the colonial tactics of chicanery and brutality employed by British, while Tharoor does bring out such facets from the rest of colonial history.I would recommend every young Indian to read this book to get a perspective of our colonial past in the present day mesmerising euphoria of the global village in spite of Trump.

Nice packing. Prompt Delivery.The quality of paper and binding is excellent. And of course, the contents of the book which is exemplary.It is an eye opener to each and every Indian. I was aware that the British had exploited India to replenish their resources. But such an authentic detail of this exploitation was not known to me. Thank you Mr. Tharoor for providing these details. Keep up your good work.

Well written and very informative for the layman's point of view. Serious students of history or scholars will find it not to their expectations.Overall a highly commendable effort by the author & publisher to shed light on the realities of the British Raj in India.

The more you say the less it is going to be. This is absolute gem for a history buff.

Till I read this book I just knew about how bad the British rule was for the Indian sub continent with just 3 to 4 points here and there to justify my belief and I thought it is kind of 50 50. But with the meticulous details in this book no honest and unbiased person should have any doubt that the Britishers in India were cunning to the core and they were narcissists

This is a great book for casual readers, it is informative and eye opening.However, as someone who has read Indian history superficially, this feels like a book full of repetitive but passionate ramblings. I have always admired Tharoor, his Oxford speech aroused a great deal of curiosity and wonder. It is no surprise that I wanted him to see expand his argument. But Tharoor falls short on my expectations. This book is just his speech stretched into 300 pages.

Derived from notes made by the author in his preparation for a debate to the effect of 'are reparations warranted from Britain for the imperial rule of India?' Intensely researched, convincingly argued, objectively and very-well-presented. Would be easy to become a fan of the author after this. Highly recommended for anyone, and especially the young Indian generation. 4.75 stars!....Several hours later.....Revising that to 3.5 stars now because in the intervening period, got inspired to read Will Durant's 'Case for India'. While Dr Tharoor does admittedly have extra material in his book, he has spared hardly anything from 'Case for India.' To a reasonably-informed reader, it is sufficient to read the latter and draw his own conclusions; for these conclusions would be, by and large, the 'extra material' in the former. And best of all, Durant, although from an early generation (1930), does not force the reader into dictionary-breaks at the rate of two per page!

This book's view looks at the negative parts of the Raj. Britain was blamed for all Her problems, however, the Raj gave India an united framework for law and education. They allowed a free press which gave our freedom fighters a medium to communicate and nurture their struggle . British Raj collapsed because the Second World War emptied the Bank of England. They could not run India without a loan from America. So there was pressure from America to open the Empire's market and signal the Empire's sunset across the globe.

Mesmerized !!!Aiming to read all your works, Mr. Tharoor.Go for it guys, it'll help you understand the broader picture, forces, which were obstructing our independence. The sepoy mutiny, hats off to that oneness, which brought thousands to raise against the british power.

Makes you feel like crying when you think of what the Colonialists did to the colonized...even though I love so many of the Institutions set up by the British, makes you want to catch the modern Britisher by the neck and make him or her conscious of what was done to countries like India in the name of bringing "civilization" to our shores.A MUST READ FOR ALL INDIANS SENTIMENTAL ABOUT THE BRITISH RULE IN INDIA...

I appreciate the content given by Shashi Tharoor but i think there is still a lot more content left that needed a considerable attention! Like he hasn't mentioned bhagat singh and many other martyrs at all anywhere in his book. He also didn't even mentioned some controversial events in which Congress is known to be involved! He should've commented on that stuff too to give a fair perspective, I'd have respected him more then. Anyway, good book!