An assignment on:

“An Era of Darkness-The British Empire in India”-Book

Summary

Department of Political Science

University of Dhaka

Course no: 203

Socio-Political and constitutional development in
British India(1757 to 1947)
Submitted To:
Mr.Mohammad Aynul Islam
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Dhaka

Submitted By:
Group : 3B
Batch: 15 (2ndsemester)
Department of Political Science
University of Dhaka
Submission Date:22/8/2022
Book: An Era of Darkness
Author: Shashi Tharoor
Publisher: Aleph Book Company (2016)
Summarized by: Group 3B

Shashi Tharoor’s ‘An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India (2016)’ is a complete
manuscript of the British empire in India that portrays political, economic, cultural
suppression of the Indian people and reveals how the Indian societal fabric was fractured
along the communal line – Hindu,Muslim,caste and the unprecedented adverse
consequences. Seventy five years later, the communal partition is still working as a
political tool in India,Pakistan and Bangladesh.Tharoor expands his Oxford union speech
by collecting selected accounts and sources and working them into a forceful, paced
narrative. In cogently written eight chapters, he builds an impressive case against the
British depredations and misgovernment that British Indian subjects suffered during 200
years of colonial rule of the South Asian Indian subcontinent.

The first chapter explore how the British East India Company looted and drained Indian
resources.India under Mughal Empire Aurangzeb shared 23 percent world economy
which is as large as all European countries but when British left India it only shared 3
percent of world economy because India was ruled for the welfare of Britain not
India.After earning the permission of Dewaani in 1765 from Mughal Empire,the British
East India Company replaces own revenue officer in Bangla,Bihar and Orissa.The
Permanent Settlement Act 1793 destroyed the agricultural economy of India.They also
addition Ryotwari and mahalwari system which also abolishing century-old tradition and
ties that link the people with land.A shocking aspect of this sustained theft was the
de-industrialization of India.As India led the world in textiles,agriculture and metallurgy
before the invasion by the British, but rapidly became an exporter of raw materials and an
importer of goods manufactured in Britain.The British desperately and deliberately
destroyed Indian thriving ship-building industry.British had also stole Indian steel and
tried to abolish the steel industry.

The second chapter examines the British claim to creating Indian political unity.If we
lookout the history of main empire in India,We can see every empire has a wish to
establish their rule over the Indian subcontinent.There is a possibility that an Indian ruler
would have accomplished what British did.After sepoy mutiny 1857,we could see the
British execute their plan to divide the indian subcontinent by religion and caste which is
ultimately question their true intention about political unity in India.Britain established a
Civil Service in India which is acknowledged by Johral Nehru, ‘neither Indian, not
civil,nor a service’.Indians became increasingly involved in government but in a highly
constrained way due to egregious British racism.Only 164,000 Britons living in India to
run a country approaching 300 million There is also a very much difference between the
income of native and Britons people.After the first world war Britain was denied to give
India promised self-governance,the British offered the fraudulent Montagu–Chelmsford
Reforms in 1918 which left all power in British hands.The Indian nationalist then
understand freedom could never be obtained by legal means from perfidious Albion.

The Third chapter analized the freedom of press,exploration of democracy and rule of
law under British rule.At the beginning of press some editor was arrested for criticism of
company and British made Press Act 1835 which closed down the actual Independence
of press.In spite of these drawbacks,Partial freedom of press which was really existed
speed up the Independence movement.Democratism was also flourished under colonial
rule but we can’t give the British for this credit because there are a lot of countries those
aren’t under colonial rule established functioning democratic system.Colonial ruler also
replaced our more older and civilized law instead of their own British law.British legal
system was full of discrimination to the natives.They introduced ‘Sedition Law’ as an
instrument to terrorise Indian nationalists.Even Indian judges suffered racial
discrimination.In this regard we can see the case of Justice Syed Ahmed.British hadn’t
main intention to bring christianity like other colonial ruler.Imperialism was principally
justified as a moral crusade to liberate Indians from so-called ‘ignorance, idolatry, and
vice’.

In chapter four we can see How Britons execute their “Divide and Rule” policy in
India.The Ordinance of the Pandits created caste differance and made Bramman superior
than other caste.In the pre-colonial period,we can see there were no boundary lines
among Hindus,Shiks and Muslim.Even we can see the practice of Hindu and Muslim
interreligious marriage in different parts of India.British created caste,religious and
linguistic differences to justifying their lordship.Historians found out that the Temple
discretion were politically motivated rather than religiously in the pre colonial
period.1905 Bengal Partition was an example of divide and rule.British govt. Patronage
Muslim League to fulfill “Divide and rule Policy” and supress INC which is represent
secular India.After the second world war,when British govt. Unable to rule India for post
war economic problems,they decided to give independence to India but they gave it with
dividation.If Britain’s greatest accomplishment was the creation of a single political unit
called India,then its greatest failure must be the division of India.

The fifth chapter explores one of the most debated assumptions that the British helped
create a “Enlightened” in India.If we see the reality we can tell only one thing which is
the British Colonial Holocust.Under the British Raj,between 30 to 35 million people died
British made starvation.In the case of 1866 Orissa Famine,200 million pounds of rice
exported to Britain at that time.Most of the time femine was occurred for the british
govt.mismanagement and exploitation.Britons was collecting their brutal taxes in the very
midst of famine.Indian convicts was transported to other south-east Asian colonies to
built infrastructure with a low cost.They sent male convict for work and female for
satisfying the male worker.The share of female migrants to a minimum of forty women
for every hundred men.It’s also a symbol of their racist work.The Quit India movement in
1942 Gang rape by the police was not uncommon,Jallianwala Bagh massacre was no act
of insane frenzy but a conscious,forced migration and brutality;these three example
represent the British so called “ENLIGHTENED” in India.

Chapter six asserted the impact of British rule in Indian politics, education, economic
distortion, and communication, mainly railway weird.According to Governor General
Lord Hardinge the railway would be beneficial ‘to the commerce, government and
military control of the country’.They built it for their own benefit.There are many
countries railway network without being colonial rule.In the railway network only one
percent was built in India and in 1912 Britons Parliament made law to making impossible
for Indians to built locomotives.Education was also a low priority for britons.The British
left India with only 16 percent of literacy rate.The English language wasn’t imported as a
gift rather than it came as a instrument of colonialism.The British suppressed the
indigenous Indian education system.Indian people used Cricket ‘attacked the political and
economic aspects of British imperialism.’

Chapter seven discusses the comparative performance of India during and post-empire to
recent developments that developed India to the stature of significant power in global
politics militarily and economically.After independence,the electricity was reached more
than 320 times as many villages as British colonialism managed in a similar time
span.Pre colonial period,India was the leader of Asiatic civilization and a wealthier
nation.Under the colonial rule it turned into a poor,third world country.Unlike every other
foreign overlord who stayed on to rule, the British had no intention of becoming one with
the land.Mughal emperor taxed on people,princely state and loot the treasuries of those
they defeated in battle like British but they spent or saved what they had earned in India,
instead of ‘repatriating’ it to Samarkand or Bukhara as the British did by sending their
Indian revenues to London.

Last but not least, chapter eight argues about Ferguson’s logic of the British Empire and
the appeal of Gandhism and why it is very crucial in India today. British journalist
Richard Gott compared British colonial rule with Hitlerian project on principal
scale.When Gandhi declared himself ‘I am a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, a Zoroastrian,
a Jew’ would find it difficult to stomach.But Jinnah retorted to his claim of eclectic
belief—‘only a Hindu could say that’.This quotation reflect the facist attitude and
destroyed the credibility of colonialism by opposing principle to force.Though Tharoor
wants an apology from British govt. What they did in India like Trudeau’s over
Komagata Maru.British govt. Will Return Kohinoor as a gesture of apology.British policy
in the subcontinent after sepoy mutiny led to the division between Hindus and Muslims
which gave birth to the tragedy of Partition.

In conclusion, Shashi Tharoor wants the reader to be informed of the cruelty of the
British Empire in India and that this period was an era of jangle and barbarity. The book
is brilliantly narrated and passionately argued, An Era of Darkness will serve to correct
many misconceptions about one of the most contested periods of Indian history.
Name and roll number of the Members of 3B Group those are participating this summary:

Name Section Roll

Meher Jahan Nova Section B 113

Md.Abdur Rahman Badsha Section B 132

Mehedi Hasan Likhan Section B 144

Md.Naimur Rahman Niaz Section B 147

Md.Rasel Mia Section B 149

Md. Jabir Hossen Section B 155

Md. Tanim Hossain Section B 156

Md.Shariful Islam Sohan Section B 157

Md. Shohanur Rahman Shohan Section B 158

Kasfim Zaman Niza Section B 167

Mir Hridoy Section B 178

Md.Shakil kazi Section B 191

Md.jonahed Bogdadi Section B 195

Kaniz Fatema Section B 199

MD.Assaduzzaman Section B 203

MD.Raisul Islam Section B 207

Md. Habibur Rahman Section B 208

Md.Muhotasim Section B 212

MD. Ragib Mahtab Section B 213

Md. Alomgir Hossain Section B 219

Md.Fazle Rabbi Section B 241

Md. Sajedul Hasnat Section B 242

Kakoli Akter Section B 243