An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor; Aleph Book Company; Rs.699; Pages 294

In Britain and in India as evidenced by the success of television series such as Downton Abbey and latterly The Crown, there’s a rose-tinted nostalgia about the glory days of the British empire which ruled a quarter of the world, and particularly about the British Raj in India which spanned almost 200 years. The contra narrative of the much proclaimed benevolent British Raj in India is brilliantly presented by former UN diplomat and contemporary Indian politician Shashi Tharoor in the book under review. 

It’s an overdue reminder to people of both countries that ‘post-colonial melancholia’ is unwarranted, and the evil that the men from that rain-swept little island did in the hills and vast plains of the Indian subcontinent, far outweighed the good. 

Indeed, historical literature on benign imperial rule in pre-independence India has been routinely force-fed to several generations of children in the UK and India. More than the public of India, An Era of Darkness is recommended reading for the British public for the scales to fall from their eyes. “The need to temper British imperial nostalgia with postcolonial responsibility has never been greater,” writes Tharoor explaining the justification for penning this forensic indictment of British rule, born out of a May 2015 debate at Oxford University where he successfully argued in favour of the motion ‘Britain Owes Reparations to her Former Colonies’. 

The structure of this valuable revision of the whitewashed history of the British Raj, which children such as this reviewer learned even in post-independence India, lends itself to easy and highly-recommended reading. It addresses all the usual arguments advanced by Raj historians and their gullible Indian apologists, and proceeds to demolish them with convincing evidence sourced from objective English and American historians and intellectuals of conscience appalled by the brazen plunder, oppression, cruelty and incorrigible racism of the subaltern classes of Blighty, who transmogrified into the ‘nabobs’ of the British Raj in India. 

This contrarian chronicle of colonial India begins with an unqualified indictment from American historian Will Durante (1885-1981). In his book The Case for India (1930), Durante expressed “astonishment and indignation” about the “conscious and deliberate bleeding of India” by the British East India Company, and after 1857, by imperial Britain which instead of making amends for the unrestrained rapacity of the merchants-turned-warriors of the company, brought the power of the imperium to continue the plunder.

Exploiting a temporary advantage in artillery warfare and liberally bribing and suborning gullible native nobility in the Indian princedoms against their rulers, the employees of the company quickly conquered vast swathes of territory, imposed punitive taxes, and destroyed Indian agriculture and industry – the thriving textiles, gems and jewellery and ship-building industries in particular. Citing the British economic historian Angus Maddison, Tharoor recounts that in 1700, India’s share of the world economy was 23 percent. When the British departed almost two centuries later, it had reduced to 3 percent. Moreover it’s pertinent to note the Industrial Revolution which heralded England’s rise as a world power began in 1757, the very year Robert Clive treacherously won the battle of Plassey. The author for one, has no doubt that “Britain’s rise for 200 years was financed by its depredations in India”. 

Tharoor addresses other arguments routinely advanced by colonial propagandists and apologist Indians. Did the British unite India, as court historians claim? Quite the contrary, says the author. The company set the country’s princes against each other. After the Indian Mutiny of 1857 when Queen Victoria was proclaimed empress of India, divide et impera (divide and rule) became the official strategy for perpetuating British rule over India, starting with the pompous Lord Curzon’s partition of Bengal in 1905 to create a Muslim majority province in the subcontinent. 

Be that as it may, surely credit should be given to our erstwhile imperial masters for introducing democracy, a free press, the parliamentary system and rule of law? Tharoor demurs. The parliamentary democratic system was — and remains — unsuitable for Indian conditions, he contends; the press was never really free during the Raj and drunken, irritated Red Devils were free to kick Indians to ‘accidental death’ under British rule of law in India. And for apologists of the Raj, the author provides a timely reminder that over 25 million Indians died in famines which could easily have been avoided if that other great gift of the Empire — Indian Railways — had been used to move foodgrains from surplus to deficit areas. 

Yet perhaps the greatest victory of the British in India is that their historians, propagandists and popinjay rulers succeeded in embedding a deep inferiority complex in a people who had attained great heights of civilisation at a time when the ancestors of the grandees of Empire were hunter-gatherers in woad.

By rewriting the history of the British Raj as it really was, Tharoor has lifted a great load from millions of still-colonised minds in this country, while simultaneously providing an opportunity to the heirs of carpetbaggers and adventurers of the Raj to atone and apologise. 

Dilip Thakore

 

Spiritual growth guide

Leading A Spiritual Life by Maulana Wahiduddin Goodword Books; Rs.125; Pages 391

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (91), one of India’s most distinguished Islamic scholars and deeply engaged in promoting communal harmony, dialogue and peace, heads the Delhi-based Centre for Peace and Spirituality. His sermons and writings have centred around issues such as conflict-resolution, peace-building, and various dimensions of Islamic spirituality. 

Most of the Maulana’s earlier books have been Islam and/or Muslims-centric. But this one is different. A compilation of his essays published in the ‘Speaking Tree’ column of The Times of India, it offers a spiritual roadmap that appeals to followers of all creeds (or of none at all). 

Positive thinking is at the very root of the spiritualism the Maulana writes about. It is based on acknowledging the existence of God the creator by reflecting upon the amazing universe he has engineered. He advocates a connection with God to be expressed in responding positively with His creations in one’s daily life. To live in this way on an everyday basis is to lead a spiritually fulfilled life, he says.

By citing experiences from his own life and of others, including ‘ordinary’ folk and ‘noted’ people from different parts of the world, and drawing references from Christian, Hindu and Islamic traditions, the Maulana explains his perception of spiritual growth. Attaining it is essentially about rejecting negativity and living our lives positively and meaningfully, leading to inner as well as outer transformation. 

The book consists of 150 short essays, each focusing on a particular spiritual value or lesson the Maulana draws from everyday life and events, as well as from nature and history. Even something as ubiquitous as a tree can help us grow spiritually. “In front of my residence there is a tree… It is a source of spiritual nourishment for me. The greatest lesson I have learned from this tree is: try to live on your own. Be positive in every situation. Adopt the culture of giving rather than taking. According to my experience, a tree is an illustration of the spiritual life. It is a model for spiritual living,” the Maulana writes.

Likewise reflecting on the lifestyle of a honeybee, he says: “It is the honeybee’s culture to fly out from its hive every day and reach places where flowers are available for it. The bee extracts nectar from the flower and returns to its abode. It pays no heed to anything else… Where there are flowers, there are also other things like thorns; but the honeybee simply ignores the presence of those thorns and does not waste time complaining about them… Don’t waste your time in complaints and protests,” he advises.

In sum, the Maulana’s valuable advice is that every experience, positive or negative, is a learning experience and we can draw spiritual lessons from it and thereby develop our hearts and minds.

The key to developing the power of positivity is to accept setbacks as opportunities for self-betterment. “Life is full of unwanted experiences. There is no one who is not destined to travel through a jungle of problems… The question is: what is the formula to deal with this? The only successful formula is: Don’t take things as an evil. Take them as a challenge. If you take things as evil, you will simply develop a negative attitude… But if you take untoward situations as a challenge, this attitude will unfold the hidden capacity of your mind. You will be able to face all challenges bravely and intelligently, and sooner or later, reach your destination,” he writes.

This book expresses deep truths in an appealing conversational style and provides invaluable guidance to people looking to live meaningful lives. 

Roshan Shah