An Era of Darkness grew out of a 2015 Oxford Union debate in which Shashi Tharoor argued that Britain owes reparations to its former colonies. His speech went viral, and the book, published in India in 2016 and in Britain as Inglorious Empire in 2017, sets out the case in detail.
Tharoor attacks the notion that British rule was a net benefit. He argues that India's share of world manufacturing collapsed as its textile industries were destroyed, that railways and administration were built primarily to serve British interests, that famines were worsened by policy, and that divide-and-rule politics hardened religious and caste divisions that culminated in Partition. Chapters also take on claims about democracy, the rule of law, the English language and tea and cricket as colonial legacies.
The book is written with Tharoor's trademark eloquence and relish for argument, drawing on the work of earlier nationalist economists and modern historians. Critics note that it is advocacy rather than balanced scholarship, but it has been widely read as a rebuttal to imperial nostalgia. It won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2019.
Book details
| Author | Shashi Tharoor |
|---|---|
| First published | 2016 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | History |
| Type | Non-fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 330 |
| Setting | India under the East India Company and the British Raj, 1757-1947 |
| Awards | Sahitya Akademi Award 2019 |
Themes
- Colonial exploitation
- Economic drain
- Divide and rule
- Imperial myths
- Reparations
Who should read it
Readers who want a forceful, accessible counter-argument to the idea that the British Empire was good for India.