raj the making and unmaking of british india

by lawrence james • 1997

"This is the story of one of the wonders of the modern world. In less than a hundred years, the British made themselves masters of India. They ruled it for another hundred, departing in 1947, leaving behind the independent states of India and Pakistan." "None of this, however, was planned. A series of emergencies in the eighteenth century transformed the East India Company into the most formidable war machine in Asia, and conquest gathered its own momentum. Fortunes were made, but the conscience of Britain was troubled by the despotism that was being created in its name. The result was a government that balanced firmness with benevolence, and had as its goal the advancement of India. There was resistance, both to the conquerors and, in the Indian mutiny, to the Raj they had made. This is a story of wars won against the odds and astonishing heroism, but it is also a tale of how, for many reasons, millions of Indians collaborated with their new rulers and made possible the government of so many by so few. Raj contains much that is new, hidden, and controversial on areas as varied as the Mutiny, the Great Game, and the taxing of India."--BOOK JACKET.