Will Durant, the renowned historian and philosopher, branded Britain's exploitation of India as "the greatest crime in all history." This damning indictment was echoed by many, and its severity is undeniable. British rule inflicted immense suffering on India, with nearly thirty-five million lives lost to famine, epidemics, communal strife, and brutal reprisals like the 1857 War of Independence and the 1919 Amritsar massacre. Beyond the staggering human toll, Britain impoverished India on an unimaginable scale. India's share of global GDP plummeted from 23 percent under the Mughals to a mere 3 percent upon independence.
The East India Company, chartered in 1600 to trade in luxury goods, morphed into a formidable power. Their 1757 victory at Plassey, secured through military might and cunning deceit, marked a turning point. The company's influence expanded rapidly, backed by coercion, duplicity, and corruption. The 1857 rebellion, while suppressed, led to direct British Crown rule.
Shashi Tharoor's An Era of Darkness is a scathing indictment of this colonial legacy. With meticulous research and sharp wit, he exposes the systemic plunder of India's resources, the devastation of key industries, and the distortion of agriculture. Tharoor masterfully dismantles the myth of benevolent British rule, revealing the true motives behind the introduction of English language, tea, and cricket – tools of colonial control rather than gifts to the colonised. This powerful work challenges misconceptions and offers a stark reckoning of Britain's destructive impact on India.