‎‎”The Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India” / Book Review by Nabiha Abrar

“The Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India” is a compelling historical and political critique by Indian author, congressman and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, published in 2016. The book originated from Tharoor’s widely acclaimed speech at the Oxford Union Debate, where he argued that Britain owes reparations or at least atonement to its former colonies, especially India, for the damages caused by imperial rule.
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‎In this book, Tharoor challenges the long-standing justifications of British colonialism, such as the claim that it brought modernization, development, rule of law, linguistic unification, agrarian advance, railway, free press and democratization of the state. Instead, he presents a detailed and fact-backed case that the British Empire plundered India’s wealth and left her impoverished, divided, and psychologically wounded after nearly two centuries of exploitation.
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‎His tone throughout the book is quite persuasive and often sarcastic. To me, the arguments in this book—except for where he rebuffs the decision of partition of India and makes contemptuous remarks about Jinnah’s manifesto and League’s call for ‘separate electorates’ against the idea of United India, like a toddler throwing a tantrum because he lost his favourite toy—are a bold rebuttal to the glorified narratives of British apologist about the imperial advancements in one of the many jewels in the British Crown.