Empireland Paperback – 16 November 2021

Intelligent, clever and insightful. Different from the usual trash doled out about the effects of the Empire.

Before I started reading, what struck me was the 48 pages of Bibliography for a rather concise book (216 pages of Chapters) that was an advance proof of well-researched content. No doubt that author has done extensive research but the problem is that he already had a conclusion in mind before he started his research, when it should've been the other way round, given his education at a world-leading institution like Cambridge. What he ended up with, as a result, is a long compilation of evidence from history, popular media, and his personal experiences proving the overt racism of the British Empire as well as its remnants in post-imperial Britain.As a second generation Punjabi Indian, the author grew up in an England where racism was present in all forms - open and obvious, hidden and subtle - that has clearly left him bitter and angry, understandably though. And he's not alone, that's a standard experience of second generation Indians in the western world. This book may be new learning for people in Britain, who may be ignorant about the deeds of the British Empire, but to someone in India, like me, it is old news...events like Plassey, 1857, Bengal famine, British oppression, etc. have been covered for decades in Bollywood movies, TV shows, books by authors like Shashi Tharoor, Madhushree Mukerjee, Sanjeev Sanyal, and many many others. The author has gone into gory details about the wrongdoings of the British towards their colonial subjects, but there was hardly anything that surprised me or enlightened me to be frank.OTOH I feel he has given a complete pass to what the British Empire did right or ignored the political dynamic of the time. For instance, he never mentioned that in the 16th century when Queen Elizabeth took over, England was a poor, underdog nation, living under constant threat of dominant Spain. He completely missed out the risk-taking abilities of the investors of Bristol and London, the fearless spirit of adventurers like Martin Frobisher, Captain John Smith, John Hawkins, Francis Drake in seeking passage to Asia from the Northeast, then Northwest, fighting the Spaniards, fighting all odds to set up a colony in the New World. He forgot to mention the contribution of John Dee, who coined the term 'British Empire' - his intellect, his massive collection of books, his personal mentoring of seamen venturing out in the deep oceans. He completely failed to mention the scientific revolution and England's contribution - Francis Bacon, William Gilbert, Isaac Newton, and so many others. All that science eventually converged into technology and resulted in the Industrial Revolution and thus the Empire, of course hand-in-hand with the cruelty, treachery, racism towards Africans, Maoris, Indians, Chinese, Aborigines, Native Americans. That effect of science, scholarship, literature, global perspective is also a legacy, albeit a positive one, of the Empire that is evident in modern-day British society. It's the author's rage and a sense of entitlement and 'we were wronged' attitude that prevents him from looking at the half-glass full aspect.He has mentioned that the British established a 'framework' of railways that Indians later innovated upon when in reality, India, after 70 years of independence, has barely extended the rail network by 10 percent. The author quotes figures in trillions of dollars of drain of wealth from India, not realizing that the drain started only after Plassey in 1757. But the first East India Company ship had landed in Gujarat in 1608 and for the next 150 years, the company was bringing in massive bullion/wealth into India that helped the Mughal emperors fund their war machine and at the same time helped monetize thousands of villages and towns across India where artisans and farmers worked for the export items. So it was a wealth gain, not drain, for a 150 years. He's also forgetting that Indians are far more racist and hierarchical than the Brits where to date, two-thirds of population falls under lower caste category - Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes, and that has been the way for over 2,000 years, strictly codified in Hindu scriptures. Matrimonial advertisements in modern day India routinely ask for 'fair-skinned' matches from very specific castes and sub-castes. Even the supposedly egalitarian religion of Sikhism has a caste divide.While the author has good recommendations for the British - acknowledgment of racism, reparations if possible, revision of school syllabus, British museums returning artefacts to the countries where they were looted from, etc. he's forgetting that the Indian immigrants also have a responsibility towards their adopted home - not just collect degrees and set-up businesses for their own benefit, but to contribute to larger good. Not sure if the author visited any museums in India, but if he did, he would rather have the artefacts remain in Britain because neither Indian Government has any interest in preserving history, nor do Indian citizens, which is why museums all across India are consistently dilapidated and empty. I recall a visit to Amritsar few years ago, where I visited the Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Museum, only to find it completely empty. Indian visitors to Amritsar have never even heard of such a museum, named after the 'Lion of Punjab'!However, I do appreciate the author's passion for the topic, his readable prose, and the extensive research he has conducted towards writing this book and recommend this book to readers.

A bit mixed up. Too personal