--- product_id: 64725014 title: "An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India" price: "71.17 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/64725014-an-era-of-darkness-the-british-empire-in-india store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # India's GDP drop from 23% to 3% 300+ meticulously sourced quotes 35 million lives lost under colonial rule An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India **Price:** 71.17 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Illuminate the past, empower the future — don’t miss this eye-opening historical reckoning! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India - **How much does it cost?** 71.17 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/64725014-an-era-of-darkness-the-british-empire-in-india) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Passion Meets Scholarship:** Shashi Tharoor’s sharp wit and eloquence make history compelling and urgent. - • **Beyond the 'Gifts' of Empire:** Reveals how English, railways, and cricket served colonizers, not the colonized. - • **A Must-Read for Modern Leaders:** Essential perspective for millennials shaping post-colonial discourse and global narratives. - • **Data-Driven Historical Insight:** Over 300 rigorously researched quotes and facts dismantle colonial myths. - • **Unmasking Empire's Dark Legacy:** Dive deep into the brutal economic and human cost of British rule in India. ## Overview An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor is a meticulously researched and passionately argued exposé of British colonial rule in India, revealing the catastrophic economic decline and human suffering caused by two centuries of exploitation. Combining over 300 sourced quotes with sharp analysis, it challenges the sanitized narratives of empire’s 'benefits' and is a vital read for anyone seeking to understand the true legacy of colonialism. ## Description In 1930, the American historian and philosopher Will Durant wrote that Britain?s ?conscious and deliberate bleeding of India? [was the] greatest crime in all history?. He was not the only one to denounce the rapacity and cruelty of British rule, and his assessment was not exaggerated. Almost thirty-five million Indians died because of acts of commission and omission by the British?in famines, epidemics, communal riots and wholesale slaughter like the reprisal killings after the 1857 War of Independence and the Amritsar massacre of 1919. Besides the deaths of Indians, British rule impoverished India in a manner that beggars belief. When the East India Company took control of the country, in the chaos that ensued after the collapse of the Mughal empire, India?s share of world GDP was 23 percent. When the British left it was just above 3 percent. The British empire in India began with the East India Company, incorporated in 1600, by royal charter of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I, to trade in silk, spices and other profitable Indian commodities. Within a century and a half, the Company had become a power to reckon with in India. In 1757, under the command of Robert Clive, Company forces defeated the ruling Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal at Plassey, through a combination of superior artillery and even more superior chicanery. A few years later, the young and weakened Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II, was browbeaten into issuing an edict that replaced his own revenue officials with the Company?s representatives. Over the next several decades, the East India Company, backed by the British government, extended its control over most of India, ruling with a combination of extortion, double-dealing, and outright corruption backed by violence and superior force. This state of affairs continued until 1857, when large numbers of the Company?s Indian soldiers spearheaded the first major rebellion against colonial rule. After the rebels were defeated, the British Crown took over power and ruled the country ostensibly more benignly until 1947, when India won independence. In this explosive book, bestselling author Shashi Tharoor reveals with acuity, impeccable research, and trademark wit, just how disastrous British rule was for India. Besides examining the many ways in which the colonizers exploited India, ranging from the drain of national resources to Britain, the destruction of the Indian textile, steel-making and shipping industries, and the negative transformation of agriculture, he demolishes the arguments of Western and Indian apologists for Empire on the supposed benefits of British rule, including democracy and political freedom, the rule of law, and the railways. The few unarguable benefits?the English language, tea, and cricket?were never actually intended for the benefit of the colonized but introduced to serve the interests of the colonizers. Brilliantly narrated and passionately argued, An Era of Darkness will serve to correct many misconceptions about one of the most contested periods of Indian history. Review: Shining light on an Era of Darkness - Shashi Tharoor whose brilliance enchanted over 3 million people on YouTube with his debating skills at an Oxford Union debate continues in the same vein in his new book "An era of darkness". Essentially the debate was about whether colonialism was good or bad. It may seem anachronistic and even cruel for the victims of Colonialism in Asia, Africa and Latin America that such thing can even be debated. But anything can be debated in public school debating clubs of UK ! In the English tradition all these schools prepare you for a legal or a parliamentary career where you could argue either way on any issue depending on the context. Many of our own parliamentarians are trained in the same tradition and argue brilliantly in Indian courts as well as in the Indian Parliament and we can see them hold forth brilliantly on the pro of a policy and equally brilliantly on the cons of it depending on whether they are in the treasury benches or in the opposition, inducing inevitable cynicism. However the sincerity of Tharoor in arguing that British colonialism did inestimable all sided harm to India shows through this tome where he marshals literally hundreds of facts (well organised quotes run into nearly 300). His passion for the subject comes through every page, his sardonic tone and twist of the English phrase even while cursing the power that imposed English language with "Tommy jackboots" hits the reader with a genuine force. Along with accolades from Indians in all walks of life, including PM, Narendra Modi, Tharoor got some feeble criticism as well after his short Oxford Union talk. That has prepared him for much more disdainful and patronising vitriol from apologists of British colonialism. All his arguments and quotes seem to be in preparation of that assault. He does not leave any leaf unturned in his endeavour including the Tea leaves of Assam, Bengal and Oooty. In fact the topics he chooses to argue include the whole gamut of issues which are normally quoted as "gifts" of two centuries of British rule over India: good governance, English sense of fairplay, Austinian judicial system, Railways, social reform of Hindu society, Cricket, Tea and even the English language. He tears them up one by one with profuse facts and anecdotal quotes from largely British and other Western sources. Some of the insights he provides are important for colonial studies. He points out that the public finance in pre-colonial India was based on taxing trade where as the British themselves being traders made a drastic change and made agriculture and land revenue the focus, (and even called their chief district level representative: Collector) thereby causing immense hardship to peasantry. He traces the creation of the landless peasant and the increased dependence of large segment of the population on agriculture for livelihood due to the destruction of artisans and manufacture and also large scale man made famines under colonialism. In these days when corruption, its roots and elimination often becomes a matter of public discussion he narrates its massive rise due to the practices of the East India Company and its officers. He makes an astute observation that despite historical animosities between England and Scotland a compact was established to include Scotland into the United Kingdom ( though initiated by a fudged parliamentary vote in 1707) by promising plum positions for Scots in colonial India. That explains the unusually large proportion of Scots in the administration and the army in India. Twisting the knife further he adds that perhaps the loss of this income from India into Scottish homes is leading to disenchantment and fueling separatism in Scotland ! His remarks on the creation of a decadent gentry of Rai Bahadurs and Diwan Bahadurs and even the more abhorrent profligate and promiscuous Princes replacing the older far more grounded aristocracy are insightful. Besides going into the financing of Indian Railways and how gold plating was done by many an English investor assured of guaranteed returns and how Railways during construction and later were used to drain the Indian economy and increase the national debt, Tharoor makes an important point that in the operational finances of Railways it was the third class passengers traveling in sub human conditions that subsidised freight and the first class ! His discussion of British communal divide and rule as well as re-imposition of caste inequalities through the Gentoo Code under Warren Hastings and in the post-1857 construction of colonial state are extremely important but often forgotten in the modern Indian discourse on communalism and casteism. It is an enjoyable read, passionately written smooth in flow while being richly cross referenced. The blemishes are few. Note worthy ones are his quoting Marx completely out of context to show purportedly that Marx supported British colonialism in India which is contrary to facts; and frequent comparisons of genocidal massacres under British with unsubstantiated figures of deaths caused supposedly by Stalin etc. Perhaps we can ascribe it to his anxiety towards taking a swipe at his leftist political rivals in his parliamentary constituency in Kerala. Other weakness of the "Era of Darkness" is total neglect of the role of Ghadar revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh and his comrades and even the war of Independence --the Great Ghadar of 1857, chronicled as the biggest war of 19th century world, and the colonial tactics of chicanery and brutality employed by British, while Tharoor does bring out such facets from the rest of colonial history. I would recommend every young Indian to read this book to get a perspective of our colonial past in the present day mesmerising euphoria of the global village in spite of Trump. Review: A simple line like “Nadir Shah stole it fair and square” does it - 4.5 rating I can’t seem to recall the exact quote by John Oliver which went something along the line that most, if not all, international problems of the world today can be traced back to a the last 100 years with A few white men in a room with a map and drawing lines. Believe me I spent almost a day searching for it. Haven’t found it yet but I am sure it’s there. I digress. The reason for the publishing of this book is quite a well known fact. Shashi Tharoor (former diplomat, current politician and a Member of Parliament) made an impassioned speech at the Oxford University during a debate on British colonisation of India back in 2015. There, he highlighted the degradations of Indian society at the hands of the British, and their long-lasting after effects (hint: they’re not good). Once the video got online and took a viral life of its own, earning praise from most of the Indians, irrespective of their own political stance. People came forward to support him and asked him to write a book on the subject. This book is a detailed version of that talk. It starts with the comparison of Indian economy’s percentage in the world to that of British and other European nations. From there, it moves through the 200 year rule the British maintained in the subcontinent, first the company and then the Crown rule. The rule wasn’t benign or even mostly harmless (as some people choose to describe). It was out and out exploitation of resources, both human as well as material. All the ‘gifts’ the empire imparted to the subcontinent, including education, the English language, railways, parliamentary system of government, and even cricket, were incidental and not an objective. This can clearly be seen by comparing the statistics the country had right after the independence and the current numbers. Although the book covers quite extensively covers all the major events in the struggle, some points are misrepresented or simplified for the sake of the narrative (I’m not sure if it was intentional or just glossed over to fir the author’s political stance). For example, Jinnah’s retreat to London and his change of attitude towards secularism is attributed to Gandhi’s fame whereas it was a little more complex. Also, there seems to be no mention of backstabbing by INC (Indian National Congress) when they chose not to honour the agreement the party had with the Muslim League post election. Furthermore, it is mentioned that Tagore gave up his Knighthood and Gandhi his title Kaiser-i-Hind to protest the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre, when the reality is that they gave up their titles because the British, instead of punishing the perpetrator General Dyer, chose to honour him. This little change in the reason of giving up the title and protesting help in understanding that they weren’t irrational in their protests, but gave a chance to the other party to accept their fault. On a side note, the release year of the movie Lagaan is erroneously mentioned as 2003 instead of 2001, but that’s just nitpicking. The book treads some slippery slopes and becomes quite self-aware when it comes to discuss the author’s own command over English language and his fondness for a sport the empire gave to the country, cricket. But somehow, it manages to not sound hypocritical and still be engaging and informative. Apart from all the seriousness of the book and the subject, it somehow manages to squeeze in a few moments where you would chuckle, or at the very least put a smile on the face. A simple line like “Nadir Shah stole it fair and square” does it. Also, when talking about a certain Mr. Nirad C Chaudhuri, the author choosing the most eloquent of words manages to say something on lines of “the ill-informed scholar had his nose up the colonial ass”. If I had my way, I’d recommend this as a compulsory read in all the schools of India, in whatever language possible. It not only gives an objective outlook of the 200 history during the British Empire, but also a subjective point of view to comprehend the scale. Although, that somehow becomes slightly biased however hard the author tries to maintain to not be so. However, the writing and the language are again top notch. Definitely worth a read ## Features - Language Published: English - An Era of Darkness - SHASHI THAROOR ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #9,779 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #18 in Political Structure & Processes #19 in Colonialism & Imperialism History #47 in Asian History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,233 Reviews | ## Images ![An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/7154WxivCRL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Shining light on an Era of Darkness *by S***K on 19 January 2019* Shashi Tharoor whose brilliance enchanted over 3 million people on YouTube with his debating skills at an Oxford Union debate continues in the same vein in his new book "An era of darkness". Essentially the debate was about whether colonialism was good or bad. It may seem anachronistic and even cruel for the victims of Colonialism in Asia, Africa and Latin America that such thing can even be debated. But anything can be debated in public school debating clubs of UK ! In the English tradition all these schools prepare you for a legal or a parliamentary career where you could argue either way on any issue depending on the context. Many of our own parliamentarians are trained in the same tradition and argue brilliantly in Indian courts as well as in the Indian Parliament and we can see them hold forth brilliantly on the pro of a policy and equally brilliantly on the cons of it depending on whether they are in the treasury benches or in the opposition, inducing inevitable cynicism. However the sincerity of Tharoor in arguing that British colonialism did inestimable all sided harm to India shows through this tome where he marshals literally hundreds of facts (well organised quotes run into nearly 300). His passion for the subject comes through every page, his sardonic tone and twist of the English phrase even while cursing the power that imposed English language with "Tommy jackboots" hits the reader with a genuine force. Along with accolades from Indians in all walks of life, including PM, Narendra Modi, Tharoor got some feeble criticism as well after his short Oxford Union talk. That has prepared him for much more disdainful and patronising vitriol from apologists of British colonialism. All his arguments and quotes seem to be in preparation of that assault. He does not leave any leaf unturned in his endeavour including the Tea leaves of Assam, Bengal and Oooty. In fact the topics he chooses to argue include the whole gamut of issues which are normally quoted as "gifts" of two centuries of British rule over India: good governance, English sense of fairplay, Austinian judicial system, Railways, social reform of Hindu society, Cricket, Tea and even the English language. He tears them up one by one with profuse facts and anecdotal quotes from largely British and other Western sources. Some of the insights he provides are important for colonial studies. He points out that the public finance in pre-colonial India was based on taxing trade where as the British themselves being traders made a drastic change and made agriculture and land revenue the focus, (and even called their chief district level representative: Collector) thereby causing immense hardship to peasantry. He traces the creation of the landless peasant and the increased dependence of large segment of the population on agriculture for livelihood due to the destruction of artisans and manufacture and also large scale man made famines under colonialism. In these days when corruption, its roots and elimination often becomes a matter of public discussion he narrates its massive rise due to the practices of the East India Company and its officers. He makes an astute observation that despite historical animosities between England and Scotland a compact was established to include Scotland into the United Kingdom ( though initiated by a fudged parliamentary vote in 1707) by promising plum positions for Scots in colonial India. That explains the unusually large proportion of Scots in the administration and the army in India. Twisting the knife further he adds that perhaps the loss of this income from India into Scottish homes is leading to disenchantment and fueling separatism in Scotland ! His remarks on the creation of a decadent gentry of Rai Bahadurs and Diwan Bahadurs and even the more abhorrent profligate and promiscuous Princes replacing the older far more grounded aristocracy are insightful. Besides going into the financing of Indian Railways and how gold plating was done by many an English investor assured of guaranteed returns and how Railways during construction and later were used to drain the Indian economy and increase the national debt, Tharoor makes an important point that in the operational finances of Railways it was the third class passengers traveling in sub human conditions that subsidised freight and the first class ! His discussion of British communal divide and rule as well as re-imposition of caste inequalities through the Gentoo Code under Warren Hastings and in the post-1857 construction of colonial state are extremely important but often forgotten in the modern Indian discourse on communalism and casteism. It is an enjoyable read, passionately written smooth in flow while being richly cross referenced. The blemishes are few. Note worthy ones are his quoting Marx completely out of context to show purportedly that Marx supported British colonialism in India which is contrary to facts; and frequent comparisons of genocidal massacres under British with unsubstantiated figures of deaths caused supposedly by Stalin etc. Perhaps we can ascribe it to his anxiety towards taking a swipe at his leftist political rivals in his parliamentary constituency in Kerala. Other weakness of the "Era of Darkness" is total neglect of the role of Ghadar revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh and his comrades and even the war of Independence --the Great Ghadar of 1857, chronicled as the biggest war of 19th century world, and the colonial tactics of chicanery and brutality employed by British, while Tharoor does bring out such facets from the rest of colonial history. I would recommend every young Indian to read this book to get a perspective of our colonial past in the present day mesmerising euphoria of the global village in spite of Trump. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A simple line like “Nadir Shah stole it fair and square” does it *by S***N on 31 October 2017* 4.5 rating I can’t seem to recall the exact quote by John Oliver which went something along the line that most, if not all, international problems of the world today can be traced back to a the last 100 years with A few white men in a room with a map and drawing lines. Believe me I spent almost a day searching for it. Haven’t found it yet but I am sure it’s there. I digress. The reason for the publishing of this book is quite a well known fact. Shashi Tharoor (former diplomat, current politician and a Member of Parliament) made an impassioned speech at the Oxford University during a debate on British colonisation of India back in 2015. There, he highlighted the degradations of Indian society at the hands of the British, and their long-lasting after effects (hint: they’re not good). Once the video got online and took a viral life of its own, earning praise from most of the Indians, irrespective of their own political stance. People came forward to support him and asked him to write a book on the subject. This book is a detailed version of that talk. It starts with the comparison of Indian economy’s percentage in the world to that of British and other European nations. From there, it moves through the 200 year rule the British maintained in the subcontinent, first the company and then the Crown rule. The rule wasn’t benign or even mostly harmless (as some people choose to describe). It was out and out exploitation of resources, both human as well as material. All the ‘gifts’ the empire imparted to the subcontinent, including education, the English language, railways, parliamentary system of government, and even cricket, were incidental and not an objective. This can clearly be seen by comparing the statistics the country had right after the independence and the current numbers. Although the book covers quite extensively covers all the major events in the struggle, some points are misrepresented or simplified for the sake of the narrative (I’m not sure if it was intentional or just glossed over to fir the author’s political stance). For example, Jinnah’s retreat to London and his change of attitude towards secularism is attributed to Gandhi’s fame whereas it was a little more complex. Also, there seems to be no mention of backstabbing by INC (Indian National Congress) when they chose not to honour the agreement the party had with the Muslim League post election. Furthermore, it is mentioned that Tagore gave up his Knighthood and Gandhi his title Kaiser-i-Hind to protest the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre, when the reality is that they gave up their titles because the British, instead of punishing the perpetrator General Dyer, chose to honour him. This little change in the reason of giving up the title and protesting help in understanding that they weren’t irrational in their protests, but gave a chance to the other party to accept their fault. On a side note, the release year of the movie Lagaan is erroneously mentioned as 2003 instead of 2001, but that’s just nitpicking. The book treads some slippery slopes and becomes quite self-aware when it comes to discuss the author’s own command over English language and his fondness for a sport the empire gave to the country, cricket. But somehow, it manages to not sound hypocritical and still be engaging and informative. Apart from all the seriousness of the book and the subject, it somehow manages to squeeze in a few moments where you would chuckle, or at the very least put a smile on the face. A simple line like “Nadir Shah stole it fair and square” does it. Also, when talking about a certain Mr. Nirad C Chaudhuri, the author choosing the most eloquent of words manages to say something on lines of “the ill-informed scholar had his nose up the colonial ass”. If I had my way, I’d recommend this as a compulsory read in all the schools of India, in whatever language possible. It not only gives an objective outlook of the 200 history during the British Empire, but also a subjective point of view to comprehend the scale. Although, that somehow becomes slightly biased however hard the author tries to maintain to not be so. However, the writing and the language are again top notch. Definitely worth a read ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good quality *by D***A on 21 June 2026* paper and cover quality is really good. nice little yelowish paper ## Frequently Bought Together - An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India - Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India - Why I Am a Hindu --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/64725014-an-era-of-darkness-the-british-empire-in-india](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/64725014-an-era-of-darkness-the-british-empire-in-india) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-09-04*