Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Indian Tales of the Raj by Zareer Masani ISBN: 0-520-07127-1 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: December, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent informal oral history
Comment: This book was written by Masani(who also authored a bio of Indira Gandhi)in respone to the Raj revival that took place in England in the 1980's. Masani is an Oxford educated Indian who did his doctoral thesis on Indian Nationalism and he sets the stage for this book with an opening chapter explaining the history behind the rise of the Raj. At least from the English perspective it was the failure of the Moghul empire to maintain its systems of order which left a vacuum that the English filled, in the process adding administrative duties to already existent trading ones. At the hieght of British rule there were only 100,000 Englishman in India, effectively ruling millions. An astonishing fact that Masani attributes to an Empire not based on the preservation or extension of borders but one based on the continuance of trade. The empire was ineffect successful because of a tightly controlled administrative hierarchy. Masani does not take part in the Raj revival so much as use it as impetus to do his own research and the resulting book is a composite of interviews with Indians who worked alongside the English offering a valuable counterpoint to the English view of the Raj years. The book is a remarkable document that offers the student of history a chance to hear first hand accounts from the 'survivors' of colonialism(a term used to describe both the English and the Indian). A few of those Masani attempts to interview choose not to speak, preferring not to conjure a past they find to have been humiliating, but most invite the opportunity to offer their testament.
One particularly amusing account is of the judicial process where English judges presided over cases with non-English speaking defendants and witnesses. As a result translators were necessary.
"For example, one of the judges asked the interpreter to tell the witness to tell no unnecessary lies. And the interpreter said: 'Tell lies only when it is necessary.'"
Some testaments are in the amusing category but there are many by Indians who were in positions of power (who were often more educated than the Englishman they worked beside) who nonetheless had to contend with the barriers constructed between the two races. Socially there was little mixing between the two races. Most accounts show that the British were fair in matters of law and allowing for a free Indian press, but unfair in matters of trade. The most glaring examples of mistreatment were in the military which was where the first signs of revolt began to foment.
A growing nationalist movement certainly tested the bonds that existed in the status quo and many anecdotes are offered about tellingly tense situatons and conversations(sometimes partially relieved by laughter) between the English and his Indian counterparts as independence became a growing inevitability.
Oral history telling at its best. Also included are several pages of photographs(33 photographs in all) documenting the dynamic of the English Indian relationship as it changed over time.
Rating: 3
Summary: OK
Comment: This book was good except the fact it was a little difficult to follow. It is because it is written in a typical Indian style of writing. Very superfluous. A very flowery way of writing. Once you get down to the nitty gritty it is a good with a good basis and premise.
 |
Title: Sultana's Dream: And Selections from the Secluded Ones by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Rokeya Sakawat Hossein, Hanna Papanek ISBN: 0935312838 Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY Pub. Date: August, 1988 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
 |
Title: Plain Tales from the Raj by Charles Allen ISBN: 0030058627 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: October, 1985 List Price(USD): $4.98 |
 |
Title: A Concise History of India by Barbara D. Metcalf, Thomas R. Metcalf ISBN: 0521639743 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
 |
Title: The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters by William Dalrymple ISBN: 1864501723 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: April, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Pakistan: A Modern History by Ian Talbot ISBN: 0312216068 Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
