The British in India (7 weeks, 1st Half)
F 2020

A unified modern India, with its Parliamentary system, rule of law, extensive railway network, English language education and free press are often cited as some of the benefits derived by India from British colonial rule; the Raj. However, in our core book Inglorious Empire, What the British Did to India, Shashi Tharoor, one of modern India’s most eloquent commentators, has written a compelling history in which he contends that every British colonial undertaking undermined Indian culture and identity in an unremitting effort to fleece India of its wealth. 

We will examine Tharoor’s claims, consulting British historian Niall Ferguson’s book Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World for a different more nuanced consideration of the Raj.  

For additional insight, we will view movies and documentaries that portray the British in India.