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  • An Era of Darkness

  • The British Empire in India
  • Written by: Shashi Tharoor
  • Narrated by: Sagar Arya
  • Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (243 ratings)

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An Era of Darkness

Written by: Shashi Tharoor
Narrated by: Sagar Arya
Free with 30-day trial

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Publisher's Summary

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 35 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 per cent. When the British left it was just above 3 per cent.

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, best-selling 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, 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 of 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.

©2016 Shashi Tharoor (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about An Era of Darkness

Average Customer Ratings
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    4 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly researched and described

The first two chapters start out with a lot of statistics and data which can be repetitive. The fourth chapter onwards become much more interesting. The book could have been condensed a bit but it was definitely worth the listen.

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4 people found this helpful

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Dark history

I felt like I have been cheated by my government by hiding the atrocities of the imperial English rule. Its such a shame that we as Indians are not even made aware about the clinical process adopted by the East India company / British government to decimate and discard our traditions and values. Even to this day, our education system is following the slavery model..

I feel, this book should be considered as a text book for Class VIII and above by retaining the sections where the author refers to the British rule alone... all references to the post Independence rule should be removed since they appear to be biased

I also don't appreciate the author when he points out a particular Indian Government when he refers to Hindus.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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State of dilemma

Narrator was fantabulous,I would rather call him a perfect orrator I have ever heard even the content is mindblowing

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Informative, opinionated and we'll researched

Informative, opinionated, statistical, at times biased, at times rantings ... Yet a good resource to know in detail about Indian colonial past and why things happened they way they did under British rule. A bit one sided, therefore to be read with an open mind and knowing that the author is also a politician :).

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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BORINGG!!

This kind of Material is not made to heard as audiobook imo. Slept within 15 mins TWICE.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Glory of India looted by British

Mr. Tharur is a great author, explains in detail how British systematically looted India.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Must Read for Everyone!

The book enlightens about the actual hardships faced by suppressed Indians during the Britisher's mean and cruel colonisation. School history books don't mention the details this vivid. The thing which I liked most was that every claim in the book had a reference to back it. Except the details about cricket and Mahatma Gandhi, which are true to some extent but are over-stretched in the book, everything was very well said. It gave goosebumps to listen to the narration. The book motivates us to become united, irrespective of caste or language, and work hard with honesty to re-give India it's deserved state in the world.

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Compelling and thought provoking!

Mr Tharoor not only sheds light on India's colonial past but also raises important questions about the broader implications of imperialism and its lasting impact on colonized nations. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex dynamics of colonialism and its enduring consequences on societies and cultures. Tharoor's work is a poignant reminder of the importance of acknowledging historical truths, even when they challenge established narratives.

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should be added into the textbooks

should be added to the textbooks so that our coming generations dont make the same mistakes

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A critical look into our dark history

This was a good listen. Good narration as well. The book explores the Brutish Raj from many different aspects. Administration, Power game, inhumanity, casteism, to even chai and cricket.

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  • Nihal Fernandes
  • 27-05-17

This book does not work

There is a technical problem with this purchase. Have raised the issue to audible. Do not waste your money on it till it gets fixed.

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  • Rubina
  • 09-01-20

A great story told rather complicatedly

A prime example of a very interesting and well thought out subject’s experience partially ruined because of the over use of complex language.

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