RAJ: THe Making and Unmaking of British India

Fayyaz Ahmed

               Book Review: “Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India”      

The book “Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India” by Lawrence James is a book about the legacy that the British had left in British India, which is now India and Pakistan. Both nations owe much to the British Empire for giving immense modernity to eh nation, which includes railways, canals, roads, education, hospital, Universal English Language and common law. This was not panned however, because the business ventures of the East India Company ventured into making India a land of economic opportunity, and hence the British realized that the people could adapt and become a “true” colony of Britain. The Indians were seen as different because they helped the British rule their own nation by doing odd jobs that benefitted the empire. An example can be seen through the people of Bengal making guns for the British army. The Indians were also looked upon differently from the rest of the Colonial states of the empire because they were commissioned as British soldiers in the military. This book explains how the British had put their “heart and soul” into the empire and how they transformed it. Today, both India and Pakistan use English as a major language in their education, Government, and everyday life. Although the British Empire influenced many of their attributes onto the Indian subcontinent, they also left their legacy and “heart of the empire” for everyone to remember. 

This book is crucial for my paper because it discusses how the British left their legacy in the Indian subcontinent. It also shows why the British Empire treated Indians as their own and not “second-class” human beings such as they did in Africa and other colonial nations. What differentiates this book from many other books is that it offers a perspective view from the Indians, Pakistanis, and the British points of views.