The Making of India: The Untold Story of British Enterprise

by Kartar Lalvani

Overview

This exciting book moves beyond and against the current postcolonial orthodoxy. Instead of arguing that all colonization is wrong and inherently unjust, Dr. Kartar Lalvani argues that Britain made a crucial contribution in providing India with its lasting physical and institutional infrastructure which continues to underpin the world's largest democracy. The indisputable fact is that India as a nation, as it stands today, was originally put together and created by a small distant island nation. That India has endured as a democracy and a unified nation is thanks to the all important and fully functional infrastructure of an independent civil service and judiciary, a disciplined and apolitical army and a well drilled and efficient police force—all developed by an imperial power. This finally explodes the myth that all India‘s problems are caused by outsiders' interference

Dr. Kartar is himself Indian and is fully aware that his book will create great controversy, but it is a meticulously argued and researched history of the people of India since the 17th century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472924827
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	05/24/2016
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Dr. Kartar Lalvani OBE PhD DSc is founder and chairman of a hugely successful international business corporation. He is also a private scholar and historian and this book is the fruit of many years of hard thought and meticulous research.

Table of Contents

Foreword Ram Jethmalani, MP i

Preface: Time to recognise the positive side of the imperial coin v

1 The Argument: Balance and Perspective 1

2 The East India Company: Ambitions to Rule the Waves 54

3 Routes to India 70

4 Ships and Shipbuilding: The Age of Steam 78

5 Ports, Harbours and Lighthouses 108

6 Canals and Water Supplies 116

7 Roads: Leaving No Stone Unturned 143

8 Mail Services, the Telegraph and the Telephone 153

9 Railways: A Network is Built with Incredible Speed 160

10 Locomotive Workshops and the Manufacture of Rolling Stock 223

11 Bridge Building 234

12 Foundries, Iron and Steel: The Rise of Indian Self-Sufficiency 254

13 Extraction Industry Development 270

14 Electricity Generation 285

15 India Adopts the Tram 303

16 The Textile and Jute Industries 324

17 Sugar, Tea and Coffee Industries 340

18 Early Air Services 351

19 Establishing an Administrative Infrastructure 355

20 Education and Health: Engineering and Medical Colleges 370

21 Indian Heritage and Culture: Conservation, Restoration and Appreciation 377

22 Diaspora: Migration and Opportunity 387

Appendix A Milestones in the Making of India 399

Appendix B Biographies: British Engineers in India 405

Bibliography 414

Acknowledgements 425

Index 427

Editorial Reviews

Elegant, fair and extremely well written. I am delighted that the other side of the story is being told, as it deserves to be.” —Martin Bell, British UNICEF Ambassador, former MP and war reporter

“Remarkable for its scholarship, readability and message.” —Andrew Roberts, historian, visiting Professor King's College London, author of Napoleon the Great

“Absolutely excellent: informative, well argued and passionate. This book contains the seeds of future Anglo-Indian cooperation.” —Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister

“This is a courageous and meticulously researched book. It challenges the fashionably negative view of the impact of the Raj on India. Dr Lalvani makes the positive case with conviction and scholarship.” —Sir Vince Cable, former British Cabinet Minister

“I fully concur with Dr Lalvani that Indians should be grateful for some of the permanent blessings of colonial rule, which only the unique attributes of the British could have conferred on us. A highly educated author belonging to the brave Sikh community should declare the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” —Professor Ram Jethmalani, MP Former Indian Cabinet Minister of Judiciary and Company Law and Chairman of the Bar Council of India

“Dr Lalvani is a mover and a shaker. This remarkably scholarly book will turn old ways of thinking upside down.” —Joanna Lumley, actress, author and activist

“Dr Lalvani shows his love of both countries in a generous, heart-warming contribution to our history. This book will be a bright star to which we can turn for the authoritative alternative version of how the British helped India.” —Baroness Harris, House of Lords

“Dr Lalvani has laid a new foundation for our understanding of how the wide ranging infrastructure provided by the British helped prepare India for its transformation into a 21st-century power.” —Professor David Heymann, Chatham House

“Extremely well judged, factually accurate, with a wealth of fascinating material … This book adds hugely to our knowledge.” —Anil Seal, Founder of The Cambridge School of Indian History

“Bracingly controversial ... I defy anyone with a modicum of open-mindedness not to read The Making Of India and concede, however grudgingly, that [the author] just might have a point” —Daily Mail

“An equally wonderful and thought-provoking book that drips with complexity” —Catholic Herald, Books of the Year 2016

From the Publisher