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Roderick Matthews

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Peace, Poverty and Betrayal: A New History of British India Hardcover – May 1, 2021

by Roderick Matthews (Author)

4.3 69 ratings

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How can we explain the establishment and longevity of British rule in India without recourse to the clichés of "imperial" versus "nationalist" interpretations? In this new history, Roderick Matthews offers a more nuanced view: one of "oblige and rule", the foundation of common purpose between colonizers and powerful Indians.

Peace, Poverty and Betrayal argues that this was not a uniformly systematic approach, but rather a state of being: the British were never clear or consistent in their policies, and among British and Indians alike there were both progressive and conservative attitudes to the struggle over colonization. Matthews' narrative also takes in the East India Company, which was manifestly incompetent as a ruler by 1770, yet after 1820 arguably became the world's first liberal government. Skillfully tying these ambiguities and complexities of British rule in India to the ultimate struggle for independence, Matthews illustrates that the very diversity of British- Indian relations was at the heart of the social changes that would lead to the Freedom Struggle of the twentieth century.

Skewering the simplistic binaries that often dominate the debate, Peace, Poverty and Betrayal is a fresh and gracefully written narrative history of British India.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Hurst
Publication date

May 1, 2021
Dimensions

9.3 x 1.6 x 6 inches
ISBN-10

1787383857
ISBN-13

978-1787383852
See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mr. Matthews's discerning book isn't a revisionist defense of the Raj. It is, instead, a warning against the glib postcolonial assumption 'that because British rule is viewed as bad, therefore anything else would have been better'." -- The Wall Street Journal

"This brave and intelligent book will satisfy neither empire loyalists nor today's rabid nationalists, which is all the more reason to applaud its author and relish the clarity of his analysis."-- Literary Review

"Matthews explores with great delicacy and intelligence ... how Britain became itself, at home, more liberal and democratic, while, as an imperial power, becoming the opposite."-- The Catholic Herald

"Matthews demonstrates an encyclopaedic knowledge of British rule in India [and] frequently challenges conventional views of events and personalities who shaped British India."-- Asian Review of Books

"A radical re-appraisal of British rule in India that challenges current thinking on colonialism in the subcontinent. . . An important book." -- Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones, author of The Last King In India: Wajid Ali Shah

"Maintaining that a willing acceptance of the uncompromising and immutable nature of 'imperialism' in current historiography has tended to disguise the link between the frequent changes in fashion in British politics and the execution of colonial rule in India, Matthews skilfully weaves together the disparate strands of conservative and radical thought which influenced the most prominent British officials and statesmen on the Indian stage." -- Dr Caroline Keen, author of Princely India and the British: Political Development and the Operation of Empire

"One of the best things about this book is that it sidesteps the usual binaries and looks at British India as it actually was, as complex and confused as today's India, neither good nor bad but very, very messy. And, as usual, Matthews is a delight to read."-- Pritish Nandy, former Rajha Sahba MP, poet, film-maker, journalist and former managing editor, Times of India, and editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India

"A fresh, engaging and challenging perspective on British rule in India, Roderick Mathew's lucidly written and well researched book will reset the debate on colonial rule and legacy in South Asia."-- Dr Yaqoob Khan Bangash, Director, Centre for Governance and Policy, ITU Lahore, author of A Princely Affair: Accession and Integration of the Princely States of Pakistan; founder of ThinkFest Pakistan

"A measured and nuanced assessment of the implications and the legacies of colonial rule, using British policy and behaviour in India as a template." -- The Round Table