# Book Suggestion Needed on British History in India, Please **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692 "2000-11-25T22:40:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/1 "2000-11-25T22:40:07Z")
Hi! I’m wondering if any literary/historical-buff Dopers could suggest a good, comprehensive, yet interesting book on the history of the British in India, from first contact to India’s Independence. I have found many online, but I’m looking for specific recommendations before I choose. TIA, Una ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/2 "2000-11-25T23:06:27Z")
Due to his compassionate attitude towards the people of India, a biography of Lord Mountbatten’s service as the last Viceroy of India may have some value. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![TomH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/90db22/32.png) [@TomH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TomH)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/3 "2000-11-26T00:33:46Z")
An interesting, and very rich, subject area on which I can’t pretend to be an expert. I’m not sure about a comprehensive history of the Raj, but I can recommend: M K Gandhi’s autobiography, _The Story of My Experiments with Truth_ _The Idea of India_, by Sunil Khilani which covers a lot of the ground in a superficial but interesting way. There are a number of books about “midnight” (14.8.47), not least of all, _Midnight’s Children_ by Salman Rushdie. Worth reading if you want to understand the differences between the various nations in the Sub-continent. Almost anything by Rudyard Kipling will give you an insight into the mindset of the British Raj. He’s a highly underrated author IMHO, but that’s just my view. Then again, before too long somebody is bound to recommend the works of M M Kaye; an excellent series of novels set in India during the relevant period and told through the eyes of a narrator who is in many ways more Indian than Anglo-. Start with _The Far Pavilions_ ,you won’t regret it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/4 "2000-11-26T01:39:19Z")
Went to India for a medical elective last year. In India you have a lot of time to read. A good scholarly treatment is: _The Oxford History of Modern India 1740-1947 **by Percival Spear** _ A good popular treatment, and maybe the best general history book ever, is: _Our Oriental Heritage **by Will Durant** _ Good specific stories include: _Raj **by Gita Mehta** _ which includes lots of pretty good historical facts. Is told from an Indian perspective. Let me take this chance to put in a plug for some _amazing_ Indian literature: Karma Kola by Gita Mehta The God of Small Things by A. Roy All About M. Hatterr by G. V. Desani Some of the stuff by Anita Desai is good. I personally don’t enjoy Salman Rushdie that much. This is not meant in any way to be a pretentious statement. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/5 "2000-11-26T05:28:05Z")
Thank all of you very much - you have given me some great ideas each one. Especially **Dr\_Paprika**. 🙂 I’ve got some Amazon browsing to do now… ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/6 "2000-11-26T06:12:36Z")
It’s not exactly what you asked for, Anthracite, but **Kim** by Rudyard Kipling came to mind when I read your OP. It’s a beautiful story, and it touches a lot on the British impact in India. If you can’t use it for your aforementioned purposes, I suggest reading it for fun.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/7 "2000-11-27T01:05:38Z")
Should clarify that the Will Durant book, _Our Oriental Heritage_ is not specific to the Raj area of India, and also includes a good summary of “religious”, Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese and Babylonian history, as well as others. But the section on Raj India is still very good. ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/8 "2000-11-27T13:17:40Z")
I’ve recently finished Lawrence James’s _Rise and Fall of the British Empire_. I recommend it, but watch out for apologism. He also has out _Raj_, which is India-specific, but I haven’t read that. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/9 "2000-11-27T13:24:39Z")
Wow, even more good suggestions. Thanks everybody! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/10 "2000-11-27T16:21:05Z")
I’ll second the recommendation of Lawrence James’ _Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India_. An excellent readable one volume general history of the subject. Another good book is Cristopher Hibbert’s _The Great Mutiny: India 1857_ which covers the Sikh Mutiny, one of the defining events of the British Indian period. And I also enjoyed Peter Hopkirk’s _The Great Game_ which gives a general history of the struggle between Britain and Russia for control of India and Central Asia. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/11 "2000-11-27T16:24:14Z")
Why don’t I see these things before I post? Mr Hibbert’s first name is Christopher not Cristopher. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2000, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/12 "2000-11-27T17:47:20Z")
Hibbert’s _The Great Mutiny_ is an **excellent** book, as Little Nemo said (although it may give the more squeamish nightmares): however, nearly all the Sikh Regiments of the Indian Army remained loyal to the Raj–it was the Muslim and Hindu sepoy regiments that mutinied. The Sikhs remained loyal for several reasons, not least for the chance to put the boots to the Muslims and Hindus, and the prospect of looting rebel cities and towns (a favourite pastime of many British soldiers, as well). At the core of British-Indian history is the story of the Indian Army (officered by the British, for the most part); an excellent examination of this complex relationship can be found in Philip Mason’s _A Matter Of Honour :An account of the Indian Army,its officers and men_. Another indispensable source (and an all-round cracking good read, BTW) is _The Frontier Scouts_ by Charles Chenevix-Trench: an almost affectionate account of the nearly 100-years on again- off again- war with the Pathan tribes of the North-West Frontier. Finally, to take an overview of the British Empire as a whole, anyone with the slightest historical interest should read James/Jan Morris’ classic work(s), the _Pax Brittanica Trilogy_. There is a great deal on India and the Raj, from the East India Company days, up to Partition in 1947. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2000, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestion-needed-on-british-history-in-india-please/42692/13 "2000-11-28T05:19:49Z")
Rodd is right. I knew there was a general term for the incident but I couldn’t remember it off hand. For some reason I came up with “Sikh Mutiny” rather than the correct term “Sepoy Mutiny”. Naturally I remembered this an hour later while driving to work.