THE MEN WHO RULED INDIA: THE FOUNDERS

by Philip Woodruff ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 1954

The first of two volumes, this carries the story of the British in India from the first contact through the Company in 1600 through the Mutiny in 1858. The approach is biographical, providing concrete illustrations of the attitudes of Company and Crown and giving the facts of increasing domination a personal and sympathetic coloring. Coming to India as a trader nation, England remained to accept the greater responsibilities of occupation, and as the Moguls gave way to the British the kind of civil servants who embarked from England altered. Mr. Woodruff likens the administrators to a Platonic class; he considers the British acceptance of responsibility as a guardianship in preparation for freedom; he feels the British rule should be judged by the conscious will of England aside from the best and worst actions of her servants. He points up the enlightenment of such men as Elphinstone, Malcolm, Metcalfe but he does not condone the frenzy of reaction to the Mutiny or the harshness of ""unprofitable servants"" such as Sir William Bolts. He succeeds admirably in presenting a clear, concise survey of the India the British came to, the changes they made (even altering religious practices in an attempt to alleviate human suffering), the colonies and hardship in which they lived. Characterized by pride in British achievement modified by a balanced appraisal, this has a definite place in the growing literature on the India we are coming to know politically as well as culturally.

Pub Date: March 29, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION