The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600-1947

by Denis Judd

By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, after a series of titanic struggles against the French and various local rulers during the eighteenth century, Britain had gained mastery of the subcontinent. This period, and the century and a half that followed, saw two powerful cultures locked in an often
bloody battle over political control, land, trade and a way of life.
In The Lion and the Tiger , Denis Judd tells the fascinating story of the British impact upon India, capturing the essence of what the Raj really meant both for the British and their Indian subjects. Judd examines virtually every aspect of this long and controversial relationship, from the
first tentative contacts between East and West, the foundation of the East India Company in 1600, the Victorian Raj in all its pomp and splendor, Gandhi's revolutionary tactics to overthrow the Raj and restore India to the Indians, and Lord Mountbatten's "swift surgery of partition" in 1947,
creating the independent Commonwealth states of India and Pakistan. Against this epic backdrop, and using many revealing contemporary accounts, Judd explores the consequences of British rule for both rulers and ruled. Were the British intent on development or exploitation? Were they the "civilizing
force" they claimed? What were Britain's greatest legacies--democracy and the rule of law, or cricket and an efficient railway system?
Vividly written, based on extensive research, with many new and colorful documentary extracts and literary sources to illustrate the story, The Lion and the Tiger provides an engaging account of a key moment in British Imperial history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, India, Read For School, British Literature

248 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 2004

About the author

Denis Judd was born in Northamptonshire in 1938 and educated in a village primary school before passing the 'Eleven Plus' and entering the local grammar school. He won a State Scholarship to Oxford, where he took his first degree in Modern History at Magdalen College, going on to study for a PhD at London University, on: 'A. J. Balfour and the evolution and problems of the British Empire 1874-1906.' He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

He has been Head of History, and is now Professor Emeritus of Imperial and Commonwealth History, at the London Metropolitan University. In his research, writing and broadcasting he has specialised in the British Empire and Commonwealth, especially South Africa and India. He has also written extensively on British history, on aspects of the monarchy, and among his biographies is the authorised life of the children’s author Alison Uttley.

Reviews

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting and useful; it's quite zoomed out and very introductory, and I'd like to read other history books which cover these areas in more detail.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally digging this facile and quickie skimming of England's empiric interaction with India (pronounced 'Indjyah')-- Raj redux. History for the casual reader.

[Ram Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short history of the British Raj in India, this book is a very accessible version of the 350 year love-hate relationship. Though a noted academic, Prof. Judd has managed to cram a lot of detail into a surprisingly short book. The last chapter describing the exit of the British seemed somewhat rushed, and I would highly recommend Stanley Wolpert's Shameful Flight:The Last Years of British Empire in India (2006) that covers this period in great detail.

Necessary reading for those interested in this topic!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're interested about the interactions between Britain and India this book explains much of the entanglement between cultures in layman's terms. It's alternately fascinating and horrifying what the Indian subcontinent went through in order to secure their freedom.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice concise synopsis.

[Vladimir Prudnikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly has its issues - the description of Indian peasantry as ‘fatalistic’ sounds somewhat Orientalist and ‘irresponsible’ might not be the best adjective for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. That being said, it offers a suitable overview of the Raj’s history which is pithy and readable even if lacking in analytical depth. I have most enjoyed multiple quotations from contemporary observers - both British and Indian. Instead of cherry-picking, the author lets his heroes speak for themselves and lets his readers make their own conclusions.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a well-written but cursory look at the history of the British Raj. I guess if I was coming to the subject for the first time, I would probably give it 4 stars. Since it was only around 225 pages, and covers more than 300 years of history, I was probably unreasonable to expect more.

[Ari Rickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet, this was an easy read that gave me more context and background on the British Raj than I'd had before. But Judd did a lot of quote sharing and not that much analysis. He also used way too much passive voice, for example on p.196 "the British were also seen as strong willed, old-fashioned patriots." Really, by who?? And there are plenty of examples where he introduces an idea but does not explain it; p.35 "the open and predictable hostility of King George III" to the 1783 India Bill...why was the king hostile, and why was it predictable?? Or p. 98 where he describes the Raj's attempt to "make head-way against deep rooted [agricultural] practices and traditions" that held back food production, he doesn't describe what those practices were or how they harmed output.

Ultimately, I did learn plenty, but the book left me with many frustratingly unanswered questions.

[Jack Ferber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed, but wouldn’t recommend. Definitely a good book for the purpose, to give a brief history of the relationship between Britain and India, but it’s just that: too brief and brushed over a lot of important events. It also repeated a lot of minor details from the British perspective bc it was written for the National Portrait Gallery exhibition. But the details were like squabbles in the parliament or minor actions that didn’t really affect India. All in all, added to knowledge of this part of history and that’s all it needed to do.

[Bluebell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a joy to read. This was a very thorough book that totally, and engrossingly, captures an interesting time in British-Indian history. It contains first hand accounts and photographs that bring the subject to life. Although it is a factual work, it really transported me to the time and almost reads like fiction.

For someone who didn't know about this subject much until now, this has been a wonderful introduction and was a genuinely enjoyable reading experience. I loved it.

[Abhinav Gaiha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely misses the role that the British Raj played in dehumanizing the people of India and stripping India of its wealth. For example, it talks of famines that killed millions but conveniently fails to mention that it was the economic policies of the East India Company that led to to the famines in the first place.

[Sarthak Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I started it thinking that I already know a lot about British Raj in India and this would be a summary of it but it is much more than a summary. It has anecdotes from a variety of sources, the facts are present straight. Overall, I would rate this as a very good read for someone who wants to learn more about Indian history from 1600 to 1947

[Haris Niazi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Lion and the Tiger sums up British arrival, rule and exit from Indian subcontinent in just 200 pages and this is a sheer injustice with such a historically rich culture. It had some useful information and at the same time just an 'ok' read form me.

[Roshni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this on my list for a while and I finally got around to it. This is a compact and readable history of the British in India, which really helped me put my piecemeal knowledge of various events during this time period in the appropriate historical perspective.

[Ismael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buena introducción al tema. A partir de esta obra uno puede profundizar con otros títulos

[Grant Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as introductions to the British Raj go, you can’t do better. An illuminating look at an extremely complex relationship between two powerful nations, which changed both forever.

[gio!! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Potentially didn't explore as much of the atrocities done by the East India Company as it could have and I found there wasn't enough detail on the Amritsar Massacre.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good readable history of the Raj