Remains of the Raj

by Anthony Wild

"Remains of the Raj" shows how, 50 years after independence, Britishness still permeates many aspects of life in India. It focuses on what there is still to be seen in the modern Indian subcontinent from the time of the East India Company and its successor, the British Raj.The book is illustrated with archive material and contemporary photographs showing what remains of the British rule in India. Histories and descriptions are given of not only the grand edifices of the trading and colonial era but the everyday legacy and ephemera of daily life. The subject matter ranges from the magnificient to the minute, showing in its full diversity the influence of the long era of the British in India.The book an historical overview; trade - factories, forts, tea and opium; the armed forces - the Indian army, navy and air force and the Great Game; religion and rememberance - churches, graveyards, museums and heritage; and infrastructure - railways.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Raj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled 'The British Legacy in India', this coffee-table book was fairly interesting, in that, embarrasingly, I know very little about Indian history, the Raj in particular. It's split into sections, from a general historical overview to transport and government. None of the sections are particularly detailed, but provide enough of an overview to make me interested in reading more.

The pictures that decorate it are fantastic, with detailed captions, but the prose is tainted with a nostalgia for the 'good old days' of empire. A fact not hugely surprising given that the author is chairman of a reincarnation of the East India Company.