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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
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The Anarchy

The Anarchy

byWilliam Dalrymple
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Top positive review

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Manish Kapata
5.0 out of 5 starsBritish Raj established only after 1857
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 20 May 2023
From my school days I wonder how Britishers ruled over India for so many years. Andy why one by one we lost battle against them from very Frist battle of Plassey to sepoys 1857 final revolt.
When I read this book I feel that history is not black and white as we had learnt in school but it's colourful and it has hundreds of shades.
Every Indian must read this book to understand how today's India took shape.
Good quality paper and good quality hardbound cover
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Top critical review

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vivek thakur
2.0 out of 5 starsCan't say it's unbiased history reporting, colorful reading though.
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 2 November 2022
The choice of words and recurring underlying current of bumbling incompetent natives simply capitulating to a superior white man's prowess betray an almost sympathetic pen to the horrors of the parasitic Brit devasatation of the prosperous land called 16th century India. Makes passing references to the state of economic affairs in Britain (~3% world's GDP, mostly agrarian) as compared to India (25%, manufacturing dominant) in 1599 when the Brit emissary Thomas Roe came around here, it should have been more forcefully laid out how the predators brought about the remarkable reversal of the situation with unbridled avarice and revolting habits of business, but alas that aspect is lost for a more acceptable version where not too much blame is apportioned to the Imperialists for reasons best known to the author. The serpentine obliqueness of in-fashion european morals with which the red faced hat wearers went about usurping territory after territory, and the local moneylenders who aided/abetted them is only mentioned just enough, whereas instances of literary macropsia liberally pepper the book about the incidents that catch the author's fancy, such as Shah Alam's travails, supposed love for India of one Warren Hastings (which somehow didn't prevent his company bahadur from posting a profit even as Bengalis lay strewn in lakhs starving across his office in Kolkata's streets dying of hunger in 1769-70 famine). The repetitive inferences to selected "historians" of the era who eminently betray a obsequious and toning down tendency of the Brits' repugnant actions in favour of the dominant power (eg one Ghulam Hussain Khan's Seir Mutaqherin) is plain disingenuous, sir. It's a rather arrogant and not so clever Abrahamic point of view of looking at things if I may use the description, of insisting on measuring & describing things of other civilizations with one's preconceived metrics without being cognizant of/ acknowledging their unsuitability for such purposes, to give an example, Chatrapati Shivaji maharaj is translated as "lord of the umbrella"...a chattra can only be caricaturized as an umbrella by a jaundiced eye. This book isn't the place to learn history as it happened, but a good place to learn how to make palatable interpretation of it, appealing to a vaster audience than what it would if the bitter truth was told sans dressing up.
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From India

Nathik
4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended book on an important period in Indian history
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 2 October 2019
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The Anarchy is a popular history book on the East Indian Company(EIC) in 18th Century India. Dalrymple regale us the rise of the EIC from a Tudor privateering operation full of ex-Caribbean privates to an imperial power. Considering that the British were pretty late to the spice trade in India compared to the Portuguese, Dutch, and the French, their raise as an imperial power is extraordinary.

Rise of of the first Multinational Corporation:

East Indian Company(EIC) basically invented corporate lobbying, insider training and first corporate bail out, and all the other things we loathe about modern corporation. EIC developed a symbiotic relationship with the British Parliamentarians. Company men like Clive used the looted money from India to buy both MPs and parliamentary seats. The Parliament backed the Company with state power because many MPs were shareholders of EIC and any action against the company will affect their personal wealth.

Silk, Spices and Sepoy:

Thanks to the dwindling military and financial power of the Mughals, a huge military labor market sprang up all across India. Dalrymple describes this as one of the most thriving free markets of fighting men anywhere in the world- all up for sale to the highest bidder. Warfare become a business enterprise and substantial section of peasants spent part of their time year as mercenaries. EIC were better off financially and were able to pay the sepoys the promised wage on time than many local rulers. EIC were using as much as 80% Indian sepoyts in many of their battles.

The British very really lucky:

Although popular theories propose that the success of the EIC can be attributed to the fragmenting to Mughal India into tiny competing states; the military tech of the Europeans and innovation of banking, taxing and administration of the Anglo-saxons, one of the recurring themes that I found is how lucky in the may of the battles. Yes, the above theories are probably true and East India Company troop were more disciplined than their Indian rivals; but its incredible how consistently lucky the British were.

Break the Rules:

Warfare in India were actually done in gentlemanly manner. The Mughals. Marathas and other local rulers pursued negotiation, bribery and paying tribute. In case of actual conquest, there are rules by which they abide by. The Company men, especially Robert Clive, who committed suicide at the age of 49(Hope someone soon writes a biography on this truly appalling character), constantly breaking the rules like attacking at night and attacking at thunderstorm etc.

Why we need to learn to negotiate?

Mughals were completely clueless about who corporation functions or how unsavory Clive operates as an Profiteer. Ghulam Hussain Khan says a sale of jackass would have taken up more time than the time taken for the Treaty of Allahbad. Post Treaty of Allahabad, EIC used Indian tax revenue to purchase textiles and spies. Even at the time of famines EIC enforces tax collection to maintain their revenue and growing military expenditure. At the height of the famine, English merchants engaged in grain hoarding, profiteering and speculation.

North vs South India?

Even after Battle of Plassey, Cavalry was the dominant form of warfare in northern India and continued to fight each other despite the growing domination of the British. However the south was every quick to copy and learn the military innovations of the Europeans. Haider Ali had a modern infantry and his troops were more innovative and tactically ahead of EIC. They mastered the art of firing rockets long before the English. Nana Phadnavus, ‘the Maratha Machiavelli’, after the Treaty of Wadgaon, proposed a Triple Alliance between the Marathas, Haider and the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Indian Bankers love the Company:

The rise of EIC as an imperial power would not be possible with out the Indian bankers. The Indian financiers saw greater advantage in keeping the Company in power than they did supporting their own. By 1803, Indian bankers were competing with one another to back the company’s army.

In the end its the Company’s ability to mobilize money have them the edge over the Marathas and Tipu Sultan. It was no longer the superior European military technology. Bengal alone was annually yeilding a steady revenue surplus of Rs 25 million at the time when Scindia struggled to net Rs 2 million. The biggest firm of the period – the houses of Lala Kashmiri Mal, Ramchand-Gopalchand Shahu and Gopaldas-Manohardas – helped the military finance of the British. The Company duly rewarded the invaluable services in 1782 by making the house of Gopaldas the government’s banker. Richard Wellesley managed raise Rs 10 million with the support of Marwari bankers of Bengal to fight the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war.

Final nail in the coffin:

Following the victory of the Battle of Delhi, EIC defeated the last indigenous power. Now linked Bengal, Madras and Bombay while imposing itself as Regent under the Mughals.

My only complaints is that the book doesn’t drive into the financial details of the Company despite the wealth information available. A bit of financial history of the Company would have helped us understand the nature of the Company better. Overall an entertaining history book. highly recommended.
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Pravin Singh
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Topical
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 9 March 2023
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Well researched, enlightening and insightful.
History as it should be without taking any sides and impartisan.
Good learning of colonial history.
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Chaitanya Sethi
4.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched but slightly dry take on the Raj
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 18 January 2021
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The history of it is well documented -The British came to Indian shores as mercantile traders and over a span of nearly 350 years(starting from 1600) morphed from traders to soldiers to administrators to ruthless imperial rulers. This book chronicles the time period from 1599 to mid-1830s, a period Mr. Dalrymple believes was one of anarchy where multiple parties were jostling among each other for power and riches with the tide swinging every now and then.

Spread across 9 chapters and 400 pages, this book is an attempt to linearize the chaotic political, economic, cultural, and national dynamics between rulers of the Indian subcontinent, the British, the Dutch, and the French, with the Indian and British characters given the heft of the focus. Pieced together with an extensive array of letters, documents, treaties, books, and gazettes, it is an impressive and exhaustive feat of researching on Mr. Dalrymple's end.

I did have some concerns though - I wasn't sure who was the intended audience for this book. For a history novice like me, it was at times overly detailed and so in-depth that I ended up bored. That I had to retain the names of characters who were briefly mentioned in passing and never heard from again was something that got in my way. The minutiae of the war paraphernalia and the real-time tactics employed for fighting the war was again something which was not to my taste. That I took 25 days to finish this book was somewhat of a red flag because I am not such a slow reader.

That's not to discard the merits of the book - it is well-organized and if you're a history or trivia buff then it's right up your alley. I was done with my reading goal for 2020 so I was fine with reading at a slovenly pace but were I in the midst of reading other stuff, I might have put it aside for something lighter and crisper.
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Ayusman
4.0 out of 5 stars A well researched history, with a few errors
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 30 September 2020
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William Dalrymple is a celebrated author, which is why his faults become all the more noticeable. "The Anarchy" is as well researched as can be desired. One only wishes that the author had been as impartial. There appears a clearly discernible attempt to whitewash some of the controversial characters. The first is Warren Hastings, who is favourably compared to Robert Clive. Dalrymple presents Hastings as a victim of corporate intrigues. Surprisingly, there is no mention at all of Hastings atrocious agent in Bengal - Debi Singh, tales of whose cruelty survives even to this day. The other character whom Dalrymple tries to exonerate is Tipu Sultan of Mysore. In contemporary India, Tipu continues to generate a lot of controversy. Without siding with any one view on Tipu in particular, one can at least draw attention to a misreference to William Wilkie Collins’ novel "The Moonstone" in Dalrymple’s work. John Hardcastle in Wilkie Collins’ novel did not seize the Moonstone or the fabulous yellow diamond from the forehead of the moon god, as Dalrymple seems to imply (p. 352 – 353). The gem in that story was originally seized by the officers of ‘Aurungzebe’ (Aurangzeb), after they demolished the image of the god. It passed to Tipu Sultan who “who caused it to be placed as an ornament in the handle of a dagger”. Again, the diamond was not brought back to Seringapatam at the end of the story by its Brahmin guardians as Dalrymple seems to imply. It was rather restored to the forehead of the moon god whose image rested “on a hill at a little distance from Somnauth” (Somnath). Coming from a writer as great as Dalrymple, such mistakes appear all the more glaring. The book is otherwise good and an entertaining read.
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Rakshit Dhingra
4.0 out of 5 stars Well Researched
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 23 June 2022
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A well researched book. There are obvious biases which form a part of every historian's viewpoint. But the book has been written really well and it's an intriguing read that shows the efforts.
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kiran
4.0 out of 5 stars Might is Right
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 26 April 2020
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Wonderfully written book of 18th Century India and it`s conquest by East India Company.Author paints `excesses `of a multinational corporation in 18th century India. However India was for the taking for many european countries (Portugese , French and Dutch and others), I genuinely believe British were the better lot amongst them.
We got
- concept of a country
- basics of democracy
- Discipline instead of ingrained `Jugaad`
-provision of Liberal education-
- respect of Law which is so much important.

If not the EIC , India would have been looted by it`s own kings or by other european countries and the anarchy would have continued. They won simply because of better strategy , carrying other cultures amongst them , largely leaving local customs and religions intact. I was also astonished that British Parliament did try to control EIC even in 18 Century and Wellesley was more of nominee of British Government than that of EIC.
To give examples if Portugese had prevailed India would have become a Roman Catholic country and Tipu Sultan had won India would have become an Islamic Kingdom by force.
So , Mr Dalrymple , don`t carry white man`s guilt , EIC prevailed simply because it was better than others and India is better off with this company than with others during 18 Century.
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Tanveer
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the 💸💸💰💰 money!!!!!
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 31 May 2022
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The media could not be loaded.
 Quality is great and this book is a must read for anyone to know what happened in the 18th century which cauded the downfall of indian empires in the subcontinent and how how east india company took over
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Tanveer
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the 💸💸💰💰 money!!!!!
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 31 May 2022
Quality is great and this book is a must read for anyone to know what happened in the 18th century which cauded the downfall of indian empires in the subcontinent and how how east india company took over
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Satyendra Avadhani
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book with Prejudices
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 21 June 2021
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Good historian- No doubt in it

About the book:
Book contains 522 pages, out of which 115 is reserved ->for notes and references, and another 48 pages for images… so you have to read only around 360 pages..

starting few pages were boring….
book is more b/w Clive vs warren Hastings( so only 4 star)
he hates Clive but shows love towards warren Hastings…
but remember both are pirate bastards only…
Not all Governor generals are discussed…( only few viz. Clive, Hastings, Wellesly)
Achievements of Indians - very less..

off course it will be helpful for those who are preparing for the civil services examinations
Customer image
Satyendra Avadhani
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book with Prejudices
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 21 June 2021
Good historian- No doubt in it

About the book:
Book contains 522 pages, out of which 115 is reserved ->for notes and references, and another 48 pages for images… so you have to read only around 360 pages..

starting few pages were boring….
book is more b/w Clive vs warren Hastings( so only 4 star)
he hates Clive but shows love towards warren Hastings…
but remember both are pirate bastards only…
Not all Governor generals are discussed…( only few viz. Clive, Hastings, Wellesly)
Achievements of Indians - very less..

off course it will be helpful for those who are preparing for the civil services examinations
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
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Rohit
4.0 out of 5 stars good book. but not recommend for first timers, who don't have any idea about British India.
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 29 August 2020
Verified Purchase
Good book. Inspirational writing style.
Since i didn't read historical book, which written in a storytelling manner, so it was fun to read.
On many occasions, Writer try to accommodate different views on many key incidents, which is good but that's also have few problems related to how to look on those views?
So, before reading this book, who don't have any idea about British India. I recommend them to first go through with Vinay Lal's 10 lectures on British India in YouTube & then come back to this.
History is all about facts and when we go back in history, One fact have many references, which recorded in different POVs (rulers/suppressor/suppressed/opponents/opportunist etc..). So, it's up to the writer, that how he represents those views and then draw the conclusion from it.
Devil lies in Details.
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Mohsin
4.0 out of 5 stars Very intriguing and detailed
Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 23 December 2021
Verified Purchase
Very interesting and opens up all perspectives of historical events and lets you take a balanced view of events and in a way empathize with the perpetrators.
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