INDIAN TALES OF THE RAJ by Zareer...

INDIAN TALES OF THE RAJ by Zareer Masani (University of California Press: $10.95, illustrated). Nearly half a century after independence, the British rule in India continues to exert a romantic fascination in both countries. Although the entire expatriate English population could have fit comfortably into one of the athletic stadia they built (their numbers peaked at about 100,000), they managed to govern the subcontinent’s 300 million people, primarily by usurping the indigenous bureaucracies and administration. The first-person accounts of the British dominion that Masani has collected transcend the popular images of pukka sahibs and tiger hunts, and focus on the various ways that Indians and Englishmen reacted to each other’s presence. The institutionalized racism of the military and civil service is contrasted with the more ecumenical ideals of individual publishers, broadcasters and educators. This intriguing book reveals how the political and cultural institutions the British introduced continue to influence the development of modern India.