Remains of the Raj -The British Legacy in India

Antony Wild - Remains of the Raj. The British Legacy in India.

The British Raj in India, which grew from a scattering of trading factories under the East India Company to full scale dominion of the subcontinent by the twentieth century, exerts a special fascination over Indian and Briton alike.

Whether because it represents the greatest possession of the last of the territorial Empires, or because there is such complexity in the cultural clash of East and West, or because of the Partition – part catastrophe, part triumph – which marked the rulers’ exit, the British Raj is fertile ground for the study of the origins of the patterns of trade and nation state which have emerged in the modern world.

Remains of the Raj Illustrated

This beautifully illustrated book describes in text and images those things which the British left behind in India, from manhole covers made in Kilmarnock, newspaper mastheads, brass bands and regimental silver to the majesty of the law and the monumental railway system.

Anthony Wild Also examines aspects of the Raj that have had a pivotal role in India’s geographical, military, economic and cultural history. For example many of the regiments of the Pakistan, Bangladeshi and Indian Armies were founded in the time of the East India Company.

The British were responsible for the mapping of the subcontinent, without the topographical surveys that took place roads, railways and irrigation canals could not have been built, uncharted rivers could not be opened and all-important trade and treaties could not be signed. For better or worse remnants of the Raj still colour the life of the subcontinent, and the curious juxtaposition of the Anglo-Saxon love of ‘plan and purpose incarnate’, and the unique ability of India to subvert it form the substance of this book

Antony Wild

Ever since seeing the place name Cox’s Bazar on a map, Antony Wild has had a fascination for the relationship of the British to the subcontinent, which has by various twists and turns, including a three month expedition by boat down the River Indus in Pakistan, resulted in his becoming Chairman of the East India Company PLC, a reincarnation of that most potent of commercial ventures. The Company is actively engaged in reviving trading links with the many countries and companies that its illustrious forbear had dealings with, particularly in South Asia, where the name of the East India Company with its polyphonic resonances is still universally known.

Of Yorkshire and Swiss extraction, Antony Wild has written an illustrated history of the East India Company as well as lecturing and broadcasting widely on the subject of the British in Asia. He has written two screenplays and numerous articles. This is his sixth book.

Antony Wild - Remains of the Raj - The British Legacy in India

ISBN 0 00 711428 1