mridu rai reviews dirks book on empires

7/27/2019 MRIDU rai reviews DIRKS book on empires

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The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain

(review)

Mridu Rai

Victorian Studies, Volume 50, Number 1, Autumn 2007, pp. 164-166 (Article)

Published by Indiana University Press

For additional information about this article

Access provided by Marshall University (27 Aug 2013 11:59 GMT)

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/vic/summary/v050/50.1rai.html
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164

VICtOrIan StudIES

Th scandal of empr: inda and th Craton of impral Brtan, by nichols B.

diks; pp. xviii + 389. Cbige: the Belkp Pess o Hv uivesiy Pess, 2006,

$27.95, 18.95.

nichols B. dikss ipo vole coes ie whe he epio o epie,

wiely ie sevel eces go s illegiie poliicl oio, ppes o be

eceivig esh bishig. I he wke o uS poliico-iliy pesece eploye i

aghis Iq sice Ocobe 2001, o oly hve sevel poliicl pciioes

ceics soee hei ies ows he ie o epie, b soe hve eve

sggese h he uie Ses c le sly lessos o he elie, oe

ovely ipeil vee o he Biish, which, hogh occsiolly egebly

exploiive, lso isseie he bees o libel poliicl iios, ee e,

he ovee o lbo coss coies oces.

I his coex, diks ges h i is ciicl o eocs o eio o he

hisoy o epie, cig hogh he qesioe sspios o ipeil hisoy

wheeve i iskes coloil ieology o blce hisoy (335). a vlble coi-

bio o his wok, he, is o peel wy he sel-legiiizig jsicios o gove-

es cliig o c i he e o ppoely highe piciples sch s Libey,

deoccy, o civilizig iplse, o ecogize he o wh hey e: pojecs

o oiio exploiio (335) beg ie i scl. diks lso wishes

s o eebe ipo elee i he ipeil elios bewee Bii

Ii i he ps, wih echoes i he elios bewee he Wes he es i he

pese: he ipo ole o Ii i kig Bii io he oe io-se o

oy, eb less eqely ckowlege h Iis o Bii.

appopiely, heeoe, diks joeys o he le eigheeh cey i

Bii Ii, whe he hisoies o he wo bece ciiclly cojoie. this ws he

ie o oly o he Es Ii Copys s eioil coqess o he sbcoie

b lso o he os sclos speccle o ive seges o Loo sociey ( eve-

lly, ccoig o S Slei, o boe he). this speccle ivolve E Bkes

heoicl exggeioosesibly coeio o he Copys cop pc-ices i Iiig he eigh-ye ipeche il, beg i 1788, h plce

We Hsigs, il ecely Goveo Geel o Ii, i he ock. thogh ie

eiely eble chpes evolvig boly o his scl, diks sccesslly

evels he hollowess o coloil sel-jsicio.

diks eecively efes Bkes ooy by poiig o his oble ss,

s i his esl o ciicize robe Clive (ceie o he coqes o Begl i 1757

b lso iely og he oe pcios o he eigheeh-cey ocils i

Ii) while leshig his isgse exspee eloqeceo boow Sleis

wos oce oegis Hsigs, celebe lso o his sypheic spo-soship o Ii lgges, leig, iios. moeove, s diks evels,

oe peesi qesio o lce y lso p ly expli Bkes eciio o he

Copy. as diks pois o, sel-ieese Biish ieveios sch s Bkes

poceee hogh wisig vil specs o Ii poliicl cioig oios o

ighs soveeigy hogh he segic se o cll os o expli legii-

e eleless pe o poliicl eioil coqes (172).


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autumn 2007

alhogh he il ee wih Hsigss cqil, diks ges h i ws

o, s is soeies coee, ile. as sevel schols hve ley poie o,

Bkes coce ws less wih poecig Iis h i ws wih shielig he cie

cosiio hoe o he pevesios o Copy bobs. the il bece he

oel-by-e o which he Biish ipeil eepise eege pie o ll igo-

iy. Fo he o, scl ws eseve o he ives heselves, he

ipe bbis o hei iioseviece i pcices sch s Si, thggee,

o hook-swigigws se o jsiy, eve eoble, ipeil biio (5, 297,

301, 305).

B he eigheeh cey i Ii o which diks kes s is ley isi-

gishe by vigoos hisoiogphicl ebe, js-ce, h looks, o oe h,

o expli he ecelizio o he mghl Epie , o he ohe, o es

he siio o coloilis. I es o he seco coce, diks vlbly qesios

s o ece popl hisoicl wiig h evokes e chceize by ex-

pece ple igligs o Eopes Iis o hei cles

ies o oge elioships h e, oeove, chceize s sybioic (Willi

dlyple, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth Century India[2002] xiv). this

wol is hybi hese elios sybioic oly i oe sspes he ewok o

powe wihi which hey opee. Wiho eyig ll cil cll boe

cossigs he ie, diks eis s h he eigheeh cey ws lso isk-

bly e o coqess, ecooic excio, eve ios ies pecipie

by Copy policies.

I ccos sch s dlyples psh he coloil coex oo io he

bckgo, howeve, dikss plls i oo ch ow. While eegig Biish

Epie s ceily be ckowlege s p o he seig o be o cos i

eigheeh-cey Ii, sely i i o o he oly seig. diks highlighs he

isigeos sces o vios Copy ocils who eee o he mghl epe-

os specy whe coveie b viole i whe i sie he sice his soveeig

hoiy ws wiely see s sh by Bios i boh Egl Ii (179). He

ils o oe, howeve, h siil ie chceize wie viey o Iipoliicl cos o he ie. Sjy Sbhys cco o ni Shhs i io

ohe Ii i ely 1739, whe he lso oee geel ssce i delhi,

eis s h he mghl epeo mh Shhs soveeigy h bee epo-

ily sspee o bo wo ohs e which he ws ocilly esoe o he

hoe by he Pesi vqishes peissio (Explorations in Connected History[2005]

194). Eve beoe nis evsig blow o mghl hoiy, be o powel

oblee o he epie h eciely sck hei ow iepee poliicl phs.

a he be o hose who i so ews, log wih oely sboie

chies, wios, il pes gops, icese oicebly. a y o obssccesso ses eege o poiece hogh he l execise o boh especig

he epeos hoiy spig his powes, he oe beig eqisie o legii-

e he le. a iscssio o hese c be igoe oly he cos o epocig

aglo-ceee ivesely cy o dikss ie.

the eigheeh cey, heeoe, ws o js oe o Biish coloil

isio b, o he pespecive o he mghl cpil i delhi is ole elie,


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VICtOrIan StudIES

o isce, ley sclos ie o Ii sgessios o vios kis. While

diks eis s coecly h he Biish eglece o eio [how] hei ow pes-

ece h gely excebe he ipoce o viey o Ii iios hey

he escibe s bhoe (310), he les viey o Ii cos ses o he

hook. By viewig ll poliico-ecooic exploiio cll isoio i he eigh-

eeh cey so siglly s co o Biish coloilis, diks iscs vil ools

wih which o es ohe os o oiio oppessiowhehe hey be

Bh-ecee ochbiliy o pichl sbjgio. While hese ceily

eceive llip hogh ipeil policies, hey clely lso h hei Ii oigis. to

highligh Ii libiliy is o o ile esposibiliy o wh Biish coloilis

wogh i Soh asi; howeve, o iiish i wol be o wie icoplee hisoy

h co bee he ki o ciicl ebe o ipeilis whose gecy diks so

powelly ephsizes o which his wok kes ipo coibio.

Mridu Rai

Yale University

impral Maochm: Brth Fcton, Fantay, and socal Cla, by Joh Kcich; pp. x

+ 258. Piceo Oxo: Piceo uivesiy Pess, 2007, $35.00, 22.95.

Joh Kcich hs wie i he ps o sgessio, epessio, excess, esi i

Vicoi liee. Wih Imperial Masochism he eoses his co o ye

ohe psychosocil oive o he peio by pplyig he isighs o psycholysis

beyo he iivil o ecove soehig like he gop ieioiy o collecive

psychology h hs ll b isppee i coepoy ciiqe. as he ses, he,

his ieios e o eose he coie elevce o psycholysis o hisoi-

cis; o elcie he ole sochisic sy plys i ieiy oio beyo he

el o sexliy; o illie he socil cio o sch sy i Biish cle;

o ecpee o hisoicis sies boh he cegoy o socil clss he oio he psychologicl. deig sochis s y psi o physicl pi, seig, o

hiliio h geees phsic, oipoe copesios o cissisic

, Kcich ieies o ypes o sochisic sy: o ol cool ove ohes,

o he ihilio o ohes, o he oipoece o ohes, o soliy oipo-

ece. Chpes o robe Lois Seveso, Olive Scheie, ry Kiplig,

Joseph Co he exploe hese sies i eil.

Imperial Masochismcoess ce ciicl sspios h sochis is

lwys bo sexliy; h i lwys ogizes oeipl pes o oice

sbissio; h, i coloil coexs, i is piily bo ce, gee, o sexloieio he h clss. to Kcich, sochis is psychosocil lgge, o

xe se o behvios, sochisic sy is ise o socil cio, o

specic c i isel. Clss is sybolic ei o cofiche h ecooic

o poliicl cegoyi which cocepios o socil ieiy e e. Kcich

sccesslly ges h willl sel-yo ws cel o he eegece o poes-

siol ile-clss cle i he Epie he e o he ieeeh cey.

mridu rai reviews dirks book on empires

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