Focusing on his latest book Inglorious Empire: What the British did to India, Dr Shashi Tharoor looks to takes on and demolish the argument that British imperialism in the Indian subcontinent was a form of enlightened despotism that would benefit the Indians, and aims to demonstrate how every supposed imperial ‘gift’, from the railways to the rule of law, was designed in Britain’s interests alone. 

Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) is a sitting Member of the Indian Parliament affiliated to the Congress Party. Dr Tharoor has a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the US, and was named by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1998 as a Global Leader of Tomorrow; he has authored fourteen previous books and has won numerous literary awards, including a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

Mukulika Banerjee (@MukulikaB) is Director of the South Asia Centre and Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is author of Why India Votes? (2014)

The South Asia Centre (@SAsiaLSE) works with individuals, organisations, think tanks, the media, governments and parastatal institutions to debate South Asia amidst its constituent countries and with the world at large through multi-faceted dialogue and debate, and position it as a dynamic global region influencing wider challenges and powers.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #SACTharoor