Thin red line
http://economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?story_id=5135532
Nov 10th 2005
From The Economist print edition
THE deeper the Iraqi quagmire, the more remarkable it is to contemplate
the lone superpower of a century ago. There are a number of differences
between America in Iraq today and Britain in India at the dawn of the
20th century. But the fact remains that Britain took and held a
sub-continent with numbers that still amaze. By 1901, India's
population was around 300m, yet it was secured and governed by a
British contingent numbering only 154,000 including dependants. Rarely,
if ever, have so few achieved so much in terms of the extension of
administration and infrastructure, while continuing to acquire more
territory. One need not approve of empire-building to be impressed at
how it was done.
Of two new books about the men who made this possible, the more
engaging is David Gilmour's on the "civilians", the members of the
Indian Civil Service, who were sent out from Britain ludicrously young
to administer, often on their own, districts containing millions of
souls.
.
|
