قصة الكتاب :
The Case for India is a book written by American writer Will Durant in 1930 following his visit to India. Will Durant had carried out a thorough study of the Indian civilization, which he described as one of the oldest and greatest civilizations known to mankind. He visited India to get a first-hand experience of what he had studied but was shocked to find the abject state of affairs that prevailed in India at the time. Most of India’s population languished in poverty and oppression far worse than what prevailed anywhere else at the time. Will Durant’s visit had been part of his research on another book he was working on titled The Story of Civilization but what he discovered completely appalled him and caused him to pause that work to write this one. He felt that it was important to document the truth of what was happening in the country, that had been completely looted and destroyed sans scruples or principles. Durant could not understand the mindset of any government that would allow its subjects to sink to the depths of misery that India had. Reading the book transports the reader to 1930 i.e. 17 years before India gained her independence from her colonial oppressors. The mood is that of a worldwide revolt against Britain’s oppression and India’s dream of freedom. \r\n
\r\n Before 1757 when the British first started occupying India, there were no known famines in the country. In the two centuries of the British Raj that followed, millions of people died every year of famine. The book is divided into four parts, of which the first part is like a journalist’s report with Durant reporting a lot of gruesome facts with statistics in detail to back them up. The second part is a section dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi – his character, his principles and philosophies, his lifestyle, his unique choice of protest and the impact it had on the freedom struggle. The third section of the book is Durant’s attempt to present things from the British perspective. This elaborates how the British set up railways, brought about educational reform, abolished practices like Sati and ban on widow remarriage and described the locals as cowards who were always divided over their differences. The last section again presents things from the Indian perspective. The East India Company made profits without hindrance, paid handsome dividends and led to the complete economic devastation of the very people whom they used to make these profits. \r\n
\r\n The British systematically destroyed the local industries and forced India to become a vast market for their machine-made goods. The 30,000 miles of railways that were supposed to aid India’s economic growth did the exact opposite. The railways served British trade and army movements. The existent communal schools were completely destroyed and the British education system was brought about. Illiteracy in India under the British grew to 93%. Sales of alcohol and opium increased. During the plague of 1901, 272,000 people in India lost their lives and 12.5 million Indian people died among the 125 million who got infected during the 1918 flu pandemic. Durant presents several such facts that express how deeply he felt about the injustices that India faced. The book is his way of presenting relevant information considering both sides. In the end, though, he says the book is representative of the empathy that he felt as an American for India, that deserved to break free.\r\n