India Before The English: Lecture Delivered Before The East India Association, London, April 8Th And May 13Th, 1897

Amidst a babel of contending opinions as to the success or nonsuccess of British administration in India, when a large number of disputants maintain that progress in that country has been phenomenal, while others declare that England is ruining India body and soul, it will be well for a few moments to turn from the war of words and clash of conflicting arguments to the solid stand point of historic truth; and to attempt to gather from unimpeachable ancient records how the matter stands. The case stands broadly thusmany Hindus are convinced that their country was better governed by their own rulers than it is now, and some people in this country think the same thing. But at the outset the enquiry must be conducted on purely historical lines, since it is on those lines alone that we can proceed with safety. We want the actual facts; nothing else is of any value. The difficulty is how to treat the subject. The Hindus, as well as many Englishmen, are apt to dream of a past golden age, when all India was governed by one Emperor nativeborn. They talk of the grand days of Rama, of Asoka, of Vikramaditya and others, but the author hopes to be able to prove that no such empire ever existed. It is this want of the historic faculty which leads the Hindu into the laud of dreams, the land of poetry, and here he is at home. This book is a small collection of lectures delivered by the author before the East India Association, London, on April 8th and May 13th, 1897. The lectures discuss 1) the ancient Indian Empires ? a myth; 2) the epic poems; 3) Ashoka; 4) India after Ashoka; 5) Vikrama; 6) Later Taxation Years; 7) Land Revenue; 8) Condition of the People; 9) Famines; and Roads and Communications, etc.