A Judge in Madras: Sir Sidney Wadsworth and the Indian Civil Service, 1913-47 by Caroline KeenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A rarely seen aspect of the IAS (the hidebound chthonic behemoth - the much vaunted “steel frame of India” – it’s segueing from the British to the native bureaucrats and inception from the venerable ICS. The book offers a glimpse of the history and geography of present-day Chennai and its surroundings.
However, it is painful to see the convoluted justifications of development put forth by these erstwhile rulers of India. If they constructed a railway network and roads, it was for their travel and transport of goods looted from various parts of the land to enrich their coffers back in Britain. Irrigation canals were not for countering famines due to failure of the monsoon but for increased and disproportionate agricultural levies and irrigation tax.
Except for the patronising tone, the narrative is a fairly balanced account of pre-Independence India – specifically South India.
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