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7/27/2019 MRIDU rai reviews DIRKS book on empires
1/4
The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain
(review)
Mridu Rai
Victorian Studies, Volume 50, Number 1, Autumn 2007, pp. 164-166 (Article)
Published by Indiana University Press
For additional information about this article
Access provided by Marshall University (27 Aug 2013 11:59 GMT)
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/vic/summary/v050/50.1rai.html
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/vic/summary/v050/50.1rai.htmlhttp://muse.jhu.edu/journals/vic/summary/v050/50.1rai.html7/27/2019 MRIDU rai reviews DIRKS book on empires
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VICtOrIan StudIES
Th scandal of empr: inda and th Craton of impral Brtan, by nichols B.
diks; pp. xviii + 389. Cbige: the Belkp Pess o Hv uivesiy Pess, 2006,
$27.95, 18.95.
nichols B. dikss ipo vole coes ie whe he epio o epie,
wiely ie sevel eces go s illegiie poliicl oio, ppes o be
eceivig esh bishig. I he wke o uS poliico-iliy pesece eploye i
aghis Iq sice Ocobe 2001, o oly hve sevel poliicl pciioes
ceics soee hei ies ows he ie o epie, b soe hve eve
sggese h he uie Ses c le sly lessos o he elie, oe
ovely ipeil vee o he Biish, which, hogh occsiolly egebly
exploiive, lso isseie he bees o libel poliicl iios, ee e,
he ovee o lbo coss coies oces.
I his coex, diks ges h i is ciicl o eocs o eio o he
hisoy o epie, cig hogh he qesioe sspios o ipeil hisoy
wheeve i iskes coloil ieology o blce hisoy (335). a vlble coi-
bio o his wok, he, is o peel wy he sel-legiiizig jsicios o gove-
es cliig o c i he e o ppoely highe piciples sch s Libey,
deoccy, o civilizig iplse, o ecogize he o wh hey e: pojecs
o oiio exploiio (335) beg ie i scl. diks lso wishes
s o eebe ipo elee i he ipeil elios bewee Bii
Ii i he ps, wih echoes i he elios bewee he Wes he es i he
pese: he ipo ole o Ii i kig Bii io he oe io-se o
oy, eb less eqely ckowlege h Iis o Bii.
appopiely, heeoe, diks joeys o he le eigheeh cey i
Bii Ii, whe he hisoies o he wo bece ciiclly cojoie. this ws he
ie o oly o he Es Ii Copys s eioil coqess o he sbcoie
b lso o he os sclos speccle o ive seges o Loo sociey ( eve-
lly, ccoig o S Slei, o boe he). this speccle ivolve E Bkes
heoicl exggeioosesibly coeio o he Copys cop pc-ices i Iiig he eigh-ye ipeche il, beg i 1788, h plce
We Hsigs, il ecely Goveo Geel o Ii, i he ock. thogh ie
eiely eble chpes evolvig boly o his scl, diks sccesslly
evels he hollowess o coloil sel-jsicio.
diks eecively efes Bkes ooy by poiig o his oble ss,
s i his esl o ciicize robe Clive (ceie o he coqes o Begl i 1757
b lso iely og he oe pcios o he eigheeh-cey ocils i
Ii) while leshig his isgse exspee eloqeceo boow Sleis
wos oce oegis Hsigs, celebe lso o his sypheic spo-soship o Ii lgges, leig, iios. moeove, s diks evels,
oe peesi qesio o lce y lso p ly expli Bkes eciio o he
Copy. as diks pois o, sel-ieese Biish ieveios sch s Bkes
poceee hogh wisig vil specs o Ii poliicl cioig oios o
ighs soveeigy hogh he segic se o cll os o expli legii-
e eleless pe o poliicl eioil coqes (172).
7/27/2019 MRIDU rai reviews DIRKS book on empires
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autumn 2007
alhogh he il ee wih Hsigss cqil, diks ges h i ws
o, s is soeies coee, ile. as sevel schols hve ley poie o,
Bkes coce ws less wih poecig Iis h i ws wih shielig he cie
cosiio hoe o he pevesios o Copy bobs. the il bece he
oel-by-e o which he Biish ipeil eepise eege pie o ll igo-
iy. Fo he o, scl ws eseve o he ives heselves, he
ipe bbis o hei iioseviece i pcices sch s Si, thggee,
o hook-swigigws se o jsiy, eve eoble, ipeil biio (5, 297,
301, 305).
B he eigheeh cey i Ii o which diks kes s is ley isi-
gishe by vigoos hisoiogphicl ebe, js-ce, h looks, o oe h,
o expli he ecelizio o he mghl Epie , o he ohe, o es
he siio o coloilis. I es o he seco coce, diks vlbly qesios
s o ece popl hisoicl wiig h evokes e chceize by ex-
pece ple igligs o Eopes Iis o hei cles
ies o oge elioships h e, oeove, chceize s sybioic (Willi
dlyple, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth Century India[2002] xiv). this
wol is hybi hese elios sybioic oly i oe sspes he ewok o
powe wihi which hey opee. Wiho eyig ll cil cll boe
cossigs he ie, diks eis s h he eigheeh cey ws lso isk-
bly e o coqess, ecooic excio, eve ios ies pecipie
by Copy policies.
I ccos sch s dlyples psh he coloil coex oo io he
bckgo, howeve, dikss plls i oo ch ow. While eegig Biish
Epie s ceily be ckowlege s p o he seig o be o cos i
eigheeh-cey Ii, sely i i o o he oly seig. diks highlighs he
isigeos sces o vios Copy ocils who eee o he mghl epe-
os specy whe coveie b viole i whe i sie he sice his soveeig
hoiy ws wiely see s sh by Bios i boh Egl Ii (179). He
ils o oe, howeve, h siil ie chceize wie viey o Iipoliicl cos o he ie. Sjy Sbhys cco o ni Shhs i io
ohe Ii i ely 1739, whe he lso oee geel ssce i delhi,
eis s h he mghl epeo mh Shhs soveeigy h bee epo-
ily sspee o bo wo ohs e which he ws ocilly esoe o he
hoe by he Pesi vqishes peissio (Explorations in Connected History[2005]
194). Eve beoe nis evsig blow o mghl hoiy, be o powel
oblee o he epie h eciely sck hei ow iepee poliicl phs.
a he be o hose who i so ews, log wih oely sboie
chies, wios, il pes gops, icese oicebly. a y o obssccesso ses eege o poiece hogh he l execise o boh especig
he epeos hoiy spig his powes, he oe beig eqisie o legii-
e he le. a iscssio o hese c be igoe oly he cos o epocig
aglo-ceee ivesely cy o dikss ie.
the eigheeh cey, heeoe, ws o js oe o Biish coloil
isio b, o he pespecive o he mghl cpil i delhi is ole elie,
7/27/2019 MRIDU rai reviews DIRKS book on empires
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VICtOrIan StudIES
o isce, ley sclos ie o Ii sgessios o vios kis. While
diks eis s coecly h he Biish eglece o eio [how] hei ow pes-
ece h gely excebe he ipoce o viey o Ii iios hey
he escibe s bhoe (310), he les viey o Ii cos ses o he
hook. By viewig ll poliico-ecooic exploiio cll isoio i he eigh-
eeh cey so siglly s co o Biish coloilis, diks iscs vil ools
wih which o es ohe os o oiio oppessiowhehe hey be
Bh-ecee ochbiliy o pichl sbjgio. While hese ceily
eceive llip hogh ipeil policies, hey clely lso h hei Ii oigis. to
highligh Ii libiliy is o o ile esposibiliy o wh Biish coloilis
wogh i Soh asi; howeve, o iiish i wol be o wie icoplee hisoy
h co bee he ki o ciicl ebe o ipeilis whose gecy diks so
powelly ephsizes o which his wok kes ipo coibio.
Mridu Rai
Yale University
impral Maochm: Brth Fcton, Fantay, and socal Cla, by Joh Kcich; pp. x
+ 258. Piceo Oxo: Piceo uivesiy Pess, 2007, $35.00, 22.95.
Joh Kcich hs wie i he ps o sgessio, epessio, excess, esi i
Vicoi liee. Wih Imperial Masochism he eoses his co o ye
ohe psychosocil oive o he peio by pplyig he isighs o psycholysis
beyo he iivil o ecove soehig like he gop ieioiy o collecive
psychology h hs ll b isppee i coepoy ciiqe. as he ses, he,
his ieios e o eose he coie elevce o psycholysis o hisoi-
cis; o elcie he ole sochisic sy plys i ieiy oio beyo he
el o sexliy; o illie he socil cio o sch sy i Biish cle;
o ecpee o hisoicis sies boh he cegoy o socil clss he oio he psychologicl. deig sochis s y psi o physicl pi, seig, o
hiliio h geees phsic, oipoe copesios o cissisic
, Kcich ieies o ypes o sochisic sy: o ol cool ove ohes,
o he ihilio o ohes, o he oipoece o ohes, o soliy oipo-
ece. Chpes o robe Lois Seveso, Olive Scheie, ry Kiplig,
Joseph Co he exploe hese sies i eil.
Imperial Masochismcoess ce ciicl sspios h sochis is
lwys bo sexliy; h i lwys ogizes oeipl pes o oice
sbissio; h, i coloil coexs, i is piily bo ce, gee, o sexloieio he h clss. to Kcich, sochis is psychosocil lgge, o
xe se o behvios, sochisic sy is ise o socil cio, o
specic c i isel. Clss is sybolic ei o cofiche h ecooic
o poliicl cegoyi which cocepios o socil ieiy e e. Kcich
sccesslly ges h willl sel-yo ws cel o he eegece o poes-
siol ile-clss cle i he Epie he e o he ieeeh cey.