Excellent history – The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj

This is an excellent book on how the men of the Indian Civil Service worked and lived from Chota hazri to sundown; how a mere 100,000 men governed 300 million people in British India; a story of how young men from Britain adapted to life in India as griffins, district officer, magistrates, etc, of gymkhana, tiffin, punkah, and pig-sticking.

Gilmour has written a wonderful history full of anecdotes. Anyone interested in the history of the British Raj should read this book.

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