Communications, Media and the Imperial Experience : Britain and India in the Twentieth Century

Presenting a communicational perspective on the British empire in India during the 20th century, the book seeks to examine how, and explain why, British proconsuls, civil servants and even the monarch George V, as well as Indian nationalists, interacted with the media, primarily British and American, and with what consequences. Over the course of the twentieth century, the British Raj successfully combined military force and coercion, with modern methods of persuasion, publicity and media manipulation - imperial public relations - in its strategies to engage with the increasingly challenging task of governing its Indian empire. This book focuses on the media environment of empire as a conceptual tool to investigate its political culture and role in shaping the imperial experience. The British national press, Reuters, the BBC, US newspapers and international news agencies such as the Associated Press and the United Press, as well as the Indian media, had a seminal role to play in this process. The interaction of imperial and media cultures is undertaken through in-depth case studies utilising hitherto unseen primary sources and examining the grand pageant of the Coronation Durbar 1911, Gandhian strategies of mass civil disobedience during the 1930s, the new technological revolution of broadcasting and the birth of All India Radio, as well as the endgame of empire and decolonisation in 1947 Over the course of the twentieth century, the British Raj successfully combined military force and coercion, with modern methods of persuasion, publicity and media manipulation - imperial public relations - in its strategies to engage with the increasingly challenging task of governing its Indian empire. This book focuses on the media environment of empire as a conceptual tool to investigate its political culture and role in shaping the imperial experience. The British national press, Reuters, the BBC, US newspapers and international news agencies such as the Associated Press and the United Press, as well as the Indian media, had a seminal role to play in this process. The interaction of imperial and media cultures is undertaken through in-depth case studies utilising hitherto unseen primary sources and examining the grand pageant of the Coronation Durbar 1911, Gandhian strategies of mass civil disobedience during the 1930s, the new technological revolution of broadcasting and the birth of All India Radio, as well as the endgame of empire and decolonisation in 1947.-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 8 List of Tables and Figures 10 Acknowledgements 12 List of Abbreviations 14 Currency and Exchange Rates 16 1 Communications, Media and the Imperial Experience: Perspectives and Perceptions 17 2 Coronation, Colonialism and Cultures of Control: The Delhi Durbar, 1911 35 3 India as Viewed by the American Media: Chicago Daily Tribune, William Shirer and Gandhian Nationalism, 1930–1 87 4 ‘Invisible Empire Tie’: Broadcasting and the British Raj in the Interwar Years 139 5 ‘Operation Seduction’: Mountbatten, the Media and Decolonisation in 1947 188 6 Concluding Remarks 235 Notes 244 Appendices 271 Bibliography 274 Index 288 Front Matter....Pages i-xv Communications, Media and the Imperial Experience: Perspectives and Perceptions....Pages 1-18 Coronation, Colonialism and Cultures of Control: The Delhi Durbar, 1911....Pages 19-70 India as Viewed by the American Media: Chicago Daily Tribune, William Shirer and Gandhian Nationalism, 1930–1....Pages 71-122 ‘Invisible Empire Tie’: Broadcasting and the British Raj in the Interwar Years....Pages 123-171 ‘Operation Seduction’: Mountbatten, the Media and Decolonisation in 1947....Pages 172-218 Concluding Remarks....Pages 219-227 Back Matter....Pages 228-278