Colonial crime and punishment

Sunil Nair's collection of stories about crime in pre-independence India is a collage of micro pictures that takes us into the nitty-gritty of the British legal system

Tales of crimes past: a casebook of crime in Colonial India

Author: Sunil Nair

Publisher: Hachette India

Pages: 240 (Hardcover)

Price: Rs 448

As a people reel under the yoke of a colonial empire, criminal minds hatch plans to cement successions, avenge betrayal and slake their jealousy, in this fascinating spread of true crime stories. Sunil Nair’s book brings together infamous dacoits, conniving Rajas, and jilted lovers as well as their myriad tools for murder and mayhem, even as it reveals the inner workings of princely states and business empires.

The idea of India’s struggle for independence is so sacrosanct in the public conscience that we