Engineered by the British Empire, which exported opium from India to sell in China, the trade and its revenues were essential to the Empire’s survival.

Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, a memoir and an excursion into history, both economic and cultural. My tenth-standard history textbook had a lot to say about independence, nationalism and the struggle against oppression. HarperCollins India will be the first to publish Smoke and Ashes, in July, which is only appropriate because their editorial teams have given me huge and whole-hearted support throughout the writing of the book.In fact, he is certain that this tragic history is a rallying cry for the climate activists of today. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. The opium trade decided who would be poor and who would be privileged, even amongst indigenous populations. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.

The opium poppy, on the other hand, has gone from strength to strength; it is now more powerful than ever, manifesting itself in the devastating opioid crises that currently grip the globe.

As he peels layer after layer off perceptions and understandings of Indian and Chinese history, trade patterns and cultural imperatives, our view of the past that has shaped the world we inhabit today expands progressively, and gains a deeper, sharper focus.

One of the problems with the term “Anthropocene” is it really makes it sound as though humans are all powerful,” says Ghosh, who touched upon similar themes in his 2021 non-fiction collection The Nutmeg’s Curse. By deploying this colonial language of progress and advancement, we can so clearly see that this mechanism has brought the world to the brink of annihilation,” he said, drawing examples from how large tracts of forests were turned over to mining companies and how this had gravely impacted the local populations there. One of the more compelling cases Ghosh makes in the book is the case for non-human historical agency. With the aid of his quick-witted Indian Sergeant, Surrender-not Banerjee, Sam must try to solve the two murders, all the while keeping his personal demons secret, before somebody else turns up dead. I think it is very important for us to recognise that this idea of human omnipotence is completely delusional,” Ghosh adds.His books have been translated into fifteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. I can hardly wait for booklovers everywhere to read and respond to what is most certainly, for me, the non-fiction book of the year. As it enumerated the many injustices of colonial rule, it may or may not have glanced at the plight of the farmers who were forced to grow crops against their will—poppy amongst them. But the opium economy also had significant effects at the microlevel, influencing migration and settlement patterns, and touching upon millions of lives, including those of my own forefathers.