Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #423361 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Great Hedge of India is a book about an obsession. Roy Moxham, ex-tea planter, ex-gallery owner turned book conservator, was searching among the volumes in a second-hand bookshop on the corner of London's Charing Cross Road when he came across Rambles and Reflections of an Indian Official by Major-General Sir W.H. Sleeman KCB, first published in 1893. Twenty-five pounds secured the item and away he took it, little thinking it would be the beginning of an ongoing fascination with an object few people initially believed existed. Moxham was beguiled by a footnote in the Major-General's book which quoted Lytton Strachey's father, Sir John Strachey. The note said, "To secure the levy of a duty on salt ... there grew up gradually a monstrous system ... A Customs line was established which stretched across the whole of India, which in 1869 extended ... a distance of 2, 300 miles ... It consisted principally of an immense impenetrable hedge".

Moxham was incredulous: could there really have been a hedge that stretched half the length of one of the world's largest countries? None of the standard histories he had read had mentioned a customs hedge and surely someone would have noted something quite so bizarre? On searching out the source of the quote he found that Strachey had not been misquoted but other references to the customs line were few and far between. His search was on. The book explains Moxham's fascinating and ultimately successful search for (over three years, with three separate trips to India), and fascination with, the hedge. Every other chapter outlines, with an enviable clarity and an always easy, conversational style, the historical context in which the hedge arose. The Great Hedge of India is a gem: a joy to read, entertaining, informative and occasionally angry--Moxham's research led him to discover the reason behind the hedge, a salt tax, was punitive in the extreme. "I was deeply shocked by what I discovered about salt. When I first had the idea of finding the remnants of the Customs Hedge I had imagined the barrier as a piece of British whimsy ... It was a terrible discovery to find that it had been constructed ... so as to totally cut off an affordable supply of an absolute necessity of life". An excellent little book. --Mark Thwaite

Synopsis
This is the story of the author's "ridiculous" quest for a legendary hedge planted across the Indian sub-continent and manned and cared for by 12,000 men. The hedge stood for over 50 years and at its greatest extent, formed part of a barrier 2500 miles long. Although it is one of the largest man-made constructions in human-history, the hedge appears in no history books and remains forgotten in both Britain and India. This inspired Roy Moxham to travel to India and investigate whether it had existed, what its purpose had been and whether any part of it had remained. After several years of travel and research, the author finally unravelled the story behind the hedge, its place within commercial enterprise on the part of the Raj and, after much searching, the remnants of this folie de grandeur of imperial Britain. This book provides a view into the motivations and administrations of British Imperial India and in part tells the story of one man's obsession.

From the Publisher
Press reviews of The Great Hedge of India
'At first I thought this remarkable book must be a hoax, but it isn't . It tells the story of of one of the least- known wonders of Queen Victoria's India - a customs barrier 2,300 miles long, most of it made by hedge. It was manned by 12,000 men and would have stretched from London to Constantinople, yet few historians mention it and most have never heard of it. Could anything be more astonishing?' Jan Morris

'Little could Roy Moxham have imagined what was in store for him when he set off from the map room of the RGS in search of probably the longest hedge in the whole world, the very existence of which had been completely forgotten with the passing of the years. The result is a book about India, which is both scholarly and funny- a rare combination. It surprized me and I hugely enjoyed it.' Eric Newby

'Moxham has pulled out a jewel' The Times

Customer Reviews

Fascinating
Fascinating account of the salt trade in historic India, delightfully and informatively told by Roy Moxham. Like me, i'd imagine the majority of readers are a little ignorant on the 'Great Hedge' that once cut across India, and no doubt even with regards of how the salt trade played such a major part in the lives of those in power down to those who struggled to find salt to survive.
A great read for all - how many of your friends know of a hedge big enough to slice through India?

A fascinating look at a forgotten bit of history
Apparently randomly picking up the memoirs of a nineteenth century Indian official, Moxham discovered a footnote that read:

"To secure the levy of a duty on salt ... there grew up gradually a monstrous system ... A Customs line was established which stretched across the whole of India ... It consisted principally of an immense impenetrable hedge."

What began as a piece of speculative research expecting to uncover some Victorian whimsy, ends up discovering a monstrous system indeed. These days, we're constantly told to reduce the amount of salt in our diets, but as Moxham documents, it is a basic biological requirement, without which both humans and livestock will die. Through painstaking trawls through original records, he uncovers an horrific picture of punitive British taxation of salt and the misery it caused to the people of India.

The greed at the heart of the Raj makes grim reading, yet Moxham's love for the people and culture of India radiates throughout this book. It's at its best in the travelogue sections, with Moxham and his companions travelling hundreds of miles in the hope of a sight of a thorn bush or two. I hope it's not spoiling the book to say that I almost cried when they finally did.

In the historical sections, there were some long paragraphs about taxation and earnings levels which begged to be transposed as charts. I would like to have had more indication of the sources Moxham was using too; we're normally told which library he was in, but little more than that!

Still, this book is an extremely enjoyable read and uncovers a swathe of history about which I knew nothing and which should certainly receive more publicity.

An interesting and unique Book
I bought this book whilst waiting at the airport to fly back to Pakistan - it's a good concise read and had a certain unique appeal to it.

I found the book to be fascinating and it has become a real talking point. How something as odd as the hedge ever came into existence is well explained. I am still amazed that this story has disappeared from history when it is clear something so simple caused untold suffering, quite literally, to millions of people. The fact that even the Indians who today live close to the hedge line knew nothing of this is even more puzzling.

Ultimately the book, focused on one issue, tends to go into a little too much detail in places for someone with just a passing interest such as myself. It focuses on the reasoning behind the construction of the hedge and the problems of salt deprivation for several chapters, rather than the actual adventures in India trying to locate the hedge. This is my only real gripe.

That being said, it is still a good, thorough read that brought a smile to my face at the eccentricity of it (and of the author!) as well as opened my eyes to a forgotten chapter in British Colonialism.