Sharjah Ruler launches book in London

London: His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, on Monday launched the English edition of his book, ‘Under the Banner of Occupation’.

The book revolves around the British East India Company’s period of control and its practices in the Arabian Gulf. Addressing those who attended the launch in London, Dr Shaikh Sultan said that the company’s practices represented the company’s leaders and did not represent the British people.

“The English consider that the book narrates the ongoing enmity between the English and Al Qasimis and Arabs in the region, but that is definitely not true. The book focuses on the British East India Company, and how it felt that it might lose control over India with the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte to Gaza,” said Dr Shaikh Sultan.

He pointed out that the book narrates how the company was hanging on to the region so it would not lose even a fraction of its share in eastern nations. Dr Shaikh Sultan indicated that the book does not cover the wars that occurred, but rather focuses on its practices from 1820 to 1866.

“The British are not to blame for the practices and actions of the company. In 1839, the Opium War broke out, and anyone who has looked into the history of that war would know that the British government made the company a general trading agency, and at a certain point the company started trading in opium so that they can use silver to purchase tea from China.”

Dr Shaikh Sultan called for specialists to rewrite history in a way that does not contain inaccuracies.

“I would like to call for rewriting English history in a way that is accurate and credibly. In addition to its activities and practices in the coasts of the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the company also operated in the coasts of the eastern coast of Africa. I focused on these practices in my book, Division of the Omani Empire, which sheds light on those practices that drove the British government to seize the company’s possessions in India in 1858,” said Dr Shaikh Sultan.

Addressing those who attended the book launch, Nigel Newton, founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury Publishing, expressed his happiness with the launch of the English edition of Under the Banner of Occupation. Newton spoke about the book’s content, its key timelines and dramatic events that transpired due to the British presence back in the day, represented by the company.

Newton also praised the diligent efforts of Dr Shaikh Sultan in aiding researchers and continued efforts to support knowledge seekers by providing research libraries with rare manuscripts and reference materials.