Colonialism is a dehumanizing experience for all those at the mercy of its power structures. The officers of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) were no exception. This book focuses on the role of ICS in World War II and engages in a wider debate about colonialism's impact on its administrators and subjects.

The author looks at the events of World War II specifically in the province of Assam in India's North-East. It is here that the British and American troops were stationed as they attempted to retake Burma following Japan's invasion in 1942 and supply the Allied Chinese by road and air. The...