There are books that you want to read. Then, there are also books that you may not want to read. Also, at times, there are books that friends and others influence you to read or ignore. However, there are books (thank you, Bacon!) that you MUST READ, read again if you like, and recommend to as many as you can. And one such book is Death by Government by R J Rummel (Rudolph Joseph Rummel), a great American politician scientist and professor at Indiana University (1932-2014). This book, in short, makes you aware of the deaths at the hands of various governments – before and after the concept of anything such as government. So, are you ready to know the dark side of the so-called heroes and conquerors? 

Communists and fascists, Islamists and Crusaders, Kings and Colonists, Politicians and revolutionaries, when it comes to death for fun or the feel of it, there can hardly be (noticeable)distinctions. They all love(d) killing for sport! And this book lays bare the facts the modern generation must know, realise and mull upon (so that we prevent any chances of any mishap being repeated). However… moreover… well! 

Democide – a term that the author has exclusively coined – means the deaths at the hands of the government or the rulers who are ruling the area (nation, state, empire, or colonisers keeping hostage some colonies). And once you begin reading the book, there are revelations that will surprise you beyond the normal levels of shock! 

“It was democide. Perhaps overall, considering these and other cases and including massacres, by 1900 some 10,000 to 25,000 Indians may have been killed.”

It is an estimate that Rummels attributes to the USA, the federal government. There are other records, aptly summarised or detailed accordingly, where you will find the complicit role of the government of the USA in mass-murdering the Indians (Native Americans). There are other tyrannical records one might find shocking and cold (as if no heart with pumping blood). The author exposes the Islamist invaders and rulers (invaders turned into rulers and eventually into ‘mingle-jingle’ compatriots at the hands of historians suffering from Stockholm syndrome). 

“It is recorded that in the twelfth or thirteenth century Sultan Firoz Shaw invaded Bengal and offered a reward for every Hindu head, subsequently paying for 180,000 of them. For another sultan — Sultan Ahmad Shah — whenever the number of Hindus killed in his territory in one day totaled 20,000, he celebrated with a three-day feast.”

Ironically, but not surprisingly, when you read Wikipedia and other internet records about these mass murderers and vampires in the skin of a human, you may be shocked (again, not surprised) by the liberal historians who turned a blind eye to the blood-lust of these murderers. Well, historians (from India) can ask – who is Rummel? Why should one read (leave alone trust) him? For their information (and general knowledge, as I know liberal historians are not very much aware of what’s going around them), R J Rummel spent his entire academic life researching and collecting evidence of mass murders, genocides, and democides. He taught at different American Universities, including Indians, Yale and the University of Hawai’i. 

The Chinese Communists, the Nazi Germans, the Soviets, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, Pakistan, Poland, Mexico… and North Korea… the states that have slaughtered considerable populations for many different reasons have been documented by the author with explicit details. It might send someone in trauma, push someone into a deep pondering posture or just shock someone to the core!

Death by Government, to keep things short, is a must-read book that exposes the hypocrisy of communists, fascists, islamists and crusaders alike. The author did not discriminate, at least, in documenting these episodes of history (as the original historians did in writing the same). It is also a must-read book for those who are looking to dive into the world of statistics of the bizarre… Who wants to learn about deaths on a mass scale? Well, if you are into it, you are in luck! 

Death by Government has facts, figures, graphs, data sheets, and irrefutable references that one cannot deny. So, if you want to discover how many did rulers, invaders, or crusaders kill in your country, get a copy today! Also, if you want to find out how bloody are the hands of your ‘democratic, autocratic, or communist governments, read the same book! 

Get a copy from Amazon India – click here to buy one. 

Review by Ashish for Indian Book Critics