Colonialism, The Brits and Mr. Tharoor!!

It is not hard to guess the connection. Is It? One would wonder why we still talk about the Britishers and the Kohinoor in the 21st century. It’s time we move on. Let bygones be bygones. Really? But you see imperialism as a world phenomena was by and large the darkest phase of mankind, trying to establish supremacy of some nations and challenge the sovereignty of others. Of course each of the nation struggled their way out, in its own way and in due course of time. India being colonised by the Brits however seems to have transcended not only the colonial history, but India’s own history as well- as it was not only the worse invasions of recent times but the pathetic irony is found in the cover ups of our history books, the false stories, fancy narratives and the positive commendations given to a country that deserved only backlash for its barbaric behaviour. Luckily for us, there are some wonderful people like Mr. Tharoor who will constantly remind not only the Britishers but us Indians as well of this horrific phase of history we call Colonialism.

The recent revival of this imperial nostalgia couldn’t have come at a better time. Specially when much of the narrative floating in the western world and even parts of India is how the Asians and other colonies actually benefitted from colonialism! Can you imagine this level of audacity. Our knowledge of this era and the Britishers , specially after watching a handful of deshbhakti movies, a few stray incidents, Gandhi Nehru era, some worthless credits like railway, english language and architecture given to Britishers and other equally banal stuff that we have in our heads stamped, is a mighty skewed interpretation of these rascals!

Never mind that we lost close to 1,70,000 Indians in both the world wars combined, from England’s side? We were’nt at war with anybody , Were We ?

Never mind the millions Indian labourers, men and women who were lost to slavery , building infrastructure for them ,bridges across China etc.!, to transport good or rather goodies for them……..

Never mind how we were reduced from being the richest country with a GDP of 23% to a country with a meagre 3% GDP contribution.

Never mind our rich weavers who from exporters became beggers overnight.

Not to forget the artificially created Bengal Famine in 1943-44? Well it was a part of their devilish economic scheme, in the process killing some 4 million Indians. It is now being called the worst Genocide of human history. (Incidents like the Nazi holocaust are strongly embedded in our minds but what about the inhumane and barbaric acts right here amidst us? )

The British Viceroys power in India was greater than any Britain’s PM or America’s President. In their own country their power was lesser?👎🏻 – do you understand what that means at a global level?

In 1947 when the Brits snobbishly left us a language behind they thought they were doing us a huge favour 💁🏻 What they failed to ever mention was that a population and country that proudly stood at a whopping 95% literacy rate (before their arrival) thanks to its glorious world class universities, was reduced to a pitiful 12% literacy rate. One only needs to imagine the immensity of their , that education obviously was no longer a priority for people, – not getting killed was!

Will Durant, wrote a short pamphlet called The Case for India in which he says “The British conquest of India,” was the invasion and destruction of a high civilization by a trading company utterly without scruple or principle bribing and murdering, annexing and stealing, and beginning that career of illegal and legal plunder. Britain profited enormously from what Durant calls the “rape of a continent,” so much so that on the eve of independence, the vast majority of Indians were living in poverty. It was, as Durant put it, “the most sordid and criminal exploitation of one nation by another in all recorded history.”

And that is why I have always admired Mr Tharoor. But my reason for admiration maybe very different from yours. You see, his popularity or notereity have been for all the wrong superfluous reasons. It is his incessant embargo against the Brits that has caught my eye, ears and soul. Who would have thought. In the complicated web of comical Indian history embedded in our minds , with colonialism being trivialised as just another common global affair everywhere in the world, this gentleman, sweeps right in with all his grandiose style and eloquence, power and stature, with wit in one hand and sarcasm in the other, use it to effectively, that too publicly, on all possible forums to castigate, condemn, pounce on the Britishers! Far from mincing any words his message is always clear, his statistics are mind boggling that can put a room of mathematicians and historians to shame. He is impolite, unapologetic, unabashed and a super proud Indian. He has literally screwed the enemy in their backyard. And forgive me but he is the only seemingly confident Indian around, of his roots, history, culture, tradition. What is he doing that we are unable to do? A few quick learnings:

-You can rise above your political ideologies and affliations and still be a nationalist.

-If you have some strengths, in his case, stunning orator and prolific writer, use it for some good, some purpose.

-If you are at a position of power or have to ability to influence DEFINITELY use it for something good.

So whether its a Rujuta Diwekar talking about authentic, disappearing Indian food, or Baba Ramdev talking about reviving Indian yog to its full glory, Sadhguru connecting us to our spiritual realms, or a poet like Manoj Muntashir reciting his love for his country through profound hindi-sanskrit poems,believe me their impact is on millions and long lasting. They are doing us all a huge favour, you will understand as you read along. The sad part is there are only a handful of such people. I wishfully seek for more.

What is more intriguing and noteworthy than Mr. Shashi Tharoor’s compelling book Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India is that it originated from a 2015 speech Tharoor made at the Oxford Union, which according to me suprasses the book itself for the sheer drama that one gets to see. At the Oxford Union he argued that Britain owed India (and other colonies) reparations for the centuries of looting, violence, and depredation inflicted upon them. When Tharoor finished speaking, most of his opponents seemed too shocked to react,  Of course the speech went viral online. He has since then made several speeches at many other international conferences and each time brings up this thing the Brits did with us. He is like the live Ghost that keeps going back to haunt the Britishers😂 😂 .

At some level, it is not about fact and figures really. It’s about that attitude. It’s about setting that power balance right. How can the wrong doers strut around with self conceit & self glorification while depriving the wronged of their self dignity…..Someone needed to correct this imbalance and believe me I can’t thank Mr. Tharoor enough for doing this again and again. (For those of you wondering where he got his accent and extraordinary communication skills,( incl. the vocabulary) worry not my friends, it is not from Oxford or Cambridge. He is an alumnus of St Stephens, DU, and did his Masters from Massachusetts USA.)

Then there are some people I stumble upon, who are trying to convert this tirade into a tryst- our naysayers- the ones who say, focus on future and build a positive blah blah……For them I want to say- The Brits forgot to live and let live. They have physically left us, but have continued to mar us as a nation. The scarring is visible in the psychological effect that they had on our mindset, a damage that is reflected even decades after they have left. Not only did they ridicule us for years, they taught us to be ashamed of our language, our culture, the way we conduct ourselves, just about anything Indian is to be looked down upon. We developed an inferiority complex and a kiss-butty attitude for the white skinned. That combination is a recipe for disaster for any nation. While Indians attend individual workshops on building self confidence, how will we as an entire nation manage a confidence building exercise of this scale. How does one overcome the ravages of time- 200 years in this case.

If I were to say, lets try by speaking Hindi at meetings, namaste’s instead of handshakes ? How does that sound to you? See what I mean? That discomfort…..that unsurety..that’s what they left behind for us. When I meet my Japanese clients I can’t help observe how proud they are of everything that is their’s- tradition and culture. Every action of theirs reflects one word – Pride. Why were we robbed of it.

The western publics have been hypnotized with these historical untruths about their darkest chapters. We Indians, do not need to be misled, or hypnotized by this brainless narrative being fed to us. As a writer I don’t believe in influencing the mind of my readers (okay, little bit maybe😆 ). I would like them to read and make their own deductions. But do resist the temptation of tweeting, posting, forwarding anything that remotely mocks your country. A Simple tribute to all our forefathers who in some way may have been involved in the freedom struggle against the Britishers.

Author: Bhavna Gupta Patel

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are solely of the author’s and are not politically motivated or intend to hurt the sentiments of anyone.

LINKS : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcWc7WqcS5M&ab_channel=IndiaToday /