A Moment of Truth

If you ask a Dutch today about their past colonies, he will become visibly uneasy and tell you that was a horrible thing and that they are truly ashamed of it today. Ask French the same question, they will shrug in a typical French way and will change the subject; but will admit that was a bad thing do after all.

But ask the same question to the English, they will tell you that the British Colonies did a lot of good to the natives. They will also tell you how they helped to bring their colonies to modern era and setup the big railway network. The British colonialists took great pain, the “white man’s burden”, to set up those colonies mainly for the benefit of those countries. Such a huge altruistic effort! And hence unlike other European colonial masters, the British are proud of their Emperor, the British Raj.

They get really annoyed, if you remind them that India was on of the wealthiest and most sought after country before British occupation and after 200 years of British rule it was one of the poorest; that India is emerging again as a major economic power after being free from the British rule; that their utter exploitation of natural resources to fuel Britain’s industrial revolution caused hunger and famines in the colonies while the British economy prospered.

And they get really hurt if you tell them that the Indian railway was founded by British to ease the transfer of the troops (which comes handy to suppress any freedom movement) across different parts of the vast country. They are also blissfully unaware of the fact that the railways were instrumental in getting Indian raw materials transported fast to factories in England, leaving the Indians to starve.

The British nowadays are so much vocal about the holocaust. At least the present day Germans are unreservedly ashamed and sorry for the Nazi regime. But the present day British do not even acknowledge the genocides that took place during their 200 year rule in India.

Unlike what the lot of British people think today, there is nothing like a good colony. All colonies are bad by their very nature. Like other European colonies, colonies of former British Empire are also the victims of exploitation, oppression, murder, rape and genocide. The only decent thing to do for the modern British is to humbly acknowledge the mistakes of the past, just like other European nations.

There is nothing to be proud of the British Raj.