Shashi Tharoor’s eloquently reasoned indictment
of British colonialism at the Oxford debate has won many applauds. His call for
Britain to make reparations for having plundered India for 200 years, was
welcomed among mix responses.
Tharoor pointed out that when the British
landed in India, our share of the economy was above 24%. Then the Empire
crushed our self-confidence, the criminality of which is as grave as the
figures that Tharoor shared at the debate and comforted an upcoming elite India
that is seeking a voice in the global arena — the fact that India slipped from
24 to 4 per cent in its share of world economy during the 200 years of colonial
rule. However, the cultures, thoughts and ways of seeing of our societies were
deemed inferior, thanks to this colonial project — democracy, civil society, justice
and most importantly progress and development. We perpetually fell short of the
high standards set by the colonizer.
Tharoor then also goes on to tell, "It’s a
bit rich to oppress, enslave, kill, torture, maim people for 200 years and then
celebrate the fact that they are democratic at the end of it. We were denied
democracy, so we had to snatch it, seize it from you." – But isn’t democracy
a very western idea?
As urged by Tharoor, the British should
certainly pay for the sins of exploitation and oppression they committed in
India and be made to make suitable reparations. But what’s reparation for the
goose should also be reparation for the gander, which in this case is
postcolonial India. Its gold reserves are
higher than those of the USA, Germany and the IMF put together, four out of the
eight richest people in
the world are Indian, and the amount of Indian money parked in Swiss banks is estimated to be 2 billion Swiss Francs. Tharoor
misses to explain these developments. He misses to explain the failure of
Indian politics, all he does is blame history!
The world has, since then moved on! So what
reparation should independent India make to its oppressed and endangered
minorities, which include tribals, Dalits and all women who are routinely
subject to economic and social exploitation and the constant fear of sexual
violence?
This also has led back to an old demand of
getting the world-famous 'Koh-i-Noor' diamond, British Indian MP Keith Vaz on
Tuesday called for it to be returned to India during Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's UK visit in November which still Britain is reluctant to return as it is
part of the Crown Jewel.