Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
India

Did The British Empire Have Any Benefits For India? No, Says Shashi Tharoor

Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Jan, 2016 12:11 PM
  • Did The British Empire Have Any Benefits For India? No, Says Shashi Tharoor
How should we view the British Empire and its legacy for its former colonies? Was it one of the world's greatest modernising forces, as some historians claim, or was it only a destructive bane? The latter, says Congress politician Shashi Tharoor who maintains the only two benefits for India were cricket and the English language.
 
Tharoor contested the contentions of co-panellist, British historian, author and MP Tristram Hunt, that the benefits included rule of law and an effective parliamentary system, saying he was not sure how good the latter has been for India.
 
"The system of governance of a small island nation was sought to be transplanted to a nation where there were not only ideological differences, but a bewildering range of diversities," he said, at a session titled "Empire" at the Jaipur Literature Festival here on Monday.
 
On the idea of rule of law, Tharoor contended it was part of the normal evolution of society and India could have achieved it for itself.
 
"You don't need foreigners to come and oppress you for benefit of development," he asserted.
 
"(Historian) Niall Ferguson (who has termed the British Empire a great modernising force) has not questioned for whose benefit it was done. I only accept cricket and the English language," said Tharoor.
 
Hunt, who had stepped in for Ferguson who wasn't able to make it for the event, contended that there was renewed interest in the Empire in his country -- where it had been absent for years from the school curriculum -- as Britain took decisions on its place in the world.
 
 
The author of "Ten Cities that Made an Empire", which seeks to chart the changing nature of the British Empire through 10 (formerly) imperial cities spread though out the world, Hunt said the empire had had an influence on his country too -- and still has.
 
"British politics are becoming like Indian politics. The centralised system is shifting to a more federal system... we are willing to take coalition partners," he said.
 
On the question of financial compensation for the damages to the former colonies' social and economic fabric, Tharoor, who had made headlines by making the demand at a debate in Oxford, said it should be a token amount, say a pound for every year of rule, rather than a ridiculous amount as had been calculated and would be "an exercise in absurdity and futility", could never be paid and besides, "India couldn't even know what to do with all that money".
 
Hunt noted that such a demand was more advanced in the former Caribbean colonies, but they instead of money, had sought help in education and development.
 
On whether bygones should be bygones, Tharoor said he agreed. "History cannot be undone. But it haunts our past and affects the future. By all means let bygones be bygones, but never forget it... we must remember it."
 
 
 
Hunt said he agreed. "We must interrogate, analyse and reinterpret the bygones," he said, adding he was quite sceptical of official apologies for historical wrongs.

MORE India ARTICLES

Beef Rumours Trigger Violence In Haryana, Probe Ordered

Beef Rumours Trigger Violence In Haryana, Probe Ordered
"It was a clash between pro-cow volunteers and police. It was not any communal clash," R.S. Sangwan, deputy director of public relations (National Capital Region), Haryana, told IANS.

Beef Rumours Trigger Violence In Haryana, Probe Ordered

269 Dead, Millions Suffer, Chennai Under Water

269 Dead, Millions Suffer, Chennai Under Water
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the unprecedented crisis a national disaster.

269 Dead, Millions Suffer, Chennai Under Water

More Than 62 Lakh Toilets Built Under Swachh Bharat Mission

More Than 62 Lakh Toilets Built Under Swachh Bharat Mission
The government has built 62.38 lakh toilets in 2015-16 as part of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), parliament was informed on Wednesday.

More Than 62 Lakh Toilets Built Under Swachh Bharat Mission

November Home Sales In Vancouver Up 40 Per Cent From Year Ago, Board Says

November Home Sales In Vancouver Up 40 Per Cent From Year Ago, Board Says
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales on the Multiple Listing Service in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,524 last month.

November Home Sales In Vancouver Up 40 Per Cent From Year Ago, Board Says

Sania Mirza Demands To Be Chief Guest Include Chartered Plane, Expensive Make-up Kit

If Sania Mirza was not present as the chief guest of Madhya Pradesh government’s annual sports awards, blame it on her make-up kit worth Rs 75,000 and a chartered plane, neither of which was provided to her.

Sania Mirza Demands To Be Chief Guest Include Chartered Plane, Expensive Make-up Kit

Rains, Floods Devastate Chennai; Rs.15,000 Crore Loss Estimated

Rains, Floods Devastate Chennai; Rs.15,000 Crore Loss Estimated
The financial loss may exceed Rs.15,000 crore, an industry lobby body said, as weather forecasting agencies predicted heavy rain to continue for at least the next two days.

Rains, Floods Devastate Chennai; Rs.15,000 Crore Loss Estimated