What’s a legacy? It usually denotes a property left by a will. It also means something positive learnt from a person or an institution. But here in the context of Colonial occupation of India, we can’t refer to any wealth as British left India high and dry by loot and exploitation. Or anything positive as exposed in many previous articles. Legacy here simply means the inheritance of practices left by predessors which the successors find and imitate as role models without applying minds as it suits them. This continual influence of Colonial British rule on the people of India, i deem fit to call is British legacy.
Almost all History books hail British rule in India as conquerors who took Indians into the future. Even the contemporary average British are taught how well they modernised India. But for Colonial British, historians and media wrote India would have remained in medieval ages despite the fact that India was an advanced civilisation even during ancient times, medieval times and even during Mughal rule. British were credited for raising (sic) development by introducing industrialisation to India, modernising agriculture, by introducing progressive education, health systems, democracy, and everything positive. Yet India remained a depraved and depressed nation on independence in 1947. Sadly many English educated authors play fiddle to these claims and even claim that the Hindu civilisation would have remained backward but for the British. Of course they care a damn about understanding the past of Hindus as its presumed to be totally backward. But they had needs to survive and make a living by praising the British and poor India won’t benefit them monetarily if they praise her and she won’t hurt them if they called her derogatory terms. Had busted this twisted propagandist history which I called distory in many articles.
When well dressed elitist English educated Indians who believe themselves as an alter ego of colonial rulers claim something, the poverty disturbed poor Indians unable to think further than where their next meal may come from, prefer to believe in whatever they say. Why bother and lose the low energy in argumentation? Their disdain for India’s past and disinterest in knowing about it are considered marks of deep knowledge. And this legacy of British rule, in myriad forms , their practices and actions continue till today. Some are fascinated by the British as they have been blinded by their skin as by their propaganda. Yes, no counter propaganda was permitted by these Liberals. The Hindu newspaper’s owner Ram mocks at the existence of Vamana Shastra written centuries ago. This deplorable behaviour of contemporary Indians act as defence for British for the criminal genocide & dacoity that was played on India. The white skin has come to stand for virtuosity and even aesthetics in a land where Gods were dark complexioned. Mission accomplished by the British.
We remember that Mahatma Gandhi desiring to dismantle the Congress party in 1937 on securing independence as the purpose of her existence would soon been achieved. His writings prove this. This was the same Mahatma who laid the foundation of Nehru Ghandy dynasty by going out of his way but Nehru thought fit to ignore Mahtama’s demands to unwind Congress as that didn’t suit his ambitions. After gaining power on independence, Nehru ignored the powerless Gandhi. Glandhi had to beg Nehru to give Pakisthan’s share of foreign exchange reserves. Some other Congress leaders too saw massive opportunities to enjoy the fruits of Indian labour as was done by Robert Clive & company and stood by Nehru which meant being against Gandhi. Congress leaders claimed that they wanted to continue serving people after independence but they were all ill equipped nor did they have a vision for free India. Just like Winston Churchill who excelled leading England during war but was considered misfit during peace. Nehru permitted no such distinctions and audit. The attitude of Congress leaders was that of entitled Monarchs dispensing favours to slaves and not enabling slaves to become monarchs in a thirsty new democracy. It was all imitation of the Governors and Viceroys of British Raj. So Socialism came handy. Socialism was communism with a democratic topping. Public sector units and government became major employers which were funded by people. A photo copy of what the British colonialists did.
This drama was reinforced later by incorporating word Socialism into the Indian constitution. PM Indira Ghandy was clever and understood the Indian psyche that hope feeds people better than anything practical, substantive, concrete or decisive. So she continued with rhetorics of Garibi Hatao, Twenty point programme, Discipline, etc. In times of her difficulty she will even raise American CBI threat. The 1971 war came handy to consolidate Congress party. Civil servants along with elected politicians felt and acted British towards the people. But large section of people remained poor and media loved the dynasty for the crumps the New Emperors threw at them. People continued to look at the same awe on Congressmen as they had done to Colonialists earlier. They were accustomed to centuries of hardships and Independence was enough. It is an achievement of Congress party that India’s core issues remain the same after sixty years of their rule: Water, toilets, food, shelter, clothes, health, corruption, etc. But the present leadership of Congress has the temerity to tell people that they will solve all problems of India within few months of returning to power. He indeed treats people as brainless without past memories. He is obviously desperate for power that brings wealth to family without public responsibilities.
Replying to Sashi Tharoor’s now famous Oxford speech, British media went hammer and tongs on him without knowing facts. He had merely quoting some western historians without crediting them. But for media, facts are immaterial. British media continue to consider themselves as superior race and repository of all truth. Media is not a pure medium but most certainly pure business, I repeat. But one point by British media appeared relevant to me and exposed the motives of the Congress party as well as Tharoor. This was what a media wrote: “For much of his public career, Gandhi viewed the empire as guarantor of his civil rights. Even after spending eleven years in jail, Nehru was happy to toast the King and to make sure that the Union Jack was not lowered when the Indian tricolour was raised. The Indian National Congress, the forerunner of Shashi Tharoor’s party was for most of its existence was more of a collobarationist party. India’s hereditary princes were almost without exemption imperialists. Only a small number of people in the 20th century sought the violent overthrow of the British rule in India. Even nationalists who were infuriated by the inherent structural racism in the empire often saw the empire as a progressive force. British rule in India was an act of complicity a joint venture between the elite of two nations. Today all that historical complexity has been forgotten”.
The excuse of the British was that Indian, the Princes and later the Congress Party held a joint venture called British Raj in India. The claim is inaccurate partially as British had arrived 150 years earlier. But appears plausible because despite what Will Durant calls as “conscious and deliberate bleeding of India “ for two hundred years, Congress never reacted with intensity on the horrors inflicted on the masses. The reaction of Congress leaders were always subdued. Even when genocide was inflicted and lakhs were dying because of British policies. Often like Nero they were fiddling when fire was on. Durant adds that the great Indian people were starving to death “not due to over population and superstition as their beneficiaries claim but due to the most sordid and criminal exploitation of one nation on another in all recorded history”. Even some enlightened English had condemned the British Raj on India. Elphinstone, Munro, Bentinck, Macaulay, Wingate and Ripon protested against the “decapitation of an entire people” in vain. It must be said here that Muhammeddan rule though nasty did not reach the horrific depths that British reached. Sir Thomas Munro acknowledged : “Under the sway of every Muhammedan conqueror, the natives of India were admitted to all the highest dignities of the state; it is only under the British that they have been excluded from this advantage and held in a condition little superior than menial servants”. Sunderland stood up for Indians more than any other: “British treat the Hindus as strangers and foreigners in India in a manner ‘quite unsympathetic,harsh and abusive ‘as was ever seen among the Georgia and Louisiana planters in the old days of American slavery”. Savel Zimand wrote: “Many of the distinctions drawn against Indians are like those made against Negroes”.
So while British inflicted on Indians the worst horrors in all human history, the Congress was launched by an elite group of Britishers and few Indians. It’s original purpose was not related to India’s Independence but merely to seek jobs in British Govt for Indian urban upper caste elite. Their first meeting in 1885 was held with the permission and approval of Viceroy Lord Dufferin. Congress didn’t represent the masses and was a forum to further elite interests and ambitions in India. Two decades later in 1905, Congress felt the tremors of demands for freedom in the country and decided to join the voices, as Congress could stand to gain as a political force in the country. It was a clever move and surely not a honest Good Samaritan move. Clash arose as Gokhale was against public agitation and Bal Gangadara Tilak stood for strident Hindu nationalism. But Congress then thought Independence as extremist as her leaders didn’t want to displease or hurt the British Raj. Even the Nehru report only desired a dominion status within the empire. All these may prove the claim that Congress was a collaborationist effort with the British Raj. Maybe British thought they could influence the masses through this elitist congregation and rule India till eternity, as originally planned.
The Partition of Bengal made Congress think of taking advantage of mass disgust, spread wings but it’s membership was expensive for a common man. Congress had various distinctions in its membership on the basis of religion, caste, ethinicity and sex. Eligibility for leadership was based on social standing and wealth. And leadership positions in were by appointment while English remained the official language. Congress was an English admiring Club. The arrival of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa in 1915 added energy to the Congress party and impacted it. He reversed the stringent admission clauses. Incidentally the much repeated first Swadeshi movement hardly saw anything to enthuse India but was merely used by few leaders to test the hot waters. Gandhi joined the struggle and was made President of Congress with help of moderates like Gokhale. As is now well known, Congress party during its pre independence history went through two splits: one as a group that included Motilal Nehru leaving party along with a host of others and later when Subhash Bose was forcibly removed. This was due to the Gandhi impact . Gandhi tolerated none like those rulers of the Raj , if they had contrary opinion. Not to mention the tough times Lokmanya Tilak faced. Anyone who questioned British Raj or the Congress party merited same unkind result.
It was ironical that while Mahatma Gandhi could be deeply hurt by any injury to British including some soldiers being killed in Chauri Chaura, he remained passive to crimes inflicted on Indians by British. While refusing to make enemies with British, he had no problem in forcing Subhash Bose to leave Presidentship of Congress or in nominating Nehru as Congress President without election. What made him being extra kind to perpetrators of crimes on India and be cruel to some stray violent reactions to British by Indians remains a mystery. The Swaraj party and the Swarajya party of South were reactions to Mahatma’s grip on Congress party where no opposition was entertained. Total subjugation to Congress party was demanded by Gandhi though he gracefully published criticicisms on him in his Young India including one by Rabindranath Tagore. Mahatma Gandhi also tinkered with the poem by Pandit Lakshmanacharya by adding ‘Easwaro Allah Tero Naam’ to the famous ‘ Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram’ to appeal to Muslims.
That was #1 legacy India has inherited from the British Raj that continues to impact India. The Indian National Congress. That despite reaching the purpose of her creation and existence & despite Gandhi’s demand to dissolve it, Congress chose to continue to exist and be a remnant of the British. Same manipulative skills. Same rhetoric. Rule by the rich and elite. Contempt for democratic forces and no qualms to deride any opposing forces as anti democratic and skills to bring down a non Congress Govt by subterfuge, machinations , divisions and money power. Read British’ vicarious dance on India and apply it to post independent India. Congress repeated what the British did to get a foot hold on the Indian soil. Power alone mattered. Most leaders had great fun and the sudden freedom made them dance as British did. In the process India suffered. The fact that China with growth figure far lesser than that of India and population much more than India, catapulted to become an economic might in thirty years while India remained in the drain for decades proves that India’s freedom from British was only the imposing of Congress Raj in India. Same propaganda measures and tactics were used by this party to hoodwink people as her economy was systematically drained while people remained in bliss of poverty. Possibly to give congress party a fair thought, they lacked the vision, ability to sacrifice, remain honest and devoid of talent to govern sub continent free India.
Those supporting Congress claim that India’s survival of post independence poverty as an achievement. Nehru’s lack of acumen on matters of finance and economy continued to hurt India. He squandered a million pounds given by British as if it was personal donation to him and an audit of this expense was never done. One million in 1947-48 is lot of money when Govt servants were receiving a pound or two as salary. He couldn’t secure any investment into the country and his diplomacy with President Truman and Chairman Mao turned disasters. Yet, media portrayed him as a great visionary in foreign relations because of the non aligned movevement which didn’t accrue practical benefits to India. PL 480, Loss of China war, lack of post partition governance,poor growth, high inflation, severe unemployment, communal and caste riots, diseases continued to plague post independence. Govt was unable to provide shoes to FIFA World Cup bound Indian team but all football stadia in India has been named after Nehru. Nehru-Indira were clueless about governance except in use of force. To stay in power. Just like the British.
The foreign system under which India was governed had reduced India to pauperism and emasculation and India have lost all self confidence noted Mahatma Gandhi. The result of British rule was the pitiful crushing of the pitiful spirit, a stifling of its pride and growth , a stunting of genius that flourished in every city of the land amplified historian philosopher Will Durant. He defended the Hindus against the British charge that they lack manliness. British were guilty of driving out manliness in them with superior guns and merciless rule. Congress party continues to practice what British practiced. They reduced India to high debt by poor planning. None can ever forget emergency. One cannot forget PM Manmohan Singh claim that Muslims have the first right to resources. Nor did Congress act on 100s of foreign evangelists who misusing visa conditions took to rice bag conversion of Tribals and Hindus. North East was converted by evangelists against Law but Congress kept quiet as that benefited them in elections.
Secularism came to mean anti hindu and loot of Hindu temples. Nehru stopped the renovation of Somnath temple and even blocked President Radhakrishnan from attending the Kumbaabhishekam of famous Madurai Meenakshi Temple. What else would a man do who called himself an Englishman by education, Muslim by culture and Hindu by accident? Govt machinery was unleashed on those who raised voice against Congress and dynasty and Emergency brought in a dictatorial rule. Exchequer was looted of crores of crores rupees by scams and black money was admired in the corridors of power. But yet, the Congress party remains in denial and remorseless. How can a political party remain without compassion of her own people and play continuous rhetory games on them to hoodwink after enjoying fruits for a century? Worst many new parties that came as regional satraps imitated Congress party and the people were made to choose between many devils and the deep sea. The Justice party of South was upper caste elitist & the leaders of DMK, Naicker, Annadurai and Nedumchezian hailed from upper caste. All remnants of the British Raj!
Some more amplification. Congress party anointed itself as the unquestioned institutional representative of the freedom movement and when India received Independence in 1947, Congress Party backed itself as eligible Rulers till elections were held in 1951-52. A government without popular mandate and no questions asked. This was a big advantage in politics. For nearly twenty years, they remained in Power all over India till Tamilnadu dethroned them in 1967 despite receiving more popular votes than DMK. In 1952 elections in Rajasthan, Congress received mere 39% of popular votes but 51% of the seats. Those days no questions were asked on the election process. Returning to Tamilnadu, when Indira Gandhi lost majority in Parliament in 1969, it’s their arch enemies in Tamilnadu, DMK that helped her survive. And in 1971, the enemies of 1967 election joined hands to fight elections together in Tamilnadu. Recollect both these parties were high on ideals but their low morals brought them together. Power mattered to politicians, The master manipulative skills of Congress like those of the British could indeed turn threats into opportunities. DMK was forced to realise that they were under the control of a party that ruled the centre and needed to please Congress party to survive as latter events showed. Congress party Govt in DELHI will either dismiss opposite party state governments by instigating divisions in legislators, impose Presidents rule till Congress party attains majority or support the government from outside and pull the rugs at an opportune moment. Such violent actions where similar to British actions to topple princes on fancy. Such intolerance and crass acts learnt from the British helped Congress survive and hold power.
Another trick was to channel discontent among peasants and workers to Congress run forums while supporting the urban, elitist business class for practical purposes. The British red tape followed by Nehru-Ghandy to control Indian businesses was convenient to whip lash on those who were disobedient to the party and untill 1991 there was no single effort to dismantle the system. Even later, despite verbose claims, free enterprise in India remained at the mercy of the British legacy called the Indian National Congress. It’s a fact that during 2004-2014, tens of applications to start new scheduled airlines were kept in the back burner so Jet Airways may flourish. Even Govt owned Indian Airlines and AirIndia were mismanaged to benefit the airline in which the Minister was a Director till he assumed office as Minister for Civil Aviation. By the way all the huge pendency at Civil Aviation Ministry was cleared within a month of assuming office by that permanent thorn in the eye of Congress ambitions, Modi.
All of post independent problems in free India arose as Congress Govt of Nehru was neither bold nor creative nor desired to transform India. They adopted the British model of governance which was based on the unified central government, hierarchical bureaucracy and selective application of laws. Corruption was part of governance. Nepotism and favouritism were considered normal. Media and bureaucracy went with Nehru for the crumps a Govt can offer and were indifferent to the fact that they had a moral obligation to the people of India. Congress leaders intolerance of any opposition while embracing tightly the British who ravaged people exposes their casualness, self importance as well as their elitism.
Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian novelist commented on history : “There is that great proverb - that until the Lions have their own great historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter”. India needs to free itself from all British Raj legacies. Those of direct British Raj and the indirect Colonial rule by the Congress party. Not red tapism. Not just outdated laws. And relook at history that was written to please the powerful and the mighty. But most importantly the most hurting legacy of contemporary India called the Indian National Congress. Time to Understand the reason why while nations like Japan, China, Germany have progressed, India lagged behind because one political party focused on enjoying power without delivering on responsibilities. The nations that progressed despite odds were taught their real legacy , their past achievements and culture as part of education. They do not tolerate insults to their culture and heritage in the name of modernism. But because of this British legacy and the furtherance of this legacy by Congress party, Indians take pride in mocking India to appear more modern, western and progressive to fellow Indians. It’s an elitist pretension. Also the result of English education that teaches contempt for anything Indian. It’s impossible to evolve into a substantive democracy by the nasty methods to stay in power as were adopted by the Congress party. Congress pats itself for few things it did though belatedly like the green revolution. But refuses to take responsibility for all the failures. Worst she believes that she is entitled to rule India for eternity. Believe me, Congress Party will not hesitate to mortgage Indian interests for power. They were proved to have been bribed by USSR. Now, there is a possibility they may dance to Chinese tunes. Dear Congress, Have a heart, if you have one. India is greater and far more important one family party. A Royalty at Janpath as the one at Buckingham Palace is dangerous and expensive to an evolving democracy.
India needs to realise her roots, her great ancestory and heritage to regain the glory of her vibrant civilisation. These singularities keep her unique. No society has had a continued civilisation like that of the Hindu civilisation. By hindu I mean all those living in Hindusthan. But it will not be easy to free from the clutches of British legacies that have taken root over 250+ years, as those who have enjoyed won’t let India go and grow at their cost. But India to benefit herself and the serve the world needs to wake up and act like real Men. To understand past, to respect heritage, to love this punya bhoomi, sacrifice and work with determination so posterity credits that we, this contemporarians, should not let India down for pecuniary benefits. This will be impossible unless India eradicates and dismantles the most important and poisonous of all British colonial legacy- the imperialist Congress party.
Wake up India! Your time has arrived! Know your worth!
Wake up India! Your time has arrived! Know your worth!
Vande Mataram! Jai Hind!
(Will continue on other colonial legacies)
nice post
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