Racism and greed are potent enough to decivilise man and turn them barbarians_ anonymous quote.
It is essential that humanity needs to take stock its past record of dehumanising mankind by certain nations and groups that claim superiority over others under varied imaginative perceptions and use superior race theories for brutalising, turning and treating conquered people as cattle fit for nasty treatment and slaughter. Two nations in all history are stand highly guilty of this travesty. The Christian Colonial British & the Aryanist Nazis of Europe. While Nazism is looked down with grave disdain today, British have succeeded in hiding their crime records and even found success in propagating that their rule of India was one of transforming and modernising her. Pliable pot boiling English writers facilitated this false narrative of history that suppressed harsh facts. We must understand such narratives, get to the root of history so we can expose facts as it were so world can identify, isolate and be immune to analogous future travesties.
It is often claimed by western historians that Jewish holocaust directed and produced by Nazi Germany is the worst in all human history. The horrors of Jewish holocaust have been filmed repeatedly. The movie by Richard Attenborough came close to revealing the British mayhem but the movie was about a Gandhi. Will Durant gave a factual account in 1930s but his book was banned by the British and copies are difficult even today. Yet, the Hindu holocaust inflicted by British Christians was not worth a mention and to some generous historians including Indian chroniclers. They generously rank the Indian horror story as second to the Jewish Holocaust. Let’s study. I desire to make this work short.
The word holocaust comes from Greek holocaustos meaning whole burning. The Colombia guide to the holocaust defines it as “ Nazi genocide that was systematic, state sponsored murder of entire groups defined by heredity”. So, British genocide and loot of India was not even considered for the term holocaust. We will endeavour to check whether this term which was popular in 1940s can be applied on the long rule of British rule in India that ended in mid forties and compare it to Jewish genocide which was one indeed intense nasty incident in human history. Solicit your condonement of my ability to fathom the depths of individual sufferings in any such tragedy of wide and deep proportions and acknowledge that the major fallacy of this article lies in focusing of numbers. We will also consider the Mughal impact separately.
Jewish Holocaust
Holocaust was an official German state policy between 1941 and 1945 to exterminate European Jews. Michael Gray says it was in existence since the early 1930s and claims that it evolved through three stages. It included the prosecution and murder of Jews, systematic mass murder and total extermination of Jews. Michael Berenbaum says that the mass murders made Germany into a genocidal state for Nazis. It was very broad reaching and ranged from confiscating the properties of Jews, turning them slaves, using them as Guinea pigs for pharma research apart from killing them in many different varied imaginative ways. The notorious milestones of the Jewish holocaust are as follows:
The killings were held in 20 occupied countries. Which covered the whole of Central Europe.
Close to three million Jews were killed in Poland.
Between 700,000 and 2.5 million Jews were killed in Soviet Union.
Hundreds of thousands were killed in rest of Europe.
7000 prisoners were subject to medical experiments..almost all died.
The economic, social and legal rights of Jews were restricted.
About four lakh compulsory sterilisation were done on Jews.
#150,000 mentally and physically ill were killed by forcible euthanasia and included 5000 children.
The infamous ‘death marches’ of forcing starved Jews to walk to camps took 2.5 lakh lives.
Lakhs of Jews in Germany and Austria were forced to emigrate as a result of Nazi Racial policy.
1000s of Jewish shops were attacked and closed down.
It’s estimated more than a thousand synagogues were burnt or brought down.
In ghettos and concentration camps, half a million Jews died of starvation.
Food supplies restricted, public health non existent & diseases became rampant.
One third of the World’s population of Jews, evaporated. Included one million children.
Corporates such a BMW, Deutche Bank, Ford, Opel, Siemens, Volkswagen, etc faced criticism after WW2 for using forced labour especially Jews.
Organised plunder of gold, jewellery, paintings, art objects , currency as well as destruction of anything of value.
We can assume that about 20 million Jewish lives were lost by Nazi barbarism.
These statistics are appalling as well as revolting. We acknowledge the horrors of this Jewish holocaust as one wrought by hate, greed and ambition of a racist. We have no intention to belittle the sufferings of millions of Jews and those across the world during World War #2. Including the innocents who evaporated by nuclear bombs. The following comparison was to unravel the HINDU holocaust that has been pushed under the carpet.
For over 190 years, were Christian British spreading the message of unselfish love across India and act as messengers of love to the meek as demanded in the Bible? The following statistics are equally appalling and revolting. When the Christian British arrived in India, India’s GDP was 27% of World’s and when they left, India was tottering at 3%. When they arrived in India, GB was a poor nation and when they left India, they were considered a Super Power. India with one third the size of Europe but with more population than that of whole Europe was ransacked but many World historians excepting few are bent on covering up what I call deem fit to be addressed as British Cannibalism on India.
Hindu Holocaust
Why call so? As with the Jewish holocaust, we will focus on facts and figures of British rule on India. Facts about the rule are not easily forthcoming thanks to the connivance of liberals who went along with the rulers for a few crumps more.
Recent references have begun to relate this term to the post 1857 revolt called famously as the First War of Indian independence. These series of incidents that came close to uprooting colonialism in India but Indians were handicapped as they didn’t possess the weaponry that British possessed. Initially estimated to have eliminated a million lives it is now recalculated to have been a massacre of more than ten million lives across the breadth of sub continent reaching out to remote villages to completely erase any Pro Indian support or anti British protest.
#111 wars were fought by British on Indian soil. It was Indians fighting Indians. Indians made to fight and kill fellow Indians. Losses were totally Indian in these wars except on rare occasions when losses were limited to handful of British. British patted themselves for conquering India without spending a penny. Every bullet was paid for by Indian tax money. Exact details of deaths were shrouded in mystery. By humble estimates, one million lives were lost in these wars but historians twist to restrict loss of lives to few thousands.
Famines increased during British rule. From 1770 to 1900, #25 million died of starvation. In the Bengal Famine of 1943, atleast three million died. Remember all these statistics were bare minimum as British Raj like present day China censored all negative news emanating from India. Sashi Tharoor estimates #35 million deaths in famines created by British.
Indian soldiers fought British wars abroad at Indian tax payers cost. During world wars #1 & #2, lakhs of Indian soldiers participated. Lakhs lost lives & many lakhs were injured and handicapped. The backward cowardly Indians as British fondly called Desis won 19 Victoria crosses. Some British commanders have acknowledged that but for Indians, British cannot have won wars.
The Divide and Rule policy of British which led to many conflicts in Sub continent led to post independence riots called Partittion riots. 15 million were displaced and #1 million lives were lost.
The economic slaughter of British has no parallels in history. Do you know that India paid British #450 US $ million in 19th century alone for wars fought for England outside of India with Indian troops? No details available on loss of Indian lives. During World War #1, poor India paid $500 million to the war chest of the Allies, $500 million in subscriptions to war loans, 8 lakh soldiers and 4 lakh labourers to defend British Empire, outside of India.
India sent 2.5 million soldiers to assist British Raj during World War #2. British Govt took a loan of One billion $ US from India. Obviously the money was never returned. A lakh soldiers died. Many more injured.
British Raj lived happily on the blood letting of Hindus. Lived in style at the cost of poor Indians who were dying of hunger. It was a perfect example of great Good Samaritanship by Christians trying to save India from Superstition and Backwardness. The national debt of India that was $ 35 million in 1792 rose to $ 3.5 billion in 1929. Despite the very high taxes, mankind ever saw. This was when the average wage of the able bodied agricultural labourer was a high $ 3.60 per month. One half of all the high revenues earned by Indian government left for England never to return to India.
Will Durant estimated the total wealth drained from India since 1757 till late 1920s, if left and invested within India at a low rate of interest at a staggering $ 400 billion. The next 15 years saw a higher misappropriation of Indian wealth. Only economists can help estimate how many trillion dollars were drained by the British in today’s currency terms.
Ira Klein wrote that India became Home of epidemics during British Rule. Estimated that twenty million died of malaria alone. Other diseases like plague, small pox, cholera , dysentery and diahorea took toll because of migration to cities for survival. Will Durant wrote many diseases were imported as they affected those living near sea ports. Cholera was non existent in India and a disease that existed on both sides of Atlantic reached India during Colonial rule. Hindus who bathed twice a day & whose dharma speaks accents on cleanliness were forced to live in dirt and squalor. Their poverty added to the woes. How to count millions who died like cattle? Yet almost all references to health talk profusely on the steps taken by the British for improving health instead of pointing fingers at the Brits.
High taxation of 50% of agricultural produce killed agriculture. Those experts in Indian handicrafts had their hands cut off and eyes plucked. Ship building, a traditional Industry was banned. World famous Wootz steel technology was eradicated by killing and maiming those who had the expertise.
Had discussed in
Not merely because of the very long period of British rule in India compared to the Nazis in Europe , but because of the enormity and intensity of crimes from any angle of history, the HINDU holocaust was not just bigger but many times worse than the Jewish holocaust. The available numbers prove that. We need to account that British censored news from India like the of Chinese today. When media came into being, they arrived as instruments of being friendly with the Raj like the Congress party and it was a long time before they mouthed words, Indian Independence. Moreover, British were masters of suppression of facts of their crimes and killings. Mountbatten claimed that two lakh died in the western front after partition which was later corrected as eight lakh by his own Governors. If British claimed a hundred Indians had died in an event, it can be safely assumed that ten times the number had certainly dead. This trick of lower estimates of victims is followed by Indian and State governments even today. Don’t we call this propaganda? British were on war mode on India for nearly two centuries and were on war time one sided propaganda throughout.
The post independent Congress Govt was guilty of having not set up a Commission of Enquiry into the killings and loss of lives during British Raj. Something on the lines of Nuremberg trial. A government that has no sense of the past or respect for past achievements can never be expected to preserve it. Nehru was afraid that Congress will be exposed if such an attempt was made and political interest took precedence over people interest. The Indian Govt always matched the Raj in covering up inconvenient truths and prove my point that they were a collaborative party to the British. The Indian Govt followed the British text books in educational institutions as it followed the policies and practices of Colonialists in governance. They were just Indians in British mould but gullible Indians were carried away by their rhetory and attire. Time non Congress governments studies not just the two hundred years of British rule in India but also the rule of Mughals. And get all facts. So the posterity doesn’t blame us for having been silent on biggest genocide and plunder in all history.
Lastly , is it a coincidence that Nazis and Colonial British were fire brand Christians? Nazis were backed by Vatican Catholics and British were connected to the Anglican Protestant Church. A religion that was discredited enormously by its followers could be dangerous too and has done enough damage as contemporary Jihadis have. Both religions do not possess the moral supremacy even to blame each other. But they target the Victims in all history..the Jews and the Hindus to hide their fallacies.
Lastly , is it a coincidence that Nazis and Colonial British were fire brand Christians? Nazis were backed by Vatican Catholics and British were connected to the Anglican Protestant Church. A religion that was discredited enormously by its followers could be dangerous too and has done enough damage as contemporary Jihadis have. Both religions do not possess the moral supremacy even to blame each other. But they target the Victims in all history..the Jews and the Hindus to hide their fallacies.
Ref
Will Durant’s The Case for India.
Comments
Post a Comment