Does India Owe Reparations To The Sikhs.

[Quantavius]

India would have been much, much better off under British rule as opposed to Indian rule today. Just compare any major city in India eg. Delhi to say Bangkok or Ho Chin Minh city, all 3 are poor nations but the difference in living standards and general happiness/well being so startling.

[Ranjeet01]

Another myth I see thrown around is that the British as a whole got rich from exploiting India.

A small elite of British got rich.

At the height of the British Empire during Victoria's reign, most British people were living in overcrowded slums and in absolute dire poverty. Children were thrown up into chimneys.

I do not think the living standards of the average Brit and average Indian was that large during the British Empire's rule.

The living standards of the average Brit only started to rise during the 20th century or at least after WW2.

[Quantavius]

Another myth I see thrown around is that the British as a whole got rich from exploiting India.

A small elite of British got rich.

At the height of the British Empire during Victoria's reign, most British people were living in overcrowded slums and in absolute dire poverty. Children were thrown up into chimneys.

I do not think the living standards of the average Brit and average Indian was that large during the British Empire's rule.

The living standards of the average Brit only started to rise during the 20th century or at least after WW2.

All former colonies actually gained and not lost with the British. You are right. Ignorant people always like to say the colonials powers gained with colonial rule. Ask how and they'll say they 'took our gold, iron....resources'. But were these ;resources' free and magically appeared in the British hands?

Lets take rubber as an example. The British brought the rubber seed from S. America and then cultivated it in Asia. It took huge amounts of resources to clear the jungle and plant the seeds and then seeing the end result of profit. The final price of rubber in the market is inclusive of the cost of cultivating it and not something free that magically given free to them by indigenous people whom they colonized. Many Indians gained by obtaining employment in rubber plantations under the British.

Perhaps the British should counter sue India and ask the Indian government to pay for creating a country called India and handing it to them on a platter. They should also sue for all the institutions ie road, bridges, universities, hospitals, police stations, court system....all given free to India.

If colonial rule is so bad, why did Hong Kong proper so much under British rule? This is all nonsense and propaganda.

The truth is that the British and to a larger extent western people knew how to create wealth and all those losers who hate them just despised them. OTOH the Asians like the Japanese were smarter and instead chose a different destiny and chose to work and learn from them and know they enjoy the fruits.

[Kira]

Most people ignore the good the British did, they industrialized India and Indians are still using that machinery and methods the British left them. They even outlawed things such as Sati and did promote education somewhat. They built infrastructure that India still uses.

Yet the British were demons who terrorized india and did nothing for them says most Indians.

[MisterrSingh]

Most people ignore the good the British did, they industrialized India and Indians are still using that machinery and methods the British left them. They even outlawed things such as Sati and did promote education somewhat. They built infrastructure that India still uses.

Yet the British were demons who terrorized india and did nothing for them says most Indians.

It's the spineless Gandhi propaganda the Indian masses cream themselves silly remembering.

Let's not forget the barbarity of the British (Jaliawala Bagh to name one instance) and their devious divide and conquer tactics which meant us losing portions of our lands and our precious religious asthaans in partition. However the way Indians behave is as if the British left India in a worse state than they found it.

[Ranjeet01]

It's the spineless Gandhi propaganda the Indian masses cream themselves silly remembering.

Let's not forget the barbarity of the British (Jaliawala Bagh to name one instance) and their devious divide and conquer tactics which meant us losing portions of our lands and our precious religious asthaans in partition. However the way Indians behave is as if the British left India in a worse state than they found it.

The battle for independence was never between the average Indian and the British, it was between the Anglophile Indian Brown Sahib babu elite who benefitted from kissing up to the British, helped them takeover and maintain the empire and the British.

I do not think that it even mattered for the average aam janta who was in control as it would not made an iota of difference.

[Ranjeet01]

All former colonies actually gained and not lost with the British. You are right. Ignorant people always like to say the colonials powers gained with colonial rule. Ask how and they'll say they 'took our gold, iron....resources'. But were these ;resources' free and magically appeared in the British hands?

Lets take rubber as an example. The British brought the rubber seed from S. America and then cultivated it in Asia. It took huge amounts of resources to clear the jungle and plant the seeds and then seeing the end result of profit. The final price of rubber in the market is inclusive of the cost of cultivating it and not something free that magically given free to them by indigenous people whom they colonized. Many Indians gained by obtaining employment in rubber plantations under the British.

Perhaps the British should counter sue India and ask the Indian government to pay for creating a country called India and handing it to them on a platter. They should also sue for all the institutions ie road, bridges, universities, hospitals, police stations, court system....all given free to India.

If colonial rule is so bad, why did Hong Kong proper so much under British rule? This is all nonsense and propaganda.

The truth is that the British and to a larger extent western people knew how to create wealth and all those losers who hate them just despised them. OTOH the Asians like the Japanese were smarter and instead chose a different destiny and chose to work and learn from them and know they enjoy the fruits.

You make a very valid point how the British did hand everything to the Indians on a platter from the railways to the parliament building and the use of English. Everything was left intact, the elite in India for over 50 years did nothing to improve or enhance the infrastructure.

Even when the USA got independence from UK, they created their own political system and constitution. These were White Brits who fought and defeated other White Brits.

It proves one thing, the Anglophile Indian elite never really wanted freedom for India, they wanted power for themselves.

[Kira]

It's the spineless Gandhi propaganda the Indian masses cream themselves silly remembering.

Let's not forget the barbarity of the British (Jaliawala Bagh to name one instance) and their devious divide and conquer tactics which meant us losing portions of our lands and our precious religious asthaans in partition. However the way Indians behave is as if the British left India in a worse state than they found it.

The British weren't perfect, they did quite a lot of morally unjustifiable deeds. But branding them all out evil is a bit of a stretch but at the same time calling them saints is ignorance. Most Indians are very narrow minded, They assume History is black and white.

[jkvlondon]

The British also handed over techniques to carry on diluting and transforming Sikhi to suit the Bahmins , this is their true legacy ...

[Ranjeet01]

The British also handed over techniques to carry on diluting and transforming Sikhi to suit the Bahmins , this is their true legacy ...

The bahmins throughout history have always adapted a survival strategy to cosy up to whoever was in power at the time. They will absorb new techniques and tactics and utilise them to their advantage.

Being historically more learned and literate than the other communities in the Subcontinent they always being more able to capitalise on this.