Shashi Tharoor - Sunday Reading Task

Here is my blog, Sunday reading task given by Prof. Dilip Barad about Shashi Tharoor, to ponder some of the attractive ideas from his speech and also make critique on his work An Era of Darkness." 

Shashi Tharoor who is one of renowned a personality currently served as a Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Recently he get fascinated by Sahitya Akademi Award for his book " An Era of Darkness."

Shashi Tharoor in his speech at Oxford asking for reparation payment from UK for the ruling over India around 200 Years. The speech had gone viral on Social media, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and also gaining so much debates about that. So let's see, which kind of questions he raised and try to justify it.

Industrial Revolution of British premised upon De-Industrialization of India

As we all know that before colonized India is considered as the wealthy and richest country known as "Sone ki Chidiya."But because of British Government india is exploited and the economic share of India in world get paradigm shift from 23% to 4%. So Britishers on the name of civilization exploit the people and established their own rules and regulations and also control the native people.

India is not only looted but all the gems and wealth of India is destroyed by England for their own Development. What England today is all because of the looted Wealth of India. He also satirizing on British India that…

"Sun Never sets in British India Because God Himself can not trust English in Dark."

As we see in the Heart of Darkness  Britishers are the lootera, On the name of so called civilization they exploit the people. Now became wealthy. So Tharoor make critic that Sun never sets in Britain because God not even  trust English in Dark.

Shashi Throor, One main Argument is that British rule weakens India. This very idea also throw light that 70 years after independence and mismanagement of those days is also nothing to do with destruction of India. Irresponsibility of Indian politics is denied and the whole blame is thrown on colonialism.

So, This is the fact that British colony totally destroy the Indian Economy, also creates fight between religion, collapse Indian industries and handloom weavers only because of Britishers. And the wounds of a that are still unhealed. So the impression of Britishers on Indian mind is so negative. What they create call Religious Riots among people are still burning like fire in the eyes of people and the Partition of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is also result of it.

An Era of Darkness

Shashi Tharoor's work is the first notable books which try to elaborate what British rule done harm to India on the name of civilization. It is the single book which listed among the voice against British Rule and its messed in India.

There are two different and controversial points about the British Rule in India…

• Development
• Degradation

Britishers think that whatever they did in India is for their development. It is not just the British who thought that their rule over India is beneficial But, there are a few Indians hold such an opinion too. One of India’s most respected scholars, MS Rajan, is clear that, 

“Perhaps the single greatest and most enduring impact of British rule over India is that it created an Indian nation, in the modern political sense.”

Kartar Lalwani’s in his book "The Making of India — The Untold Story of British Enterprise, said that great infrastructure is created by British  in India — the railways being one of the most important ones.

Manmohan Singh in a speech also said that 

"Today with the balance and perspective offered by the passage of time and the benefits of hindsight it is possible,” he said, “for an Indian Prime Minister to assert that India’s experience with Britain had its beneficial consequences too. Our notions of the rule of law, of a Constitutional government, of a free press, of a professional civil service, of modern universities and research laboratories have all been fashioned in the crucible where an age-old civilisation of India met the dominant Empire of the day. Our judiciary, our legal system, our bureaucracy, and our police are all great institutions, derived from British-Indian administration and they have all served our country exceedingly well.’’

So it can be said that during British rule Two people  were Awarded because of their incredible work

•   Rabindranath Tagore 
• CV Raman 

Establishment of renowned institutions, Universities and Educational institutions are also established. Also biggest Industries like TATA and BIRLA also established under british rule. So the Era of darkness have a little beat light against Shashi Tharoor is saying.

But, What Shashi Tharoor is saying is absolutely right that...There were so many countries which make industrial revolution without colonized. It also started Railway without support of Britishers. So what they done with Indian mentality is disastrous.

Divide and Rule, is the best example of it. For their own profit or for their own development. Their hunger for power and set mentality to become imperialist pull them to exploit the Indian economy and wealth.

Whatever new things they started in India is not for Indian people but for the ease of themselves.

Alex von Tunzelmann’s clever start to her book "Indian Summer"

‘In the beginning, there were two nations. One was a vast, mighty and magnificent empire, brilliantly organized and culturally unified, which dominated a massive swath of the earth. The other was an undeveloped, semi feudal realm, riven by religious factionalism and barely able to feed its illiterate, diseased and stinking masses. The first nation was India. The second was England.’ 

So this is how "An era of Darkness" unfolds imperialism in India with deconstruction of darkness.  How East India company established and slowly slowly started to expand its area and control whole India. British rule done unbearable attack on Indian history and they should pay debt for it.

Thank You....