Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor invited the global attention when he articulately made a demand for Britain to pay reparations to India and other former colonies for its decades of imperial rule. In a speech at the Oxford Union, Mr Tharoor not only drew the attention towards India's historical past but also invited an applaud from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who agreed with Tharoor's debate and appreciated Tharoor. “Shashiji is an orator who says the right thing at the right place...sometimes, such things become a turning point,” said Modi, in his speech addressed to the Parliamentarians.
Known for his eloquence, Tharoor gave point by point break up on Indian economy during colonization and how the British 'looted' India and deprived the country of its riches. Dr Tharoor, a former Congress Minister and Member of Parliament, made the case in a debate which highlighted at how “the Britain owed reparations to her former colonies.” His speech at the world famous debating society, the Oxford Union, received mixed response from people on social media. “Britain's rise for 200 years was financed by its depredations of India,” said Dr Tharoor. “We paid for our own oppression. It's a bit rich to oppress, maim, kill, torture and repress and then celebrate democracy at the end of it.”
Many in India want Britain to make financial amends for the wrongs committed during colonial rule. He suggested a symbolic compensation of “one pound a year for the next two hundred years, after the last two hundred years of Britain in India.”
Dr Tharoor's speech talked about the economic toll that British rule took on India. The 14-minute long video of his speech emerged as the most widely circulated video on You Tube and Facebook. Some prominent British-Asians residing in United Kingdom for several decades now have an opinion which is way different from Dr Tharoor had to say in his speech.
Rt. Hon Keith Vaz MP, Member of Parliament for Leicester East feels that monetary reparations will not be useful. “There are genuine grievances which must be addressed. Pursuing monetary reparations is complex, time consuming and potentially fruitless, but there is no excuse for not returning precious items such as the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a campaign I have backed for many years,” said Mr Vaz.
“Prime Minister Modi is due to arrive in the United Kingdom in November, and Prime Minister Cameron has gone out of his way to maintain a strong bilateral relationship. What a wonderful moment it would be, if when Prime Minister Modi finishes his visit, which is much overdue, he returns to India with the promise of the diamond’s return,” voiced Vaz.
Lord Dolar Popat called Tharoor's speech as “just an academic exercise, which has just put forward a passionate case.” He points at Dr Tharoor for trudging through ancient history “in the hope of finding some controversy.” “Throughout history the subcontinent has been ruled by many different forces, including the Mughal's. In my opinion it is naïve and somewhat selective to look to blame British rule for India’s struggles,” said Lord Popat.“
Dr Tharoor’s arguments will be particularly strange to the 1.5 million British Indians living in the UK, especially those of us who fled from East Africa and were given an opportunity for a better life here,” he adds.
Dr Rami Ranger, Chairman of Sun Mark Ltd has pointed towards ancient Indian practice of imparting “forgiveness.” “Whilst I understand Shashi Tharoor's noble intentions I have always believed that our ancient Indian culture teaches us forgiveness as being of paramount importance,” said Ranger.
“I do not believe any good can come out of opening old wounds, especially as the greatest pain was inflicted by dividing India on the basis of religion in line with the British policy of divide and rule which eventually became divide and run."
By dividing India, the British left a sting in the tail forever. “Millions died at the time of partition including my own father and more than 15 million people became refugees, in their own country,” he said. The bleeding Indian economy, has been the result of British policies and regrettably the British legacy is still causing bloodshed on a daily basis in the sub continent.
