Subject: The British
Posted: 8 Nov 2004 12:03 pm
Hi Abhijit.
You are right that some Indians would tell me that they liked the British, because they felt they were being polite. I'm sure I returned the favour often; I was always complimentary to the locals about their country, even when I was having a terrible time (though luckily India is full of places I loved, so it wasn't hard to be nice).
However, it is a fact there are Indians in your lovely country who like the British. I find it strange myself - see my piece on Amritsar for my opinions on our colonial past, as well as my piece on Cape Coast in Ghana - but I came across a not insignificant number of pro-British Indians, who genuinely thought that the British legacy of democracy, legal systems and railways was a genuinely good thing. Not everyone in India, it seems, feels that the British were as evil as you say we were, and it's not me you should be arguing with, it's them.
As for Kiran, I've maintained email contact with him since 1997, and I'm happy to say that you are simply wrong about him. He genuinely loves the British legacy, like others in your country. In my piece I am not saying that he is correct or that you are wrong; I am simply reporting one man's opinion, and that is all.
I also don't think what I've written is crap', but perhaps I'm biased! 😀
Thanks for posting.
Mark
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