In the Dark, this Fox.
God helps with wisdom; what of World History 101?
I found myself bemused but more irritated by Fox’s Tucker Carlson’s remarks on his show a day or two ago. He praised the British colonial and imperial empire for having built iconic buildings such as the famous Victoria Terminus train station in Mumbai. And said the Indians were lucky to have had the British rule them. And that the British didn't just take, they also left behind a lot.
And yes, yes, forget the phenomenal forts and palaces; everyone visits India to see the train station built by the British! Seriously!
My caveat
I’m a proud Indian, not aligned left or right, but I do posess a strong sense of country and nation. Many would deem me right wing; I inherit a fifteen thousand year-old culture that was the most advanced civilisation on the planet. I’m privileged to have this heritage in my dna. I believe in it, and have witnessed first-hand the science of it all.
Most nations aren’t anywhere near as old as mine; their nationals can left-wing it all they want, such as many Americans do, and rightfully so, for America is a nation of immigrants. Mine isn’t. I haven’t gone and attacked, plundered and inhabited anyone else’s land. I live in my own.
What science finds right today, even with the exceptional and brilliant James Webb Telescope, finds reference in my civilisation’s ancient texts. It’s not that I carry a chip upon my shoulder, but more that I carry a legacy larger than I can fathom.
My life is about Self-Mastery and truth, as is evidenced by some of my writing on Medium.
I fight for what I believe in; I agree where the facts are right, and disagree where incorrect statements are made. I’ve agreed with some of Mr Carlson’s opinions in the past, and disagree with this one. While I quote from Dr Shashi Tharoor’s work below, I do very often disagree with his thoughts, but he’s right where Mr Carlson’s views are concerned. Dr Tharoor is a Member of Parliament in India, and sits on the opposition bench.
Lastly, any and all opinions here are my own.
The British
It’s true the British built The Victoria Terminus, as too many other buildings. They also left behind some kind of railroad built at the Indian taxpayer’s expense, after importing goods and people from England at about three times the cost. They built the railroad to ferry out Indian resources to their own country, and so the grand Victoria Terminus. Great Britain really wasn’t so great. They plundered India to fill their own coffers. Let’s not forget the Kohinoor diamond on the Monarch’s crown. According to recent research, the British looted India to the extent 47 trillion dollars. No small number even in this day.
A civilisation? Your English, Mr Carlson; your English!
What was most hilarious was Mr Carlson stating that the British left behind an entire civilisation after their 200-year rule! (That’s true in a way; they left a civilisation they possibly did not have the capacity to comprehend!) We’d do well to remember that America, where Mr Carlson broadcasts from, was a continent invaded by outsiders that killed native American inhabitants, and established a “new country” altogether, on a land that did not belong to them. I don’t blame Mr Carlson for this, but his remarks on India certainly represent his glaring lack of knowledge of recorded history.
I’d like to shed some light on Mr Carlson’s howlers for the benefit of those who choose to this. Fasten your seat-belts, keep your puke-bag handy.
Facts
If you are interested, do read Dr Shashi Tharoor’s book to know what really happened; specifically in this context: An Era of Darkness; The British Empire in India. The overseas version is titled: The Inglorious Empire; What the British did to India.
A fact in point; India represented 27% of global GDP when the British colonised and ruled India with the violent means they did, and left it down at about 3% when they were thrown out in 1947, via non-violent means, I might add. Think Mahatma Gandhi.
India had a thriving textile trade, producing some of the world’s finest muslins and linens. The British destroyed the looms and cut off the weavers’ thumbs so that they could work no more. They sent Indian material to Britain, and imported products made there into India at high costs, burdening the average Indian whilst simultaneously destroying Indian global trade.
British-induced famines killed close to 30 million Indians, that is 1% of India’s population at the time! Winston Churchill was responsible for creating The Bengal Famine of 1943, which killed 4 million people.
The British war-time Prime Minister denied he had blood on his hands when he decided to deny the Indians their wheat import from Australia, and had it shipped to England instead.
This was to stockpile for buffer stocks in case there was a war in Greece and Yugoslavia, and not for the war effort against Hitler’s Germany as otherwise proclaimed.
Much of this wheat eventually went to waste, and was fed to horses. Between three to four million people in Bengal died as a result of his action. That represented about 1% of the Indian population at the time, and over half the number of people that perished between 1941 and 1945 in the holocaust!
Mr Carlson and his advisors might do well to remember this when they say Grace for their daily bread.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 13th April 1919
The British brutally killed at will, and I’m very tempted to write an article on the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. What you should know is that a large peaceful crowd gathered at this park to protest some laws and the arrest of a few Indian nationalists by the British rulers. Men, women, including mothers who carried their little babies in their arms participated in this gathering, as many couldn’t leave infants alone.
British Brigadier-General Dyer commanded troops to contain the protestors. He had his troops close and block the sole point of entry to and exit from this park, and ordered his troops to fire upon the crowd. The firing continued until the soldiers had exhausted all their ammunition. It is reported that over 1700 unarmed men, women, pregnant women and children were massacred. Many jumped into a deep well to save themselves, only to die a different manner of death.
Spend 1 minute and 40 seconds on this video to get a little perspective on how the man behind the massacre was rewarded:
The powers that be; a thought
President Barack Obama in 2016 offered his sincerest apologies to the people of Japan and the (Late) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the devastation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but did not apologise for the actions of the USA. Perhaps the attack on Pearl Harbour contained that.
The British have not apologised to the Indian people for the unprovoked and unwarranted incident at Jallianwala Bagh to date. The short video above gave you a glimpse of that.
Seriously? A country that colonised India finds no reason to apologise? The Indians did not bomb Britain; rather, they supplemented the war against the Nazis. One third of the British army was comprised of Indian troops.
Back to Mr Carlson
Mr Carlson and his advisors would do well to get a few history lessons whilst living under the imperial and colonial rock they do.
Everyone’s innundated right now by press coverage of the Queen’s passing. And, the British continually speak of the new rule in and the new ruler of England. I wager no-one here or anywhere that lays claim to an independent mind wishes to be ruled. “Not my King”, say many British today, only to be whisked away and detained.
Do you wish to be ruled?
I for one make it a point to remind people we’ve voted or placed into positions of leadership and power that they were placed to serve us! I will have no lord nor overlord, nor anyone rule me. My country has witnessed a dynasty at work that has well in many senses ruled over people. They were thrown out of the government in 2014. No points for guessing who they are. And no, they are not related to Mahatma Gandhi.
Mr Carlson is welcome to the late Queen’s downline. Plenty press there! Dr Tharoor has been charitable in his remarks about the late Monarch. He has been a brilliant diplomat after all.
Mourn the dead; but mourn today the ones you will kill tomorrow
I mourn everyone’s passing, and the erstwhile Queen is no different a human to not deserve a mourning.
However, today’s realities inform me that it is no less criminal an act to spend 2.6 billion dollars of taxpayer money on her funeral (not a pence from the royals, serving or disgraced), at a time when energy prices are up by over 20% in England, and where England and all of Europe is bracing for a powerless and therefore ruthless winter. A tad unwise, not befitting the fond memories of their departed Queen.
The late Queen was well-respected and regarded (!), but we’d be remiss if we did not remember that the late Monarch tidied over her husband’s Nazi connection, and did all she could to protect her family. Where should the buck stop with respect to all that happened under her rule?
The quick BROWN fox jumps over the lazy dog! Cross the pond, will you?
Mr Carlson might wish to seriously consider moving to England and becoming a subject of “His Majesty the King”. At least he’ll get his English straight; certainly the word civilisation! A quick watch of the next video tells you all.
The following three clips provide immense clarity and perspective. Good for my dear British friends too, for neither they nor their kids were taught British colonial history.
(I’m not on the partner program; I do not make any money on the time you spend on my articles, and so this isn’t my way to fill my till. Feel free to view these clips inside or outside Medium.)
Video 01: Clip from Mr Tucker Carlson’s show, 13th Spetember 2022:
Video 02: A 2017 recording with Dr Tharoor; watch through till 07:50
And video 03: An iconic talk at Oxford by Dr Shashi Tharoor. Seriously good education on the British rule in India; 15 minutes of brilliance, humour with. I’d say don’t miss this one.
“No wonder the Sun never set on the British empire, because even God couldn’t trust the English in the dark.” Dr Shashi Tharoor at Oxford.
Nuff said
People in positions of influence really need to get their facts right. News anchors, movie stars, basketball players, others; all.
I’ve had a lot of people try and lecture me about India without having set foot a thousand miles from my country’s shores. They haven’t even been bitten by a home-bred mosquito! I give them a patient hearing and thereby get a perspective on the level of their ignorance. Today I’m just calling some out is all.
The Queen is dead. Long live the King. God help that imperial Fox.
Love and respect.
Lion~
Sources: Passion, and also those stated and cited above.
