We”'ve done this all over the world and some don”t seem worthy of such gifts. We brought roads and infrastructure to India and they are still using them as toilets. Our criminals built nice roads in Australia but aboriginals keep using them as a bed. The next time someone bitches about colonization, the correct response is “You”re welcome.”
While New York Times Gave a megaphone to this narrative for people who don’t have the understanding of the History of India, essentially putting an Indian on the streets of the USA at risk. As an Indian, I would like to de-mystify those ignorant claims by some imposter who has no clue who he is posturing to be.
I tried contacting the New York Times editorial on the article which had this quote without pointing out that it’s a wrong statement owing to the historical facts that India was a rich economy with overall prosperity owing to 23% of the world’s GDP before British came in the 1700s and recent claims by prominent Columbia economists that — British Colonization siphoned off close to $45 Trillion during their 173 years in India.
Another fact before British came in - India was one country demarcated by the natural barriers as Indus river (where the name India comes from) to the west, the Himalayas to the North, the Indian Ocean to the south and Brahmaputra Range to the east.
When they left they got it divided into three countries with man-made walls, wires, and barriers.
New York Times did report some facts but not all the facts which created an alternate truth, which is not a responsible thing to do.
My belief system —
I’m a firm believer in Karma which both Jesus Christ and Krishna preached about, in their own time and space. The karma theory got validated recently when after fretting about Google, Facebook, and Twitter ripping India apart for years, the miracle of 2016 happened in the USA.
And based on that theory I think it would be better to refrain in claiming any part in the misery spread by certain criminals standing at the wrong side of the world history.
Before they came to India in 1700 CE we were one of the richest countries in the world with 23% of the global GDP, where poverty was unknown and when they left in 1947 India was one of the poorest, so I have no idea what are you talking about.
Indians never asked “them” to build roads on the lands they don’t understand. They were illegals and they forced those roads on us. Also, Indians don’t shit on the roads, they like to shit on their fields. Shitting in close boxes vs the opens is connected to local climate and its harshness and a very spiritual debate and needs deep understanding, like wiping vs washing – Another cultural demystification article on it soon.
Meanwhile - Try using your scientific skills to find why European Pre-Digest their milk for cheese and Why Easterners can drink milk directly - Hint- Hump, feed and the intestine.
*Above - Sahiwal breed of the indigenous cow whose milk can be consumed directly and no need to predigest with rennet (as the calf’s intestine will do) and make cheese before consumption. Look for A1 vs A2 Milk.
Why Indians can eat the produce of the land directly while the west needs a host animal to convert Sun's energy from the grass or the commodity crop to something digestible - Hint - Monsoon and the Ganges. Read about how the food habits are totally messed up by food processing industry which is unique to some lands and not needed in India - Food Processing Industry in America and the Lessons for India
When you said Hamburgers, investigate why people eat leavened bread and meat this way - Hint - Glutton content.
I heard you initiate new frat boys with breakfast cereal, hope you don't push corn syrup next, there is enough cancer in the USA already from commodity crops, processed in factories which comes in fancy boxes or frozen wraps. Try finding out why the yogurt here has so much TAR in it - Hint machines and mastitis.
I see western cultures as tenacious, strong and very brave people who can do amazing things with limited resources. The people who shape harsh lands and rivers to make way for mankind with steel and sheer grit. But that never holds any kind of supremacy over the culture where there is no need to do a lot many things including reshaping nature, the way people from across the Indus or West have to do. Or give any kind of divine rights to enslave those who don't want to build mass killing swords, having seen enough of that.
By the way you mentioned creeks, open lands, sitting on tree etc i.e. Freedom and nature. Gandhi was the best Scholar on the subject of Freedom and its definition. Read his views on “your shit” and freedom, it might change you, Gandhi normally does change people.
Also, by the way of your philosophy and rule of the strongest- he was the victor in 1947 so his words do matter. Maybe if you pay more attention to your shit, it will tell you to eat fewer hamburgers lowering your healthcare bills.
Coming back to the roads- Those lands had water systems with battery of ponds, lakes and channels built over thousands of years with way advance science, statistics and understanding of the land and natural water flow, which “they” blocked with these “Roads” which they needed to push “Their” products and tanks to and from the “Ports” pushing our farmers and country into the mess we are still dealing with.
*Above - Better guns meant supremacy then, but now everyone has got one. - Source - Granger [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
You call “them”=“you” is “your thing” but I don’t understand why a Canadian living in New York City born in England 33 Years after “they” were pushed out of India is claiming their vices all yours. You are “McInnes” a Scottish for Christ’s sake, who is also a wannabe British Criminal now? I gather you are a Christian; do you think of lord with accepting you into his kingdom with all the vises of those “nabobs” you just claimed to be fully “Yours”. Even if you are Robert Clive’s incarnation, I find it tough putting the blame on you just by the way you look, simply because of the spirituality and philosophy of the East of Indus i.e India. Do you have something good to give back to the country which is giving you shelter now, maybe from sweet home Scottland?
Always remember we are all pilgrims to this land, serving her to flourish humanity in the service of the lord. Any exercise to push just some weird form of supremacy argument by a Scottish dude to take over the accumulated world's assets from the last century is like a land grab purported by a few with un-quantified contributions over the land built over African Steel and muscle, in Chinese Factories running cheap Oil and Raw materials from all over the world and countries whose names and passport stamps are forbidden, controlled by Indian software, brokered by Europeans, and of course over the sacrifices of Bangladeshis or Maldivians who might go under the ocean within the next few decades.
Another thing you better note that now there is figure put out by prominent economists amounting to $45 Trillion looted from India by "Them". If I would you, better stay away from any such claims on the wrong side of the history.
My Response – India the subcontinent has seen so much war, debauchery and fights for supremacy of clans way before CE started that lord himself had to come to the lands to teach people when to fight, why to fight, how to behave.
When Lord Rama the highest of the Aryans from the Sat-Yuga (Epoch of Truth) taught us through his life on the earth about family values, duty of the rulers, his sense of detachment not just from the materialism but power and supremacy and always fight for the highest causes of the humanity and that too after much deliberations, talks and giving adversary enough chances to repent.
He taught Indians about the true meaning of War as only the last resort when everything fails then only an Aryan raises his weapon. When we deal with nature, rivers, flora, and fauna with love we always remember Rama and Krishna how they believed in co-existence of meek and bold, and always fought the demons with the vengeance worthy of the lord but tended to fallen birds. He crossed the mountains and oceans to defeat the demon while caring enough to stop at humble folk huts to share a morsel with them with love and respect.
When the emperor of Awadh gave his throne without an ounce of bloodshed all he said was - dude you were my friend, you could have just asked for it than riding with your Army and humiliate me, Guess what, he didn’t build an army but a culture. Read about him someday and visit Lucknow and have some Galauti Kababs, while listening to the music he made while sitting in one of his castles.
he was a product of such debauchery, supremacy, and segregation in the society of an era where some ordinary became too proud that they wanted to deny the rest basic rights. The same debaucheries MLK saw and rose after more than 2000 years on this land.
In the Mahabharata around 2500 BCE after taking in all the troubles of being on the right side of “Dharma” or Good behavior, Pandavas were faced with Kaurava’s hell-bent on waging the war and usurp all they had, only because they had a bigger army and were too proud of their supremacy.
When In the battlefield of Kurukshetra the biggest Pandav warrior of the age Arjuna was ready to relinquish his arms to stop the war and give Kaurvas what was rightfully his to save innocent lives, Lord Krishna had to come in his divine form, like Jesus did for Peter and give the world Geeta the book of supreme moral code we Indians abide by.
*Above - Sounds like the Jesus Christ only 2500 years early and at a different part of Asia.
World War 2 wouldn’t have happened, only if Hitler has read the first page of Geeta where the highest Aryan of “Dwapara Epoch” Sri Krishna around 2500 BCE said: being Aryan to not by birth or Race but tied to noble behavior, failing which lead you to degradation unworthy of the heaven.
कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् |अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन
kutastvā kaśhmalamidaṁ viṣhame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣhṭamaswargyam akīrti-karam Arjuna
In such a strait, whence comes upon thee, O Arjuna, this dejection, un-Aryan-like, disgraceful, and contrary to the attainment of heaven?
So trust me when “they” came Indians couldn’t understand why “Their Criminals” were behaving as they did. What’s the point of the aggression when not protecting their motherland? Our people were waiting for a proper protocol of war to be followed than just attacked from all around and tricked with means considered way low of our behavior.
We never had this creative idea of alcoholic soldiers and delinquents to charge in the war and prove their marshal race. We could never have thought that not the love of their land, but stock markets and profits can fund an army.
All this was the legacy of “them” for India and guess what, India today is forced to raise one of the largest professional armies in the world and secure ICBMs and Nuclear warhead just in the remembrance of “them” who came to our lands to buy some of our products and acted nobly to our liking, but built roads where they had no idea or permission off. They were the real illegals.
We Indians when we see a British or a European never see them as some adversaries from the past colonized world but people who we can work together looking forward to building a better world. But we do remember Robert Clive who came to our lands illegally and literally messed our lawns.
We do sparsely know of Hitler ignorant enough to have messed with our Swastika and our definition of Aryan for his own debauched reasons and making it tough for us to use them when we cross the Indus.
Don’t put your face on these few hazy figures of the history claiming their deeds as yours- the reasons why Indians need to take budget off city sanitation, health and education to quickly build the next aircraft carrier.
Trust me, we just want the freedom to shit in the open and fertile lands of ours and see the dung Beatles rolling them over, overlooking the creeks of our rivers and the red rising sun, only if some “Proud” boy isn’t trying to roll in tanks on some road across the border, forcing us to build the roads to rush our tanks out, not to claim supremacy of “our” people on someone else produce of the land and the people, but just protect our lands.
While you try to push “your” name with “them” for some political reason of yours, always remember Gandhi and the Sons of the Sindhu, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Narmada, and Kaveri who rose with him for the higher cause of the humanity.