Disclaimer: This post was written after celebrating a gloomy Independence day and living through an year full of scams and a not so great economy
Ok let me start about clearing the first myth that we got our Independence because of that man called Gandhi. Seriously I have lost respect for him. We have seen live anti-corruption movements recently going phut because our Government ignored the fast taken by Anna Hazare and jailed Baba Ramdev. When our own Government does not give a tuppence about our country men, why would a Brit care less about someone like Gandhi fasting for independence.
So given the fact that those Independence movements were a sham, I have always been intrigued about how was our country doing under the British. So I would ask about this to my grandparents and even all the grand parents around. The answer that I would get is most of them admired the British way of governance. And the infrastructure built by the Brits helped our country a lot. Ok next I would ask, if they took part in any of the movements that I read in our History books. They would say that these movements were clustered in different parts of the country and never a countrywide movement. So Aam aadmi was still busy making a livelihood. Ok great!!
So let us look at the different theories on why exactly did we get Independence??
1. World War 2. We know that UK was completely devastated during the bombings carried out by Hitler's army. After the world war 2, roughly 30000 British soldiers were killed. They needed more manpower for rebuilding the nation, hence many Brits were called back from India and gradually an Indian Independence was planned. So, instead of Gandhi, we need to thank Hitler for our "so called independence"... Right!
2. Labour Party gets elected in UK: After the war, the Labour Party was elected in UK and they carried out sweeping welfare reforms in UK. It also aimed at improving UK's public relations worldwide out of which granting the "so called independence to India" was also one of the events....
3. India's economy at its worst: India's economy was doing so bad that, Britain had to rethink its investment in India. Hence they thought that this was the best time to pull out. On the lighter side, we had become so sad and poor and pessimistic and grumpy and complacent and frustrated that the Brits were scared if we were rubbing off all these on them. Wait a minute, these adjectives apply to us even today! gr8....
Well, so why do we think that our forefathers fought for our Independence???
1. The Brits, well the gentlemen they are, did not want to abruptly pull out of India and hence got together with the congressmen and staged an independence granting drama that was enacted so well and publicised worldwide.
2. On the Indian side, Congress/Gandhi was so eager to take the credit that it worked out so well. And all our history books were written by some Congress chamchas in NCERT like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib.
One another fact that intrigued me till now, is how so many Indians and Pakistanis got into UK so easily post-Independence. Here is the answer... Damn, if one of my grandpas had taken this opportunity....... Well wishful thinking :)))
Ok let me start about clearing the first myth that we got our Independence because of that man called Gandhi. Seriously I have lost respect for him. We have seen live anti-corruption movements recently going phut because our Government ignored the fast taken by Anna Hazare and jailed Baba Ramdev. When our own Government does not give a tuppence about our country men, why would a Brit care less about someone like Gandhi fasting for independence.
So given the fact that those Independence movements were a sham, I have always been intrigued about how was our country doing under the British. So I would ask about this to my grandparents and even all the grand parents around. The answer that I would get is most of them admired the British way of governance. And the infrastructure built by the Brits helped our country a lot. Ok next I would ask, if they took part in any of the movements that I read in our History books. They would say that these movements were clustered in different parts of the country and never a countrywide movement. So Aam aadmi was still busy making a livelihood. Ok great!!
So let us look at the different theories on why exactly did we get Independence??
1. World War 2. We know that UK was completely devastated during the bombings carried out by Hitler's army. After the world war 2, roughly 30000 British soldiers were killed. They needed more manpower for rebuilding the nation, hence many Brits were called back from India and gradually an Indian Independence was planned. So, instead of Gandhi, we need to thank Hitler for our "so called independence"... Right!
2. Labour Party gets elected in UK: After the war, the Labour Party was elected in UK and they carried out sweeping welfare reforms in UK. It also aimed at improving UK's public relations worldwide out of which granting the "so called independence to India" was also one of the events....
3. India's economy at its worst: India's economy was doing so bad that, Britain had to rethink its investment in India. Hence they thought that this was the best time to pull out. On the lighter side, we had become so sad and poor and pessimistic and grumpy and complacent and frustrated that the Brits were scared if we were rubbing off all these on them. Wait a minute, these adjectives apply to us even today! gr8....
Well, so why do we think that our forefathers fought for our Independence???
1. The Brits, well the gentlemen they are, did not want to abruptly pull out of India and hence got together with the congressmen and staged an independence granting drama that was enacted so well and publicised worldwide.
2. On the Indian side, Congress/Gandhi was so eager to take the credit that it worked out so well. And all our history books were written by some Congress chamchas in NCERT like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib.
One another fact that intrigued me till now, is how so many Indians and Pakistanis got into UK so easily post-Independence. Here is the answer... Damn, if one of my grandpas had taken this opportunity....... Well wishful thinking :)))
4 comments:
I don't agree with you. Hitler can never do good to anyone. He was no good to himself and finally committed suicide.
It takes lots of courage to become a Mahatma. We can wrong him now for we did not witness anything and it is easy for us to say so. It will not be a wonder if after 20 years people will mock at him...although it already seems to be started now ;-).
Are you saying that Nelson Mandela who dedicates his success to Gandhiji’s principle and won freedom is also a cheater? I don’t think dead Gandhi will need his propaganda. If NCERT courses were abided by congress chamchas, congress would have been all time winner in politics. Yes, I am not a fan of congress. I despise this party completely. But Gandhi was not congress. Gandhi was full of spirituality. You must have lots of guts to become a spiritual person. True to his convictions.
Yes, there are corrupt leaders in India, but it is we who can change it. As Abraham Lincoln quoted "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
I won't disagree with your points but after I learned the following things, I have lost respect for him:
1. Siding with the womanizing Nehru instead of Lal Bahadur Shastri who went one kingdom to another to call them to join hands under the Indian nationality and who deserved to be the the first prime minister of India
2. Giving his surname to that lady Indira.
3. Declaring India a secular country (who in this country is secular after all??? ) Day after day we kill each other in the name of religion!!!And our constitution calls us secular.
Hello Ramya,
Your theory undermines thoses people who sacrificed their life for independence. Just think of the prison call Kala Panni, it would send shivers
Secondly we are in this situation because of the British. You need to remember that the early travellers had very clearly discovered that if they had break India, they had to break the education system of India. India was very well organised before the British had Invaded.
Coming to Mahatma Gandhi, his prinicples of Non Violence, Satyagraha (this inspired Nelson Mandela and Martin King Luther), Weariing of self made clothes, Simplicity were all his forces that had hit the british empire. When Indians stopped using British Garments, it created a big chaos for the british economy.
This legend also had fought for Indians right in South Africa.
I agree with you that he sided with Nehru, but he needed a team. This could also be looked as a wrong doing, but you need to look at the overall achievement than just his weakness.
Not showing respect is one thing and belittling the person is another topic. I believe you are trying to belittling MG.
Hey Paul!
First and foremost thanks a lot for your thoughts on my humble blog :)
Your points are definitely valid and ya I find myself agreeing with you on Gandhi's willpower and contribution to our nation.
But the truth remains that he sided with Nehru, and his family has been the biggest obstacle for our nation so far. But as Indians we need to blame our complacency on our attitude towards our nation.
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