Motley Moose – Archive

By: inoljt, http://mypolitikal.com/

British news is quite influential in the United States, especially with respect to international affairs. British news about international affairs also quite naturally sometimes deals with India, which is a very important country internationally.

Something quite peculiar sometimes happens when the British press deals with India, however.

More below.

One occasionally comes across a news article hinting about British benevolence during the colonial era. Often this may take the form of a local Indian purportedly speaking to the reporter about how he or she missed life under the British Raj.

Strangely, this doesn’t seem to happen much with that other great former British colony (the United States). British media is far more familiar with American culture than with Indian culture. Yet nobody in the British media ever mentions Americans missing life as a colony. British rule in India being much harsher than British rule in the thirteen colonies, one would think that Americans everywhere would be talking about how good life was before independence. But, strangely enough, this never happens. Indeed, in my time in the United States, I’ve never met an American who thought things were better under British colonialism.

Nor have I ever met a real-life Indian who thought things were better under the British. Of course, one rarely talks about these topics with Americans and Indians. But it does show the ridiculousness of the concept of benevolent colonialism.