{"id":3993,"date":"2015-07-23T07:55:54","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T02:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2015-07-23T08:00:42","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T02:30:42","slug":"no-tharoor-the-british-dont-owe-us-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2015\/politics\/no-tharoor-the-british-dont-owe-us-anything.html\/","title":{"rendered":"No Tharoor – The British Don’t Owe us Anything"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two months ago, the Oxford Union held a debate on whether or not the British owe reparations to its former colonies. Sashi Tharoor took part in it claiming that yes – the British have a moral responsibility for the years of colonization and subjugation. That video has gone viral<\/a> and is being shared\u00a0on social media by those demanding the return of the Kohinoor, and payments etc etc.<\/p>\n

I however, believe the British owe us nothing. It’s not because I deny the harms and evils of past colonization. I’m the first one to agree that the subjugation of people is a terrible thing. There can be no excuse for what the British government did back in the day – not just to India, but to numerous other countries as well. And not just the British. Many other European countries like Spain, France, Portugal and Italy among others were responsible.<\/p>\n

So that’s not the argument I’m making. I’m not claiming that colonization was a good thing. What I’m claiming however, is that it’s over<\/em> and we’re beyond the point of recriminations and debts. Why?<\/p>\n

Because everyone involved is dead!<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I’m a strong advocate of letting bygones be bygones. Especially when both the perpetrators and the victims are no longer in the land of the living. Children are not responsible\u00a0for the acts of their parents. They are born into the world free of debt, and neither will their debts be passed on. The days of pushing culpability for the actions of someone onto their descendants are long over. It goes against every principle of natural justice.<\/p>\n

In the same vein, it’s absurd to blame current Germany for the actions of their country during World War II. The people living today had nothing to do with what happened close to 80 years ago. It’s time to move on.<\/p>\n

Many people bring up the question of Modi’s involvement in the Gujarat riots and ask me “For how long will you talk about it”? My answer has always been the same – the court cases have to continue for as long as the perpetrators and victims are alive. The farther back an event occurred, the less we have to feel bad about it. Once everyone is dead, there’s\u00a0an end of the matter.<\/p>\n

But others may point out that a country continues even if the people who make it up are dead. I disagree with this. A country is nothing without its people. When the people change, it’s no longer the same country. What is a nation after all? A land with some borders governed by laws. A country by itself is a dead entity – or nonliving to be precise. A country cannot cry. It cannot feel. It can’t do good or evil. Only people<\/em> can do that. And when no person is alive who is\u00a0responsible for a crime, that entire issue is over and done with.<\/p>\n

So who is responsible for India’s past colonization woes? Are there no reparations to be made? Is there no justice? The answer is simple – justice has no meaning anymore. It’s as if what occurred was done by a natural force like an earthquake or a flood. Do we seek justice for a volcano? Do we seek reparations for a tsunami? In the same way, we can no longer seek payments, debts, or reparations for what was done by people who are dead, and where the direct victims no long number amongst the living.<\/p>\n

The past is past. We can study it for interest and learn from it. But it’s an academic matter of no real emotional value anymore. We don’t have any connection to our ancestors apart from some DNA. We didn’t know their personal lives, and they didn’t know us. So any connection we feel for them is entirely illogical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The past is over and done with. No one living today is responsible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-rights-and-freedoms"],"yoast_head":"\nNo Tharoor - The British Don't Owe us Anything<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The past is over and done with. 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