Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I don't like the word 'Commonwealth'. It constantly reminds me of the devastating British rule in India

The media in India might have gone crazy about the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi, but I don't like this very word 'Commonwealth'. To me, it's a reminder of the atrocities committed by the British on innocent, powerless Indians. The very group Commonwealth of Nations is a constant reminder of the British Empire, and the sufferings given to millions and millions of people all over the world. My mind doesn't want to adopt this word. I'm least willing to read news stories about the Queen's Baton reaching somewhere, or articles telling me that Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth.

Fifty-four countries still headed by the British Queen (even if ceremonially)?

Thanks, but no thanks. Give me a Head of the Commonwealth from Bangladesh or Botswana or Cameroon or Ghana or India or Nigeria or Pakistan please (or from any other Third World country).

A related Facebook post by me is here [alternative].

A representative of British atrocities in India (source)

3 comments:

  1. Your feelings are true to quite an extent but I sometimes wonder whether its not time to forget those times and move on. Is it not prudent that in the age of Globalisation, Open economy we shed our self-conceived notions?

    ReplyDelete
  2. @RG

    True, but it's tough (for me) to shed these feelings and move on. Not sure which nation you belong to, but being an Indian it's difficult for me to ignore the utterly undeserved crimes my ancestors and my countrymen suffered at the merciless hands of the English. Seen the movie 'The Legend of Bhagat Singh'? It shows how brave and defiant Indians were cruelly tortured in English jails. The British still haven't returned a prestigious diamond that belongs to India and which they stole from here
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh-i-Noor).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Update (3-Oct-10): My blood boiled today when that corrupt Suresh Kalmadi addressed Prince Charles as "Royal Highness". Go Kalmadi, lick his feet, clean his shoes you coward!

    Why do we Indians, despite having won our independence, keep making ourselves feel small and worthless, as if we're still ruled by the British tyrants, by continuing to address the utterly heartless British using words such as the ones Kalmadi uttered out of his damn mouth?

    ReplyDelete