Here is why Shashi Tharoor is wrong about British owing us anything

Statistics and history can always be twisted, what matters is the present. So to ask Britain to atone for their past mistake is not going to make things right.

About racial, and ethnic and religious tensions being a by-product of British colonialism. The caste system was more than prevalent in India well before British set foot.

Now about the infrastructure. Whether or not it was for the British’s own interest, it is serving the purpose of ferrying millions of Indians daily. They switched to superfast trains. If our fertilizer subsidy to the farmers is more than the British reparations to us, why is it that the condition of the farmers is worse than ever before?

India may have had 23% share in the world economy, but that was at a time the world was hardly industrialized. And by the time British left, other countries had come of age. So instead of talking about India’s economy, let us talk about countries who were mauled during the World War II and yet rebuilt and became an economic powerhouse. Japan and Germany. What did India do?

Seeking Britain’s apology will amount to nothing. Reparations will amount to nothing. What the country needs is that all the wrongs committed by its own countrymen shouldn’t be repeated.