As Bhārat (India) looked back on 2023, there were 2 pivotal events that stood out; the first was the inauguration of the new Parliament building complex and the second one was the successful landing of Chandrayāna, Bhārat’s indigenous rover on the moon. However, the hostility towards these events by the Western media was unwarranted.
After 75 years of its independence, Bhārat looks forward to letting go of its colonial past from the most gross to the subtlest levels. The subtlest being the repealing of as many as 1,500 laws from the British era which had undertones of slavery (Debroy, 2023). From changing names of prominent roads in the capital New Delih to the Navy Ensign, Bhārat and the Modi administration is coming of age in the post-independence era (New India: Shedding the Vestiges of Colonial Past, 2022).
Nothing illustrates this change more emphatically than the new Saṃsada Bhavana (Parliament Building) inaugurated in May 2023.
However, the Western media, both print and online, including the British media continue to spew unwarranted hatred and hostility towards this new change. From all the major print/online newspapers such as The Telegraph (Singh, 2023), The Guardian (Petersen, 2023) (Moore, 2023), the Times (Dhillon, 2023), the BBC (BBC, 2023) to major news channels, the BBC in particular, missed no opportunity to highlight the sensationalist aspect of the event rather than what it means to a country of 1.4 billion people. A country where the general election voting must be carried out for weeks to allow the people in the voting age to exercise their democratic right.
Why this unprovoked hostility towards a country with which you trade in nearly £40 billion? How does an average British person, who has accepted the national dish as curry, whose NHS GP/Consultants/Nursing staff is predominantly Indian, react to such reports (Baker, 2023)?
More importantly, Bhārat’s growth rate is almost double that of the UK, and its people either as immigrants or citizens are one of the most respected, integrated subpopulations of the UK.
Self-reliance through economic progress has been the backbone of British capitalism and a country that is finally a living example and our valuable partner in global affairs. Why ignite such flames of hatred when there is none from an average British or a Bhāratiya/Indian person?
It took nearly seven and half decades of struggle and overall metamorphosis for Bhārat to achieve this feat. Or should Bhārat stick up the $45 trillion to the UK as a response to this hostility directed towards a symbol of its independence and authority (Sreevatsan, 2018)? Food for thought.
Citations
- Baker, C. (2023, November 22). NHS staff from overseas: statistics. Retrieved from https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7783/
- BBC. (2023, May 28). https://www.bbc.co.uk/. Retrieved from New Parliament: PM Modi inaugurates building amid opposition boycott: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-65718127
- Debroy, B. A. (2023). Old is Not Always Gold – A Case Study on Repealing Statutes. Government of India, Niti Aayog, New Delhi.
- Dhillon, A. (2023, May 29). Narendra Modi opens his £2bn ‘wedding cake’: the Indian parliament. Retrieved from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/narendra-modi-opens-his-2bn-wedding-cake-the-indian-parliament-787f7dh8r
- Moore, R. (2023, May 26). This article is more than 8 months old A fresh era for India or a ham-fisted ego trip? Welcome to Modi’s new seat of power. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/26a-fresh-era-for-india-or-a-ham-fisted-ego-trip-welcome-to-modis-new-seat-of-power
- New India: Shedding the Vestiges of Colonial Past. (2022, December 01). Retrieved from Press Information Bureau, Government of India: https://pib.gov.in/FeaturesDeatils.aspx?NoteId=151220
- Petersen, H. E. (2023, May 28). India’s vast new parliament opened by Narendra Modi amid opposition boycott. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/28/indias-vast-new-parliament-opened-by-narendra-modi-amid-opposition-boycott
- Singh, N. (2023, May 28). Modi inaugurates new Indian parliament in a break from colonial past amid opposition boycott. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india: https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/new-parliament-india-inauguration-narendra-modi-b2347241.html
- Sreevatsan, A. (2018, November 21). British Raj siphoned out $45 trillion from India: Utsa Patnaik. Retrieved from https://www.livemint.com/: https://www.livemint.com/Companies/HNZA71LNVNNVXQ1eaIKu6M/British-Raj-siphoned-out-45-trillion-from-India-Utsa-Patna.html
