Colonisation (1757 to 1947): The Indian Retrospect of 200 years of Exploitation!

Colonisation (1757 to 1947): The Indian Retrospect of 200 years of Exploitation! 

I was born in the 1980s, 37 years after the Britishers were made to leave India - NOT 'left' because they didn't, they were forced to. My parents, however, were born in the chaotic aftermath of the 1950s, and some of my uncles and aunts were born as the war of independence was being fought. My grandparents, great-grandparents, and most of their siblings were born, lived, and died in colonized India. I had the privilege of spending some time with some of my parents' uncles and aunts who were still alive when I was young, and the stories they held in their hearts, the pain, the challenging times they saw - the horror of it all is something everyone should know because they were not the only ones.

India has a complex history of colonisation and slavery, and its academic writing. which has led to misinformed educational practices in India and other parts of the world. The intention of this series is to assist educators in teaching the truth and facts to kids around the world and for individuals to be well-informed. A decade of working around the world and traveling extensively has allowed me to engage in some delicate and difficult conversations with people globally. This has led me to understand that many, many people do not fully grasp the horrors of crimes of slavery and colonization; hence, they are not sensitized to understand the effects of using colonial language, of racism, of cultural appropriation, and other issues. 

Many papers like this one has been written on such topics, and I feel that shortening it to bite-sized, digestible parts might help understand it better. 

To give a very simple example, calling all Indian food CURRY is not acceptable - it is the coloniser's language. They called all food curry because they did not want to put the effort into learning the right pronunciation - "it was too hard" for them. If you like the food, learn the terms like Indians do not call Pizza as Paratha with toppings or apple crumble as sheera, learn to call Indian dishes by their names. 

There is no hate here; I have curious friends from different countries, races, cultures, and religions. Many of them do not/did not know how important this is, and so now they learn slowly. You might not remember everything at once or at all, but it is the effort that counts. Dehumanising races is what leads to events like colonization and slavery being normalised. By saying the correct words, right names, and learning pronunciations, you are helping to humanise other races, religions, and cultures once again. 

Let us start from the beginning, Vasco-De-Gama DID NOT DISCOVER India, he ARRIVED in India in 1498 - a discovery would indicate that India was not inhabited before then, but it was, and he just arrived at the port of Kozhikode, which was later renamed Calicut because the colonisers couldn't pronounce it. What is known as "The European Age of Discovery, a period of intense exploration and expansion," was actually the beginning of "The European Age of Exploitation, a period of intense theft, loot, and squatting." He first established a route to Africa, which opened "trade" for the Portuguese - meaning, it opened a new treasure to steal from, and then an Omani sailor led him to the Malabar coast of India. 

What I dislike, really hate, is that he is known as a "Portuguese Explorer and nobleman". He ARRIVED in Kozhikode to "trade," but he bombarded the same port in 1502 in order to gain control of the Indian Ocean and the spice trade. He locked 380 people on a ship and set it on fire - they burned alive in the vessel. What a noble man! He "helped" the Portuguese establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia and Africa. 

Even today, in most history books around the world, such events are written as being "exploratory", "helping", "noble", and that is the language of glorifying colonisation. The people of color will never be truly free, never will the colonised be released from the chains of these words until a conscious effort is made by all to make right with people who were wronged.

I wish that the history books said what exactly it was and did not glorify colonisation by using such terminology. 

India was invaded by a foreigner called Vasco-De-Gama, who invaded and bombarded the port of Kozhikode to gain control of the spice trade. He took many lives to gain popularity as a feared pirate in the Indian Ocean. His crimes included cruelly burning people alive, unnecessary battles on the coast of Malabar, and exploiting Indian farmers for rice and spices to be taken and sold in Europe later. He marked the beginning of the era of doom in Asia and Africa as he opened the route to slavery and colonisation for the rest of Europe! If he had not found the route to arrive in these continents, India and other Asian and African countries might be world powers armed with a huge supply of natural resources, an educated population, and highly developed infrastructure. Absence of colonisation might have resulted in the downfall of Europe and Britain.