Victory of India

 In the article ‘’But what about the railways..?’ The myth of Britain’s gifts to India’’ by Shashi Tharoor, The Guardian, 2017, according to Tharoor, despite Britain bringing democracy to India, it was torture for the Indian people. They classified Indians and they put the Indians out of administration. Tharoor also argues that Britain tortured India to get its way and the rule of law was not impartial. British deemed as higher than Indians. On the other hand, in the article ‘’ The remarkable Raj: Why Britain should be proud of its rule in India’’ by Adrian Lee, 2013, Lee claims that Britain laid the foundation of modern India and they brought democracy to India. In addition, Lee mentions that Britain provided the development of corporations, big cities, museums, and universities in India. In comparison to the articles, despite the claims of Britain provided benefits to India like Adrian Lee, I support the claims of Shashi Tharoor. Britain brought innovations to India such as English or railways, but innovations were an instrument of colonialism and torture.

 The most important reason for Britain’s torture under the name of colonialism is the language because language is the most decisive feature and identity of a country and Britain tried to destroy India’s identity. Although Indians had a local language and their own identity, Britain taught English to get better service from Indians and they tried to instill their own culture in India. Like Shashi Tharoor suggests, India conquered English and used the language for their liberation. Learning a language and using it better than even natives is an achievement of Indians because India shot Britain with their guns and they could rise. Also, trying to change the local language of a country is disrespectful and torture for the nation because language should be protected and should be transmitted from generation to generation by notions to keep alive the pains of ancestors and nationality. For example, Atatürk who is the founder of the Turkish republic, purified the Turkish language from other languages to protect nationalism. All the nations in the world should protect their originality with their language because language is much more means for a country and a notion than speaking. It means nationality, history, and pains of ancestors in the past. Besides despite Britain trying to destroy India’s essence by teaching English, Indian people protected their essence, and their history with their language and they used English to communicate with the other people that could help. That was the Indian people’s achievement and it shows that originality and identity are important for Indians. Language has a big role in the sustainability of a country’s unity and being. The other evidence of this argument is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the Turkish Language Society in 1932 (dilbilgisi.net) to work on the Turkish language. Indians also knew that their language reflects their society and culture which is why they did not give up and they revolted against Britain’s works on destroying the local culture.

 Another important reason why Britain's colonialism is torture for India is the railways. India was successful in building railways and although Britain made money from railways, the achievement of India scared Britain. In the article ‘’But what about the railways..?’ The myth of Britain’s gifts to India’’ by Shashi Tharoor, The Guardian, 2017, Tharoor mentions that India designed their locomotives and India was more talented than Britain. That is why Britain blocked India’s production. Being better than Britain was also India’s ability and talent. According to Shashi Tharoor in the article ‘’But what about the railways?’ The myth of Britain’s gifts to India’’, because of Britain's impediment on railways, even after independence, India could not take an opportunity to produce railways like they did before and they both lost their identity and they were impoverished. Despite they were impoverished because of Britain's colonialism, they turned Britain’s policy over and they are still using railways to carry passengers and they are still making money on railways. In addition, India protected their economy and trade. In the 21st century even though India is deemed the 47th poorest country in the world according to ntv.com.tr ( 08.11.2016), they have the potential of having the third big economy in the world. For example, the Indian economy surpassed China in the last quarter of 2014, making it the fastest-growing largest economy in the world. (Vikipedi, Özgür Ansiklopedi) It shows that India is an ambitious country and even though they lived under Britain colonialism, after independence, they worked a lot and besides their impoverishment, they could improve themselves. Furthermore, India is good at textiles and they are famous for their fabrics. For instance, India's cotton farms, fibers, and textile industry employ 45 million people in India (Vikipedi, Özgür Ansiklopedi). Even though they got harmed by colonialism, they used their talents in trade and making money. If they were not impoverished, they would be more important in world trading because of their talent, but colonialism became an obstacle to their property. 

To sum up, under the name of colonialism, Britain brought democracy to India however, India lost their identity because of Britain's colonialism. Britain thought English and they tried to integrate their own culture into India. Despite the all works of Britain India destroyed their nationalism; India did not give up and they managed to keep alive their nationalism and they got their independency through all of Britain’s tortures. That is not Britain’s contribution to India, this is the victory of India.

Resources,

https://www.dilbilgisi.net/ataturk-turk-dili/

https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindistan_ekonomisi#Tekstil

https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindistan_Dağ_Demiryolları

https://www.ntv.com.tr/galeri/dunya/dunyanin-en-fakir-50-ulkesi,R4iPW0ui6EKFzosZCx4oWw/O_bSb-w0bEqsxqo4OZFOow