The Gift to India

Even though most of us (Indians) celebrate the departure of the British from the Indian soil as Independence Day, I regret about it for one reason. History narrates that the British had sent their people to report on the countries that are suitable for doing business when they wanted to do trading. One such reporter who had visited and analyzed India had reported that India was so prosperous that he could not find a single beggar in the country. Only then the British came into India as traders and later ruled it. I was not even born when India got her freedom from British so rationalizing on why British started to enslave India would not be fair. I imagine that British would not have wanted to ruin the land but wanted to make use of it to their benefit. When India would have protested for it, then the British would have tried to enslave them. Whatever may be the happenings, amidst all the cruelty that the British did to India, they did leave some good things.

One is the monuments like Victoria Terminus (now renames as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) in Mumbai, Fort St. George in Chennai, Fort William in Kolkata, Bombay Castle in Mumbai, Madras Presidency College in Chennai, a lot of forts like Riwa Fort, Worli Fort, Mazagaon Fort, Sion Hillock Fort in Mumbai, Fort St.David in Cuddalore. Some of these monuments still stand so strongly that one can hardly find a crack in it. It had become a prestigious property of India even though it was the work of the British hands. The other would be the advancement in transportation brought to India like the railways, motor vehicles and many other transportation utilities. Not to be forgotten about the education system in India like constructing the University of Bombay, University of Madras, University of Punjab and University of Calcutta. The British also established the Archaeological Survey of India. They even did apply their expertise in irrigation, creation of paper currencies, creation of Indian Police Service, creation of the Department of Agriculture, extensions of railways, roads, canals, and the list seems to be endless.

Of all that the British had left, what I consider the best is the English language. Brother, it is because of this language India was able to make advancement in many fields like medicine, education, aeronautics, bio-engineering, architecture, textiles and still going on. Had they not left this wonderful gift to us, we would still be like those in the 18th century, even in the year 2200. We would have never learned so many wonderful things of the world but for the English language. We would have never known so many diseases and arrived at cures for those but for the English language. We would have never known anything about computer or programming or anything that is related to electronics if the British had not left English language in our country. You would not be reading my blog but for this language. Of all the British left, English language is the wonderful gift that India should never stop thanking the British.

Please don’t tell me that we would have made advancement thru our mother tongue. People, to achieve that we have achieved today was done years ago in the English and the America. If we had waited to make advancement in our mother tongue, it would have taken another century to achieve the same achievements. One might argue that it is because of the English language, the advancement could not be made in the mother tongue. Let me tell you something – if we had not known the English language which had become the universal language, then how would have we known the advancements made by the other countries. English would have been and has been the only bridge between us and the outside world. I am in no way against my mother tongue but what my mother tongue could not achieve is achieved thru the foreign language.

When we celebrate the Independence Day on August 15 this year as our freedom from the British, let us also thank them in the corner of our hearts for the magnificent gift that they have left to us. Let the lips that said “Vande Mataram” say for once “God Save the Queen”.