THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Of all empires, Britain’s was probably most benign 

Of all empires, Britain’s was probably most benign 

Re: “You can’t disguise the hellish crimes of colonialism” and “Even most Britons acknowledge British Empire was a criminal enterprise”, Have Your Say, April 26 and yesterday.

If Britain’s great imperial project was so terrible, then why did virtually all the former colonial lands voluntarily join the British Commonwealth after their independence, and remain members ever since? India was administered by around 1,000 officials in the Indian Civil Service, entry to which was tougher than for the civil service in the UK. There was brutality and exploitation during Britain’s colonial period, but that’s not the whole story. Especially during the final hundred years or so leading up to India’s independence, Civil Service officials administered vast areas of the country firmly, fairly and relatively free of corruption. The same standards applied throughout the other colonial territories. Local religious beliefs and cultures were respected.
The contrast with Chinese rule in Tibet could not be greater. In October 1950 tens of thousands of Chinese troops marched into Tibet and occupied the country, but according to Yingwai Suchaovanich this wasn’t an invasion. So what was it? Tibet may have been freed from “feudal serfdom” but that was replaced by another form of oppression. Prasan Stianrapapongs claims that Tibet has been part of China on and off for centuries, but the Chinese never asked the Tibetans if they were happy being part of China, and why did the Chinese destroy so much of Tibet’s Buddhist cultural heritage, and kill so many people? 
Empires have come and gone down through the ages, but a read through the pages of history seems to indicate that those folks who found themselves subjects of the British Empire probably got the best deal.
Robin Grant
Bangkok
 

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