The Ability to Say Sorry

Speech by Dr. Shashi Tharoor at the Oxford.

Most humorously, Shashi Tharoor puts across the facts about

the oppression faced by the Indians at the hands of the British.
As he rightly points out that “the industrialization of Great
Britain was premised upon the deindustrialization of India”,
you can’t help but ponder upon the sufferings inflicted upon
Indians in the mere name of trade which at the end of the day
was draining the country dry.
One of the most striking features of this video was his
command of the English language, he spoke with great
eloquence, using his deep knowledge of the subject and his
years of experience in diplomacy to make a convincing case
for reparations.
India after independence was in shambles, building a nation
back up, which is still in the process took a lot of sacrifices on
the part of the citizens. The mere fact that an Indian stands on
a platform that is globally recognized and talks freely about
the oppression and tyranny faced by the Indians is a
revolution in itself.
As an Indian, it pains you to hear these facts and to know the
woes our country has been through to build the ground that
we stand on. When Shashi Tharoor talks about the fact that
Indians, even during the great Bengal famine managed to pay
over 8 billion pounds in today’s money, you can’t help but
feel enraged at the inhumanity of the colonizers inflicted upon
the Indians.
He also points out that not only persistence but in some cases,
the creation of racial, religious, and ethnic tensions were the
direct result of the colonial experience and hence, they do
have a moral debt to pay to these colonies. The simple act of
acknowledging the pains and sufferings, the people have been
through could be a way to dress the wounds.
We as a nation have come a long way, it is also true that the
current generation is not to be held accountable for what has
been done years ago. But, they are in a position to impact
people at large, and not recognizing the anguish of the people
aggravates the anger shared by the colonized.
In conclusion, Tharoor called on the British government to
apologize for the injustices in the past and to provide
reparations to the countries that were affected by colonialism.
He argued that this would be a “moral and practical” step
towards healing the wounds of the past and building a more
just and equitable world. His speech received a standing
ovation and went viral on the internet, sparking a debate on
the legacy of colonialism and the ongoing effects of
imperialism.