UK Violence & India: Everything Comes Full Circle!

 On 31st July night in London, hundreds of demonstrators yelled "We want our country back" as they threw beer cans and bottles and let off flares near a statue of Winston Churchill, the leader of the war. According to London's Metropolitan Police, over 100 persons were taken into custody for crimes such as violent conduct and assaulting emergency personnel.

The violence and protest in the UK serve as a reminder of our past. Now, they are going to pay for what they did to us. This is how "karma comes full circle." We were split apart by them based on religion and caste. During their rule, our nation experienced extreme rioting and violence.

The UK is currently dealing with the same violence and hatred. The phrases "We want our country" and "Save our Children" are being shouted by the British people. What actions did our people take during the British rule? Everywhere one might see the slogans "Simon go back," "Vande Mataram," and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai," Indians were struggling for their freedom. We "Wanted our country back" and shared the same sentiment.

However, we received cruelty and injustice in return from the British. Jallianwala Bagh will always be in our memory.
On April13,1919, in Amritsar, India, peaceful protestors disobeyed a government order and staged a demonstration against British colonial rule. As they attempted to enter the walled Jallianwala Gardens, Gurkha soldiers opened fire on them.

 

Brigadier Reginald Dyer gave the orders for the soldiers to fire incessantly until they ran out of ammunition, killing between 379 and 1,000 protestors and wounding another 1,100 in ten minutes.
The British public later hailed Brigadier Dyer as a hero, and they raised £26,000 as a token of appreciation for him.

Over the course of one lunch, Cyril Radcliffe was given the duty of sketching the border between India and the newly formed state of Pakistan in 1947.

Following the religious uprooting of over 10 million people by Cyril Radcliffe, who divided the subcontinent, Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan were forced to flee their homes as the situation swiftly spiraled out of control.

According to some estimations, sectarian murders claimed the lives of up to a million people.

While India was ruled by the British Empire, between 12 to 29 million people perished from starvation as a result of the millions of tons of wheat that were shipped to Britain during the worst of the famine that struck the country. Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee called it the "Bengal Famine an Unpunished Genocide".

When a severe famine spread over Bengal in 1943, Winston Churchill diverted food to British forces and other nations, including Greece, meaning that up to four million Bengalis would starve to death.
In 1943, during the Bengal famine, Churchill declared, “I detest Indians. They follow a monstrous faith and are a nasty people. They were the ones who caused the famine by reproducing like rabbits”.

The British were now staging protests in front of the statue of Winston Churchill, the man who caused India's greatest famine. The British used to boast that "the sun never sets on our rule," and they were very proud of their authority. The same UK is dealing with acts of violence and hatred. The nation that was once a threat to others is currently in danger. The country that demolished our nation's harmony and tranquillity is now seeking peace within its borders. This is a timely reminder that "you reap what you sow."
My sympathies are with them and I vehemently oppose violence. I confidently declare that I "come from such a country where we pray for everybody's growth and well-being".

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु ।
मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत् ॥

Jai Hind!

-- Harsh Pargat

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