Treasures from the colonies
The writer is correct when he asks for genuine moral atonement by Great Britain for the crimes it committed during its imperial rule (Editorial page, July 13), but what those who think like him will have to contend with is the imperial indoctrination of the people in these countries, which has become imperial amnesia. The focus may be on the imperial loot now placed in western museums, but the tragedies inflicted on these countries was even worse. Who can forget Jallianwala Bagh in India or the Mau Mau massacre in the 1950s? There was also the brutal British air bombing campaign in Iraq in the 1920s. It is worth noting that many of these acts were perpetrated when Sir. Winston Churchill was either the colonial secretary or the Prime Minister. Yet, even today he is universally celebrated in the West as somebody who stood up to Hilter and fascism. Therefore, a genuine apology from the British is as likely to happen as the sun rising in the west. The only way to effect a return of the imperial loot would be to deny market access to British companies, which might have undesirable economic consequences.
G. Parameswaran,
