"India was Britain's biggest cash cow. We literally paid for our oppression."
In a rousing speech at the Oxford Union Society, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor spoke about why Britain owed reparations to its former colonies.
In his speech at the famed debating society, Tharoor spoke for the motion "This house believes Britain owes reparations to her former colonies".
"India was governed for the benefit of the Britain," Tharoor asserted. He made his case for restitution using several India-specific examples. Tharoor talked about the effect colonialism had on the economy citing the example of how India's share of the world economy dropped from 23% to 4% as a result of British occupation. He also spoke about how Britain's industrialiation was anchored on the de-industrialisation of India.
Tharoor argued that a lot of the racial, ethnic and religious problems in the former colonies were a direct result of the British Empire's colonisation. Hence, he said that the debt is not just monetary but moral.
Tharoor also stressed on the need for atonement as a matter of principle.
In a speech, laced with humour but heavy on historical facts and figures, Tharoor articulates his arguments cogently.
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