Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire
The atrocities committed by British imperialism in India are narrated through riveting stories by Caroline Elkins, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Robert Clive through bribery established the British Empire in India by winning the battle of Plassey in June 1757. Despite evidence on the brutalities and corrupt practices, Warren Hastings was exonerated by the British Parliament. Even the butcher of Jallianwala Bagh, Gen. Dyer, became a hero of the British Empire. Two hundred years of British Raj’s oppressive and dehumanising policy killed 35 millions in India.
UK’s former Prime Minister, Winston Churchill diverted ample food stocks from the famine-hit Bengal to Europe resulting in cruel deaths of four millions; he had the audacity to blame Indians for ‘breeding like rabbits.’ All these and much more are covered by Elkins’s book in greater detail.
Repressive, not benevolent
Far from being benevolent as claimed by some historians, it was downright repressive as argued by Elkins.
We were taught how British Raj endowed India with gifts of democracy, rule of law, human rights, scientific temper… These benefits from the British were displayed larger than the harm inflicted on us. It is time; our historians rewrite our history based on facts.
Elkins has covered all the countries that were under the British rule for her thesis on ‘legalised lawlessness.’ Though the goal was to ‘salvage’ landscapes and populations, the British Empire rationalised its gruesome reforming of ‘uncivilised’ and ‘backward’ subjects through violence who needed to be tackled with a firm hand.
Elkins discusses Jallianwala Bagh – type brutal repression in the countries that were under British rule – Jamaica, Palestine, South Africa, Malaya, Ireland… that are comparable to the fascism of Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. Perpetrators were exonerated by the ‘liberal imperialism’ after conducting extensive inquiries and the atrocities committed by them are described in detail.
But the British Parliament found ways to justify such horrific ways: “… is said to have had his tongue severed and an attempt was made to skin him alive. One was ripped open and his entrails were taken out. Another is said to have been roasted alive. Few more got their eyes scooped out and the brains taken out. Indeed, the whole carnage could only be paralleled by the atrocities of the Indian mutiny.”
Imperial liberalism
Morant Bay rebellion is one such event in Jamaica (1865) sparked by the arbitrary justice awarded against blacks. Governor Edward John Eyre boasted: “the retribution was so prompt and terrible to be forgotten.” Even though a royal commission of inquiry investigated the events and found Eyre guilty, the Parliament exonerated him.
Equally scandalous was the appalling violence against the ethnic Kikuyu in Kenya during the Mau Mau rebellion (1952-60). Thanks to Elkins’ book, victims of the rebellion succeeded in getting justice from the Britishers in 2015. In this case some long-lost files that were found in the British archives helped the cause.
Like Mau Mau heroes, Elkins gives details on the role played by Subash Chandra Bose. The book quotes UK’s then Prime Minister, Clement Atllee: “erosion of loyalty to the British crown among the Indian Army and Navy was the result of the military activities of Netaji Bose.”
When indigenous populations were wiped out in US…
Elkins has attempted to support her comments and arguments with data and documents. She describes the history of the current Israel-Palestinian dispute. Seeds of today’s insurmountable problem were sown by the British Empire when they acquired Palestine as mandated colony soon after the World War I.
They used their familiar divide and rule policy along with ruthless violence to govern. Without considering all the possible scenarios, the Balfour Declaration of British Empire allowed a ‘national home’ for Jews while safeguarding the rights of Palestine’s indigenous populations. And thus the state of Israel was born in violence.
Divide to rule
We often wonder how a small country with no superior civilisation or wealth was able to take over a populous country like India and manage to rule for over 200 years. Is it the violence that Elkins vividly discusses in 875 pages?
George Santayana said: “those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. From Elkins’ Legacy of Violence, we have several lessons to learn not to repeat our historic blunders. One is not to allow leaders to divide to rule.
