カテゴリー: British empire
In a new exhibition, the featured images reflect Britain’s attempts to classify and curb the subcontinent’s population, but they also demonstrate the nobility of their subjects – and the futility of the taskAt first, and without the context, someone lo…
Graham Hadibi-Williams says current debate on reparations is one of theory rather than justice. Plus Abhishek Kalyankar on India’s colonial experienceKenneth Mohammed’s article rightly highlights the growing moral case for reparations, but like many pi…
Jean Garner objects to his monument in the Shropshire town and is hoping for Thangam Debbonaire’s support in getting it removedThangam Debbonaire is concerned about visiting Indian citizens and dignitaries having to walk past a statue of Robert Clive i…
Thangam Debbonaire says Indian visitors to the ministry should not have to walk past ‘historically inaccurate’ bronzeUK politics live – latest updatesA prominent Labour peer has called for a statue of Clive of India to be removed from its high-profile …
Alex Watson writes that moralising over Putin and Netanyahu is nothing without enforceable law, while Ravishankar Kalyanasundaram says the ‘rules-based international order’ was curated by the westIn his opinion piece (From Gaza to Ukraine, peace always…
Destroyed documents | Football shirt dilemma | Wednesday misery | Awkward advert placementAngela Blazy-O’Reilly reports that the war service of her mother was not recognised for extra pension rights, as “no records were available for [the Women’s Royal…
Cliff Southcombe and Marianne Hood believe it is time to foster a greater understanding of the British empire and its impactFew in the UK are aware of one of the most egregious historical structures built in the name of colonial profit: the Great Hedge…
While war raged against Hitler, people in places such as India were brutalised – despite their own sacrifices to the cause With Remembrance Day coming, arguments about whether poppies should be worn are in full flow. Yet there is one issue that never s…
Shyamol Banerji responds to an article by Mihir Bose on the country coming to terms with its colonial pastMihir Bose’s experiences in the UK resonate somewhat with my own (I came to Britain from India, fulfilled a dream, and I say this: we’re a great c…
Narendra Modi is preparing a campaign to reclaim items in UK museums and held by the royal family, such as the Koh-i-noorA leading writer on the British empire has said it is inevitable that Indian jewels and historical artefacts looted under colonial …
David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre was the first, not Dadabhai Naoroji, says Tony BerrettDavid Ochterlony Dyce Sombre (1808-51) was the first Asian MP, not Dadabhai Naoroji, as Dr Peter Chadha and Zaki Cooper claim (Letters, 25 October). Dyce Sombre was elec…
Archaic laws include fining those who fail to beat a drum to beat back locusts or report money found in streetAn Indian minister has called for his country to abolish 1,500 archaic laws dating back to the British Raj.On the statute book are laws that r…
India’s Narenda Modi has suggested Queen Consort should not wear infamous gem on coronation dayThe phrase “jewel in the crown” once evoked Charles Dance, Peggy Ashcroft and the sepia-tinted prettiness of a 1980s Granada TV series. Today, in headlines a…
Readers respond to Afua Hirsch’s article calling for Britain to confront the painful truth of its colonial pastAfua Hirsch’s article explicitly describes the everlasting damage created in the name of colonialism (This is a Britain that has lost its Que…
Since 1947, India and Pakistan have shared profound affinities across ferociously policed bordersPankaj Mishra is a novelist and essayist from India; Ali Sethi is a writer and musician from PakistanIn a remarkable document from the 13th century, a Sufi…