The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Good governance?

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Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Good governance?

Speaking at Oxford, and doubtless looking for applause from the sahibs, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a grand certificate to Britain for its "good governance" in India (The Hindu, July 9). The supreme truth that our IAS is a creature of the Anglo-Indian ICS is apparently a gift of such overwhelming value that we can forget the loss of lives of millions of Indians in famines like those of 1896-97, 1899-1900 and 1943; forget too the heavy taxation of the poor; the suppression of modern industry by all possible devices; the miserable level of expenditure on health and education; the exclusion of Indians from all high offices and positions of power; and the suppression of civil liberties (Dr. Singh's attribution of a "free press" to Britain notwithstanding). Indian civilisation did not "meet" the British empire; it was laid low by the latter by sword and shot. Dr. Singh even went on to put our national movement in its place by alleging that it too had no grievances against Britain's "good governance", but was driven by some "natural" impulse. With these new ideas inspiring him, we may well expect our Prime Minister soon to visit Washington, to beg the United States (now Britain's senior partner), to extend its own great expertise in good governance to India, the benefits of which should not surely remain confined to Iraq.

Irfan Habib,
Professor of History (retd.),
Aligarh Muslim University &
D.Phil. (Oxon)

* * *

The controversy is unnecessary. The British unified India politically. No Hindu or Mughal ruler could achieve this. They also laid a strong foundation for a sound administration, judicial system, and modern education.

Chail Bihari Lal Gupta,
Aligarh, U.P.

* * *

What Dr. Singh said at Oxford was an acknowledgement of the fact that the British left India with a strong bureaucratic structure, well trained army, good legal system, reasonable infrastructure, and geographically consolidated area under central administration.

It is another thing that British India had to be divided into two nations due to a clash of personalities between leaders who led the freedom movement.

Col. (retd.) Ram Gulrajani,
Chennai

* * *

Dr. Singh mentioned only a few benefits of the Raj. The British laid the foundation for a parliamentary system, introduced the Railways, and fortified the infrastructure.

They introduced modern, liberal education in India, put down freebooters with an iron hand, and firmly established the rule of law. And it was the British who knit India into a political monolith.

S. Srivatsa,
Chennai

* * *

The biggest gift of the British legacy was the introduction of English. It is with the help of English that we run the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-religious society called India.

True, not everything about the colonial rule was commendable. But the economic impact, and oppressive policies — as represented by instances such as Jallianwala Bagh — only firmed up our resolve to become independent.

R.S. Khanna,
New Delhi

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