Quote:
Originally Posted by MTVN
Well I'd say India is much better off for having been a part of the Empire
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True.
The Empire did some dispicable things, but it also did some good things. India's system of government and it's railway system for a start. And of course, what took the place of the Empire - the Commonwealth - is a great institution. And anyone who thinks it isn't should ask themselves why countries who were never part of the Empire choose to be a part of the Commonwealth.
I think it's time we stopped being encouraged to beat ourselves up about things that were done decades, centuries, before our time while learning about what happened. But this means recognising the good as well as the bad. Lots of bad things were done in the past that should be remembered, but we should also keep in mind that, in the words of LP Hartley,
the past is a different country, they do things differently there.