Sepoy is an interesting term, one that even I have used often. It has many meanings, from what it meant originally to what it later became. Sepoy was an Indian serving under the orders of the British as one of their soldiers during the British Raj. However, its origin goes back to the Mughal period and there is evidence showing that the French East India Company used Indian soldiers in the 18th Century. The British East India Company was of course one of the main recruiters of Sepoys to further their interest in India. In fact, it may come as a surprise to many that even today the Nepalese Army, Indian Army and Pakistan Army all use the term for the rank of Private.
However, with time many have looked into this issue and increasingly many are now openly using the term as a negative to tag those individuals who might be Indian, but spend their time doing the bidding of their Imperial masters. Very often by selling out their own community for their own personal gain.
In the past the Sepoy was used by the British to control Indians in India so they could keep the masses in their control and rule as masters. The British Raj as we know it today would not have thrived had it not been for Indians who did their bidding against their own people. It is basically an Indian soldier who takes orders from a foreign occupying force and gives their loyalty to that foreign invader.
So why the history lesson? In every country you will find the ‘sepoys’ who for some reason will do the bidding of the enemy at the expense of their own people. In India this was taken to a whole new level by the British. All credit to them, after all if Indians were willing to undermine their own for a few shillings, then why not exploit the anti-nationals?
We see this today also, for example, in India with the Khan Market brigade and the Lutyen gangs of Delhi. To this day we have Indians in India who appear exhibit greater loyalty to their white imperial masters, than to their own nation. They continue to take western ‘bucks’ and the so called ‘liberal’ brigade accolades to promote the voice of the likes of the BBC or CNN. The modern-day sepoy now appears to support the socialist arc that circumvents the globe.
In the UK, we appear to have the same issues. Many of those who claim to represent us are supportive of very powerful people and entities that wish to undermine our community. These very high-profile individuals are embedded in powerful positions politically, in our Indian institutions and incredibly, many of them even control our Mandirs and Community Centres. Anyone who dares to challenge this cabal is systematically taken down. I have personally seen the power and reach of these people and their millions and VVIP lifestyle often is a reward for being a good sepoy.
Our community does need to look forward. With that it needs to reflect on how the Jewish community, barely 30% of the size of our community, has learnt their historical lessons and have transformed their power base in the UK (and the world) to such a degree that they always look after number one. Surely, we can do the same given the huge resources that are within our community? Or are we destined to be enslaved by our own greed and petty squabbles? I do have an answer, but it does require key individuals and our grassroots community to lend support.
(All views expressed are personal.)
