We celebrated India’s independence day all over the UK this week. We sang patriotic songs and paid tribute to our freedom fighters who fought the British to free Mother India from the clutches of a mighty ruler. We gave speeches and said how great India is.
If we think India is so great, what are we doing here? Why don’t we pack our bags and return to our motherland? Britain has given us so much and provided us with a better standard of living and the comforts which India cannot. So when we sing patriotic songs praising India, we must also sing the British national anthem and chant “Long live the Queen”. We must also place the Queen’s photo and British flag besides the photos of our freedom fighters and India’s tricolour.
I am in no way trying to slag the land of our forefathers or demean our heroes. They have done a great job in acquiring freedom for the country where many of us and our parents were born. They have been exemplary for others and given guidance in freeing their countries. However, when singing praises for India, we must not at the same time say how badly Britain had treated us.
Let bygones be bygones. We must not lose sight of the fact that it is Britain who gave us shelter and a new life when the brutal rulers of African countries threw us out.
Dinesh Sheth
Ilford
