| > It's worth noting that "India" did not exist at the time, which made it possible for the British to take over by using these divisions. Citation needed. What exactly did not exist? What do you mean by "India" here? The people, the culture, languages etc have all existed for many many years before the British even thought of setting foot in India. As for the land that we call India today: Babur (the Founder of Mughal Empire in the 1500s) described "Hindustan" as follows: “The country of Hindustan is extensive, full of men and full of produce. On the east, south and even on the west, it ends at its great enclosing ocean (muhit-daryasigah). On the north it has mountains which connect with those of Hindukush, Kafiristan and Kashmir. North-west of it lie Kabul, Ghazni and Qandahar. Delhi is held to be the capital of the whole of Hindustan.”
In case you don't know, Hindustan is the Persian name of India at the time. And in the above quote he is describing Himalayas, and the seas that surround India in East, West and South. Thats pretty much the entire modern day India + Pakistan described by a Persian guy in 1500s. The british landed in India a good 100 years after thatAs for being "weak and divided", I believe you are implying that India was ruled by many kingdoms and thus wasn't a unified entity. At the time the British landed, Mughal Empire was the prominent power and controlled almost all of modern day India. Before the Mughal Empire, there were other Empires that controlled almost all of Modern day India + Pakistan. One such empire is the Maurya Empire which reigned from 322 - 185 BC. Also the British company that came to India was literally named after India and was the East *India* company that was founded in 1600s. Not to mention naming other places after India when they were no where near India like the West Indies or like referring to North American Natives as "Indians" So please elaborate on what exactly did not exist? > Perhaps the very existence of India is the most important legacy of the British in the region. I see this article as an attempt to correct such blatant revisionisms of history. India existed long before the British came. They enslaved, and looted India. And to say that existence of India is their legacy is slap in the face of thousands who died in search of freedom and an Identity and to not be a slave. Would you go around saying the Nazis put Jews on the world map? If not, then don't say the same about India and the British. The British were an occupying force and their biggest achievement in India is that they didn't kill the natives like they did in Australia or America. And they didn't do that because it was more profiting to put enslave the local population than to kill it. Source on Babur's Description of India: https://www.dawn.com/news/591800/time-check-medieval-india-b... |