Living in Britain has its advantages
Date
11/12/2024 8:00:44 AM
(MENAFN) Living in Britain has its advantages, but being asked by people from former colonies, like myself, to express gratitude for British colonialism feels demeaning. Although Britain has made strides toward becoming a more diverse society, this transformation is incomplete without coming to terms with its colonial history.
As George Santayana famously said, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." Britain should not need external lessons on how to reckon with its history, and this is evident when walking past the British parliament, where the statue of Oliver Cromwell stands. Cromwell, who executed the king and helped establish the republic, remains honored despite the monarchy's return. His body, after being exhumed and publicly displayed, rests beneath Hyde Park Corner, a symbol of a historical period the country no longer seeks to revive.
Yet, Britain still struggles to face its imperial legacy. In the nearly six decades I’ve lived here, I’ve watched the country become more inclusive—something I never could have imagined when I arrived in 1969 from India. It was a time when racial tensions ran high, following Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech that advocated for the repatriation of immigrants of color. Racism was more overt back then. In Hampstead, a homeowner turned me away from renting a room because of my ethnicity, and a relationship ended when a woman told me I couldn’t father children with her because I was Indian.
During my first summer in Britain, working at a factory in Leicester, I was introduced as "Mick," and a co-worker joked, saying, "We now have a colored Irishman," to the laughter of the entire floor. In 1980, I was punched in the face on the Piccadilly Line by a man with a shaved head, and passengers watched without intervening, as if it were a spectacle.
Despite these painful reminders of my outsider status, there were moments of reassurance. The England I had imagined growing up in India—Shakespeare, cricket, and village gardens—was not entirely a fantasy. Just six weeks after arriving at Loughborough University, I was elected president of the student union, a predominantly white institution at the time. One student told me she voted for me because she trusted my face and believed I wouldn’t run off with the union’s funds.
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