Babur was brutal. Aurangzeb was oppressive. Akbar? Somehow, he’s controversial too. And yet, the 165-year exploitative rule of the British is often painted in golden hues — railways, bureaucracy, and of course, the English language. Strange how the oppressor gets a statue in our minds while we tear down the memory of our own past. What went so wrong with our historical memory?
Let’s be clear — the Mughals were no saints.
Yes, Babur invaded with blood and sword.
Yes, Aurangzeb ruled with a hard orthodox hand.
But no — Akbar was not oppressive. If anything, he was one of the rare emperors of his time trying to build a multicultural India. He abolished religious taxes, respected Hindu traditions, and even held spiritual debates with people from all faiths.
But suddenly, even he’s on the hit list of historical revision.
Meanwhile, the British Raj is being whitewashed — slowly but steadily — into a misunderstood golden age. The empire that drained India’s wealth, engineered famines, sowed divide-and-rule communalism, and treated Indians like second-class creatures in their own land is being celebrated for giving us… a railway and the English language?
The Price of That Railway
The British didn’t lay those tracks for your convenience. They did it to move raw materials out of India and finished goods into Indian markets. We paid for it. Literally. With taxes. With lives. With dignity.
The British built courts, yes — but never allowed an Indian to sit in real judgment over them.
They built English education — to create clerks, not thinkers.
They built “law and order” — to keep the natives in line.
So where is this golden glow coming from?
The Real Reason: Visa Colonisation
Maybe it’s not about history at all.
Maybe it’s about today’s desperation to migrate to the same land that looted us.
People are afraid to speak against the British, not because they admire them — but because they’re worried about visa rejections. About not being able to buy a house in London, or send their kids to a UK university.
We are afraid to call out the oppressor because we want to live with him. That’s not reverence. That’s colonial hangover wearing a Savile Row suit.
Why This Silence Is Dangerous
When we glorify the British Raj and demonize the Mughals, we’re not just rewriting history — we’re rewiring our self-respect.
We’re teaching generations:
• That a foreign master is better than a flawed local king.
• That colonisation was a fair price to pay for rail travel.
• That brown skin must stay grateful for white blessings.
No nation moves forward by erasing its wounds or by worshipping the hands that inflicted them.
It’s Time We Grew Up
History isn’t about who we like or dislike. It’s about understanding the forces that shaped our present — economically, culturally, psychologically.
You don’t have to defend the Mughals to criticize the British.
You don’t have to glorify invaders to remember how empires function.
And you certainly don’t need a UK visa officer’s permission to tell the truth.
If India is to mature as a civilisation, it must learn to remember without fear, and reflect without flattery — especially when it comes to our past.