Shashi Tharoor on what the British did to India | Antidote Festival at Sydney Opera House

The devastating legacies of British colonialism are felt globally.
Dr Shashi Tharoor's latest book is Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India, a blistering post-colonial reassessment, exposing the sins of an empire. It tracks the real story of the British in India - from the arrival of the East India Company to the end of the Raj.
Tharoor served for twenty-nine years at the UN, culminating as Under-Secretary-General. He is a Congress MP in India, the author of fifteen books, and has won numerous literary awards, including a Commonwealth Writers' Prize.
He was in conversation with the Guardian's Ben Doherty at Antidote Festival.
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[@theobserver1989]

I am an Indigenous of the Americas and I understand my Indians friends !...

[@ffolinzeni1060]

\m/ !!

[@fanofyoutubers9792]

28:50- 29:00 Truth

[@divinejacobmathew1503]

From one Indian to another...

[@arinsharma52]

From where most of them come who colonised u

[@theobserver1989]

@@arinsharma52 Spain

[@HamelinSong]

I'm Italian, I really don't know that much about India and Indian history... but I could listen to Tharoor speak for hours.

[@ukmenon13]

Ciao, mi fa piacere che dici questo!. Where do you live?.

[@marybhim-rao4696]

Learn - it is fascinating.

[@PSKx13]

Imagine a History teacher like him.

[@Tameinsight]

Or a politics or civics

[@trishnamonilahkar9294]

I would love the class

[@gamerlion472]

History will be my favorite subject.

[@suharap1766]

It would distorted free history .

[@jacksummer4041]

I would have been a historian... Instead of a mathematician 😂

[@miakeogh6844]

Being Irish ☘️ I send India all my love just like to point out there was no famine in Ireland it was pure evil English genocide you don’t have a famine if only one crop fails while they Irish lay dying on the roads in the streets of Ireland the English continued to ship out all the food and livestock to England over one million Irish people died never forget and never forgive

[@martingonzalez2850]

Are you enjoying the colonisation of Ireland from the immigrants pouring into your country?

[@sharadjain2463]

General Dyer who killed more than 2000 people in Jaliawala Bagh ( Punjab ) was ordered by governer of Punjab Michael O Dwyer and was Irish . Robert Clive was scottish.

[@alphacapital2425]

We love one great Irish lady who fought for us Indians, her name was Annie Besent! May God Grant her soul paradise! 🙏🏻

[@kaikwa4160]

You the Scots organized the colonial plantations in Ireland right? And the aid was diverted away into Ulster, which was a scottish colony.. not an english one

[@kaikwa4160]

@@sharadjain2463 Dalhousie was a Scot too, as was Minto. Scots were disproportionately represented in the administration of bengal.. it's also the reason, the presbyterian church managed to cement its position there

[@sanjibandey1285]

If Tharoor comes at your show, you become the guest.

[@navneetthakur3785]

That's true he is impressive and dominant in discussion.

[@antusharma6375]

Intellectual, savagely witty and a sense of humour too. Who can stop him?

[@NickFouladi11]

True, so true

[@mithunkumar25557]

@Die Europaische Don't you have any shame on yourself? Your ancestors murdered and killed millions of people around the world and yet have guts to point out others? You must be the last person on the earth to talk about civilization.

[@merryx-mart9943]

@@mithunkumar25557 guts is not quite right ... he has the hypocrisy /gall to point out crimes of other cultures

[@delona6485]

“You are either at the table or on the menu”!😂😂😂 very well said sir🙏

[@lalitharavindran]

I like the way Dr. Tharoor demolishes Winston Churchill being projected as an apostle of peace.

[@rahulnair6910]

Agree with you 100%

[@parakkalashokn]

Absolutely right..

[@adithyahk]

Marian Diaconu that doesn't make Churchill any good human being

[@ritishp]

@@MarianDiaconu-uk5cd It doesn't help if you try to run away from the facts on Churchill. Truth always hurts. Gandhi was not perfect and his life is an open book.. and yet people all over the world consider him as one of the greatest and influential men ever walked on earth.. looks like you live on another planet.

[@saunlisarkar3120]

@@MarianDiaconu-uk5cd but how Churchill is a hero if Gandhi id flawed? is this a competition of imperfect heroes?

[@asifashraf6225]

The way Shashi Tharoor frames "Jallianwala Bagh Massacre" as the single most fitting act that is worthy of an apology, is beyond commendable!

[@englishalan222]

He should mention in the same tune the Maratha massacre of 400,000 when the Marathas invaded Bengal.

[@aryaroy476]

@@englishalan222 i like how you bring that in. The marathas invaded bengal, as a foreign force. They were not ruling bengal when this happened. The british were claiming that they were the rulers of India when they carried out the Jallianwala bagh massacre.

[@englishalan222]

@@aryaroy476 How does that make a difference? The Marathas were INVADING a foreign country and behaving just the same as any empire that sprang out of Europe. Why don't you Indians get your heads out of the clouds and admit that. If you did you would earn more respect

[@jo18533]

We will not apologize for our achievements. Our history cannot be used as a weapon against us. We are in debt to no-one. Our glorious past is a matter of pride and joy to us. Whatever we have done in the past only inspires us today for even greater deeds tomorrow. Those who feel that we have wronged them should be happy they are still alive.

[@englishalan222]

@@reminiscence4142 I am not trying to justify anything (Unlike You) What i am saying why should we apologise or give reparations when your own empires did the same things. Read up on the Bargi who were created by the Marathas for the sole purpose of collecting loot from a defeated foe. As i said in one previous post if Indians could admit that they were no better than any empire that sprang out of Europe they would have a lot more respect. At the moment though I have zero respect for India, In fact I have more respect for Pakistan than I do India.

[@frankschest8584]

That point when the host start taking notes...

[@AJoy2286]

Exactly 😀

[@envermasud2160]

I recall reading that the British forced India to buy locomotives from England at the time that India had the capability to build them in India.

[@prashkd7684]

That true. And today an Indian company owns a major British car manufacturing company and makes Brits buy those car. Faith in Krama restored.

[@hoangquanle3310]

@@prashkd7684 haha N O I C E

[@sid1680]

Need to be rational here. Depends on when this incident happened. There was no indigenous railway in India prior to 1873. The British brought it to India. To that extent it wouldn’t make sense to say locomotive manufacturing capability existed in India around the time. Now, it might be that, later on in the early part of the 20th century we developed such capability and yet they chose to buy locomotives from England.

[@amina-yu2lx]

@@sid1680 the railway was brought to many other countries without colonialism. if they did not colonise them the railway would have ended up there anyways

[@xipingpong667]

@@sid1680 hello Mr.sid I want to tell that they were forced to buy and if they refused they were shot to death or troubled and shown living hell

[@apologeticvoice6035]

Tharorji speaks better English than the English anchor. Those who pressed the dislike are the British themselves who broke their vocal cords, trying to speak like him 😂

[@Chew81]

Which English newsreader? The late Richard Dimbleby? Or his son David Dimbleby?

[@johnsimspon8893]

He has a delightful oilyness!!! but I would not buy a used car from him

[@shortsequanobleia]

That was literally hilarious 😂🤣!

[@Genevasplaytime]

He is a wannabe brit 😁

[@jaajaarogers9101]

It’s true I agree Tharoor speaks Queens English very highly educated intelligent man he said it all on point 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🤲🏼🤲🏼

[@jkpoorathil]

Saddest part is British took 100 years to admit the responsibility of the atrocities committed by them in jallianwala bagh .

[@yash1311]

They didn't admit bro, sadly they won't! it's in their bloody nature. Jalianwala massacre was sinister to it's core.

[@johnbenson9806]

@Cameface H You so uneducated..a disgusting person. I cannot believe me and you are from the same country. I would apologise for 200 lifetimes to Indians if i could. But dont worry..economically speaking India is likely to bankrupt our country within a few decades.

[@ajaychidambaram]

​@Cameface H I can write pages explaining the brutality done by your ancestors, but your ignorance not deserve any factual reply, as you, just like other brits were throwing baseless, irrelevant points out of the subject. Learn a little bit of true history before arguing with your ignorant and stupid mouth.

[@malliktejashwi878]

@Cameface H deluded cameface....go to st thomas hospital and get psychiatry treatment

[@malliktejashwi878]

@Cameface H and look how wiped off....your Engel- land is your lord gifted n.h.s in corona times...

[@france1437]

So true.... I am a teacher and have been teaching internationally for a long time. I can say the Indian mind is exceptional. They would have been better without Britain's intervention. I have students from the UK and have discovered from teaching them that they are operating from a mindset of privilege. You can see it even in their school curriculum - where students are not even expected to work as hard, their excuse is there needs to be school / life balance. And I realize this is largely because after school they already know they will most likely land the better jobs, them being British seems to be enough to get all the best opportunities even with very little effort. Most of my students studying in British schools do not show the same resilience or intellectual ability in comparison for example to my students going to an Indian or Asian or American school. The kids want to do very little things but since their parents have the better paying jobs, their privilege to travel, access to expensive things (ipads etc), expensive social activities etc help them improve their mediocre abilities. This needs to change. We are in a different time. I really don't even understand why wealthy Indians prefer British schools, to train and act like Brits. India doesn't need to do that. Based on population alone, India can survive on its own. They are on their own a big economy. After teaching so many Indian students, I really stated to love their culture and just how great they ara as human beings. I am not Indian by the way.

[@satyaawasthi706]

Your Indian ?? , i work for some agency to keep an eye on people.

[@tasneemali4970]

Thank you. I am an indian from Fiji, in the south Pacific.

[@rexxbailey2764]

SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE TEACHER AND A CULTIVATOR OF MINDS. KIDS REALLY SHOULD BE PRIVILEGED TO LEARN FROM YOU AND JUST HAVE YOUR POSITIVE GUIDING VIBES AROUND THEM WHEN THEY SOAKING UP. 👍👌

[@tarakbenslimane2228]

The french colonial bastards have done more barbaric astrocity and genocides to my Algerian ancestors than British colonial bastards.

[@rexxbailey2764]

@Giovanni Giorgio : HELLO GIORGIO 😎

[@lisashung9442]

Very wise man with clear historical vision!!! Respect from Chinese overseas. China and India can and should cooperate because of their common interests and mature respect!!! Don’t fall into the trap of fighting against each other, which is exactly Western countries want. They don’t want to see the rising Asia.

[@justcause7350]

I couldn't agree more. India and China should work together to establish what has been lost. But have you thought? How are we gonna resolve the border disputes?

[@aakashagrawa9883]

First tell ur Xi to pull out his PLA frm ladakh

[@lisashung9442]

Sachin Pillai what’s the exact version of “Democracy” you try to sell? Can you give an exact definition instead a sound good word. It likes a glossy blanket which can cover any dirts underneath. If the “democracy” you are talking about has led the British colonisation globally in the past 200 years, rape, looting, inhuman to the colonised people, led to USA, UK and other western countries’ unlawful invasion to Iraq, carelessly caused millions of Iraq’s death, either bombed to death or starved to death, looted their oil and broke the country, if its the “democracy” which legalised USA globally war crimes, resourced robbery and ruthlessly invaded other countries whenever they want, please leave us alone......after the “Democratic” British ruled indian for 150 years, what have they left to Indians.....a broken country with the average life expectancy 28 years......we don’t need the so called “Democracy” to save our country, as a Chinese woman, I can tell you that we have much better sense of safety and security living in China. We as woman enjoy much more social, gender, economic equality in China than those in Indian. Find a system work best for the people in the country is the golden rule, don’t obsessed with whatever the names be given by others......After living in UK for 20 years, I have lost my confidence in their “Democracy” .......

[@lisashung9442]

Aakash Agrawa if you have studied history properly or just check on Wikipedia, you will know that all the borders issues which India has with almost all their neighbour countries were purposefully hand-made and left by the British colonies government. Churchill said once “ the divisions and conflicts are the best way to control a country”

[@rushi_desai]

you are absolutely right . let's get gdp back 💥

[@upadhyayrathiraj1518]

"We are here because you were there!" Fantastic.

[@johnsimspon8893]

How extremely racist. I got all these Indians in my country and have never colonised anybody.

[@aneeshprasobhan]

@@johnsimspon8893 which country tho

[@johnsimspon8893]

@@aneeshprasobhan Britain

[@aneeshprasobhan]

@@johnsimspon8893 kek

[@YD-uq5fi]

@@johnsimspon8893 Your country did. You cannot separate yourself from it. If country A colonizes country B, people from country B will eventually enter country A. Read some history.

[@vectravi2008]

As an Irishman I fully appreciate what this gentleman is saying.

[@vin00ify]

May I ask why? Is it because the British did the same thing to your people i.e. broke Ireland into two?

[@sharadjain2463]

you were also involved into this. Michael O Dwyer was irish

[@vectravi2008]

@@sharadjain2463 That person was born in Ireland but he was very much British. If he had been given the chance he would have fired his guns at Irish nationalists just as quickly as at any Indian.

[@kevinnolan1339]

​@sharadjain2463 Reginald Dyer? He was of the British aristocracy in Ireland. As the Duke of Wellington said about his birth in Ireland,if I'm born in a stable, it doesn’t make me a horse.

[@irresistiblle]

@@kevinnolan1339 No, Michael O'Dwyer.

[@siamlawma]

Right to the point, no political party/religious agenda. Outstanding

[@swapankumardas3033]

Marian Diaconu he is literally the opposition of the hindu nationalist party get your facts right.

[@swapankumardas3033]

@@MarianDiaconu-uk5cd too bad mate.. I wish you could focus on reality more than religion.. As for a fact God is unreal.. Anyway have a nice life..

[@swapankumardas3033]

@StaRFox give me an example what he lied abt kid.. Before you call someone out...

[@shivamrai2097]

@@MarianDiaconu-uk5cd thank you from my keyboard

[@shivamrai2097]

@@MarianDiaconu-uk5cd why you are obsessed with caps lock.....

[@RamRamaswami]

The opening comment sounds like justifying a rape by asserting that it gave the blessing of motherhood to the victim!

[@faisal1582]

This comment!!! i am definitely stealing it!

[@manh385]

Well said

[@jamaaldaynitelong8367]

Nothing but the truth.

[@kamalkumar7978]

Perfect analogy. Now, I would also use it in my debates.

[@carlossimpson]

I'm glad that I have the chance to hear this gentleman (Shashi Tharoor) sharing his knowledge 🙏

[@jaajaarogers9101]

It’s great Dr Tharoor is speaking out about Uk stealing all Indias wealth and abused India too

[@mogznwaz]

His very very biased views. In his version of things. Britain bad India good.

[@RR-lh1qs]

He is brilliant!!!

[@Siddharth-qq9vs]

@@mogznwaz Hitler bad Jews good. Is that biased for you too? No right? It was the same for India. Genocide, looting and tyranny was the name of the game for the subcontinent for over 200 years.

[@solomonsajj7726]

I Am in tears, how my own country people suffered because of british

[@BlueSkiesAbove39]

I'm in tears as well - tears of laughter.

[@BlueSkiesAbove39]

@Mandeep singh Wrong!

[@CEO786]

@@BlueSkiesAbove39 you would say that as you don’t have a pot to wee in. There you go

[@Bignfluffy]

@@BlueSkiesAbove39 LOOOOOL same

[@Bignfluffy]

British is not a country LMFAOOO

[@Jimmy2times90]

I'm an Englishmen and I agree with everything Dr Tharoor said, Britain should apologise.

[@venugopalsubbasetty599]

I appreciate it very much. Civilization dawns here; not while defending wrong deeds.

[@rajwarnakulasuriya5935]

James Johnson.. Apology is not enough, I am not an Indian, but the way I see, Britain must also allow India to rule Britain for the next 200 years, same way how Britain ruled India, only then the Colonial History can be taught to all Brits

[@paleprimate3452]

The truth about what the British did to India kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3K7gXyeo7aima8

[@sinhasameer13]

Thank you sir This is the time when the English people should realize and regret about they have done to India and if ANY FAMILY MEMBER OF THE QUEEN will ask for sorry then only I think we will feel a bit of peace on out heart and soul as an Indian

[@jetrpg22]

Why do you agree have you researched his claims.. he is lying (i mean he could just be wrong, but that means he doesn't understand addition or google searches; so he is lying.)

[@_Wai_Wai_]

No need for reparations, just allow Shashi Tharoor to write all of history books that British Children read in their schools.

[@swarmagna]

No , those books should be written by eminent British Scolers.

[@FarukAhmed-zj5zf]

They will be ashamed of of being Britishers

[@vedantsanas8914]

Sadly they never read these books on their brutal history in school. I studied there for 4 years and I know. They don't even know they were bad

[@englishalan222]

@@vedantsanas8914 Pot kettle black, you people have no idea of the crimes being committed by your own army in the Kashmir and you hypocritically hype on at others about their past. Thousands of massacres in Kashmir by India such as the Jallianwala bagh massacre in India by the British and even worst. Today is the 26th year of the Sopore massacre in which 57 civilians were killed by the Indian so called Border Security Force soldiers, the memories of that carnage are still fresh in the apple town. Among the 57 dead civilians, scores had been burnt alive. The forces went berserk and fired indiscriminately upon the unarmed civilians and set ablaze the markets especially the area from main Chowk to Tehsil Office, dragged the driver out of an SRTC bus bearing registration no. JKY-1901 and showered bullets on the passengers on board, resulting in the on-spot death of 20 passengers. The troopers later sprayed gun powder and petrol on the many surrounding buildings, shops and houses and set them ablaze. More than 400 such establishments and 75 residential houses in and around five localities including Shalpora, Shahabad, Muslimpeer, Kraltang and Arampora were turned into ashes. The buildings include some landmarks like Women's Degree College and Samad Talkies. Tariq Ahmad Kanjwal, 45, a survivor and eyewitness of the massacre, who was just 20 then said: "The image of a person burning in a shop will haunt me always. His head was in flames. I remember a BSF officer telling his colleagues not to shoot him as he will be dead soon," said Tariq Kanjwal. On February 23rd 1991, Kunan and Poshpora in the Kashmir valley were raided in the night by more than 300 personnel of the Indian army. As many as 150 girls and women were raped that night; nearly 200 men were tortured. Barns became torture chambers. The next morning, as one can well imagine, was marked by immense horror and paralyzing pain, and yet, justice is elusive over all these years, as the Indian army has continued to exercise barbarism and has enjoyed complete impunity, thanks to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the the most militarised areas on the planet. Thousands of men have since disappeared; thousands of women have been raped; tens of thousands have died in extrajudicial killings and torture at army camps where they were illegally detained. Organizations like the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) have been meticulously noting the testimonies of people from across Kashmir, and have been nudging the Indian state toward dealing with the violent oppression of the Indian Army and other Forces. Currently India operates 471 torture-centres in the Kashmir.

[@vedantsanas8914]

@@englishalan222 we are talking about the British raj. Not Kashmir. India and Pakistan do have differences I agree. Britain controlled 75% of the world's landmass at one point when all of the natives around the world didn't want colonial suppression. And let's not forget if the empire didn't create all its problems of interference and just carried on trade through EIC the Indian subcontinent would still be united as it was before.

[@Bithalrai]

The axe forgets but the tree remembers

[@swarnimsrivastava5475]

"Winston Churchill has got as much blood on his hands as any other genocidal dictator of 20 th century"- What a powerful statement 👌👌👌

[@kaushikdasgupta67]

Only an intellectual and an erudite person like Dr. Shashi Tharoor can make such a powerful statement!

[@donkeydesiamericanprofessor]

Ignorance

[@juliandenormanville5225]

And what a load of bollockd

[@juliandenormanville5225]

Grifter!!

[@stephencharlesferguson2194]

Were you going to deal with the Nazis ? I think not !

[@albertjosephpaul3030]

I am an INDIAN. I AM PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN

[@rafaelpetinesii7123]

Ouch.. Britain need a public apology on what they did to this guy and to the people India ..

[@parakkalashokn]

And they wont...becos they are cowards

[@sultan2389]

No apology needed. Atonement will suffice

[@Leoma24]

@Ashish Bagade no. 43 trillion

[@ciora1980]

to say "sorry" takes a noble man.

[@EnkiEnterprises]

They jus need to apologise to the whole world

[@mokhamalex977]

For the first time I hear mr Shashi Tharoor speech I instantly became his fan. Why indians don't elect this kind of person to be the head of the country.

[@ananya6971]

Because he is not allowed to come to the top by his own party. He has been elected to the parliament as an MP for 3 consecutive times that is 15 years. It shows that the people actually love him it's just his party.

[@calmstrong8038]

Because we in india don't need a smart and intelligent leader but those who divide us in name of religion, language and region.

[@prakashchoudhary8430]

Because indian politics is not a history class.

[@rakeshiyer5637]

@@prakashchoudhary8430 is it a religious monstrosity then? Oh yeah it is.

[@kaustubhraizada]

@@rakeshiyer5637 just not religious it consists of many things like , caste , language ,area etc😂😂

[@fatimamuf3687]

Indians and Pakistanis lived together then bled together then were freed together,I hope one day we resolve the numerous problems we are facing today. love from Pakistan (haven't forgotten our brothers from Bangladesh as well)

[@loneranger6361]

And our brothers from Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka

[@mathewplume1955]

Haven't forgotten what you did to Bangladesh under the rule of general Niazi

[@vipinudayanan]

That talk about the massacre just makes me so angry, I'm in tears.

[@jetrpg22]

Yeah, i feel you the British massacred the shit out of us ... said the US citizen . At least 50x the death toll.

[@boyybbangalorexx]

Same here man 😥😥

[@Bignfluffy]

Good

[@vipinudayanan]

@@Bignfluffy good?

[@sreenidhi1046]

This book should be made a compulsory text book from 10 to 11th standard.Or even in graduate degrees.

[@arjunmalaya603]

It's a very nice idea to make students read a book on history that was written by a politician. Don't blame Europe for the next generation.

[@littleworld9632]

Eehh more syllabus

[@MythicEcho]

I really admire tharoor for his calmness while presenting these facts. I might have blasted when the anchor asked what about the good things British left for Indians.

[@nerdytechs514]

This is why history is important. It teaches and leads the younger generation to learn from the past, correct the present and safeguard the future.

[@jitukhatrik]

I'm a Modi supporter...but no one beats Mr. Tharoor ...he is the most awesome speaker in India and around the world

[@themaverick7707]

Yeah just opposite of Chutiya pheku.

[@webmarkhost]

Parasitic Chrislamists dislike Modi.

[@rajvarma9021]

are you still a MODI supporter?

[@webmarkhost]

@Storm 1. Tharoor is educated in US and additionally, Henry VIII School of public speaking . 2. Modi is not supposed to know English. 3. You cannot compare administrative skills with language skills. 4. Tharoor can become a good English teacher, though I admit he is a very eloquent speaker.. He is a virtual English DICKtionary. 5. Even Trump may not be able to give an interview like this.

[@neosapien247]

Then you're the human manifestation of the word 'oxymoron'. Like saying I'm a vegetarian, but I eat beef.

[@mumtazzafar1576]

Sashi salam to you for letting the people of sub continent know what actually took place in india.

[@oracle4127]

Bhai pakistan me padhate hai ki Britishers ne kya kara tha purvajo ke sath?

[@arindampaul007]

Pakistan toh Hindustan e thaa,Lahore and Peshawar was well visited by revolutionary thinkers and freedom fighters.

[@prashantkatti118]

In Pakistan they are taught that the British helped them win freedom from the Hindus.

[@mfaisal562]

I am personally grateful towards Mr Tharoor for bringing clarity. I confess I have been suffering along with other millions from this Colonial mindset. When in my University days I went for English language and left Engineering and Mathematics. Since than I have suffered and continue to suffer

[@mayanka3773]

Rare breed of people like him in today's world.. Well Informed, Well Articulated, and Well Intentioned..

[@user-gl7ds1bx9n]

True, Unbeatable Dr.Shashi Tharoor. Bravo 👏

[@sattarabus]

Shashi is a prodigy in every sense of the word. He plies the pen with enormous ease, his gift of oracy is phenomenal. Imagination, wit, sense of humour, repartee, erudition, and sterling qualifications, eminently qualify him to helm the UNO. Is he too much of an intellectual to make an outstanding leader in the lumpen polity of the subcontinent ?

[@OtisAdonisChad]

According to Tharoor he was blocked at UN for post of General Secretary by USA.

[@adithyahk]

Prof Sattar Basra true he is too intelligent for subcontinent s politics

[@arnoldvaz3003]

It's time, we don't see leaders as just mere demonstrators of great will and speeches. To give a speech like a reality tv show person and not knowing the first thing about governing is not the kind of leader we need in this country. What we need is a person with a right sane mind that has the intellect to not only unite but also govern meticulously. Time to stop looking at leaders at their face value.

[@arnoldvaz3003]

Also suggesting that intellect is a very good thing to look for in a PM candidate. DR. Shashi Tharoor does fit the profile of a good enough PM candidate.

[@sultan2389]

U r directly competing him

[@charithachamari9142]

It's funny when Brexit supporters see as their major fear is that people will come to Britain & take their things, India & Sri Lanka was looted and exploited by British hundreds of years but young British & Europeans don't have a clue since deliberately removed the facts from history books & education, Dr. Tharoor explained them well. Lots of love & respect from Sri Lanka

[@chulaniwickramasinghe9043]

Agree with You - Thanks Charitha......Many Sri Lankans blindly think that there is only Good in British / Europeon / US Culture..... look down on Sri Lanka - Language / Culture / Religion.... I know.....left Sri Lanka age 18 to study in England.....then lived Singapore / Hong Kong / USA....50 years.....now 82 years of age....retired in Brazil

[@sinhalalion1806]

True brother, we South Asians should unite, the best revenge we can take is growing while they decline. This century is for Asia and that includes all of us in 🇦🇫🇧🇩🇮🇳🇱🇰🇲🇻🇵🇰🇧🇹

[@KARTIKEYA007]

to be fair just because their forefathers looted india, doesnt mean they should allow themselves to get looted

[@adithyahk]

KARTIKEYA007 like he said you're at the table or on the menu

[@jdlc903]

Our fear is that we will stay poor,we don't have anything for them to take.many of us are on minimum wage.

[@naseemfirdaus1789]

This is for the umpteenth time that I am listening to Dr Tharoor’s discourse on Indian subcontinent history and I am still awed by his level of knowledge. I simply listen to the info that he shares about the British atrocity just spellbound. He never fumbles, he never thinks twice about what to say- he is so confident about the facts of his topics. He is simply a wizard as far as history of any country or of any event is concerned. Thank you Dr Tharoor. Everybody, I am certain, who wants to learn, wants to know about both past and present of world history is extremely proud of you. You are really a “wonder “ product of your parents. 🙏🙏🙏

[@Knowledge_TV01]

Pakistani and thier agenda against india man🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ Pakistani never fails to disappoint me.

[@yom_o_o_m7053]

DUDE PAKISTANIS AND INDIANS WERE ONCE THE SAME. WE INDIANS AND PAKISTANIS FOUGHT TOGETHER AGAINST THE BRITISH .

[@Knowledge_TV01]

@Suresh Kumar M i am sorry bro but what you are saying is not true. Criticising the government isn't hating India. I love my country to the core of my heart but people will abuse me if i speak against the government. And we all know that governments often use religion as thier political agendas and they are the one who creates all these boundaries b/w us. But the sad part is that we easily fall for this easiest trick.

[@architkumarsharan7583]

@@Knowledge_TV01 we all have different political interests but when it comes to country we are all together.

[@Knowledge_TV01]

@Suresh Kumar M 😂😂 now we have to prove our love for our country by abusing some others countries citizens. What kind of logic is this??? Oahhh bhai hame Pakistan se kuchh nahi lena dena.. Stop dragging pakistan in literally anything. Muslmano ne kya nahi kiya is jameen ke liye lekin kuchh logo ke agendas ne tum sab ke jahan me ye jahar bhar diya h ki muslman to is jameen ke dushman h. Bhai thoda sochh ko change karo.

[@qudsiakamal2135]

Thank you

[@himanshuborse8613]

Every time i hear shashi tharoor i am proud of my country INDIA...we r the 2nd largest country though we have secular and successful democracy...

[@donkeydesiamericanprofessor]

Thanks British

[@juliandenormanville5225]

And where did you get democracy from you half wit?

[@rahulsrivastavalivelife]

it is very hard for humans to accept a wrong , if you point out the obvious , they will not listen instead they will point out something bad about you. I see British people getting offended by genuine , rational argument by Mr. shashi tharoor for apology.

[@denverbritto5606]

But are you any more willing to see the genuine flaws in Mr Tharoor's argument? Most Indians i've encountered online react badly to hearing anything wrong with any of his arguments.

[@rahulsrivastavalivelife]

can you point out genuine flaws? Indians are not any different from any people anywhere in the world.

[@denverbritto5606]

Yes I agree Indians are no different from anyone else (I'm Indian too haha), i'm just saying this is a sensitive topic for both Indians and British so they're both susceptible to bias clouding their judgement. Sure, here's a few of the flaws: 1) The anecdote that Tharoor often repeats about the British breaking the looms and cutting the thumbs off Bengali weavers is a myth. It's based off a misreading of the historical account of a Dutch observer in the 1700s (William Bolts) and there's no other evidence apart from this misread source. 2) The claim that India's economy was ruined during British rule is based on the misleading statistic of it's share of the world economy. In terms of real GDP, India's economy grew much faster than ever before during British rule and using the much more meaningful statistic of GDP per capita (which takes into account the population and reflects how much the average person was earning), you can see that although the average incomes in India had been in decline for over a hundred years before British rule began, they stabilised during Company rule and increased during the Raj to a level higher than before British rule began. (Of course the incomes of Western countries grew at a much higher rate but this was due to the inventions of the Industrial revolution. www.livemint.com/Opinion/Nb7KkZ3yOVSNW3vHf9K1oM/World-history-by-per-capita-GDP.html) 3. Tharoor makes the bizarre claim that someone would have come along and united India ignoring the fact that the only time the subcontinent is alleged to have had relative unity was 2000 years ago during the Maurya period. The Gupta empire was missing most of South India and had to face constant rebellion from tribes within it's boundaries, the Mughals almost never knew peace and the Marathas, who Tharoor seems to assert as being on the cusp of uniting India, were well into their decline by the time the British came and could barely unite with each other let alone unite other kingdoms within them. Contrast this to 90 years without a major rebellion or conflict in the entire subcontinent under the Raj. Some of Tharoor's criticisms are valid but he's sometimes well off the mark.

[@rahulsrivastavalivelife]

Denver Britto GDP argument is only one part of the picture, for which it is job of historians and economist to find the real data, in his speech there are lot of other arguments as well which are genuine.

[@denverbritto5606]

Yup sure there are good arguments in there, all i'm saying is that there are some bad ones too (which many people are unwilling to acknowledge). Eg. with the GDP, even if i present someone the above data and analysis, which i've obtained from economists and historians (including the renowned Angus Maddison), some people will dismiss it for reasons as stupid as "because it came from someone of European descent" (and when i give them Gupta and Broadberry's work they'll slander Gupta as a sell-out). Anyway i'm glad to see you have an open outlook, Happy New Year!

[@ettubrute4563]

Dr Sashi Tharoor speech initiated me to view in different angle on our India past history . Excellent and potential quantifying information in his speech package. Well done Dr Shasi Tharoor.👍👍 India needs a leader like Dr. Shasi Tharoor.🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 JAI HIND. தாய் மண்ணே வணக்கம்.

[@dharmaandbhakti2825]

This person has the truthfulness & guts to say while standing in front of a house full of British Citizens " You people are rich because of us"!! Respect !!!

[@jdlc903]

British aren't rich

[@mallikarjunasubramanyamoru5048]

@Andrew Lyon u clearly were sleeping during the video weren't u?

[@lonestar6709]

@@jdlc903 Yeah, we're only the 4th best economy in the world, for a country smaller than Florida. Epic fail dude.

[@jdlc903]

@@lonestar6709 britain is now poorer than California, despite having a bigger population. And your gdp per capita is shit only 33th in the world

[@shushanto]

@@lonestar6709 UK is number 6 not number 4. And UK is not smaller than Florida. Florida has only 21million population compared with 66million in the UK. Don't know where you learned your fake news.

[@JP_2000]

Shashi Tharoor is the perfect person to become the Prim Minister of India in terms of Attitude ,qualification, mentality and knowledge !!!

[@likesmilitaryhistoryalanmo9568]

If that happens, then god help India.

[@kgkmurthy1961]

Ridiculous logic...just a good talk is enough to lead INDIA?..

[@georgekurian8706]

@@kgkmurthy1961 extensive field work amongst refugees in Africa + stellar career in administration having risen to undersecretary general of UN

[@fact5832]

@@georgekurian8706 What about murdering one's wife..? Is that an achievement too..?

[@parakkalashokn]

Absolutely...well said

[@apurwarkale17]

I really like the idea that the antidote to Jallianwala Bhag massacre.. that someone from the British Royal family should at least now acknowledge it and should atone for the sin committed in that place. British people really need to teach their new generations the horrendous crimes and sins committed by their ancestors who they are really proud of. Every coin has 2 side the British government or Royal family can't ignore or keep in dark the crimes their ancestors committed in the name of the British Empire and Royal family. In the end it's our jewels in the Royal crown they so proudly wear on their head.

[@norkid5207]

@Tom Johnson general Dyer..sole responsible for the massacre was applauded my the upper house of the British parliament..and a sum of now worth about half million pound was collected as a award for his activities....so please highlight both the sides when you speak something....

[@gmgorgeousstar5879]

Could n't agree more !!!

[@mukezeroone8177]

@Tom Johnson so it wasn't the Germans who gased the Jews it was Hitler and his fellow men yet still Germans are blamed for it xD. Yea they should learn a thing or two from you British folks. About not taking any responsibility or acknowledging what happened wat so ever lol.

[@mercomania]

The whole British History curriculum needs to be amended to teach the truth about the British Empire. Not to make todays students feel guilty, but to teach them the real purpose of the Empire. It was there to enrich the Establishment, to provide employment for their offspring and to keep the class system within the UK.

[@kevinnolan1339]

If only to get across the message that they (immigrants) are here because the British were there.

[@powellp25]

This is why being a History scholar is so important. Dr. Tharoor is brilliant.

[@anubhav21dec]

40 royal people disliked the video

[@rexxbailey2764]

I BET 3 OF THEM WERE CORGI'S : D

[@RahulSingh-ut2tj]

Possibly English turds and convicts

[@samank8628]

West was always poor and never learnt to appreciate.

[@mujahidrahim816]

O my God, m listening this man for the first time.. pure intellect n destruction of stereotypes.

[@askariaziz4163]

Salute from Pakistan

[@arintikhak9596]

Whenever I come across his interviews, I am always awestruck by his extensive depth of knowledge. He is the real jewel to India. Which ever party may form the govt, I believe, he must always remain as an opposition so as to rationally criticize when ever required.

[@Ayesha-be4fv]

Right

[@rishikumarsahni1]

Shashi tharoor is a guru teaching Indians and brits the real history !!

[@magdaciwis5920]

I need to get one of his books... Amazing man👍

[@joetkeshub]

It's a great pleasure to hear Shashi Tharoor's brilliant analysis of the British Empire. Thank you Sir.

[@Lohitpant]

Our minds are also colonised. Well said Mr. Tharoor but this will take few decades not years to get freedom in our mind. I can say my generation is free from it to some extent and the next generation will be better.

[@powellp25]

We too in the Caribbean suffer from what Bob Marley's called 'mental slavery' valuing fairer skins and believing not in Caribbean but British tastes and class systems. Let's hope this will be seen for what it is - colonial indoctrination.

[@martingonzalez2850]

Does that mean your fellow countrymen will stop pouring into Britain?

[@abhijeet2125]

his vocabulary is very rich.......and his choice of words are appropriate

[@saurovghosh]

thanks sydney opera house and samsung for hosting & sponsoring one of the most prolific author and thinker of the contemporary Dr.Tharoor, incredible.

[@denverbritto5606]

he's a good author and thinker but a terrible historian.

[@dilippandey689]

@@denverbritto5606 how could you say that a terrible historian?

[@denverbritto5606]

@@dilippandey689 his books full of inaccuracies and flawed analyses- it's been thoroughly criticised by historians. It's well written and well argued, but I wouldn't rely on it too heavily for an accurate understanding of history, a work of polemic propaganda as flawed as European 19th century arguments for colonialism, not an attempt at carefully analysing and interpreting the facts.

[@dilippandey689]

@@denverbritto5606 that means u dnt want to beleive it what happens to indians during british raj

[@denverbritto5606]

@@dilippandey689 believe what? I go according to what most historians agree on

[@fatimavaz7093]

Shashi tharoor sir,I love to watch all your videos cos it is so refreshing me from all the past history from what I learned. Proud to have Indian like u sir. God bless u always

[@anirex911]

Awesome stuff. You can just keep listening to Dr. Tharoor talking on and on.... and always making sense.

[@agytjax]

Excellent discussion from Tharoor. We need more men like him to further India's legacy and entrench its position in the world order. Also, great closing remarks from the host :".. we have traversed a lot of territory - from driverless car to missionary... ". Quite a gem

[@prassantv]

Right man in the wrong party. If only we were blessed with a second full term of Atal Bihari Vajpayee our country would gave been in a far better shale than it was. Many might be thinking we might have haven't lost much in ten years after him but as a country that one decade of misrule has set us back by at least 2-3 decades of progress.

[@vijaygon]

Aandh Bhakt, He is in a right party!

[@ananya6971]

But he wouldn't have been elected as an MP from Kerala if was in BJP.

[@71espn]

A party of liars, thieves, rioters and rapists at the very top wouldn't be the right place for him. In case you hadn't noticed this is anything but Vajpayee's BJP. You should also listen to what vajpayee had to say about the 2004 election loss. Whom did he hold responsible then? He said it's the gujrat pogrom and it's aftermath handling that lost him the election.

[@aanandizamre614]

@@71espn Can you give me an example of a liar a thief or a rapist in the BJP party.

[@charlie7mason]

@@aanandizamre614 Bro, if you don't see that BJP has seemingly had more and worse members on the criminal law spectrum, I don't know what to tell you. No amount of examples would convince you, since you failed to even admit one possible member.

[@PraveenKambhampatiMyVideos]

My sincere appreciations to the balance, knowledge and expression of Dr. Shashi Tharoor. Never been such a big fan of the encuclopedia that he personifies until I listened to this interaction.

[@upadhyayrathiraj1518]

I think Pakistanis couples discuss Kashmir during their honeymoon too!

[@usmanawan7482]

There exists people like you who would just drag in their hatred towards the Pakistanis, no matter what the severity of the situation, you're so relentless to spit out the venom towards your neighbouring country, there was no need for your comment here mentioning Pakistan or it's citizens. Sashi Tharoor was discussing important aspects of the history regarding the indian subcontinent but here someone like you who is filled with so much vile hatred and racism had to show your nasty and cruel side. I suggest you grow up now, There's nothing you would gain with these kind of remarks.

[@anirudhsyal9998]

@@usmanawan7482 Take it easy man! it's just a matter of chance some one is born this side of the boundary while some one on the other side. Why should i be your enemy by chance! Why not a friend by chance :)

[@diwakarlama9584]

It's because that girl was a Pakistani and this was not a debate show on kashmiri issues.. how can she suppose to ask that silly questions.. even though shashi explained her nicely she didn't understood.

[@rexxbailey2764]

@@usmanawan7482 : YEAH TELL DAT TO UR LOCAL PAKISTANI FLOOZY U EXPORTED TO BRITIAN WHO CAME ON THE MIC FLAUNTING HER ROOM TEMPERATURE IQ AND MADARSA EDUCATED FAMILY BACKGROUND TALKING DAT SAME OLD STALE SHIT TO SASHI THAROOR IN DAT PLACE . LOLS :-/

[@qudsiakamal2135]

Ooh! Why I feel you are so scared!!!

[@Obelixlxxvi]

Dr. Shashi a class apart.

[@briancornish5857]

Yes, the Caste System at work...

[@akshayrao348]

Pls can you become the prime minister of India.... Extraordinary personality.

[@iamray112]

Congress never allow him to contest PM election what they wanna is take complete power in the hand of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi.

[@HarpreetSinghChauhan]

@@iamray112 simply because main leaders of Congress keep power in their hand , while receiving no criticism and actually portraying Gandhi family as great but actually they're being controlled by them

[@vivianastridge2167]

Shashi Tharoor is one of the very few Indians that I greatly admire and respect. This video must surely be one of te most moving and heart rending of any short account produced about the Raj. I myself have personally and actually handled several shipments of the gold marked for shipment to England. By handled I mean quite literally held and lifted the gold bars. The total amount looted by the British is most certainly to be reckoned in the trillions not millions. Quite apart from the loot carried on for the two hundred years, the British deserted the communities that were responsible at ground level for the successful running of the country for them who were then left to face the justifiable hatred of the indigenous population. I myself a graduate mathematician and a graduate structural and mechanical engineer could only land the job of a hamal or coolie despite the fact that I was born and educated and lived totally in India. It is indeed incredible that the history of the Raj is not even dealt with casually or superficially, not to consider truthfully dealt with in Indian schools and most Indians are totally unaware of the horrors of the Raj. Kudos and all the more power to Mr Shashi Tharoor for his brief and factual account of the Raj in this video/talk.

[@rexxbailey2764]

WTF! HOW THE HECK YOU HANDLED ALL THAT GOLD SHIPPED OUT OF INDIA YOURSELF ALL THOSE 100'S OF YEARS AGO NOW !!??? 🤨🤨😳

[@tannishtha04]

So interesting and educational love it 🥰

[@charithachamari9142]

Lots of love & respect from Sri Lanka! Show less

[@Olovoll]

Just incredible! I’m heart broken hearing the background on colonialism 😩

[@acommon1]

Very informative exchange. Keep these coming. Enjoyed Dr. Shashi Tharoor's comments.

[@Gana0408]

Enjoyed the discussion...Kudos Dr. Tharoor

[@BirdArvid]

How wonderful to hear this man speak the English language the way it used to be spoken; with words more or less forgotten in England and certainly in the US. A vast vocabulary to express very specific thoughts and ideas, and with a grammatical structure to underpin those thoughts and ideas. Beautiful.

[@Jaymes360]

Am so glad finally somebody is paying attention to this issue!

[@chintalagopi7412]

That namaskaram with both hands at the end.. India in its essence..♥️♥️

[@saileshcroy]

Amazing deliberation by Dr. Shashi Tharoor. I sincerely admire his way of thinking, collaborating and interpreting history.

[@adargopatil]

You cannot say at least The British brought the English language to India by Colonising. You are implying that something good happened by this?? I’m sorry but they could have brought English language even without colonialism.

[@johngaskell1467]

How many languages does India have ? The government of India is trying to introduce Hindi as the national language.....I wonder how much trouble that will cause .Which country in the World has the English language without having been colonised ? Very few comments listed above or below have been thought through by those expressing them unfortunately.

[@avikondareddy7318]

@@johngaskell1467 I agree that English as a a national language is definitely a benefit to modern India. In many ways, the attempt to nationalize only Hindi is mistaken and prioritizes certain groups over others. It worked in China where languages/dialects are closely related and the Han Chinese population is dominant, but breaks down in a diverse country with several unrelated language families and fairly distinct ethnic groups. English is already an internationally accepted lingua franca, so its seemingly benign. But there is a difference between acknowledging certain unintented benefits and thanking colonizers for it. The argument that Tharoor is making is that the positives are dramatically less important than the negatives, economic and psychological, and that intention matters: it is not enough that the British indirectly brought English, or democracy, or united diverse peoples if the benefits of those things were won in spite of British intentions, not because of them. Also, English is taught in schools in many countries and Indians learn it in much the same way, it's not as if the poor and uneducated are reaping many benefits from English being a national language.

[@sadenb]

And besides there are many nations which are prosperous without the English language. There is nothing magical about the English language. It is not because of the British but the Americans that English is the world language. One can just use it as a second language. India has a far sophisticated language system with the oldest grammar system in Sanskrit that is still used in linguistic studies. So it's high time the British stop giving the English language excuse.

[@ffolinzeni1060]

@@johngaskell1467 Sweden? The Netherlands? Switzerland? Or was English their native tongue too?

[@ffolinzeni1060]

@@johngaskell1467 your facts are off. Hindi has been the official language for long with no trouble, so your point on 'national' language isn't making sense. The Constitution has stated nothing there specifically. Individual states are allowed to use local languages on brand marks, signs and communications. In these cases almost all have an English translation

[@carolinkasar9343]

Your answer always WOW me! Huffff!!!

[@Shashimall]

Shashi Tharoor ... How sophisticated ... With pleasant gestures and in a cool way he explains everything !!

[@YD-uq5fi]

I have never seen any nation of people more obsessed with any one issue for such a long time than Pakistanis with Kashmir. The same Pakistanis never say anything about how right next door, Afghanistan has been occupied by two different foreign superpowers for 42 years.

[@Xestra37490]

Wow this guy’s amazing his explanation and the preciseness to the specificity. Good job

[@Mama-Sarnit]

Just listening to Dr Shashi Tharoor gives me chills. That man is truly intelligent no I think it's underrated if I call him intelligent. He is pure genius and brilliant mind. His explanation of British empire and detail enumeration of the past is what we need to know. The harsh reality of great India's history. Even in his book he wrote about Fiji, where I am from giving justice to my ancestors/ forefathers. Thanks so much DR and hope one day i get to shake your hand.

[@kellyw8017]

I wonder why he didn't talk about hostility toward India's Muslim minority? Think it takes away from his argument of reaching back 100 years to look for injustice instead of finding home-grown injustice today?

[@tasneemali4970]

Excellent indeed. Yes, such a great indian. Proud to be Indian from Fiji.

[@seshachary5580]

Thank you. Very powerful speaker indeed.

[@naseemfirdaus1789]

Excellent presentation….too good to be true👌👌👌

[@aninditasaha9944]

He is just brilliant orator of this era...I suppose there's none to his parallel!!

[@TechCrazy]

A well-read informed intellectual and not to mention a very eloquent speaker.

[@sharonprabhakar8348]

What a prolific visionary you are! I would love to see your strengths go beyond the covers of the books you have written!! Your strategies, solutions, advice and intelligence are the much needed healing balm our country needs today.🙏

[@sahithayelamanchili1713]

'We are here because you were there' ! Awesome!

[@riviera443]

Incredible

[@vikrantsharma8249]

The injustice here is that Shashi Tharoor is not nearly as well known as he ought to be.

[@lisashung9442]

Vikrant Sharma He is brilliant speaker but British don’t like the truth very much though. The media is soft power, which currently in the hand of English speaking world.

[@Kulwinderkaur-pz1kf]

This man create interest to read history again... I really admire him

[@jeetkalag2457]

Mr. Tharoor's DNA should be preserved and multiplied infinite number of times 😊 We need more people like him to lead us Globally not only in politics but in every field

[@englishalan222]

Then god help the human race

[@santanumohapatra1326]

@@englishalan222 God help the *British.

[@rexxbailey2764]

HE IS THE APJ ABDUL KALAM WHO DID NOT GO IN SCIENCE AND CAME INTO POLITICS . LOL.

[@sierrakamau1510]

I had to shut the clip and stop listening when I heard of the horrors done to the poor Indians by British Invaders! My Gosh!!! 'Revenge is mine', says the Lord.

[@hdjdiieih]

Unbelievable. So very proud of him

[@jini1348]

What an extraordinary mind. Such a great speaker.

[@tasneemali4970]

Brilliant indian. Tons of respect from an indian from Fiji. Great intellectual! God give him the strength to make real difference in this unjust world.

[@rexxbailey2764]

LET GOD GIVE HIM ALL THE STRENGTH TO GIVE JUSTICE TO HIS WIFE FIRST, THEN LETS SEE WHAT ALL HE DOES FOR THAT COUNTRY OF HIS! LOLS. 😏😎

[@pardeepparkash398]

you can sense the audience are gobsmacked; they have never been confronted with alternative history-good on you Tharoor,about time all this was laid out -simple facts communicated brilliantly

[@MalvikaMohan]

This was a great interview! I also liked the interviewer's temperament!

[@Debthegamerboy99]

Hats off !

[@aminaragin]

Great historical recount. Thank you Mr Tharoor.