British Gora Sahebs ruled India. some people loved them , some hated their rule. Some still loves them, after seeing acts of local rulers after partition.
But what is the feeling on other side? Who are some goras who loved India and kept on remembering India, after they left in 1947?
We read a lot about loathing and superiority complex affected attitude of goras in our text books. Were there any goras who cared for people they ruled?
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
they didn't plunder the country the way modern Muslim rulers are plundering. if they took India's resources, they at the same time invested heavily in India. they gave us all the systems that we enjoy today, be it Judiciary, Railways, infra structure, administrative and architecture.
we 'talk about' them because of the rampant corruption and say, "those days were better because there was almost no corruption for a common man."
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
I think it's kinda a myth though...
Some Goras were saintly no doubt... but most and I say this quite comfortably were not.
Besides the Comapny Gorah was considerably different from Victorian Gorah.
In the days of the Company there was more corruption than you can imagine... I recall they even sued each other over who stole the most stuff... fancy that.
Though by later years things went back and forth.
I reckon the Scotts were the most influential Gorahs in Indian subcontinent everywhere they went they got some kind of admiration even from enemies. The Scotts were almost Half Desi though and those who bumped into them became Half Scottish :D
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
they didn't plunder the country the way modern Muslim rulers are plundering. if they took India's resources, they at the same time invested heavily in India. they gave us all the systems that we enjoy today, be it Judiciary, Railways, infra structure, administrative and architecture.
we 'talk about' them because of the rampant corruption and say, "those days were better because there was almost no corruption for a common man."
But don't you think they maintained status quo and what we are facing today in form of wadera, chodhri, raja.. all were supporters and were supported by British rulers of India?
As far as consuming Indian resources in India is concerned, can we say they consumed major portion in India and they didn't loot our treasures? Isn't it just bad performance of current lot that makes British rulers looks like angels?
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
I reckon the Scotts were the most influential Gorahs in Indian subcontinent everywhere they went they got some kind of admiration even from enemies. The Scotts were almost Half Desi though and those who bumped into them became Half Scottish :D
Scottish are famous for their misery, so they might be liked by Baniyas :D
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
Well actually people forget that vast famines took place in 19th and 20th Century people like Winston churchill are celebrated for many things but history has kind of covered up the bad...
As for Chuadhary Wadera etc the British kept them too... they were pretty unchecked. Only improvement they brought with them was to me infastructure and some law and order... but only where there was a main road :D
Current lot are afterall in pocket of Gorah anyway... not much has changed when you think about it.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
Scottish are famous for their misery, so they might be liked by Baniyas :D
Muslim Pathans are also among thier best fans. :D
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
Well actually people forget that vast famines took place in 19th and 20th Century people like Winston churchill are celebrated for many things but history has kind of covered up the bad...
As for Chuadhary Wadera etc the British kept them too... they were pretty unchecked. Only improvement they brought with them was to me infastructure and some law and order... but only where there was a main road :D
Current lot are afterall in pocket of Gorah anyway... not much has changed when you think about it.
Gorah as a ruler were not different than other rulers of sub-continent. Each got bad and good traits. Law and Order and infrastructure are definitely plus points of British rule. But in almost 100 years of their rule, they seems to performed comparatively way better than current lot.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
For many, the Anglo-Indian relationship is summed up in icons such as chicken tikka masala, now regarded by some as our national dish, a pint of Kingfisher, The Kumars at Number 42. And our diplomats take comfort in the fact that more than one million people in Britain are of Indian descent.
But for many Indians, the history they "share" with us is one of humiliation: bloody massacres, mass arrests, the suppression of democratic political movements and the supplanting of its indigenous cultures to create a servile, anglicised elite.
Here’s why Britain owes a debt to India | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
I'm not what love really means in this context but vast majority of British officers certainly enjoyed spending time in exotic colonies.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
I'm not what love really means in this context but vast majority of British officers certainly enjoyed spending time in exotic colonies.
Love here means good memories, concern for locals, their places, food, etc
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
I'm not what love really means in this context but vast majority of British officers certainly enjoyed spending time in exotic colonies.
Many also spread or became infected with exotic disease too colonies were not always desirable
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
Did you know, curry is actually older than Fish and chips. I checked and double checked, triple checked and officially verified it the oldest Curry House in the UK was late 1700’s and the oldest Fish and Chip shop was actually 1840 something… so technically Curry has always been before Fish and Chips or at least till records began 
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
yes BBC report says so.
BBC News - How Britain got the hots for curry
But Britons already had a taste for curry. A handful of coffee houses served curries alongside their usual fare, and in the gracious homes of returnees, ladies attempted to recreate dishes and condiments their families enjoyed on the sub-continent.
Some wrote out their own recipes; others may have used one of the many editions of Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery, first published in 1747, which contained recipes for curries and pilaus.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
Well you have a living legend and my role model Geoffrey Douglas Langlands, former Aitchison teacher, living in Pakistan since partition. But I am not sure if he'd be considered a 'Sahib' since he's just a solider. Nonetheless, what a fierce personification of loyality, compassion, humility, adventure and great service he is. The kind of exemplary and adventurous life I would want to lead if I ever move back to Pakistan for permanent basis.
From a Historical prespective, I believe Lord Curzon was very committed to bring adminstrative reforms in India. He was a staunch imperialist who absolutely loved being the Viceroy of India and despite his aristocratic arrogance and superior complex, he was genuine in his efforts to reform Indian education, military, police and general administrative fields. If he was around today, that one man certainly would've done more for Pakistan than all combined years of PPP rule and in a way, he actually did.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
I think these Desi Gora sahebs are sin for the land they are dependent on.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
came through this painting. didn’t know where to put it. Its about Dr. Bernier examining Nadira Banu’s pulse.Fugitive Dara looks on (March 1659).
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
One interesting fact is that until Lord Cornwallis was appointed by the East India company to be its governor in India, there was a very large faction of goras within the East India company which viewed India as being a superior society and way of life.... they lived a hybrid of an Indian and British life, marrying Indians and acting like them.
Cornwallis arrived fresh from his defeat in the American Revolution and decided to retrieve his honour by delivering India to Britain, having lost America. He banned Company Employess from "Going native", fired all the half-breed employees of the Company who had one Indian Parent, and implemented strict rules forcing goras to maintain a gora way of life, and then began running the company like an occupying colonial entity instead of the way it was before, which was more of a new indian princely state.
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
Re: Sahibs who loved India!
@faris udeen
calling pakhtuns soodkhor, when they are not, is pretty low of you. This is baseless stereotype about us in punjab...kindly refrain from this stupid stereotyping, we are your countrymen not some baniyas or scots