India and imperialism: A developing country

India is still a developing country because of imperialism. India was imperialized by British in the late 1700’s and the early 1800’s till 1947 until it gained independence or communism. The British started expanding with the help of the “British East India Company”. The British expanded their rule over India. India at that time was one the richest countries in the world. They were rich because they had the most expensive diamond in the World, “Kohinoor Diamond”, at that time India had very less poverty and little corruption as well. The British took the “Kohinoor Diamond”, and have it now in a museum in United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is developed because of our (Indian’s) diamond and not because of their own efforts. After the British rulers were force to leave India in the year 1947, India became a country among countries with the highest poverty and corruption. India was considered well developed before the British expanded their rule. However from 1947, till today it is considered developing. Also, the British leaders led to a separation of a major sector of India, Pakistan. India and Pakistan were separated because of the British. The British not only separated India and Pakistan, it separated many parts of India from India. A good example of this is Jammu and Kashmir. Till today India and Pakistan are in a state of a cold war to decide that which part does Jammu and Kashmir belong to. The people from Jammu and Kashmir are tired of the war between India and Pakistan and want to be known as an independent country. The British separated thousands of Indians from each other. The British broke India from one large country to a large number of small countries.

India is still a developing country because of Imperialism and this has an impact on me. I am actually from Sind, which now is a part of Pakistan. After the separation of India and Pakistan, I do not know whether I am an Indian of Pakistani. I just know I am a Sindhi. However, now I have become a part of India. Earlier I was considered to be a Pakistani Indian and now I am considered as a Hindu Indian. The British Imperialism has an indirect impact on me. The British imperialism increased poverty and corruption in my country and until these two factors are reduced or eliminated, India will not be developed. My families back in home town know exactly what the poverty is, and when I go back to India it is difficult for me to face them. The British has made it difficult for me to face my own family members. It is difficult to decide whether the British had thought that there imperialism would affect India for so long. The result of the British imperialism, after they left was that my family shifted to Dubai, they thought staying in India would be difficult. Staying in my own country is difficult? Why? How is it my country if I cannot stay in it? These are some unanswered questions left for me to find answers for, and these questions have been raised only because of the existence of the British Empire in India. Whenever I go to India, looking at the people craving for money for food and water is so difficult, that sometimes I do not want to go back to my own country. The country which any human belongs to is usually the first choice a person wants to spend vacations at. But some Indians like me staying in Dubai, do not want to go back to our own country because it is difficult to face the people out there.

The “Persepolis”, by Marjane Satrapi she gives reasons for Iran being a developing country because of imperialism. In the story Marjane a citizen of Iran which was under the imperialism of the Shah’s and the Islamic republic represents the thousands of other citizens of Iran. The Iranian Revolution has led to the deaths of thousands of people. In the story, Marjane had to leave her own country, her own parents because she had no freedom of life. Marjane represents many Iranians who had to leave their own country because they wanted to live their lives themselves and not on the orders of others. Marjane was separated from her parents at a very young age to complete education. Usually, many students leave their parents by choice for higher education (University), while Marjane had to leave her parents by force for school. The Iranian revolution keeps Iran a developing country. A country is considered developed only if they have a maintained GDP, a developed infrastructure, and low unemployment levels. Iran lacks these qualities to an extent because of imperialism and hence still considered a developing country. As Marjane by the end of the Movie leaves her own country again because of imperialism, she shows that her own country could be considered hers due to the Iranian Revolution. The rules over there changed after Saddam overtook Iran. One of the most important rules that affected women and Marjane was, “The veil is synonymous of freedom; a worthy woman must cover herself from the eyes of a man” (Satrapi). This symbolizes many rules imposed on the Iranians which they did not want to agree to. However they had no freedom of choice. These things show how Iran is still under a developed country as a victim of imperialism.

Both Iran and India are developing countries because of imperialism and affect the lives of many human beings including me. My father came to Dubai because my grandfather thought it is safe for him to study here rather than in India (his own country) because of British Imperialism, exactly how Marjane had to leave to Paris, for studies due to Iranian revolution. Going back to India for me is sometimes difficult because I cannot face those relatives of mine who lost their family members during the British Revolution. Exactly like by the end of the movie: “The one day, the time to leave had come” (Satrapi), Marjane leaves to France; similar to my dad leaving for Dubai from India and hence I am an Indian living in Dubai. The impact of imperialism might not be intentional by British but it has affected me similar to the impact of imperialism by Shah and Saddam on Iran. My father came to Dubai, though it was not his choice. I do not know what my life would have been if I had been grown up in India. I sometimes do not feel like an Indian, because the problems faced by Indians living in India are comparatively more than the problems faced by them and hence I do not find myself to be capable of living in India. India is still a developing country and it is a fact which is difficult for me to face, while the Indians in India have accepted this fact and therefore are capable of living in India. When I go to India for vacations it is difficult for me to see people on the road, because of poverty. Here in Dubai when I hear about the corrupted ministers I feel angry and cannot do anything about it.

As India is a developing country, Iran as shown in the movie “Persepolis” is also a developing country because of imperialism. Imperialism affects many people indirectly. Many people including me know the effects of imperialism, and the biggest drawback of imperialism is that it the imperialized country a lot of time and a much higher effort to develop. Both Marjane and I know the effects of imperialism. The only difference is that Marjane has expressed it through “Persepolis” and I through this essay.

Work Cited:

Satrapi, Marjane. “Persepolis (2007) – IMDb.” The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 17 Dec. 2010. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/>.