Present day South Asian woes legacy of British Raj: Pak UK envoy

ISLAMABAD - Criticizing Britain for the colonization of India and Pakistan, Pakistan High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan has blamed English rule for various problems confronting the region at present.

Speaking during the prestigious Oxford Union debate, Hasan said the roots of many of the major problems can be traced back to the British Raj.

“We can trace roots of many of the problems to the course of actions adopted by the British during the Raj as well as at the time when it was parting away from the colonies in the wake of independence movements in the post world war-II situation,” The Nation quoted Hasan, as saying.

Speaking against the motion during the debate, Hasan said at the time when the East India Company started its activities in the sub-continent, the region was ‘far more ‘prosperous and culturally affluent than the British isle.

Hasan particularly targeted the British throne for plundering India’s wealth and destroying the flourishing textile industries of the country.

“The (British) Raj destroyed the flourishing textile industry of India and went up to the level of mutilating skilled weavers of fine Muslin cloth. India was Jewel in the Crown but all its wealth was plundered including the famous Koh-i- Noor diamond,” The Nation quoted Hasan, as saying.

He also criticized the Madrasa system, which was introduced during the British regime, saying it not only gave rise to educational backwardness but also sowed the seeds of religious extremism. (ANI)