Imperialism and Genocide (Essay Sample)

Imperialism and Genocide
Britain and India
Application of Social Darwinism to the Britain and India case
The invasion of India by the British was triggered majorly by the resources that India had as well as the native free labour that was available in the vast country. The British colonization of India to show was to show how superior they were, an ideology commonly known as “the white man’s burden” which was geared towards the colonization of anyone that did not originate from the west continent. Through the unscientific concept of social Darwinism, which praised the characteristics of the west, the British not only colonized India for supremacy purposes but also led to the successful colonization of specific Indian aspects such as culture, politics, economic aspects as well as the education system. Consequently, the main goal for the British was to generate profits for their industries back home as well as spread civilization in India. According to Roychowdhury & Randhawa (2015), the British considered India as a jewel due to the material prosperity and strategic advantages the Indian colony accorded the Great Britain. The British regarded Indians as inferior due to their native and alien culture but occupied a rich and exotic land.
Motivations for the invading country
Bayl and Bayl (1987) assert that the main reason or motivation behind the British’s invasion of India was because India had a large land and cash revenues between the year 1757-1818 which enabled Great Britain to build up one of the biggest European army globally. The British used the Indian army to further its interests in the Middle East as well as the southern and eastern. Further, the British used Indian raw materials majorly cotton and opium which got shipped to Europe and Asia thus helping balance Britain’s Asian trade. India also provided a market for Britain’s manufactured goods. Another reason why Britain invaded India was due to the indentured labour and cheap raw materials for its industries that it had begun to establish in Mauritius, the Caribbean and Sri Lanka just before the mid-century.
Ethnocentrism manifestation in their interactions
Ethnocentrism manifested itself in the interactions between Indians and the British who imparted the English language unto the Indians. The British used their language as a colonial instrument designed to help them oppress the Indian masses. Further, the British prohibited the Indians from riding in first-class compartments in trains that they had helped build by labelling the compartments as “dogs and Indians are not allowed”. Through these acts of oppression and ethnocentrism, the Indians were maltreated and looked down upon as being inferior to the British and the Indian subcontinent would be ripped into pieces by the British just before they left it. The Indian Subcontinent was drained of its wealth which was used to fill up UK coffers (Telesur, 2017).
The poem by Kipling's can be truly applied to this example as it clearly represents the happenings in India. The British greatly took advantage of the Indian colony’s natural reso