The honourable BEIC

© XXVII

A few years ago, one of my physiotherapists was an Indian. One day, when we were talking about India, I asked him if any of the British had stayed on after independence. "Not one," he replied, obviously glad to be rid of the British. I was surprised. Since India is still part of "The Commonwealth" and it has the British bureaucratic system and English language, I thought the British would perhaps be remembered somewhat fondly. Boy am I naive! Any fond memories of British India are my own. In fact the bureaucratic system in India was invented by the Honourable East India Company (the British East India Company). It worked so well in India, it was adopted in the U.K.! So things are actually the other way around. And what is the actual record of the honourable BEIC? It founded Calcutta; took over India; invented smokable opium and international narco-trafficking; started the Opium Wars; and destroyed the Chinese Empire. It has been estimated that at one time 25% of Chinese men were smoking opium. They looted India and China. Oh yes, they also sold tea. The Dutch record is similar in the Dutch East Indies, which is why the natives there were not unhappy to be liberated by the Japanese in WW II.