Sheep magazine Archive 2: issues 10-17

CUP IN HAND
Theresa May has some cheek going cap in hand to India, an ex-British
colony, for a post-Brexit deal
The Government’s position seems to involve the hope that India will sign
a cushy deal with us, while we crack down on Indians in Britain who’ve
outstayed their frosty welcome
Words borrowed from Harriet Williamson and Mirza Waheed
Theresa May is visiting India this week cup in hand, to ask for a
favourable post-Brexit trade deal. There’s arrogance in May’s return to
Britain’s former colony, expectant that India will come up with the goods,
but ultimately, the move shows how much the tables have turned.
Many people, particularly in my grandparents’ generation, still view
British imperialism and empire with a dewy-eyed longing. The reality is,
of course, that British rule in India caused the deaths of millions of people
through administrative failure and imperialist cruelty. Numerous famines,
outbreaks of cholera, the arbitrary and rushed drawing of the border
between India and the newly-created Pakistan, mass-displacement, and
the destruction of India’s cottage industries left the country impoverished
and unstable.
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NOVEMBER 2016