Miliband was here..

Not very often do great men have an opportunity to savour common public life.

David Miliband got exactly that when he set aside his diplomacy for a while to visit a village in Amethi and stayed over for the night.

Brits have had this fascination for India – like it were an extended arm of the empire. It was – there isn’t a debate on that. But it isn’t any more. And howsoever hard we try reminding our kids about the atrocities of the Raj, we can’t just deny the multitude of benign British individuals that have left indelible marks on the way we live today.

History has its share of evils – it is written by humans who are naturally inclined to be judgmental and decidedly partisan. No history is a pure journalistic attempt – it picks up the socio-political flavour and alignment of the author. Naturally, you won’t be amazed by the overdose of Indian National movement (and glorification of terrorist activities during the struggle for independence) in our High school textbooks. Make no mistake – No one can ever take away the prominence and enormity of the meaningful efforts of that struggle. However the objection is to the almost universal vilification of the Raj character and undermining the stupendous efforts they put in to take this country out of medievalism.

Fortunately (or otherwise) I have not lived in the days of the Raj in this life and have no cognizable memories of my previous ones either. That can be considered a serious handicap in the course of formation of my opinions about the British rule of India. However, I am human and to that extent liable to enjoy my opinions about people through my own interactions and I have found the polite company of Brits quite enjoyable.

And isn’t that one thing I would probably share with another young man by the name Rahul Gandhi. These two young politicians have a lot in common interests and it was nice to see them engaged in appreciation of the problems of a community so remotely linked to their daily lives. Rahul is known to be interactive with the masses and Miliband appeared genuinely interested in the conversation he had with the people that night.

There is a lot to learn from the villagers, lads. After all, you don’t forget who put you there. These visits can go a long way in that direction. These two countries can align better much better for the future.

To begin with - we speak the same language most often.