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whatjaswatched · 1 year

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I finally got around to watching Dunkirk.

Whilst the movie was well made, the erasure of Sikh and Indian soldiers from European history cuts me deeply (as the great granddaughter of the British Indian army’s Sikh men).

Normally, I post pictures or gifs of the actual film with my thoughts but honestly, this time, fuck that.

Look upon the faces of the forgotten. Those who gave everything to defend freedom, while their own homeland was being oppressed.

#dunkirk #the Raj #British Indian army #Christopher Nolan #erasure #fucking colonisers #Harry styles #Tom hardy #cillian murphy #fionn whitehead #jack lowden #kenneth branagh #mark rylance #aneurin barnard #calam lynch #michael caine #Kim hartman #dunkirk 2017

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novacollistar · 2 months

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i am cosplaying as ramiz rafi mirza for world book day 2024.

i was talking to a friend about how in two books that i’ve read (this one and m.a bennett’s s.t.a.g.s) the indian characters are obvious about their opposition to the british empire. laughing, i told them something along the lines of “it’s like every brown person’s personality in the literature i read is being against the raj!” in a half joking way.

and they just gave me a look, which is when i realized half of my personality is talking about how the empire shaped south asia and the negative consequences of it was. whenever someone brings up the raj, i feel the urge to say something because even though a lot more light has been shed on the topic, it never feels like enough.

i wonder how ramy felt having to conform to a society that was built to hate him, keeping all this pain inside while making jokes and laughing along. perhaps why people talk about the empire a lot now is to speak for someone like ramy, whose voice was silenced by the one person he kept on trying to educate.

reading babel, especially when it focused on ramy, felt like reading about a relative, a friend. when he died, it felt like hundreds were dying with him in the same sort of circumstances, and feeling that pain of “it can’t be, but is is,” also felt like an old sort of pain, an ache that formed generations ago when the empire took over.

it is why literature like babel is so important. it allows for the reader to recognize themselves in the characters, it allows for more knowledge to be gained about something that needs to be talked about more.

for example, griffin was very relatable because he lost his identity in two different countries, continents, cultures. i cannot remember exactly how the book described it or even if it was meant to be seen in this way but this is how i interpret it: he lost the approval of his father, and therefore his worth. for me, it was akin to being told i am not indian enough, or that i am too white/british, that i can’t speak my language (even though i can) which caused me to be too embarrassed to even attempt speaking it. in the other direction, eating with my hands at a restaurant being awkward, having to watch videos where comments are filled with bots making fun of indians, racism towards south asians in general being ignored.

both sides act like i should either promote indian culture or british culture as if it is a tug of war, and sometimes i feel like i am seeking approval just like griffin was.

i fear losing both cultures partly because i don’t want to be ridiculed by anyone, and i find that upsetting. just as i should be allowed to exist whether or not i can speak my native tongue, participate in both indian and british cultures, etc so should have griffin been allowed to exist.

but he became isolated, ostracized and alone. he was punished.

babel is continuing to break my heart, and to honor that world book day is going to be taken over by ramy. i know the post is mostly about griffin, but ramy is my favorite character, and must be celebrated.

(if i got the lore wrong, i apologize, this was written very hastily and is mainly just ramblings. feel free to add any thoughts and correct me if i’ve incorrectly written something about the book).

#ramiz rafi mirza #babel an arcane history #the raj #desiblr #mallu #griffin harley #colonialism

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vox-anglosphere · 8 months

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Two cultures collide in David Lean's masterpiece, 'A Passage to India'

#A Passage to India #E M Forster #David Lean #British Empire #Peggy Ashcroft #Nigel Havers #Alec Guinness #British India #historical drama #The Raj #Jewel in the Crown #Malabar caves

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kabosustan · 7 months

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I should start a dream journal blog but untill then I'll post my dream here. Last night I dremp the brittish Raj was entirely located in my bedroom and it was my job to oversee India's decolonization. I went with a multi state solution which was criticised in the UK for not keeping it united and I was criticised in India for using pre colonial borders that didn't take it's post-colonisation cultural changes into account. Then I woke up.

#dream journal #the raj #india

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munaeem · 7 months

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How did British destroy India?

The British Raj: A Deep Dive into the Impact on India India, a land of rich history and vibrant culture, was influenced by various foreign powers throughout the centuries. Among these, the British Raj is undeniably one of the most significant chapters in Indian history. However, it is crucial to approach the topic with an objective lens, shedding light on both positive and negative aspects. The…

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#British rule in India #India #The Raj

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estrelarabiscada · 3 months

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