[Youngblood]

Interesting piece. Something I’ve often thought about, as an Irish person, is what my country would be like had the British left us alone for all those centuries. Would we be a similar country today? Would we have the present polarized society in Northern Ireland? I suppose someone else like France or Spain would have taken us over anyway in order to gain a position of strength against Britain. However, whether we are better off today (northern conflict a pretty big aside) because of colonialism is not going to endear me to the glory of British imperialism, despite the very good relationship we enjoy with the British today. Acknowledging some residual benefits of imperialism does not excuse the repressive, selfish motives of the empire builders. That said, the author makes very valid points about the damage the various types of corrupt regimes have inflicted on their own people since the end of imperialism. At some point they're going to have to take responsibility for sorting out their own societies instead of blaming all their problems on the evils of imperialism.

[swarthyguy]

You don't have to agree completely with Dinesh. He's pointing out colonialism being used as a scapegoat and as a general all-purpose issue used to deflect criticisms of societies and governmnets. He has the hindsight to consider his grandfather's views in a dispassionate way and is physically removed from India. My grandfather was doctor in the British Army in WWI in Iraq. Figuring out who to get pissed off at can get very confusing sometimes.:) OTH, I've wondered idly about the what-if scenario as well. Dinesh paints a rather simple picture of colonialism but is true in suggesting that constantly looking back and seeking to right perceived/actual wrongs is not a particularly worthwhile activity. Being aware of it in a historical sense it certainly not wrong.