Video of the 1957 debate shows Indian students criticizing British rule. Shashi Tharoor’s reaction

An old video of an Indian and a Pakistani student lecturing a representative of the United Kingdom at a high school debate in 1957 on the British Empire and how it looted India for 200 is going viral on the internet. The topic of debate was “prejudice”. This was shared by industrialist Anand Mahindra on Twitter today. Sharing the video, Mr Mahindra questioned what happened to the determined student who interrupted all UK chats when he insisted that India is a friend of the UK. He also inquired from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor about the fate of Shri Gopinath. In response to the same, he said that the speaker is “retired and living in undeserved obscurity.”

Mr. Tharoor said, “Yes Anand.” He continued in another tweet, “By then I *had* been born! And I know the brilliant Indian student with glasses who went on to become a star official at @ILO. He is now retired and lives in obscurity.” Used to be.”

Yes Anand https://t.co/Q7sGhIfNs4

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 27, 2023

“This was going on a rampage on social media yesterday. Amazing to see someone supporting India so strongly back in ’57! @ShashiTharoor I am sure you have seen this and probably know Mr Gopinath What happened to…” he wrote while sharing the video.

Defining the topic of the debate, Mr Gopinath said in the video, “Prejudice is willful ignorance. It is dictated only by emotion. And the fear and suspicion it creates does more harm than I can imagine.” Additionally, he noted that “barbarous Anglo-Saxons were still roaming around wearing skins 3,000 years before the signing of the Magna Carta, which the British regarded as the beginning of history in the Indus River Valley.”

He said that it is only the responsibility of the Indian people and not the British that India is still cordial with Britain and maintains good relations. He said, ‘It is your policy to say that all these countries wish for it, it was you who was putting the wish in your mouth. They could not do much. Mr. Gopinath also talked about the exploitation of the Sarawak rainforest and the British Empire.

Ms. Chats then questions the two on “material wealth”. In response to the same, Mr. Gopinath said that the British Empire would not have lasted a day if not for the same material wealth that all came from India. In return, Britain provided us with “a vaguely vague way of living democratically”, he said. He also gave the example of the Panchayat system and revealed that India had democracy “3500 years before the birth of Christ”.

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