Colonialism8217;s enduring images on display

May 25: Is India still a colony, the freedom movement and 1947 notwithstanding? A picture exhibition titled 500 years of Violence' on colon...

May 25: Is India still a colony, the freedom movement and 1947 notwithstanding? A picture exhibition titled 500 years of Violence8217; on colonialism, past and continued, seems to suggest so.

The exhibition, organised by the Goa Foundation, Viniyog Parivar, Azadi Bacaho Andolan, Third World Network and National Fishworkers8217; Union, is part of a movement8217; provoked by the Indian Government8217;s proposal to celebrate 500 years of Vasco da Gama8217;s discovery8217; of a route to India, which falls on May 28 this year. Stated Rajiv Dixit, president of the Azadi Bachao Andolan: 8220;We opposed this move by the government to celebrate the event and we succeeded. Now, we want to erase the last vestiges of the colonialists and everything to do with them,8221; he added.

Commented eminent historian Dharampal, who inaugurated the exhibition: 8220;Today8217;s masters use a different kind of gun to enslave us. They wave the sanctions, loan waivers in our faces and force us to do as they want8221;.

He added: 8220;They destroyed the indigenous peoplein all the countries they ruled. Crores of Africans were killed between 15 to 18 AD when the slave trade was on. There were around 12 crore Red Indians in the Americas before the White men landed, today they number a few lakhs. Even India8217;s population must have gone down by at least 50 crore during the British rule.8221;

While Dharampal agreed that an isolationist stance would not help, Dharampal suggested that some distance must be maintained between countries to prevent a form of neo-colonialism from recurring.

Stated Dixit: 8220;Indians have blinkers on their eyes which makes them see only the Western viewpoint. They tell us our population is growing and it will create a major problem for us. The fact is, our large population is a boon in disguise 8211; it is are our human resource,8221; he opined. Added Atul Shah of Viniyog Parivar, 8220;The sanctions and IMF loans are invisible prisons created by Western powers. Globalisation is also another face of this western monster.8221;

This neo-enslavement is a worldwidephenomenon, and some panels by Americans were on display theorise that the attitude of the White masses could have been shaped by their masters. 8220;They were terrorised by their masters, so when their turn came, they tortured others,8221; says a panel.

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The organisers said they hoped that this anti-colonial movement8217; will continue until people become 8220;true Indians.8221; The exhibition of photographs and paragraphs from books by authors from all over the world depicting the White man8217;s tyranny are also on display. The Viniyog Parivar and Azadi Bachao Andolan will also be holding a three-day seminar from 26-28 May on ways to counter the Western influence on India.