The British Empire, under the Crown administration, often celebrated for its global reach and infrastructural contributions, also committed grave crimes against humanity during the heyday. Its history is marred by systemic racism, exploitation, and atrocities across continents, leaving a legacy of suffering and resentment.
 |
| 1947 Britain left India divided into two nations ar.inspiredpencil.com |
In India the resentment against he unjust rule under the British Crown led to widespread freedom struggle, The British wanted to keep the Indian subcontinent as long as they could because they never wanted to lose the vast land revenue, etc. As for the Indians, the great Delhi Durbar of 1906 headed by King George V and Queen Mary received widespread condemnation as much of the expenses were met by the British India Government. Thus began a series of protests against the colonial rule across India.
The 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, at Amritsar, Punjab orchestrated by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, saw several hundreds of unarmed civilians, including women and children, killed in cold blood, an act shockingly defended by some in Britain.
.jpg) |
| 1847 partition of India knowledgeofindia.com |
In 1947, Cyril Radcliffe was given the task of drawing the border between India and the newly created state of Pakistan. Without knowing the geography and population he drew the border over the course of a single lunch in a hurry.. He was British lawyer and1st Viscount Radcliffe (1899 - 1977) at the Colonial Office, London, July 1956. The Partition, hastily executed under Lord Mountbatten’s oversight, resulted in communal violence that claimed over a million lives and displaced millions more. Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India were forced to escape their homes as the situation quickly descended into violence. This misadventure left a legacy of animosity between India and Pakistan. The illegal transfer of Gilgit Baltistan under Office Brown, an employee of Kashmir Maharajah was yet another issue that was overlooked by Mountbatten.
 |
| Kenya. wbur.org |
In Africa, the British response to the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya during the 1950s involved the detention of thousands in concentration camps, where they endured torture, forced labor, and systematic abuse. Members of the Kikuyu tribe were detained in camps, since described as "Britain's gulags" or concentration camps. They were systematically tortured and suffered serious sexual assault. Estimates of the deaths vary widely: historian David Anderson believes there were 20,000, whereas Caroline Elkins believes up to 100,000 could have died.
The Boer War (1899–1902) masterminded by Churchill saw the establishment of camps where over 20,000 Boer civilians and 20,000 Black Africans died from disease and malnutrition. Of the 107,000 people interned in the camps, 27,927 Boers died, along with an unknown number of black Africans.
In Malaya, British forces imprisoned over 400,000 peasants in fortified camps, severing their ties to families and communities. In Cyprus, between 1955 and 1959, suspected insurgents faced horrific torture, including waterboarding and beatings.
In Cyprus between 1955 and 1959 the British arrested 3000 people - suspected terrorists and treated them badly - water boarding, beatings, floggings with whips laced with sharp irons, etc. In fortified camps for several years the poor people's voice was muffled and there was no contact with outsiders, not even families.
Winston Churchill’s role during the Bengal famine of 1943 exemplifies colonial disregard for human life. Despite pleas for food aid as millions starved, Churchill diverted resources to war efforts in Europe, infamously remarking that Indians were to blame for "breeding like rabbits." His policies exacerbated the famine, leading to an estimated three million deaths.
Across its empire, the British exploited resources and labor, while marginalizing native populations. The transatlantic slave trade, supported by British merchants based in Bristol and colonial policies, devastated African societies, with millions enslaved and transported to the Americas under inhumane conditions. When Slavery was abolished, the slave owners and their families were well compensated., but left the physically and mentally affected Africans in the lurch. No compensation for the loss of millions of people across the Atlantic.
In Ireland, policies during the Great Famine (1845–1852) prioritized British economic interests over human survival, causing over a million deaths and mass emigration.
These atrocities reveal the darker side of British imperialism, where economic gain and geopolitical dominance often came at the cost of human dignity and lives. The crimes committed by the empire continue to evoke painful memories, underscoring the importance of reckoning with its history to understand the enduring impacts of colonialism. The irony is the Royal family members live in palatial places and mansions, getting a big dole from the British government, while a large section of middle and lower class Britons have no roof over the head and are living on the streets like vagabonds or gypsies. Recent studies confirm the biased attitude of Churchill, who headed the government, and the relief measures were not taken up on war footing at his instigation. The British, have not yet apologized for their wrongs till such a time those millions perished in Bengal in 1943 and elsewhere will haunt the British politicians and their cronies.
10 Evil Crimes Of The British Empire Morris M. February 4, 2014.
https://www.navrangindia.in/2015/09/churchill-and-bengal-famine-of-1943.html
.jpg)
