Colonialism was a calculated alliance between the rich colonizers and the elite in colonized lands. These partnerships extracted wealth from the masses, leaving behind fractured societies and lasting economic gaps.
British rulers, capitalists and clergy collaborated with Bharat’s royalty, industrialists, businesspeople, and merchants to monopolize trade, agriculture, and resources. Impoverished populations funded opulent empires, while indigenous economies crumbled. Similar dynamics played out in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, where local collaborators profited from the exploitation of their own people.
Colonizers didn’t stop at economic plunder; they systematically eroded cultural and environmental practices. Prior to the British, daily life revolved around sustainable materials like bamboo baskets, banana leaves for plates, and clay pots—all biodegradable.
Diets were fresh and local, fostering good health and creating minimal waste. But industrialization quickly led to factories churning out plastic alternatives marketed as modern and convenient.
Today, India has dumps, poisoned rivers, dalda and ultra-processed foods full of chemicals. This change was forced through colonial schools that mocked native practices, generated mother tongue illiterate citizens and bred cultural self-hatred.
Today, calls for reparations from Western nations echo in global forums. Liberals and activists demand financial atonement for historical wrongs like slavery and colonialism.
This media and academic narrative conveniently glosses over ongoing exploitations for profitable reasons.
The Western liberal wants satisfaction, the Indian liberal wants a kudos from the West.
Western countries continue dumping waste on developing nations. The UK increased plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries by 84 percent from 2024 to 2025. Europe exports nearly four million tons of traded plastic waste each year. Fast fashion and electronic waste follow the same route—corporate profit at the expense of the Global South—while media push the reparations rhetoric.
Complicity is universal. Blacks sold blacks to European traders, whites sold whites to Arabs, for profit, and punishment. Today, leaders of resource-rich Africa exploit their populations in lithium and nickel mines—essential for namesake green tech like electric vehicles. Workers endure hazardous conditions for meager wages, while “modernized” people glee on emissions free cars.
In the DR Congo, over 40,000 children work in cobalt mines under toxic conditions for poverty wages, feeding armed groups and foreign contracts.
The imposition of Western values and societal norms add another layer of control. Issues like LGBT rights and hormone blockers for gender transitions are pushed globally through aid packages, media, and international bodies. Non-conforming nations face backlash: sanctions, tariffs, diplomatic isolation and the label of democratic backsliding.
The Russia-Ukraine war is a “world problem,” demanding universal support for Ukraine, complete with arms, funds and seizure of Russian assets. Hindu massacres, India-Pakistan tensions force calls for ceasefire, pleas for Indian restraint, dismissed as a “regional issue.” No global coalitions; just selective outrage. And Pakistan gets new parts for its American F16 jets.
Reparations are a smokescreen—a performative gesture that soothes consciences without addressing root causes. Handing over billions will fund a politician’s 40th home and some development. It ignores the everlasting structural dependencies keeping former colonies subservient.
True reparations is equal treatment, dismantling waste exports, regulating western appetites’ environmental footprint and allowing nationalism and cultural autonomy without punitive measures.
Until then, reparations remain feel-good nonsense, distracting from the real, ongoing colonial legacies.
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