India’s Left & Right think this violence is new. Read diaries of British Raj ICS officers

26 April, 2022

Violence around cow slaughter and religious processions is not novel in India. Virtually every single ICS officer had to deal with ‘riots’ and ‘law and order problems’.

The commentariats on both the Left and the Right are having a great time arguing that the current situation in India is something novel and unusual. Violence surrounding cow slaughter and loud processions—I hate to say it—are simply not new. One has to only read the classic The Men Who Ruled India by Philip Woodruff to know that in the days of the British Raj, virtually every single Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer posted to any district had to deal with “riots” and “law and order problems” on account of cows and processions that were accompanied by drums and cymbals. It is a pity that Woodruff’s book is not prescribed reading for IAS and IPS officers today. If that were done, our officials would understand that they belong to a long tradition of frustrated administrators dealing with the thankless task of keeping recalcitrant groups from going after each other. They may even pick up some pointers on how to deal with such situations.

To Read More : https://theprint.in/opinion/indias-left-right-think-violence-is-new-read-diaries-british-raj-ics-officers/929023/