Inglorious Empire: controversy and challenges “Shashi Tharoor and the rise of post-colonial nostalgia in a time of Brexit”

Details

Supervisors

Arblaster, Paul

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en communication multilingue

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a global movement to demand some form of reckoning from the countries that once had the control over a colony. We have seen it with the United States, Canada, Belgium, Germany, France, and many more. Scandals about malpractices or atrocities have become commonplace. However, Great Britain seems to have evaded this phenomenon for the most part, until recently. How is it that a country having had such a massive influence on the colonies it ruled over still has this rose-tinted image about themselves when it comes to their colonial past? And how is it that now, Great Britain seems to have such a rough time accepting this less glorious image of their colonial past? We will delve into the recent controversy surrounding the British Empire, more specifically in India, that erupted in the media in the past three years. We will take a look at how and why the reckoning of Great Britain has been triggered so late and the reaction it had in the media and the public. We will focus on the controversy around the speech and work of Indian MP Shashi Tharoor on the British Empire in India and the snowball effect it had in Great Britain.