Blog #12:Colonialism

In the novel Nectar in a Sieve, written by Kamala Markandaya. An Indian village is colonized by the British. In the story the British come and build a tannery. For a woman named Rukmani, the tannery only brought suffer to her life. Because of the tannery her son Raja was killed. This is what got me thinking the most. I couldn't come to terms with the idea of colonialism. How can one group of people come in and conquer another without any hesitation or regret? It just didn't seem right to me. The people who conquered wanted to exterminate the traditional culture of the area. Religion, agriculture, living situations, every aspect of the native's life-styles. Looking from the other side of the spectrum, it was great for the people that conquered. They gained land, therefore they gained power. However, they came in and took over like there was nothing wrong. That is what disturbs me. Especially thinking that our country was built around colonization also scares me.

Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve. New York: Signet, 2002.