The Birdman of India

Re: # 20
Thank You HP, finally someone has the courage to show sense.

Dude, truth is that before 1947, Indians at day-to-day level were intellectually Null. Yes, there were lot of exceptions and you could some rich Indians getting educated in Vilayat and break the barrier, but only to avail the Brown Sahib status under the Gora Master.

I have had numerous discussions with elderly people, even some ICS officers as well as my elders who were tormented by Muslims in 1947. It always leads to the conclusion that Indians were living in Medieval times upto 1940ies under English.

Q: Were English racist?
A: Yes, they were.
Q: Did they help Indians?
A: Yes, they did in bringing Indians upto par with modern life.
Q: What would have happened if English were not there?
A: India would have been another Afghanistan with Hindus, Muslims killing each other, like Tutsus and Rwanadans.

It is hard to accept the truth because it hurts the pride.

Does India have any Herpetologist? That is what is needed most with reptiles, amphibians, and frogs running around with impunity in every town and city. (Both literally and figuratively).

Nasah, don`t be too sensitive. The guy was right. Just accept the truth and take it like a man. Indians are slackers.

Dr. Gill in those days fewer Indians were offended -- if they would have those brits would not have lasted 150 years.....

There was no surprise THEN -- but now? -- come on Dr. Gill those degrading demeaning racist comments were anything but lighthearted .......I am an Anglophile myself -- but no colonialophile -- my regrets are we gave them such a civilized send off with 21 booming gun ceremony -- not booted them out unceremoniously....with 21 booming whacks on their derriers....

Re: # 14
Make no mistake Dr. Gill. Meinertzhagen, was a racist, plagiarist and a murderer and a thief. If he had not been British officer in British India he would have been courtmartialled and hanged.

i visited a ``specialist`` doctor in inidia and i was the first consultation of the day and the window A/C was not on. The doctorsab hit the bell, and the office-lady came in, and he instructed her to turn the A/c on. She picked up the remote-control from the desk and turned it on. i told that drsab that this is serious sahibi. his explanation was that he was imparting the office-girl training, it was her job to ensure that the room is prepared and the A/c was on.

Re: # 8
Chowk Ed: Why was #10 deleted or filtered or whatever you call it these days.
What was objectionable there? If Kamath is allowed to post why not me?

Re: # 14
Thank You Mohammad for saying these words.
I hope that Nasah and other people see that Indians before 1940ies were living is total ignorance and darkness and British Imperialists merely took advantage of the social, cultural darkness, kind of like what Indians in Nagaland or Pakistanis in Balochitstan would do.

nasah and others:
Meinertzhagen’s comments regarding the Indians’ (including Pakistanis) attitude toward doing ordinary things with their own hands are not really derogatory – at least I didn’t read them that way. I believe they are quite true even now.
Having domestic servants is a status symbol in the subcontinent – the more the better. Doing ordinary things, such as ironing one’s own clothes, for example, is considered undignified. This attitude is also somewhat reflected in scientific research that most of us engage in – it is mostly theoretical research and not experimental. In experimental research, you’ve to build gadgets and test them how good they are for the purpose you built them.
When I was doing research for my Ph.D. at Imperial College, I depended a great deal on the workshop staff to build my apparatus for the experiments. It was not because I didn’t want to do my own things; it was mainly because I didn’t have self confidence; I was afraid I might not be able to build it correctly. On the other hand, Brigadier Bagnold, a great engineering scientist, who was 60-65 years old at that time built his apparatus himself for all his experiments that he did during my tenure. Only occasionally or rarely he sought help from the workshop people.
While I was in England during my student days, I started doing several things with my own hands. Initially, I did miss my domestic help that was available to me in Nigeria. Later on, I started cooking my meals, doing dishes, laundry etc. Even now, I cook my breakfast regularly, cook food for lunch and supper occasionally whenever there is occasion for that. I do many other household chores although I hated to paint my house for which I hired a contractor.
Bottom line: I didn’t feel offended by Meinertzhagen’s (racial?) comments which I think he wrote lightheartedly. Dr. Salim Ali also was not offended because he used these entries in his autobiography “The Fall of a Sparrow.”
Mohammad Gill

Re: # 11
Mr Nasah,
No disrespect but most of what British thought of Indians was true. It is only in 194oies that Indians got more assertive and demandingr when Western educated was made available to them freely. Indians realized that England can also be beaten( as shown in Singapore War).

Salim Ali was a good man but was behaving like a Nawab. English writer merely reported it.

On a personal note: Why are you living in West if you dont think of them as better than you?????

Re: # 4


``Actually the place where Hornbill House (the headquarters of the BNHS) is situated has been renamed Dr.Salim Ali Chowk after him. ``

nice break from naming chowks and roads after good-for-nothing politicians.

Dr. Gill -- thanks for a rare feast -- more than Salim Ali -- the views of British bastards regarding educated Indian were hilarious -- the colonial criminals really believed that the sub continentals were pagan rats -- and that they were the civilized ones hence had the right to rule India -- what an astounding frame of mind for entitlement and the craziest excuse for naked Imperialism......:)

great column.....

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thanks to salim-ali i was able to identify a hornbill (chaap of Bombay Natural History Society)..a remarkable and big bird. otherwise i would have know it as ``kokani Garud`` (kokan-costal eagle) as the local folks called it.

while i agree with the indians not good at tent-pitching, the brits learned all the civilized sahibi (gin-n-tonic, afternoontea and such) rituals from indians.

thanks to salim-ali i was able to identify a hornbill (chaap of Bombay Natural History Society)..a remarkable and big bird. otherwise i would have know it as ``kokani Garud`` (kokan-costal eagle) as the local folks called it.

while i agree with the indians not good at tent-pitching, the brits learned all the civilized sahibi (gin-n-tonic, afternoontea and such) rituals from indians.

Re: # 7
You say, `..If I am not mistaken he was a Moplah Musalman.......``. What aquestion. Salim Ali helped save lives of birds - some of the most beautiful creatures in nature. Does it matter if he is a Mapilla Muslim, Khoja , Shia etc.?

Anyway, he belonged to the same Bohras community of Muslims that produced many other great and eminent Indian Muslims.such as ` ...Badruddin Tyabji who was the first Indian to become a Judge in the Bombay High Court , reformer in Bombay Muslim community in education, a president of Indian National Congress, a relentless fighter of corrupt Bombay City Corporation, a pleader for understanding between various communities. He banished wearing Burqua in his family forever ...`......

Thanks for bringing our Salim Ali for us.

I remember meeting him in Sultanpur Range near Delhi as a little kid with my Boy Scout field trip.
We did not think much about Bird watching at that time. If I am not mistaken he was a Moplah Musalman.......