India Independence Day: the Empire They Romanticise

What does Independence Day mean when you’re celebrating it far from the country that became independent?

This isn’t simply about flags, food and familiar songs. It’s about confronting the history behind freedom.

We’ll watch excerpts from Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s famous Oxford Union speech and discuss the British Empire in India: economic extraction, deindustrialisation, racial discrimination, forced labour and indenture, colonial repression, executions, massacres, sexual violence, Jallianwala Bagh and the devastating Bengal Famine of Protected content , in which millions died.

We’ll also discuss divide-and-rule policies, communal politics and the road to Partition in Protected content independence came with enormous human suffering.

But this isn’t only a history discussion.

Indian expats will share what independence means to them today. Non-Indian expats are equally welcome to share their own experiences of independence, colonialism, identity and living away from home.

Expect uncomfortable questions, different perspectives and a conversation that may challenge familiar narratives.

You don’t have to agree. You just have to be willing to think.

Because sometimes the best way to celebrate freedom is to ask:

What does freedom actually mean to us today?

📌 Guidelines

• Camera ON
• Disagree with ideas, not people
• Respect all faiths and communities
• Keep it respectful, factual and relevant