It is not easy to judge the past. The cruel acts of British were nothing as compared to what the Muslim rilers did or what the upper caste Hindus did to the lower castes for milleniums.
The Brits should be lauded for modernizing and "creating" India. Hindu empires had ceased to exist a millenium ago. The scourge of Sati, thagi, jamindari and opression of the lower castes ravaged the land.
The contribution of Brits outshine their bad deeds: 1) Translated Sanskrit texts into English so that ordinary folks could finally find out what their religion actually said. 2) Wrote our history. 3) Abolished a plethoral of social evils. 4) Brought in the modern governance, education and technology (postal system, railways, modern cities and roadways) 5) Their mistreatment of Indians eventually led to the creation of national consciousness and ultimately led to the creation of a nation after 2000 years.
What is indeed a pity is that we have been unable to build significantly upon the systems that Brits brought since independence: governance, laws and planned infrastructure. No wonder many elderly people reminisce the British India so fondly.
