Lear's kingdom
Sir: I am sorry that Mr Enoch Powell has been frustrated in his ambition to become the Viceroy of India, although, as an Indian, I am delighted that my nation no longer has to bear the burden of the civilising mission of the King-Emperor. It was proving quite a strain on our raw materials.
I am happy to see that Mr Powell, among his other preoccupations, is trying to keep the memory of the Empire alive 12 August). We Indians remember it well, and our memories shall not fail us in the years to come. There are enormous scores to be settled, and Indians today are turning to doctrines and ideologies which demand the payment of historical debts.
By the time Mr Powell has achieved some of his other aims—as I have no doubt he will, God and the porters of Smithfield meat market willing—we Indians will have started to react to our memories with greater realism than hitherto, just as the Chinese have since the Communist revo- lution. I am informed that Mao has not forgotten that barely fifty years ago notices outside certain parks in Peking and Shang- hai read, 'Chinese and dogs not allowed'.
It is not the prerogative of the ex-rulers alone to remember with nostalgia and pride: it is not denied to those who were once ruled to remember with hatred, bitter- ness, and the desire for vengeance. In the history of empires, it is the memories of the latter that have, in the long run, proved of greater consequence.
Mr Powell, and his cries of 'Alas', not- withstanding.
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