Colonial Exploitation and Independence: The Congo Story

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The Congo was for long a colony of Belgium. The Belgians occupied the Congo and unlike the British Raj which brought tangible benefits for India and the Indian people, the Belgians in contrast did nothing for the African population in the Congo. They exploited the Congo for its minerals and raw material till a changing world scenario that marked the end of colonialism made Belgium agree to give independence to the Congo. Unfortunately the Belgians never prepared the Congolese for freedom or set up any governing infrastructure. When they withdrew from the Congo the entire nation erupted in a frenzy and anarchy. The United Nations intervened at the behest of the Security Council and the India army was one of the first contingents to enter the Congo for peace keeping operations. The Indian army association with the Congo started in 1960 and has continued since then. In 1960 the chief UN administrator in the Congo was Mr. Rajeshwar Dayal. This was a trying time and Patrick Lumumba the leftist leader was kidnapped and murdered by Moise Tshombe of Katanga. …show more content…

The situation had changed as the army now had become more battle hardened and at the same time new values some of them not very nice had crept in. The commander of the Indian contingent at that time in the Congo was Major General Bikram Singh the present Indian army chief. This time however a secret UN report has levelled serious allegations of moral turpitude against the soldiers of the Indian army. The UN report has brought into focus phenomena which pointed out that a large number of children with Indian features have been born in places where the Indian army

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