The director of a new drama series about the British Raj has stated that the United Kingdom owes India trillions of dollars in reparations for 200 years of colonization and "enslavement." Nikkhil Advani, whose eight-part series "The Revolutionaries" dramatizes the actions of Indian "freedom fighters," hopes the show will "highlight the atrocities" committed by the British.
Advani, an award-winning Bollywood director, claims that India is owed up to $56 trillion (£41 trillion) for what he describes as a "catastrophic time" when the country was "raped, pillaged and plundered." The series, currently streaming on Amazon Prime, reportedly depicts graphic scenes of brutality, including animated sketches of British soldiers engaging in violence against civilians and a depiction of Colonel Reginald Dyer.
Colonel Dyer, known as the "Butcher of Amritsar," is a central figure in the controversy. In 1919, he ordered British troops to fire on thousands of unarmed civilians at Amritsar, resulting in 379 deaths. The drama reportedly portrays Dyer in violent scenarios, including dragging a prisoner behind his horse and firing a cannon with a prisoner strapped to its muzzle.
Advani has acknowledged that these depictions may not be entirely accurate but stated he is using Dyer as a "representative of the retribution that happened" during the Indian uprising. The show's narrative and Advani's statements have drawn criticism, with historian Jeremy Black accusing Advani of presenting a "clearly prejudiced" historical account. Black argued that the British Raj "relied heavily on Indian cooperation" in practice.
"The Revolutionaries" utilizes animated sequences to bring historical sketches of brutality to life, illustrating acts such as British soldiers marching through scenes of carnage and bayoneting civilians, with captions asserting the Empire was built on "Indian corpses."