Dear BJP, please learn to take the high road and stop with petty politics and doublespeak.

Sure!

Ireland were a British colony till 1921. Now, when I mention this, people's first response is that "oh they weren't treated badly, they were also white". Nothing could be further from the truth - the Irish were treated like subhumans, called "white negroes". When, because of famine, countless Irishmen migrated to the United States, they were met with massive racism, the likes of which Indians in the US have never faced. Famous, reputable newspapers and magazines would print comics about the pointlessness of the Irish, calling them all wasted alcoholics and a drain on society. Throughout England and parts of America, NINA signs became commonplace - "no Irish need apply". Irish soldiers who fought for Britain in the war were also treated more harshly for any transgressions.

After the formation of Northern Ireland, there have also been - up until the disestablishment of the IRA - constant terrorist attacks and bombings both in Belfast and, historically, in England as well. These were "independence fighters", who wanted a united Republic (NI is part of the UK, today). Hibernophobia, partly because of this, has carried forward even today; in the 90s, the Daily Mail published an article calling for a ban on all Irish people from attending sports events. Nobody has done anything remotely similar to Indians.

Today, in modern Ireland, people largely disown the IRA, except for several nationalists - the nationalist political party, Sinn Féin, have alleged links to the IRA (you might remember the whole Gerry Adams thing). I believe being a member of the IRA is also a crime.

There are also problems in Irish society. You might remember an Indian doctor dying because she couldn't get an abortion after her miscarriage in Ireland, a couple of years ago. There is also a documentary on the problems women face in Ireland because of this, made by the BBC.

Hibernophobia, while obviously less, still exists today. Irish people visiting Australia carry special identity, because of a string of racist attacks on them. An Australian newspaper also published a pretty negative-stereotype filled article a couple of years ago, I don't remember the details right now. Irish flag burnings have happened in England. A British journalist called (in 2002, I believe) the Irish child-molesters and Nazi sympathizers (perhaps a reference to Roger Casement's attempt to form an alliance with Germany before the Easter Rising). Just last year, Channel 4 announced that they intended to make a comedy series on the Irish famine. Can you imagine what a shitstorm it would be if they had announced that they're making a comedy series on the Bengal famine? There was (obviously) a lot of opposition to this.

Now, you tell me - where can you find Irish people complaining about colonist history and how everything is a western conspiracy to defame them?

/r/india Thread