If we are independent, why are we begging?

British Prime Minister Theresa May is in India to build trade ties, in anticipation of Britain leaving the European Union, after a referendum voted for Brexit. Although she was against leaving the European Union May has been keen to restrict immigration into Britain. As Home Secretary, she restricted work visa for non-British, non-EU students so Indians had to return home after finishing their studies. May became prime minister when David Cameron resigned, after Britain voted for Brexit. At the Conservative Party Conference a month ago she confirmed that she will be tough on immigration, because that is what the people had voted for. Soon after, Home Secretary, Amber Rudd announced new tougher measures to restrict immigration, which will affect Indian students. Study visas issued to Indian students fell from 68,238 in 2010 to 11,864 five years later, as May has pledged to cut immigration from 336,000 in June 2015 to below 100,000 per year. It is easy to understand Britain's reluctance to take in large numbers of immigrants. It is a small country, just 209,331 sq km, with over 60 million people. The state of Rajasthan is 342,239 sq km. It is not just a question of finding a job and paying your taxes. Britain has a supportive social security system which provides housing and benefits to unemployed people. The National Health Service provides free treatment to inpatients, at vast expense. Large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and Africa are trying to enter Britain any way they can. As part of the EU, British people could study and work in any of the 28 countries that make up the Union. India does not offer such facilities to British workers, our universities are not of the standard that students will want to study here and, thankfully, there is no civil war in India, as there is in Libya, Syria and Iraq. There is therefore no reason why Britain should welcome immigrants from India. Apart from our 'shared history', that is. And what is that history? It is a catalogue of some 100 million deaths from engineered famines in 200 years of British rule. India became independent on 15 August, 1947 and every year we celebrate the day with stirring speeches from politicians asking for ever more sacrifices from citizens to make the country richer, stronger. On 26 January, we celebrate Republic Day, when politicians are saluted by smartly uniformed soldiers and little children shiver in the bitter Delhi cold as forced actors in various tableaux. Why then do our students want to study and work in Britain? Why can we not provide quality education and jobs, with respectable salaries, after 69 years of boastful independence? If we want to be truly independent we should not beg Britain for more visas for our students. That is humiliating.