Was Queen Victoria the Biggest Drug Dealer in History?
Jab hum Queen Victoria ka naam sunte hain, to hamaray zehan mein Bartanwi Saltanat (British Empire) ke urooj (peak), shaan-o-shaukat, aur Victorian daur ki tehzeeb ka tasawwur aata hai. Lekin kuch tareekh-daan (historians) unhein ek intehai mutanaza (controversial) laqab se yaad karte hain: “tareekh ki sab se bari drug dealer”. Yeh ilzam sun’ne mein hairan kun lagta hai, lekin iske peeche 19ween sadi (19th century) ki afeem (opium) ki tijarat ki ek tareek aur dardnaak haqeeqat chupi hai. Yeh woh tijarat thi jisne Bartanwi Saltanat ko to be-panah daulat di, lekin China ki poori qaum ko nashay ki aadat mein mubtala kar ke tabahi ke dahanay par la khara kiya.
The Engine of Empire: Opium (Saltanat Ka Engine: Afeem)
19ween sadi mein, Bartania (Britain) China se barri miqdar mein chaye (tea), resham (silk), aur deegar ashya khareedta tha, lekin badlay mein China ko bechne ke liye unke paas kuch khaas nahi tha. Is se tijarti khasara (trade deficit) barhta ja raha tha. Is maslay ka hal British East India Company ne nikala, jo Shah Farman (royal charter) ke tehet kaam karti thi. Unhon ne Hindustan (India) mein baray paimanay par afeem ki kasht (cultivation) shuru ki aur usey ghair-qanooni tareeqay se China mein smuggle karna shuru kar diya. Yeh Bartanwi Saltanat ki afeem ki tijarat jald hi dunya ki sab se munafa baksh (profitable) tijarat ban gayi, jisne Bartania ki tijori ko bhar diya.
A Nation’s Suffering (Ek Qaum Ki Aziyat)
Is munafay ki qeemat China ke laakhon shehrion ne adaa ki. 1838 tak, Bartania har saal 40,000 se zayed chests (har chest mein taqreeban 63 kg) afeem China mein farokht kar raha tha. Iska nateeja yeh nikla ke China mein aam logon se le kar sarkari ohdedaron tak, laakhon afrad is nashay ke aadi ho gaye. China mein nasha ki aadat kaise phaili ki yeh kahani us daur ki sab se bari social tabahi thi. Isne na sirf China ki maeeshat (economy) ko tabah kar diya—kyunke sara chandi ka zakheera (silver reserve) afeem khareedne mein istemal ho raha tha—balke poori qaum ko jismaani aur zehni taur par kamzor kar diya.
The Opium Wars: Trade by Gunpoint (Afeem Ki Jangein: Bandook Ki Nok Par Tijarat)
Jab Cheeni hukumat ne is tabah-kun tijarat ko rokne ki koshish ki aur afeem ke zakheeray ko zabt kar ke samandar mein baha diya, to Bartania ne isay apni tijarat par hamla qarar de kar China ke khilaf jang ka elaan kar diya. Yeh jangein “Opium Wars” ya “Afeem Ki Jangein” ke naam se jani jaati hain.
- Pehli Afeem Ki Jang (1839-1842): Is jang mein China ko shikast hui aur usey Treaty of Nanking jaise ghair-musawi (unequal) muahiday par dastakhat karne par majboor kiya gaya, jis ke tehet Hong Kong Bartania ke hawalay kar diya gaya.
- Doosri Afeem Ki Jang (1856-1860): Is jang ne China ko mazeed kamzor kar diya aur maghribi (Western) taqaton ka asar-o-rasookh (influence) barha diya.
Yeh jangein is baat ka saboot hain ke Bartania apni is munafa baksh “drug trade” ko jari rakhne ke liye kisi bhi had tak jane ke liye tayyar tha.
Victoria’s Role: Ignorance or Complicity? (Victoria Ka Kirdar: La-ilmi Ya Shirakat?)
Ab sawal yeh paida hota hai ke is sab mein Queen Victoria ka kya kirdar tha? Kya woh is sab se la-ilm theen? Tareekh-daan kehte hain ke agarche woh rozmarra ke faislay nahi le rahi theen, lekin yeh poori tijarat unke naam par, unki saltanat ke parcham talay, aur Royal Charter ke tehet ho rahi thi. Is tijarat se honay wala be-tahasha munafa Bartanwi Saltanat ko taqatwar bana raha tha, jiski sarbarah (head) woh khud theen. Is liye, unhein “tareekh ki sab se bari drug dealer” ka laqab dena is baat ki nishandahi karta hai ke us daur ki shaan-o-shaukat ki bunyad laakhon logon ki tabahi par rakhi gayi thi. Yeh tareekhi haqeeqat aaj bhi China aur maghribi duniya ke darmiyan be-aitmaadi (distrust) ki ek bari wajah hai.
