1. The Churchill Myth vs. The Historical Record
Winston Churchill is often painted as the saviour of Britain—a bulldog who stared down Hitler and roused the nation with his speeches. But that simplistic version of history, still pushed in schools and parliaments, wilfully ignores uncomfortable facts.
Yes, Churchill played a key symbolic role during WWII. But Britain did not stand alone. The Eastern Front consumed the vast majority of Nazi military resources—over 20 million Soviet citizens died. America’s industrial and military involvement turned the tide. Meanwhile, Churchill’s colonial policies went unchecked, even as Europe burned.
His wartime leadership also wasn’t universally admired at the time. He lost the 1945 general election, just months after VE Day, because the British public wanted real social reform—something he was deeply opposed to. His resistance to the welfare state, to the NHS, and to working-class rights was no secret. His greatness has been retrofitted into the national narrative, largely to serve modern political purposes.
2. A Catalogue of Racism and Imperial Brutality
Churchill’s views on race were not incidental or “of their time”—they were central to his politics. He believed in a racial hierarchy with Anglo-Saxons at the top. In 1937, he defended colonial dispossession by stating, “I do not admit… that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia… by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race… has come in and taken their place.”
In India, his actions cost millions of lives. During the Bengal Famine of 1943, Churchill diverted food away from starving Indians to stockpile supplies for European civilians—while mocking the victims. He blamed the famine on Indians “breeding like rabbits” and said of them, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”
His racism extended beyond India. In 1919, as head of the Air Council, he said, “I am strongly in favour of using poison gas against uncivilised tribes.” This wasn’t just rhetoric—gas was used in Iraq and other colonies. Churchill’s imperialist policies caused direct and lasting harm to millions around the globe, but these atrocities are still routinely whitewashed in British education and public commemoration.
3. A Champion of the Elite, Not the People
Despite being idolised by many working-class voters today, Churchill was never on their side. During the Tonypandy riots in 1910–11, he deployed troops against striking Welsh miners. He was deeply hostile to unions, socialism, and any movements that empowered the poor.
He opposed suffrage for women. He resisted Indian self-rule. He viewed social democracy as a threat, not a solution. And as late as 1955, according to Harold Macmillan’s diary, Churchill thought “Keep England White” was a good campaign slogan. These were not off-hand remarks. They reflected a worldview steeped in white nationalism and colonial nostalgia.
Even his so-called defence of freedom during WWII had limits. Churchill supported the forced displacement of Palestinians and the maintenance of apartheid structures in Africa. His legacy is not freedom—it is selective freedom for select groups.
Final Thoughts
To criticise Churchill is not to deny the evils of Nazism. It’s to stop pretending that opposing fascism automatically makes someone a hero. We must stop judging historical figures solely by their most convenient achievements and start considering the full ledger—especially when their policies destroyed lives across continents.
Here are a few quotes that speak volumes:
“The Aryan stock is bound to triumph.” – Churchill, 1902
“I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” – To Leo Amery, 1942
“I am strongly in favour of using poison gas against uncivilised tribes.” – 1919
History deserves honesty. Churchill’s full legacy deserves scrutiny—not blind worship. There are those who will dismiss this criticism as anti-British. To them, I say: patriotism without honesty is propaganda.