The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has praised Opposition MP Shashi Tharoor for his speech and endorsed his call for Britain to pay damages to India for two centuries of colonial rule.

At an event held in New Delhi’s parliament on Thursday, Narendra Modi said that “Tharoor’s speech reflected the feelings of patriotic Indians on the issue and showed what impression one can leave with effective arguments by saying the right things at the right place.”

Shashi Tharoor's speech for 15 minutes

In a video clip, Shashi Tharoor made an argument calling Britain to provide financial compensation to India for causing economic destruction and extraction for 200 years. The video clip posted by the Oxford Union debating society has become a hit in the social media. Shashi Tharoor’s 15 minute speech was viewed on YouTube over 1.5m times. Shashi Tharoor is an author and well-known parliamentarian from the centre-left Congress party.

Shashi Tharoor’s speech - widely reported in Indian press

Widely reported in Indian press, Shashi Tharoor’s speech was described as brilliant by The Indian Express newspaper, whereas the Press Trust of India marked that Tharoor’s argument “gelled with the feelings of patriotic Indians”.

“Britain's rise for 200 years was financed by its depradations in India … We paid for our own oppression … It’s a bit rich to impress, maim, kill, torture and repress and then celebrate democracy at the end of it,” Tharoor said in the debate in May.

After campaigning and confrontation for years, India gained independence from Britain in 1947.

-Sumana