New Delhi
The British ruled India for many years and during this period looted trillions of dollars. According to a report by Oxfam, the British had taken $64.82 trillion from India to their country between 1765 and 1900. You can estimate this amount by the fact that with this you can make a carpet of 50 pound notes in the whole of London four times. This amount is more than double the GDP of America, the world’s largest economy. According to Forbes, America’s GDP is $30.34 trillion. The report said that the wealthiest 10 per cent of the British earned $33.8 trillion from India.
Oxfam has said in its report “Takers, not Makers” that the British government had given huge compensation to the rich to stop the racist system. This was the main source of income for most of the rich people of Britain. The British plundered India for more than 100 years and the newly emerging middle class in Britain also benefited from it. After the rich people of the country, this class benefited the most from the income from India. 52 percent of this earning went to the rich 10 percent of the country while 32 percent went to the middle class.
The British made India poor…
According to historian Utsa Patnaik, the British looted about 45 trillion dollars from India between 1765 and 1938. This amount is about 15 times more than the annual gross domestic product of Britain today. The people of Britain believe that Britain did not get any significant economic benefit from the colonization of India, but the truth is different from this. The British government clipped the wings of this ‘golden bird’ in such a way that it was left unable to fly. During this period the British looted property worth approximately 45 trillion dollars from India.
Battle of Plassey was the turning point!
Let us tell you that the British ruled India from 1757 to 1947 i.e. for 190 years. After the victory in the Battle of Plassey, the British established their hegemony in India. After this, in 1858, the rule of the East India Company was transferred to the name of Queen Victoria.
Economic exploitation, political oppression and cultural imperialism on India
India achieved independence on 15 August 1947 and British rule ended. This rule is known as colonialism. The British subjected India to economic exploitation, political oppression, and cultural imperialism. Although they also established many new industries in India and helped in developing the economy, there is no doubt that the British looted India’s resources and wealth.
ruined domestic industries
Oxfam says that due to the policies of the British, India’s domestic industries were ruined. In 1750, the share of the Indian subcontinent in the world’s industrial production was about 25 percent, which came down to just 2 percent in 1900. The report said that the Dutch and the British made the people addicted to drugs to strengthen their power over the colonies. The British cultivated opium in India and exported it to China. Citing several studies and research papers, the report says that today’s multinational companies are the product of colonialism.
India was once considered one of the richest economies in the world. The British came to India as traders and gradually made themselves powerful by taking advantage of the mutual disunity among the native kings. He captured many princely states one after the other and ruled us for about 200 years. The East India Company began in the 1600s with 250 investors. At that time, this company, formed with an initial investment of £68,373, and the British government looted £45 trillion from India. According to the British economist Angus Maddison, in the year 1700 AD, India’s share in the world’s income was 27% while Europe’s share was 23%. But in 1950, India’s share remained only 3%.
