British Empire in India

 

British Empire in India

 

Indian diplomat-turned-politician Dr. Shashi Tharoor argues in his best-selling book “An Era of Darkness” that before the Britishers came, India’s share in the global GDP was 27 percent. But when the Britishers left after 200-years of rule, it was reduced to a paltry 4 percent. In fact, the industrial revolution of Britain was financed by the loots from India. India was Britain’s largest cash cow. Salaries of British officials working in India were taken from the Indian exchequer. Indian textile industry was famous worldwide. The colonial power absolutely ruined it. In many instances, the thumbs of the weavers were cut. Raw cotton was shipped into imperial Britain and the finished products were sold back to the Indians. The country which was once the largest exporter of textiles became a buyer.

 

There are a number of cases of massive embezzlement. Robert Clive-later Lord Clive- stolen a huge sum of money from Bengal. Almost 14-29 million people died due to British-induced famines. The worst example is the Bengal famine of 1942. Almost 4 million Bengalis died due to this deliberately induced famine spearheaded by Winston Churchill himself. When the concerned officials made him aware of the dire situation, he responded by saying has Gandhi not died yet?

During World War 1, 1/6 of the total soldiers were provided by the subcontinent. 54,000 Indians perished during this war. Another significant number either got maimed or imprisoned. Many apologists of the colonial rule argue that the Britishers provided a Railways network to the subcontinent. Though it is true. But the railways were introduced to serve the British interests. It strengthened the British rule in the vast subcontinent because the various commodities and soldiers were easily transported to different parts of the country. Moreover, racial, ethnic, and religious differences were ignited to pursue the infamous divide and rule policy. To sum up, Dr. Tharoor paints a very dismal picture of the British rule in India.