Deindustrialization
Before the 18th century, India was the “textile workshop of the world.”
- British Policy:
- Imposed heavy duties on Indian textiles entering Britain.
- Flooded India with cheap, machine-made British cloth with minimal tariffs.
- Result: The Indian handloom industry collapsed. Artisans were forced back into agriculture, overburdening the land.
“The bones of the cotton weavers are bleaching the plains of India.” — William Bentinck (1834)
The “Drain of Wealth”
Scholars like Dadabhai Naoroji (Poverty and Un-British Rule in India) and R.C. Dutt documented how wealth was siphoned from India to Britain.
- Mechanisms:
- Taxes collected in India used to buy goods for export (effectively getting goods for free).
- Salaries and pensions of British officials paid from Indian revenue.
- India paying for British wars abroad.
- Estimate: Recent studies suggest $45 trillion was extracted from India between 1765 and 1938.
Devastating Famines
Colonial policies transformed droughts into catastrophic famines.
- Bengal Famine (1770): Killed ~10 million (1/3rd of the population). Caused by rigid tax collection despite crop failure.
- Great Famine (1876–1878): Killed up to 8 million.
- Laissez-Faire: Viceroy Lord Lytton refused to interfere with market prices.
- Export of Grain: While Indians starved, millions of tonnes of wheat were exported to Britain.
Warning
Railways: Often cited as a benefit, railways were built primarily to move raw materials to ports and troops to trouble spots. They were paid for by Indian taxpayers, but profits went to British investors.