Sunday, July 2, 2023

What were the consequences of British looting on India's economy?

 The consequences of British looting on India's economy were severe and long-lasting. Here are some of the major impacts:

  1. Destruction of Indian industries: The British came up with a number of economic policies that had a great impact on Indian society. Many of the Indian manufacturing centers were destroyed, and the old village system was dismantled. India was reduced to being an agricultural colony of Britain to supply raw material. The essential character of the Indian economy was altered, and India became a colony of Britain in an absolute sense
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  2. Drain of resources: The British Empire looted approximately $45 trillion from India during the period of 1765 to 1938. This sum is staggering, as it is 17 times more than the total annual gross domestic product of the United Kingdom today. The East India Company began collecting taxes in India and used a portion of those revenues to fund the purchase of Indian goods for export to Britain. This meant that India was forced to export its resources to Britain at artificially low prices, while Britain was able to sell its manufactured goods to India at artificially high prices. This system drained India's wealth and resources, leading to extreme poverty and famine in the country
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  3. Deindustrialization: The British destroyed the medieval economic structure in India and laid the foundation of the modern economy. Ruins of handicrafts led to industries’ deindustrialization, which had a significant impact on the Indian handicraft industries
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  4. Spread of famine: Britain exported food grains and imposed high taxes, which spread famine in India and reduced its purchasing power. The per capita annual consumption of food, which was already low, fell by half during the British rule
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  5. Low national morale: Among the many negative impacts on the Indian population were an increasingly poor agricultural sector, recurrent famine, and a low national morale which resulted in the expropriation of Indian wealth to Britain, draining the society of the resources that would normally have propelled its natural growth and economic development
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Overall, the British looting of India had a devastating impact on the country's economy, leading to poverty, famine, and the destruction of Indian industries.

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