In Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India Book Shashi Tharoor writes British rule over the Indian subcontinent was a harrowing chapter of expropriation and exploitation, as a thriving region with an ancient history of cultural and economic wealth was reduced to a mere cash cow for the British treasury. The wealth extracted from Subcontinent filled coffers in London, yet it impoverished a once flourishing civilization. The Earl of Chatham, a British statesman, famously described this unearned wealth as “the redemption of a nation… a kind of gift from heaven,” implying it as a divine blessing bestowed upon Britain. However, the methods behind this “gift” were far from noble.
The Economic Drain
Between 1765 and 1815, the British extracted approximately £18 million each year from Subcontinent . This wealth, however, wasn’t generated through a flourishing trade but rather through oppressive taxation, coerced extractions, and exploitative policies enforced by the British East India Company. The French ambassador to London at the time, Comte de Châtelet, observed that even the wealthiest European kings couldn’t compare to the Directors of the East India Company, who had grown rich off the subcontinent’s vast resources.
Taxation and Forced Exactions
The Company’s taxation policies were exceptionally harsh, often requiring up to 50% of a person’s income, which was a staggering demand for most Indian families of that era. By the late eighteenth century, two-thirds of the population under British rule had fled their lands to avoid the burden of British-imposed taxes. Defaulters faced horrifying punishments: Durant, a prominent historian, noted that tax defaulters were “confined in cages, and exposed to the burning sun.” Many impoverished fathers, unable to cope with the rising tax demands, resorted to selling their children to cover dues. Those who failed to pay faced brutal punishments, including torture, while their lands were confiscated by British authorities.
In contrast to the British policies, Indian rulers in the past had primarily funded their administrations through trade networks rather than by overburdening cultivators with taxes. This shift to exploitative taxation by the British was a profound departure from previous governance norms.
Corruption and Bribery
Corruption, which certainly existed before British rule, reached unprecedented depths under the East India Company. The Company officials squeezed the local population for money, and when there was no more to legally extract, they resorted to bribery, robbery, and, in extreme cases, even murder. The 1923 edition of the Oxford History of India records that during this era, “everything and everybody” in India had a price, as greed became the rule of the day.
The Infamous Case of Robert Clive
The notorious Robert Clive, who decisively brought Bengal under British control after the Battle of Plassey in 1757, became emblematic of British exploitation in India. Clive shamelessly enriched himself through his Indian ventures. Upon returning to England after his first stint in India, he brought home a personal fortune of £234,000, equivalent to over £23 million in today’s terms, establishing himself as one of Europe’s wealthiest men.
Clive’s “achievements” in India allowed him and his fellow officers to buy “rotten boroughs” (unpopulated or underpopulated constituencies) in England with the proceeds of their Indian loot. Clive returned to India in 1765 and amassed an even greater fortune. By 1767, he returned to England with a wealth of £400,000 (today’s equivalent of £40 million). His conquests in India not only brought him wealth but also access to treasure troves of gems, gold, and silver that he casually claimed as his own. His indifference toward the vast treasures of India is reflected in his chilling statement: “An opulent city lay at my mercy; its richest bankers bid against each other for my smiles: I walked through vaults which were thrown open to me alone, piled on either hand with gold and jewels… When I think of the marvellous riches of that country, and the comparatively small part which I took away, I am astonished at my own moderation.”
The Bitter Legacy of Exploitation
The British left behind a tragic legacy of oppression, exploitation, and systematic plundering. The wealth looted from India did not merely contribute to Britain’s industrial development but also irreversibly disrupted Indian society, economy, and governance structures. A vibrant civilization with its own systems of trade, craft, and culture was forced into poverty and subjugation, with a lasting impact that resonates in India’s historical memory. This bitter legacy highlights the destructive side of colonialism and the devastating consequences of exploitation on a nation and its people.
