INDIA, June 30, 2018 (ED Times by Janhavi Sharma): Colonialism completely changed the world. British colonialism, more specifically, changed the face of 53 nations thereby tagging them as the Commonwealth nations. While British rule brought about untold change and modifications to India, it is hard to imagine an India without its embedded British characteristics. So what would India look like today, had it not been colonized by the British? Had India not been colonized by the British, the country would’ve still been inclusive of present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Partition would not have occurred and such a grave loss of life, property and familial ties would not have taken place.
Secondly, India would perhaps still be a set of princely states with independent rulers, governing specified territories and battling it out for power. First and foremost, there is no denying the fact that the British introduced railways in India. Had it not been for their efforts, India would’ve developed such a strong and well-connected network of railways much later, sometime around the 20th century. 1871 marked the beginning of the largest railway network in the world. In order to govern better, the British began categorizing the Indian population. This led to greater religious and caste divide as they pitted communities against each other. This strengthened communal divide and caste.
The Indian economy was a booming one before the coming in of the British. India had diplomatic and trade relations with Europe, Central Asia, Africa etc. and had a massive network of trade, industry and artisanal activity. The British systematically broke down India’s networks of trade and industry by converting it into an importer of British finished goods from an exporter of Indian textiles. The textile industry broke down and there was loss of employment. Had the British not colonized us, India would have perhaps even industrialized like Britain did in the 19th century.
More of this hypothetical scenario at “source”.