Britain exploited wealth worth US$64,820 billion from India during the colonial period from 1765 to 1900. Of this huge amount of money, $33,800 billion went to the richest 10 percent of Britain’s people. This has been revealed in the latest global inequality report of Oxfam International. This report, titled ‘Takers, not makers’ released just ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Modern inequality has its roots in colonialism.
Oxfam said in its report that the effects of inequality and plunder during the historical colonial era are still shaping the modern world. The report emphasized that the colonial era gave rise to a highly unequal global system, in which racism and the continued exploitation of wealth from the Global South benefited the richest people in the Global North.
The report said that between 1765 and 1900, the wealthiest 10 percent of Britain’s richest people took out wealth worth US$33,800 billion in today’s terms from India. To understand this amount, Oxfam gave an interesting comparison: if the surface area of London were covered with 50 pound notes, this amount would be worth four times as much.
100 years of colonial exploitation
From 1765 to 1900, Britain used India as its greatest economic resource. According to the Oxfam report, the main benefits of colonialism did not go only to the richest people, but it also benefited the emerging middle class. However, this resulted in deep inequalities in India.
Oxfam addresses the effects of colonialism “Fruit of the poisonous tree” relaxed me. He said this era deepened divisions on the basis of caste, religion, language, gender and geography. These divisions not only grew in the society of that time, but also affect the structure of modern India.
Disparity in language and education
Oxfam pointed to colonial influences in the Indian education system. According to the report, only 0.14 percent of India’s mother tongues are used as the medium of instruction, while only 0.35 percent of the languages are taught in schools. This linguistic inequality began during British colonialism, when only selected languages were given preference.
Religion, caste and sexual exploitation
The report noted that divisions such as religion, caste, sexuality and geography were exploited extensively during colonial rule. Policies were created to perpetuate and complicate these divisions. This not only increased discrimination in Indian society, but also made these problems more complex for future generations.
