What if the British never invaded India?

The British raj, also known as Crown Rule in India, was the rule of the British in India during the period 1858-1947. Before 1858, India was ruled by the British East India Company, who came for trade. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny and the Great Rebellion), power was transferred from the Company to the British crown. The subsequent developments since then, formation of the Indian National Congress, arrival of great leaders and the befall of the Raj- we all have known it and studied about it in school. 

Have you ever pondered, "what if the British never invaded India"? Would India have been more developed or was it a blessing in disguise?

The Hypothesis

We are now living in the post-independence era. What if India was never colonized by the British in the first place? Will the scenario be same? It is a hypothetical question and each of us may have a different answer.

Is it even possible?

This is not an impossible situation. Had India fought as one from the very beginning, the trading companies would have remained a trading partner strictly. With rulers like Tipu Sultan, Rani Lakshmibai, Maharaja Ranjit Singh etc.- India’s victory was not impossible. Anyway, let us suppose the British never ruled India.

Well, even if the British fails to conquer the country, other European powers might have done it. Even during the British rule, the Portuguese had control over Goa and the French had control over Pondicherry. In the absence of British powers, the Portuguese or the French might have taken over India. Or maybe the Spanish or the Dutch. If such would have been the case, then after independence, say from the French, French would have been our official language along with Hindi. You would have seen roads named after rulers like Napolean Bonaparte. Now if Germany would have ruled India, then after independence, German would have been our official language along with Hindi of course. Our Swastika would have looked different maybe. You can never say that other colonial powers would have been less brutal than the British. No! Colonizers are colonizers and they can go to any extent to glorify their position. They would have been equally brutal, or maybe worse.

India- untouched

Now, let’s assume no foreign powers could ever colonize India. Let’s assume India has been independent since forever. 

The Sikhs would have ruled North-western part of India for a few more years, presumably. The Marathas would have ruled in the Western and Central part of India. A new empire might have ruled a major part of India for many years just like the Mughals did. Tipu Sultan had the potential to do that, taking into consideration the relatively ‘modern’ military equipments he had used. The Marathas too could have taken over Delhi. Or maybe foreign forces would have done it, as already discussed. Well, India is too leveled to avoid a consolidation.

India would have remained a monarchy for a long period of time. Even in 2017, we would have seen kings and queens ruling certain states. That is not entirely impossible. There would have been many states (ranging from 50 to 150) each with its own religious and lingual identity. The inter-state borders would have been tight. India would have faced many wars at regular intervals with each king trying to take over a new state. There would have been cold wars between, say, North India and South India. India and Pakistan would have co-existed as one. This sounds good but India would have faced innumerous Hindu-Muslim riots every now and then. Communal violence would have been on the rise. Not just Pakistan- Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan all would have shared a common flag. Some rulers would have tried to impose their religion on everyone. Well, India remaining a monarchy forever is a possible but unlikely idea. Considering the benefits of democracy, India would have converted to democratic republic at some point of time anyway.

Modern ideas that came with the British

The British brought with them many modern ideas and ideologies. Many Indians were in fact influenced by their modern ways. Even after the British left, English-medium schools continued and in fact, are flourishing. Had the Germans or the French ruled India, German or French medium schools would have been seen now. If no power ever colonized India, then maybe we would have had only vernacular medium schools now. The ancient practice of Gurukul would have continued in many places. If suppose kings ruled India now (India as a monarchy), then only the upper elite classes would have had the privilege of attending schools. Focus on religious texts would have been more. Accept it or not, the British built many schools and universities for us. For eg., Cotton College was opened by Sir Henry Stedman Cotton and the college has been named after him. Sir Henry was the then chief commissioner of Assam (under British). These schools, even during colonial days, taught students the very idea of freedom, liberty, democracy and republic. They were enlightened by the idea of freedom and hence demanded freedom from the British to adapt a republican system. So such schools helped India to keep in par with the outside world. Had the British never ruled India, the scenario would have been different maybe. People would have been skeptical to adapt and teach such ‘modern’ ideologies. This would not have been good for the country.

What about social evils?

These modern schools, colleges and universities also helped change the mindset of people. As you know, social evils were very widespread and very much legal in those days. Let us see few social evils which would have remained widespread if the people would have never been influenced by modern ideas.

As you know, child marriage was very common in ancient India. In fact, young girls with tender age were preferred more. Only with education and exposure to the real world, did people realize the harmful aspects of child marriage. Now the legal age set for marriage is 21 years and above for boys and 18 years and above for girls. This law may not have been enacted had the British never ruled India.

Caste discrimination, even though it is still prevalent, would have been relatively more widespread in the situation we are imagining. Indians were classified into four classes- the Brahmins, The Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas and the Sudras. Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution in forming India what it is now is immeasurable. He was against caste discrimination and strictly discouraged the practice. He used to call the “low caste” people as “Harijan” or “son of God” as against the word “untouchable”. Mahatma Gandhi was an idol for all Indians during the struggle for independence. His ideas enlightened many. Had the British never ruled India, the question of freedom movements and freedom fighters will not even arise. In this case, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh and others would have been counted in as any other common Indian. Mahatma Gandhi’s ideologies would not have been widespread. Schools might have remained as it was back then. In such a case, caste discrimination would have remained very much widespread now. Only the Brahmins would have had the privilege of attending schools. The Kshatriyas would have been sent to military schools. Sudras would have been devoid of attending schools.

This is just an assumption. This would have happened if the Indians would have never accepted modern ideologies. But it may be possible that Indians under the influence of globalization, were exposed to modern ideologies irrespective of colonization factors. Then the situation would have remained more or less the same as it is now. Moreover, there has always been many Indians who used to think unconventionally. 

Many years back, it was Emperor Akbar who discouraged evils like child marriage etc. With rulers like him, India would have flourished. There are examples when the Government abolished certain practices. Sometimes, sudden incidents trigger such responses. In 1987, Roop Kanwar died at the age of 18 because of Sati. The Government acted immediately and Sati Katha was abolished for once and for all.

What about population and literacy level?

Another problem India might have faced was- high population, I mean, higher population. Family planning would have been treated as unconventional and would have been a taboo. There would have been high birth rate resulting in an up rise in population.

A Richer India

In the absence of a chapter of colonization, India would have been richer. India is a land of rich resources. This is why the European powers came in the first place. Before colonization, India contributed 23% of the world’s GDP. The British exploited our country. As stated in Dadabhai Naorji’s Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, India’s wealth and resources were drained by the British. India’s contribution to GDP after independence was 2.3%. The British literally drained India. Before the British came, India’s standard of trade was gold. 

The British extracted huge amount of taxes from the humble cultivators and farmers. They were not even given the freedom to choose their crops. You must have heard about the story of Champaran. Many tenant farmers were forced to grow Indigo on a part of their land. Cultivating Indigo requires a lot of labour and moreover it harms the soil condition. Hence they were reluctant to grow it. When Germans came up with a synthetic dye which was cheaper, the British allowed them to grow crops of their choice on their land. But they had to pay compensation for relieving them from growing Indigo. This caused widespread agitation. Mahatma Gandhi came to the rescue and it took huge efforts to resolve the issue. In similar ways, Indians were exploited by zamindars as well as the British officials. No wonder India’s wealth decreased. Consider the amount of resources India would have had in our fictional world.

Impact on various occupations

Railway development would have been slow in the absence of British colonization. It would have been present only in industrial areas and would have been more efficient in places like Punjab, Mysore and Hyderabad. Establishment of railways in India was a daunting task. It was initiated in 1830s by the British East India Company. If the British would not have introduced railways here, it would have taken much longer time for Indians to initiate it themselves.

Irrigation was boosted. Non-cliché and different methods of irrigation was adapted and as a result there was growth in irrigation output. The same could be said about agriculture.

Agriculture grew by a noticeable margin during British rule in order to feed the growing population. Sophisticated machinery helped and the practice still continues.

Earlier, the most common occupation was Agriculture. Only few used to opt for law or medicine. Under British influence, these occupations got more accepted. Journalism, Business, Teaching, Medicine, Law- people started to embrace these occupations. Going abroad for studies was too main stream for a large section of the population before the arrival of the British. But it became more possible after British arrival. Without British colonialism, exposure to the outer world would have taken a lot of time and development would have been delayed. The British wiped global boundaries as they came.

 The Indian army and police to got a boost from the British colonization and the struggle for independence. British training was rigorous and it had helped the soldiers to be in par with others. This would not have been possible without the British. Moreover, influenced by the Western world, many sophisticated and modern weapons were introduced in India.

India and the World Wars

India had to face a lot of adversities during World War I without any reason. Before the onset of World War I, India was in a chaotic situation herself. Congress, which had a humble beginning- to discuss issues, was slowly but surely emerging as the propeller for a nation-wide movement. The Germans too felt that if the British could be diverted in any way, India would be able to free herself from his clutches. Many Indians felt that if they offered to help the British in every way possible, the British would leave India as a goodwill gesture. Such was the opinion of almost all Indians- they decided to send their army to fight. The Indian army fought valiantly. But things didn’t turn out as people expected. The British didn’t leave India. In fact, they overlooked India’s contribution. Around fifty thousand Indians were killed and around sixty five thousand were injured during the war. This was the cost India had to pay. India’s economy dipped further. India would not have taken part in World War I had the British was not occupying India at that time. Human lives would have been saved.   

In World War II, India would have taken part as it was pretty much difficult to remain out of it. But they would not have been forced to fight for the British, as it happened in the real world. Few would have joined Axis, few would have joined Allies and few would have remained neutral. After the war and Axis defeat, Indians may have been divided into two portions- with Allies influencing southern India.

Impact on daily life

The British has left an impact in many ways. Railways, club life, buildings (like the Parliament itself) are implicative of British rule in the past. 

India made United Kingdom what it is today. They gained a lot by looting Indians. The position they hold today has Indian “efforts” too.

India would not have been a uniform country. With lack of much unity, one part of India would be more developed than another part. Patchy modernization would have taken place.

The British influenced India through its technology. IT sectors and call sectors flourish in India now and the British do have some credit for that- for bringing such ideas here.

Globalization would not have been a much hyped about topic in the absence of British influence. India, being a subcontinent full of resources, would have been self sufficient and would not have accepted much global ideas. They would have been skeptical to try out new ways and ideologies.

Conclusion

It will be difficult to say whether India would have been better or worse if the British had never colonized India. In few aspects we can’t deny that India has benefitted. Modernization, Globalization, Freedom, Technology- all these were initiated because of the British, knowingly or unknowingly. The British drained India- this fact cannot be overlooked. India would have been richer in the absence of British rule. Nevertheless, India learned a lot from those struggles and it has helped shape India.