241 years ago, the Treachery of the British Raj did not only begin, but one could surmise, it was completed.
On 13 August 1784, the East India Company Act, which was named after William Pitt the Younger, the then Prime Minister of Britain, was passed. Its aim was to remove the loopholes in the Regulating Act of 1773, and for the government to take strategic control of the East India Company and administration of India.
The law known as the ‘Pitt's India Act of 1784’ was a significant power play by the British Parliament to exert control and authority over the British East India Company and placing India's governance directly under the British government's oversight. For Indians this was nothing short of an ‘Act of Treachery’.
Most people don’t know this, but the official title of the Pitt’s India Act was “An Act for the better Regulation and Management of the Affairs of the East India Company and of the British Possessions in India, and for establishing a Court of Judicature for the more speedy and effectual trial of persons accused of offences committed in the East Indies.”
Just read that again, have a think, and then ask yourself, what kind of people would do this to their hosts who welcomed them in India with open arms. This was an act that declared that India was a possession of Britain. And as soon as it came into force, the full-scale loot of India began openly. All pretence of being a friend, of being a business entity, of being a trading partner vanished. It was an all-out grab for every resource that India had on offer. And by this I don’t just mean the land, the minerals, the vegetations, the wildlife, the rivers and the seas, but right at the top of the list of this loot was the enslavement of a nation and its people. In one swift gesture of a quill pen, the British turned every Indian into a foreigner in their own country.
In 1858 the Government of India Act came into force which brought the end of the company's rule in India. India was now a ruled nation. Lord Cornwallis’s power increased as he became the de facto ruler of British India. Just to give you a simple overview of British control and the loot, have a look at the following:
Economic Exploitation: The British implemented policies that favoured British industries and trade at the expense of Indian industries, leading to deindustrialization and economic decline in India.
Resource Extraction: India's natural resources, including minerals, agricultural products, and other raw materials, were extracted and exported to Britain, often at artificially low prices, fuelling British industries.
Artifacts and Treasures: Thousands of valuable artifacts, including jewels, artwork, and religious objects, were taken from India and many can now found in British museums and private collections. For examples the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the Timur Ruby, and other precious items stolen under force from the Indian royal family and taken back to Britain.
The "loot of India" contributed to the impoverishment and economic decline of India, while simultaneously enriching Britain and fuelling its industrial revolution. If there was no India, then Britain would never have had its industrial revolution! The British policy of favouring British textiles led to the decline of Indian textile industries, including the famous Bengal muslin industry, with weavers facing hardship and poverty. The British working classes saw huge rewards in the North where textile industry became the engine of economic power.
You will hear countless historians claim that developments such as roads, rail, governance, administration, shipping etc were all contributions of the British. I beg to differ. All of these were built by Indian workforce using Indian resources. The only thing the British did was use force and the whip to make Indians bend at the knee to do their bidding.
Let us not forget, India was a thriving nation (I say nation meaning all the elements that made up Bharat Varsh connected by a common core nourished by Sanatan Dharma) that had some 25% of the global GDP equivalent of that time. When the British left this had reduced to 2%.
The white colonials thrived on exploitation and treachery. Today we see the same mindset begin to exert its influence by demanding huge tariffs, full access to nations for further exploitation, and those who don’t abide by the rules set by them – they would be dealt with harshly. The west in now in a destructive mode. As they decline, they need to fill the huge gaps in their finances. Printing cash can only serve you for so long before the house of cards begins to fall. India, Russia and China have frustrated the west. Gone are the days when the white men can turn up with their modern weapons, their false smiles, their fork tongues and get away with it. Today there are some nations strong enough to stand up to the bully. If the world is to survive and move forward, it’s time to give the bullies a well-deserved bloody nose.
Geo-politics is in a state of flux. How these pieces come together, and what picture they reveal, will be interesting to see in the years to follow. India needs to be the master of its own destiny.