Division, Trauma, and Stagnation: The Case Against the British Imperial Legacy Within India

This essay explores the British colonial legacy within India and how it has drastically affected the country’s ability to become a modern day global economic and geopolitical force. It begins by establishing a historical background from the first European expeditions to the subcontinent all the way to independence from Great Britain in 1947. It goes into how this colonial legacy has created issues on a sociopolitical level, mainly through creating ethnic tensions – mainly through the historical divide-and-conquer strategy – that now threaten the pluralistic democracy that India was founded on. This could mainly be seen through the rise of ethnonationalist movements within India, which acts as a large-group trauma response to this colonial legacy. The final section analyzes the historical economic abuse of the country conducted by the British, where the suppression of domestic industries and exploitation of India’s vast resources have limited the country economically after independence.