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Britain first arrived in India in the sass’s, it changed the future of India for the worse. The British Raja hurt India by treating Indians unfairly through extremely low wages along with minimal political opportunity, and Britain left a negative legacy on India through considerable debt that took years to pay off. British imperialism devastated India financially, materially and politically through the period 1800-1947. The British paid Indian workers very little money at all and taxed them at high rates.
The result was that Indian workers did not have nearly enough money to support homeless and their families. Materially, many Indians, especially those in rural areas, were very poor and easily susceptible to famine. Mortality due to famine increased greatly due a very poor population and the dependence on grains such as rice and wheat, all caused by Britain. Dhabi Nairobi, an early Indian political and social leader, describes the material poverty, “The material condition of India is such that the great mass of the poor have hardly outplace a day and a few rags, or a scanty subsistence. Much of India was extremely poor due to British rule and the unbearably low wages. Many Indians tried to change the wages of Indian workers through politics, but the British government gave no political opportunity for Indians attempting to govern their own country. The British broke many promises to Indians of higher positions In the government of India, making the British word unreliable. Along with giving the Indians no political opportunities throughout the British Raja, the British were generally very disrespectful and racist towards Indians, demoralizing their hopeful spirits.
When the British Raja finally ended in 1947, India was left in shambles, burdened with tons of debt while Britain walked away, having gained an extravagant amount of money. Britain benefited from India because of very cheap labor and valuable raw materials. Through ruling India, Britain was able to establish anti-competition laws that allowed for Britain to raise the price of its textiles significantly which provided even more money for Britain. While Britain prospered, India suffered. In 1947, after the British Raja, half of the rural population was below he poverty line and nearly 88% of the rural population was Illiterate.
India was dependent on Imports for Its grain and food until 1970 when the trend was finally reversed. Most importantly, India was laden with substantial debt due to British rule. Even though Britain established railroads and irrigation in India, Britain loaned the money for the railroads and irrigation systems to India with interest rates that added to Indian’s debt after the British rule. In total, British rule had a negative impact on India that lasted for decades after Britain left India in 1947.