By Sunil Goyal | Independence Day Special
A new report by Oxfam International has reignited the debate over the economic legacy of British colonial rule in India, claiming that Britain extracted wealth worth US$64.82 trillion from India between 1765 and 1900.
According to the report, nearly US$33.8 trillion of this wealth ultimately benefited Britain’s richest 10 percent, underscoring how colonial exploitation contributed to the concentration of wealth among the country’s elite.
The report was released during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, where Oxfam described colonial extraction as a major historical factor behind today’s widening global economic inequalities. It argues that the enormous transfer of wealth from India played a decisive role in Britain’s economic rise while simultaneously weakening India’s economy for generations.
According to the report, British colonial policies dealt a devastating blow to India’s industrial strength. In 1750, India accounted for nearly 25 percent of global industrial output, making it one of the world’s leading manufacturing economies. By 1900, however, that share had plummeted to just 2 percent.
Oxfam attributes this decline largely to British trade policies that systematically undermined India’s textile industry and local manufacturing, redirecting economic gains to Britain.
The report further estimates that the largest share of the extracted wealth flowed to Britain’s wealthiest households, while an additional 32 percent benefited the country’s middle class. Oxfam argues that the prosperity enjoyed by successive generations in Britain was significantly supported by resources and wealth transferred from India during colonial rule.
Beyond economic losses, the report highlights the immense human cost of colonial policies. It estimates that between 1891 and 1920, nearly 59 million Indians died due to famine, disease and extreme poverty.
The report also identifies the 1943 Bengal Famine as one of the darkest chapters of British rule, estimating that around three million people lost their lives during the catastrophe.
Oxfam also draws parallels between colonial-era economic structures and present day global inequality. The report claims that workers in the Global South continue to receive 87 to 95 percent lower wages than their counterparts in the Global North for comparable work. It argues that multinational corporations and global supply chains continue to rely on low-cost labour in developing nations, while the bulk of profits flows to wealthier countries.
The report concludes that the economic consequences of colonialism are not merely historical but continue to shape global patterns of wealth and inequality. As India marks its Independence Day, the findings have once again sparked discussions over the long-term impact of colonial rule, historical justice, and the enduring imbalance in the global economic order.
