Resource

Unintended consequence: This educated class became aware of:
Divide and rule: Playing different groups (Hindus, Muslims, castes, regions) against each other
Example: During the Salt March (1930), British police beat thousands of peaceful protesters. This was broadcast globally and damaged Britain’s image.
Educated elites turned against Britain: Instead of being grateful for English education, educated Indians used it to oppose colonialism.
War costs: Britain spent enormous sums fighting Nazi Germany; the war cost Britain its economic dominance.
Decolonization pressure from US: The United States, as a former colony itself and now a superpower, pressured Britain to decolonize. American anti-colonial ideology became dominant in the post-war world.
50,000+ British troops in India; expensive to maintain and supply
hk:It was small and wealthy; suppression wasn’t as expensive.It had less nationalist resistance (though it grew over time)
Strategically: The United States and Soviet Union opposed colonialism; Britain needed allies more than it needed India

Soviet competition: The Soviet Union competed for influence in decolonizing nations. Britain couldn’t afford to fight both nationalist movements and Soviet influence.

British cotton (initially from the Caribbean and later from America) was different from Indian cotton and required different processing.

No self-governance: Despite economic development, Hong Kong residents had virtually no political power. The British governor ruled by decree; there was no democracy or representative government for most of the colonial period.

Colonial extraction continued: While less blatant than in India, Britain still extracted wealth through taxes, duties, and profits from colonial enterprises.

Economic Control

British merchants dominated: While local merchants could engage in trade, British merchants and companies controlled the most profitable sectors (banking, shipping, real estate).
Land ownership: The British colonial government owned all land and leased it to residents; this created wealth for the government but limited property rights for residents.
Unequal wages: Chinese workers earned significantly less than British workers for similar work.

Hong Kong’s Real Success: Post-WWII and After

The Real Economic Boom

Hong Kong’s most dramatic economic development happened AFTER WWII, not during the colonial period:

Period	What Happened
1841-1945	Developed as a trading hub; modest growth; British control
1945-1960s	Post-war recovery; gradual industrialization begins
1960s-1980s	Manufacturing boom; textile, electronics, and toy manufacturing explode
1980s-1997	Financial center development; stock exchange grows; service sector expands
1997-present	Post-handover to China; continued prosperity; major global financial hub

cost of India’s independence, 1940s India and China comparison, does creating UN helped collapse Soviet Union

Partition shaped Indian and Pakistani politics for decades; nationalist and religious politics became dominant.

Partition and territorial loss: India was divided into two nations (India and Pakistan), with further division when East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971. This created ongoing territorial disputes and regional instability.

The real economic miracle happened when:

Chinese refugees fleeing the Communist revolution brought capital and entrepreneurial skills
Hong Kong residents (not the British) invested in manufacturing

When India gained independence, it inherited an economically hollowed-out nation with depleted resources and infrastructure designed only to serve British interests.

The British forced Indian farmers to grow cash crops (cotton, indigo, opium) for export

India’s share of global manufacturing fell from about 23% in 1750 to less than 2% by 1900. Centuries of industrial knowledge and skill were lost.

Currency manipulation: The British controlled India’s currency and monetary system, extracting wealth through currency exchange and financial manipulation

How Extraction Worked

Specific Examples of Wealth Extraction

Indians were forced to pay for railway construction through taxes, but the railways primarily benefited British extraction efforts.

Estimates: Economists estimate that Britain extracted trillions of dollars (in today’s money) from India over 200 years.
How much China gave to Britain?
Illiteracy: The British had not invested in education; literacy rates were around 12%.
Literacy rates in China at the same period.

Per capita income

Among the lowest in the world; Indians were impoverished. how about China back then

life expectancy

Low; around 32 years. What about the other countries

Development deficit: India had to catch up on centuries of development that had been deliberately prevented during colonization. Why don’t develop india
Resource scarcity: The depletion of natural resources meant India had to carefully manage its remaining resources resource comparing to china

India Before Colonization

Wealthy and advanced: In the 18th century, India was one of the world’s richest regions with advanced industries, thriving trade, and sophisticated governance.
Global economic power: India accounted for about 23% of global GDP in 1750.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hjrzijufbl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Israel_in_the_Gaza_war
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-investing-more-than-100-billion-into-independent-arms-industry-netanyahu-reveals/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hjrzijufbl

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/123488445/worker-exploitation-leads-to-calls-for-tougher-penalties-in-the-booming-massage-industry

https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/mount-everest-insurance-scam-20-million-helicopter-rescue-fraud-10615382/

https://space.bilibili.com/1293903099

https://books.google.se/books?id=yCZ6yr-J3dIC&dq=unit+1855&pg=PA109&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_9420

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Yuasa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731#cite_note-19