“this figure had precipitously declined to a mere 2 per cent.”
A report has found how much was reportedly stolen from India by the British Empire.
According to a report by Oxfam International, $64.82 trillion (£52.5 trillion) worth of wealth was taken from India to the UK between 1765 and 1900.
The Takers Not Makers: The unjust poverty and unearned wealth of colonialism report also revealed that more than half of it went to the richest 10%.
Commenting on the amount taken to the UK, the report said:
“This would be enough to carpet the surface area of London in British £50 notes almost four times over.”
The decline of India’s industrial growth and subsequent poverty was also attributed to the British Empire.
It said: “In 1750, the Indian subcontinent accounted for approximately 25 per cent of global industrial output.
“However, by 1900 this figure had precipitously declined to a mere 2 per cent.
“This dramatic reduction can be attributed to Britain’s implementation of stringent protectionist policies against Asian textiles which systematically undermined India’s industrial growth potential.”
According to Oxfam, Britain’s colonial past is still a driving force of today’s inequality as it has created a “deeply unequal world”.
It said a large number of the UK’s richest people can trace their family wealth back to slavery and colonialism, specifically the compensation paid to rich enslavers when slavery was abolished.
The report continued: “This must be reversed.
“Reparations must be made to those who were brutally enslaved and colonised.
“Our modern-day colonial economic system must be made radically more equal to end poverty.
“The cost should be borne by the richest people who benefit the most.”
It should be noted that the $64.82 trillion was not calculated by the report’s authors.
It was actually attributed to two Delhi-based economists, Utsa Patnaik and her husband Prabhat, who referred to themselves as Marxists.
In 2018, the couple estimated that Britain had stolen approximately $45 trillion (£36 trillion) from India based on the period from 1765 to 1938.
According to Oxfam, the $64.82 trillion figure is an update to an analysis published in 2021.
The report follows Coldplay frontman Chris Martin thanking fans in Mumbai for “forgiving” Britain’s colonial past.
During the band’s concert, he said: “This is our fourth visit to India and the second time to play. First time we played a long show and we could not have asked for a better audience.
“Thank you for coming today everybody!
“Thank you for welcoming us even though we are from Great Britain. Thanks for forgiving us for everything Great Britain did.”