I don't know if we'll get much good discussion out of this since what I know of Indian history is what I saw in Gandhi, but what I wonder is this:
Would the AVERAGE citizen of India be worse, or better off, if they were still an English colony (or extrapolating the alternate timeline, if England straight-up upgraded them to "more England" at one point)?
But would they be better off?
The Colony of India
The Colony of India
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
The Colony of India
I think a fundamental problem of English colonialism was the economic drain of the colonialist system, in addition to cultural issues. I think it's like slavery in a way: Bad when it happened, but some positive long-lasting effects. Speaking English helped give Indians access to the USA and American jobs. Slavery was terrible, but descendants ended up in America.
It's not me, it's someone else.
The Colony of India
What about bringing them into the 20th century, did the roads, trains, bureaucracy (some of which is required in a functioning government), and general lifestyle improvements help anything? It's considered required for real cultural advancement.
So yes, resources (tea anad spices) were shipped out that could be argued it was produced with slave labor even though that was technically illegal at the time, but they also had improvements like electricity and trains shipped in.
So yes, resources (tea anad spices) were shipped out that could be argued it was produced with slave labor even though that was technically illegal at the time, but they also had improvements like electricity and trains shipped in.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."