If The British Had Never Ruled Our Country, This Would Be India Today

The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for 200 years starting with the East India Company in 1757 after Robert Clive's forces won the Battle of Plassey, and the British Empire which crushed the Revolt of 1857. But what if the English explorers had never come to Indian shores or failed to conquer the peninsula? What would India have been like now?

These are just some amateur predictions of the future of the sub-continent, and were inspired by inputs from Quora. You are most welcome to have your own theories on it.

1. A fragmented nation

The British rule may have united India, but in their absence, the result is the presence of 60-100 princely states that co-exist as rivals or alliances. The big boys in this political set up would probably be the Sikh rulers in the north west, the Marathas in western and central India, and the Mysore Kingdom of Tipu Sultan.

2. Decline of the Mughal Empire 

The Mughals survived as a puppet state under the East India Company. However given the circumstances of this story, their power is rapidly declining with weak rulers and the borders of their territories recede towards Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The rulers of Kashmir, Punjab and the Rajputs pose an imminent threat to the once powerful empire.

3. Presence of other European powers

In the absence of the British and their powerful navy, other European colonial powers enter the waters of Asia. In accordance with actual history, the Portuguese and the French occupy Goa and Pondicherry respectively. With no other worthy opponents, their rivals are the Spanish who occupy the Philippines and the Dutch who have established plantations in Indonesia.

The Portuguese would try to expand further into India. However, they are not as enterprising as the British, and being a trade link between Europe and India is their only interest.

The French Revolution in 1789 affects the French territories as their coffers are empty in funding the war back home. This weakens French influence, leaving them vulnerable should there be any conflict with the Portuguese or Indian kingdoms.


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4. Consolidation of British power elsewhere

The British colonies were strong in the Americas, Africa and Australia. With India not being a part of their territory, perhaps they would have put their best interests in these lands and managed to suppress the American Revolution.

5. Slow development of the railways

The British introduced the railways in 1871, but given their absence, the emergence of railways would probably come about much later in the 20th century and would not have covered every part of the country. Perhaps the rail routes would exist from industrial areas that produce raw materials thereby increasing efficiency in transport towards cities and ports.

The pioneers of railways would probably be the stronger and more westernised kingdoms like Baroda, Mysore, Hyderabad and Punjab in collaboration with western powers like the Portuguese and Dutch.


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6. Wars and rebellions

The popularity of regional languages and differences in religion and caste would spur wars and rebellions in various kingdoms which could probably lead to the reduction of their size. As states continue to fragment further, some of them consider not having monarchies and dictatorships as their form of government.

7. Birth of nationalism

The unification of Germany, Italy and the American Civil War, inspire the educated classes to think along the lines of democracy and nationalism. They want a united India that thrives in diversity but the reality is much different from their ideals.


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8. World War II

The arrival of World War II affects India deeply as some battles fought in Asia and Japan pose an imminent threat as their Imperial Army defeats European powers occupying South East Asia.

India, still a continent of kingdoms is left with opposing views on which power cluster they should align themselves with. As the Japanese take control of Singapore and Indonesia, their next target is Burma. This leaves much of the Eastern and Southern coast under threat (the Japanese did have air raids over Calcutta in the 1940s). The kingdoms/states in these areas support the Allies and depend on the United States, the British and the French.

The North western frontier fears attacks by the Soviet Union and the British who are approaching Afghanistan. They appeal to the Axis powers for help, relying on the Germans and Italians.

The northern kingdoms like Punjab would probably go as far as assisting the Japanese to annex the Eastern coast in order to help them fight off the Soviets.

9. After World War II

We're assuming the war ended as it did in actual history, with the defeat of the Axis. India is divided into two blocks, each with their own political ideologies. The Allies influence peninsular India, while the Soviets set up a Communist government in the north, which borders China and Central Asia.


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10. The Cold War

North and South India spend the Cold War hostile to one another due to the differences in their political ideologies. Monarchies no longer exist in the north while the south is a union of democratic states. North India follows East Germany and North Korea in attempts to prevent its citizens from escaping the vicious regime to the South.

11. The modern era

The collapse of the Soviet Union, the Afghan wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Tienanmen Square massacre, expose the failed concept of communism and socialism which leads to the collapse of the north Indian government as people call for a unified India as an economic block much like the European Union today. India's economies mix the best of socialism and capitalism and refuse to take part in the US-led coalition to overthrow the Taliban, who are ruling from Kandahar.

12. India today

India would probably be a continent in itself consisting of 30-40 states each aligning its identity to a language or religion. They either have monarchies, parliamentary systems or a presidential system, some being stronger than others. Border security would be tight due to terrorism and revolts by Naxalites.


Cricket would not have such a strong presence in the sub-continent as it does today, with only niche levels of society enjoying it as a leisure activity. Sports like football, hockey and basketball which have a wider global appeal, would have been even more popular, along with native games like kabaddi and gilli-danda. 




Source:indiaTimes

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