Abhijit Iyer-Mitra joins The Winston Marshall Show to examine British rule in India, decolonisation, the East India Company and claims that colonialism deindustrialised the Indian economy. A defence economist and senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, he argues that India’s economic history under the British Empire was more complicated than narratives of extraction and collapse suggest. He discusses industrialisation, mercantilism, Indian manufacturing, the Mughal and Maratha empires, Robert Clive, Queen Victoria and the Opium Wars, including the role of Indian commercial families such as the Tatas. The discussion also covers Gandhi, JK Rowling, British institutions, banking, the rule of law and why he believes colonial India cannot be understood solely through modern decolonisation arguments.

Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgPf1yDAkzs