How much of INDIA's movable wealth like GOLD, DIMOND have been taken away by British ?

Question

HINDU and MUSLIM indian- kingdom and FAMILIES used to store valuable like GOLD, STONE, DIMOND in there house and temple.

During 200 years ruling of INDIA by BRITISH, they have taken many of those. They also have taken spices, cultivated materials, precious forest materials, etc, etc ( .... long list)

Answer 1

I feel certain the British, who clearly exploited India for years, carried off all of this movable wealth they could get their hands on. I doubt it would be possible to find an accurate tally of it all, though research may be able to provide some estimates.
That is not to single out the British as the only greedy people on earth. For thousands of years many people with the military strength have been taking movable wealth from those who they could dominate.
What did the Mughals do when they dominated India?
Of course it isn't "right" morally, but that's the way it has been.

Answer 2

I suspect the value of the renewable wealth India produced during the same time dwarfs that of the kind of thing you're referring to. Tea, spices, cheap textiles, etc. I doubt too much wood was shipped all the way to England, though!

On the other hand, what was the worth of what they left behind? Of a nation forged from a thousand principalities, with a common language? Of a tradition (honored in the breach sometimes, but they tried) of religious tolerance, allowing Muslims and Hindus and Christians and Jews and whoever else you might encounter to live together, passing ideas to each other? Of teaching Indians to think of themselves as a nation rather than Kashmiris etc? Of at least a start at breaking down caste barriers? Of mapping the whole of the subcontinent, and building railroads and undersea cables, roads and ports and even whole cities where they would be economically useful? Of building universities and a justice system and a bureaucratic system that tries to be honest, though neither country is perfect? Where would India be now if only a very few spoke any language spoken elsewhere in the world, or could read its books and technical manuals, or the Internet? What is the value of allowing India to fight its way to freedom and independence with vastly less bloodshed than so many comparable countries suffered? (Ask the Chechens or Tibetans, or Poles or Irish or Koreans, about that.)

I am neither British nor Indian, and I know that the British were terribly terribly offensive in their arrogance, but I truly think that India would be far worse off if they hadn't arrived, or if another European nation had conquered in their stead. (Taken a look at the (formerly Belgian) Congo lately? Or formerly Portuguese Brazil? At least the Portuguese didn't have to deal with such awe-inspiring population density.

The main challenge to India is simply its huge population, and population density, in a subtropical and tropical climate where disease and parasites thrive, unlike in the richer (and colder) areas of the West. That's not something the British created (nor is it something we can blame Indians for.) Why not accept that people are people, and that it's time to look to a future, rather than rehashing ancient history?

The bottom line is that the British didn't encounter a nation as rich and well governed as Switzerland, and the fact that India isn't rich now is not their fault. I'd bet the percentage of people who starved after a couple of years of bad harvests was far higher before the British arrived than after they left, though, even though there were far more people to be supported by the same amount of land when they left.

The other nations with the richest gem and precious mineral deposits in the world aren't terribly rich now - Burma, South Africa, Colombia, Thailand - not exactly the OECD. The real advantage is in having winters cold enough to kill parasites, meaning families can have just 3 kids and expect at least 2 to survive to adulthood. That means they can invest in the education of those three kids, rather than trying to feed 6 and not educate any of them.

Answer 3

Thank you Johnny s for giving one of the most informed and intelligent answers I have heard with relation to the activities of the British Empire in India for a very long time. The fact that you aren't even from either of these nations makes your answer all the more impressive.
Thanks , and Kudos :)

Answer 4

Oh yes, "You took the tea from India!"
Excuse me - Britain BROUGHT the tea TO India!
For a country to be prosperous, what it needs is to have a lot of people ready to make things other people are ready to buy.
Look at Hong Kong - no natural resources - they even need to import drinking water.
You should thank your stars that not all Indians are like you. You need to get off your victimised butt.

Answer 5

with the immigrants living in england and squandering of the state the uk has paid back this debt a hundred times over

Answer 6

You just take a glance of 'DRAIN THEORY' written by Dada Bhai Naoroji.