It’d be a lie if we said that we’re completely over the colonial hangover left over by the two centuries of British rule. Today, living in an independent India, it’s hard to imagine a foreign nation ruling over us. A lot of blood was shed for the sweet taste of freedom and there’s nothing that we cherish more than being independent. Having said so, just for the sake of the mind’s exercise, let’s try to imagine the things that may have happened if the British never really ruled India. What about Democracy? There’s hardly any suggestion of democracy in pre-British India. The British introduced the Parliamentary elections in India with the Indian Council Act of 1861. It was the first time that Indians could vote for the Lok Sabha which translates to “Council of the people”. Although the British would retain responsibilities for the defense and foreign affairs of India, they did introduce electoral systems to the country which otherwise may have remained a monarchy for years to follow.

The abolition of Sati

The most heinous Hindu practice where a widow would be burnt alive on the pyre of her deceased husband was finally abolished in 1829 in certain parts of India, starting from Bengal and rest of the Princely states followed suit. Apparently, Mughal king, Akbar, and Aurungzeb had tried to ban the custom but their implementations were not fruitful.

Although personalities like Sahajanand Swami and Raja Rammohan Roy had struggled hard to abolish the practice, it would have been a tough job had the British not backed the cause, especially with the widespread protest from the Hindu community against the ban.

The introduction of western education

Not that India had any dearth of an academic depth of its own but the introduction of western education had helped the country in various aspects, including gaining independence. The British had introduced English to the Indian bourgeois for convenience in bureaucratic work.

However, this was a gateway for the Indians to a world of literature which had exposed them to tales of revolutions in history that eventually inspired Indians to start a well-educated fight for freedom. India may not have formed such a well-rounded worldview had western education not been introduced by the British.