Introduction

It is a well-known fact that the British ruled India for

well over 300 years. During their long and illustrious
rule over the vast territories of India, they gained a
lot and they gave a lot too.

India in its present situation owes a lot to Great

Britain for the level of industrial development that
exists in India today and the systems of education,
administration etc. that exist in India today. There is
no doubt that even something as elementary as the
judicial system of India is borrowed from the English
system and that our laws themselves are based on
English laws.

However, a point to be pondered about is the nature

of treatment that the British meted out to India and
Indians. After all, the British conquered India with a
reason and the reason is pretty clear that the wealth
and riches of India were too much for a great
industrial power like England to resist at that point
of time. The British were ready to do anything
possible in order to obtain the riches of India.

They thus followed an elaborate plan of action in

order to strip India of its wealth and to equip Britain
with the very best of the raw materials and riches.
This is what is referred to as the ‘Drain of Wealth’
from India by the British.

This term paper essentially seeks to study the

concept of the drain of wealth from India during the
British rule. It essentially focuses on the ‘Drain of
Wealth Theory’ propounded by Dadabhai Naoroji
which describes extensively the mechanism of drain
from India to Britain.

Objectives of this paper:

1.How to measure and conceptualize “DRAIN OF
WEALTH”
2. How did the British manage to virtually rob India
of so much wealth over such a long period of time?
3.What was the extent of its outflow from INDIA TO
BRITAIN?
4.What was the role of it in building british empire?