UK’s wealthiest 10% took half of India’s wealth during colonial era: Oxfam

This finding is highlighted in the latest flagship global inequality report by Oxfam International

Over the course of colonial rule between 1765 to 1900, the UK extracted $64.82 trillion from India, of which $33.8 trillion went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.

This finding is highlighted in the latest flagship global inequality report by Oxfam International, which is traditionally released on the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting.

Titled 'Takers, Not Makers', the report was unveiled on Monday, shortly before the start of the global annual summit. It references numerous research papers to assert that the modern multinational corporation is inherently a legacy of colonialism.

"Legacies of inequality and pathologies of plunder, pioneered during the time of historical colonialism, continue to shape modern lives,” Oxfam said.

“This has created a deeply unequal world, a world torn apart by division based on racism, a world that continues to systematically extract wealth from the Global South to primarily benefit the richest people in the Global North," the report stated.

Drawing on a range of studies and research papers, Oxfam calculated that between 1765 and 1900, the richest 10 percent in the UK extracted wealth from India equivalent to $33.8 trillion in today’s terms.

"This would be enough to carpet the surface area of London in British pound 50 notes almost four times over," it said.

In the UK, a significant number of the richest people today can trace their family wealth back to slavery and colonialism, specifically the compensation paid to rich enslavers when slavery was abolished, it added.

On the modern multinational corporation being a creation of colonialism, Oxfam said it was pioneered by such corporations as the East India Company, which became a law unto itself and was responsible for many colonial crimes.

"In the modern day, multinational corporations, often occupying monopoly or near-monopoly positions, continue to exploit workers in the Global South, particularly women workers, on behalf of rich shareholders primarily based in the Global North," it said.

(With PTI inputs)