Oxfam highlights $64 trillion colonial wealth extraction from India by Britain, fueling global inequality

Oxfam’s explosive report reveals that Britain’s colonial wealth extraction from India amounted to a staggering $64.82 trillion over more than a century of rule. Released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the report titled “Takers, Not Makers” sheds light on the deep scars of colonial exploitation and its lasting impact on modern economies.

Over half of this colossal wealth, estimated at $33.8 trillion, was funnelled into the pockets of Britain’s richest 10%. To illustrate, this sum could carpet London four times over in £50 banknotes. But the middle class in Britain wasn’t left out either; 32% of the looted wealth enriched this emerging demographic, leaving India impoverished and industrially gutted.

Colonial Plunder: A Legacy of Greed

Between 1765 and 1900, the British systematically drained India of its wealth, Oxfam claims, citing that India once accounted for 25% of global industrial output. By the dawn of the 20th century, this figure had plummeted to a mere 2%. The report blames Britain’s draconian trade policies, which crushed India’s flourishing textile industry. These policies prioritised British manufacturers, turning India into a raw material supplier and a captive market for British goods.

The East India Company epitomised this greed-fuelled system. Operating as a law unto itself, its private army of 260,000 soldiers enforced land dispossession and quashed resistance, ensuring colonial profits soared. The Company’s exploits birthed the modern multinational corporation, with monopolistic practices that continue to exploit workers in the Global South today.

Famine, Death, and Inequality

Oxfam’s report doesn’t just focus on wealth extraction—it highlights the human cost of Britain’s colonial rule. It estimates 59 million excess deaths in India under British governance from 1891 to 1920. This grim tally includes the Bengal Famine of 1943, where wartime grain import restrictions, coupled with racist colonial policies, caused the deaths of three million people.

The famine’s legacy lingers. Oxfam suggests that generations of Indians suffer higher rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes due to metabolic adaptations forced by repeated cycles of starvation during colonial rule.

Exploitation Still Thrives

Today, echoes of this exploitation persist in global supply chains. Workers in the Global South, particularly women, endure abysmal wages—up to 95% lower than their counterparts in the North for equivalent work. Multinational corporations continue to rake in massive profits, maintaining a system of dependence and inequality first crafted during colonial times.

The report further exposes how colonial divisions—caste, religion, and gender—were institutionalised by British policies. For instance, the caste system was legally formalised under British rule, reinforcing societal barriers that still plague India.

The Price of Greed

Oxfam also shines a light on Britain’s role in the opium trade, calling it a “colonial drug pusher.” The British East India Company promoted opium farming in eastern India, using it to fund their empire and enforce control over China. This trade triggered the infamous Opium Wars, plunging China into its “century of humiliation.”

Moreover, biopiracy remains a bitter reminder of colonial exploitation. Oxfam highlights the example of a U.S. company patenting an ancient neem extract used by Indian farmers for centuries, sparking a 10-year legal battle to reclaim indigenous knowledge.

A Poisoned Legacy

From economic domination to environmental degradation, Oxfam argues the Global South continues to pay the price for colonialism. The report concludes that institutions like the World Trade Organisation and World Bank often favour the Global North, perpetuating inequalities that date back to colonial times.

As the world grapples with inequality and climate crises, Oxfam’s findings urge global leaders to confront the brutal legacy of empire—and demand accountability for centuries of stolen wealth.