Post-independence growth, led by Pakistanīritain decided to give up its “jewel in the crown” and partition the region into Hindu-dominated India and Muslim Pakistan after facing mounting pressure from the local population and a growing nationalist movement. As a result, colonial India had one of the lowest literacy rates in the world at about 17%, and life expectancy was in the mid-30s.īritain’s neglect of the plight of Indians is perhaps best illustrated by the 1943 famine in Bengal in eastern India, in which over 1.5 million people died as a result of policy failure. This happened largely because the colonial Indian economy was mostly agricultural, and yet the British made little investment in improving farm productivity.Īdditionally, Great Britain made limited investments in the well-being of the people of India, notably by underfunding their education and health care. Something began to change around the 1990s as their roles reversed and India vaulted ahead of Pakistan, eventually becoming the world’s third-biggest economy by purchasing power and the “I” in BRICS – an acronym referring to a bloc of five key emerging market countries.Īs a scholar of international political economy, I believe India’s stronger embrace of democracy – at the same time that Pakistan experienced frequent military dictatorships and changes in government – has a lot to do with it.įrom 1857 to 1947, Britain ruled directly over most of the territory that became the independent states of India and Pakistan.Įconomic growth under British rule was minimal, averaging just 0.9% a year from 1900 to 1947. But it was Pakistan that saw faster growth rates during the first four decades or so, while India lagged behind. Their colonial economies were among the poorest in the world.įor both nations, independence almost immediately led to strong growth and fueled significant gains in education, health care and other areas of development. India and Pakistan inherited the same economic legacy of underinvestment and neglect from Britain when they became independent states following the Partition on August 15, 1947. ![]() ![]() Why India’s economy is so much better than Pakistan’s – Asia Times Close Search for:
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