Very bad or only a little bit?

"India became a free land on August 15, 1947, and was relieved from the reigns of 200-year old British rule." BQ. "If we estimate excess mortality from 1891 to 1920, with the average death rates of the 1880s as normal mortality, we find some 50  million (5 crore) people lost their lives under the aegis of British capitalism," wrote Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel on British rule in India. But, "If we measure excess mortality over England's 16th- and 17th-century average death rate, we find 165 million (16.5 crore) excess deaths in India between 1880 and 1920. This figure is larger than the combined number of deaths from both World Wars, including Nazi holocaust." "India's mortality rate from 1921 to 1950 was higher than England's in the 16th and 17th centuries," and "In fact, it was higher even than the average mortality rate that afflicted China during the Great Famine of 1959-61." Regarding the British Empire, "To the majority of Britons even today, it is something to be proud of, a force of progress, decency and rule of law around the world, despite the occasional excesses of a 'few bad apples'," wrote Caroline Elkins. "The natives were 'half-devil and half-child' in Rudyard Kipling's conception, John Stuart Mill advocated 'paternal despotism' to deal with them." "At every point the ideological agenda was to reconcile the logic of necessary violence with its civilising mission." "Much of India's trade in the 19th century, over two-thirds of imports and a third of exports, was with the UK. The imports were largely manufactured goods and exports were raw materials going into the making of these goods," wrote Vivek Kaul. "This ultimately had an impact on education levels." Even now, "The overall literacy rate as per our last census in 2011 was around 73%, with only 65% of women being literate." So, the British are devils? Not so, wrote Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar. "India's GDP stagnated at $33.75 billion from 1 AD to 1000 AD, the Hindu-ruled period. Per capita income also stagnated at $450 as the population remained steady at around 75 million." The population stayed at the same level for 1000 years "Because drought, disease, and wars meant that merely staying alive was a challenge." "Between 1700 and 1950, India's GDP  went up from $50 billion to $222 billion, the fastest growth ever. India's share of world GDP fell not because it was impoverished but because the Industrial Revolution helped other countries grow much faster," wrote Aiyar. No matter what the figures say, conquering a nation with military force and subjugating its population is a criminal act. No excuses. And yet, even today a lot of Indians would prefer living in Britain than in India. "The latest UK Home Office statistics show that the number of Indians crossing the English Channel on small boats has shot up in the first three months of this year, making them the second-biggest cohort after Afghans." TOI. Afghans are escaping from the Taliban. What are Indians escaping from? Back to the evil colonial masters.