The best reply to such simplistic pro-colonialist comments about India is this graph compiled by British economist Angus Maddison:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Angus_Maddison#&#x2F;media&#x2F;File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Angus_Maddison#&#x2F;media&#x2F;File:1_A...</a><p>Basically, India and China together represented the largest percentages of the world&#x27;s GDP, until they were colonized, after which their contribution plunged.  Of course, the decline was multifactorial - colonialism wasn&#x27;t just one specific thing, and there were seeds of instability that colonists took advantage of - but the larger historical trend seems pretty clear.