India’s history isn’t just the story of one nation—it’s the story of one-sixth of humanity. It’s also a lens for understanding how colonialism, democracy, and globalization shaped the modern world.

This mini-series offers a human-centred perspective on that remarkable story, focusing on how politics and trade impacted the lives of ordinary Indians.

In Part 1, we explored the decline of the Mughals and the long stretch of British rule. In Part 2, we turn to India's independent journey as the world’s largest democracy.

To guide us through this complex history, I’m joined again by Bishnupriya Gupta, a professor of economics and the author of the excellent Economic History of India.

In this episode, we discuss:

The legacy of British colonialism in independent India / Why India fell behind the economic miracle of East Asian countries like China / The successes and challenges of India’s democracy in shaping its economic future / What happened to inequality in India during independence?

As always, we finish with my guest’s reflections on humanity.

MENTIONS

Past episodes: What About China (with Yasheng Huang, #44-46)

LINKS

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Night's Slow Poison by Ann Leckie