International Journal of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Research

British colonial rule between 1757 and 1947 profoundly reshaped India’s socio-economic structure, leaving legacies that continue to influence the country’s development trajectory. Colonial administrative reforms introduced centralized governance, standardized legal systems, and fiscal mechanisms that facilitated effective control and large-scale extraction of resources. Economic policies related to land revenue, trade, and industry transformed agrarian relations, weakened indigenous manufacturing, and integrated India into global markets primarily as a supplier of raw materials. These interventions contributed to rural distress, growing inequalities, and periodic famines, while simultaneously generating new social classes and labor dynamics. Investments in infrastructure such as railways, ports, irrigation, education, and public health marked important institutional changes, yet they largely served imperial interests rather than balanced economic growth. Colonial taxation and financial policies further consolidated economic dependency and shaped post-independence fiscal structures. At the same time, exposure to modern education, legal ideas, and political institutions fostered social reform movements and nationalist consciousness. The socio-economic transformations of the colonial era thus combined elements of institutional continuity with deep structural distortions. Examining these historical processes provides critical insight into the foundations of modern India’s economy, governance systems, and persistent development challenges.