Oxfam Report: Half of the earnings from enslaving India went into the pockets of Britain's 10% richest people

Britain ruled India for about 200 years, starting from 1765 to 1947. During this period, the British earned about 64.82 trillion US dollars from India, out of which 33.8 trillion US dollars went into the pockets of the richest 10 percent of the people in the country. The amount was such that London could be fully covered almost four times with 50 notes of British pounds. This information has come to light in a report.

This report is part of Oxfam International's latest major global inequality report, which is released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. The report, titled 'Takers, Not Makers', was released in Davos on Monday, hours before the annual meeting of the rich and powerful from around the world began. The report, citing several studies and research papers, claims that modern multinational companies are only a result of colonialism. The report said, "The distortions of inequality and plunder, which prevailed during the time of historical colonialism, are shaping modern life."

Oxfam said, "This has created a highly unequal world, a world plagued by divisions based on racism. It is a world that is systematically siphoning off money from the global South, with the benefits mainly going to the richest people in the global North." 

Based on various studies and research papers, Oxfam calculated that between 1765 and 1900, Britain's richest 10% of people took out wealth worth today's US $ 33.8 trillion from India alone. According to the report, "This amount was enough to cover London four times with 50 British pound notes."

Britain's rich hold slavery and colonialism responsible for their wealth
According to the report, a large number of the richest people in Britain today attribute their family's wealth to slavery and colonialism, especially the huge income they got from the compensation given to their owners when slavery ended. Regarding modern multinational companies being a gift of colonialism, Oxfam said that it was started by corporations like the East India Company. They made their own laws and were responsible for many colonial crimes.

"In modern times, multinational corporations, which often have monopolistic or near-monopoly positions, have wealthy shareholders from the global North and exploit workers from the global South, especially women workers," the report said.