London, UK: A recent Oxfam International report, Takers, Not Makers, reveals the immense wealth extracted by Britain from India during its colonial rule, estimating that $64.82 trillion was siphoned off between 1765 and 1900. Of this, over half — $33.8 trillion — enriched the UK’s wealthiest 10%, contributing to lasting inequality. Unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the report highlights colonialism's enduring impact on global economic systems, showing how wealth transfer from the Global South to the Global North fostered an unequal world.

The report notes that India's contribution to global industrial output plummeted from 25% in 1750 to just 2% by 1900, due to British protectionist policies. It also links contemporary multinational corporations to colonial practices, noting how companies like the British East India Company contributed to land dispossession and violent repression.

Oxfam criticizes global institutions like the WTO and World Bank for perpetuating inequalities and highlights the ongoing disparities in wages and working conditions in the Global South. It also draws attention to societal divisions, such as caste and language, that were entrenched during colonial rule, and the tragic Bengal famine of 1943, which caused millions of deaths due to racist policies.

The report concludes that the legacy of colonialism continues to affect public services, education, and natural resource exploitation in the Global South, with global inequality remaining deeply rooted in exploitative colonial practices.