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Abstract

Most people do not know that before the British East India Company took over, India was the economically strongest country in the world during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir (1616-1707). India used to generate a one fourth of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while Britain's share was just 2% during the same period. The lands of India were fertile and rich in all types of resources. Indian people were skilled and hardworking. Cotton cloth and muslin were in demand all over the world. Whereas India had no equal in the steel and shipbuilding industries. But the entire senenario changed after the Battle of Plassey and when the British left India in 1947, unlike Alexander, their cradles were full and India's hands were empty. The occupation of Bengal by the British after the Battle of Plassey, was actually the beginning of the industrial revolution which changed the world scenario completely. In this article, an attempt has been made to present a historical review of the degeneration of Indian civilization and economy.