he long joint history of India and England is far from unfamiliar. Much of it is understood through the lens of two centuries of British colonialism, from the mid-18th century to Indian independence in 1947. Colonised first by the East India Company (EIC), India was later celebrated as the “jewel in the crown” of the British empire. In scholarly texts as much as popular writings, England features as imperial master over a subordinated India. Even in the period prior to colonisation, England is seen as a coloniser-in-waiting, with the EIC framed as an empire builder. Yet this understanding is far from accurate,
