British India, 1858–1947
Autocracy · Empire · South Asia · Imperial Zenith era
Crown rule over the subcontinent through a centralized bureaucracy and a large standing army, with no franchise for most of the period, recurrent famines, and a mass nationalist movement from the 1920s.
Dominant patterns
- Economic Crisis
- Regime Stabilization
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 70 |
| Media Control | 60 |
| Repression | 65 |
| Nationalism | 50 |
| Militarization | 60 |
| Economic Stress | 65 |
| External Conflict | 45 |
| Cult of Personality | 25 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 45 |
| Institutions | 65 |
| Social Polarization | 70 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 45 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 50 |
| External Sovereignty | 5 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $1033 (intl-$) |
| GDP growth | +0.1%/yr |
| Population | 390.0M people |
| Share of world population | 16.1% |
| Life expectancy | 26.3 years |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles British India 1858–1947, by similarity score (0–100).
- Dutch East Indies, 1830–1942 – similarity 97/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Regime Stabilization
- French Indochina, 1887–1945 – similarity 96/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Regime Stabilization
- French Algeria, 1870–1954 – similarity 80/100 · shared: Economic Crisis
- Korea, 1910–1945 – similarity 72/100 · shared: Economic Crisis, Regime Stabilization
- Congo Free State, 1885–1908 – similarity 53/100 · shared: Economic Crisis
- France, 1940–1944 – similarity 46/100 · shared: Economic Crisis
- East Germany, 1949–1989 – similarity 45/100 · shared: Regime Stabilization
- Poland, 1980–1989 – similarity 42/100 · shared: Economic Crisis
What followed
- Independence and the partition of British India in 1947.
- Mass violence and displacement during partition.