India's economy

Professor Angus Maddison of the University of Groningen (Netherlands) has done a great deal of research on world economy over the past 2 millennia. According to him, India's economy contributed to 24% of world GDP in 1700 AD. This was a drop from the 32% contribution in 1000 AD, which was prior to the Mughal era. The contribution decreased to less than 4% in 1950. This roughly corresponds to the period of British occupation of India. Some have suggested that the demolishing of existing textile and other industries complemented by no proper replacements explain this dramatic fall. Meanwhile, the Indian diaspora was too busy fighting for freedom.

http://www.ggdc.net/maddison
http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/articles/moghul_3.pdf