Why are we pushing India away?

When you consider the history of British rule in India, says Matt Ridley, it’s a wonder Indians generally are “so well disposed” towards us. As detailed in Inglorious Empire, a fierce critique of British rule by Indian MP Shashi Tharoor, the Raj was “cruel and parasitical” in countless ways. It plundered vast wealth, destroyed traditions of education and decimated India’s textile industry. Yet it has somehow engendered in the minds of Indians a residual affection for Britain. So you’d think – with Brexit looming and with India rapidly returning to “the dominant position it held in the world economy for centuries” – that we’d be doing all we could to nurture that “goodwill”. Instead, to the bafflement of many Indians, we’re squandering it. We’re actually introducing tougher visa requirements that make it harder for Indians to holiday, study or work here. Six years ago we had twice as many Indian as American students; today we have more American. We need India as “a market, an ally, an innovator, a source of talent and a friend”. Yet we’re pushing it away. It’s “a terrible mistake”.