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India–United Kingdom relations

Bilateral relations

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History

Pre history and Early historical references

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 883 AD make reference to King Alfred of Wessex sending alms to St Thomas shrine in India.

East India Company (1600–1857)

Trade was established between Tudor England and Mughal India in 1600 when Elizabeth I granted the newly formed East India Company a royal charter by sending precious gifts to the Mughal court of Emperor Akbar the Great. Sir Thomas Roe and Sir William Hawkins were both separately an envoy to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, the latter at one point being given a mansabdar.

During the 18th century, the East India Company began to gain greater influence in India. The Battle of Plassey in 1757 led to the conquest of Bengal while by 1857, following various treaties and wars with Indian kingdoms (such as the Anglo-Mysore Wars with Tipu Sultan, the Anglo-Maratha Wars and both the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars), the East India Company controlled most of the Indian subcontinent.

British Raj (1858–1947)

Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, where Indian sepoys rebelled against their British officers, the East India Company was dissolved the following year. The assets of the British East India Company became so huge that the British government decided to step in, seizing control of the territories and treaty arrangements of the company. India served as the main base for the British Empire's expansion across Asia and would remain the empire's most important asset and main source of income as well as soldiers until independence. From a small trading outpost, India became an empire within an empire - the jewel in the British crown.

The 1869 completion of the Suez Canal led to significantly faster transport between India and the United Kingdom. In 1876, the area, which included modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, became "the Indian Empire" (often known historically as the "British Raj") with British Monarch Queen Victoria proclaimed as "Empress of India" (a title held by her successors until 1947). The British Indian Army was established and assisted Britain in many wars, including the Anglo-Afghan Wars, the Anglo-Gurkha Wars, the Anglo-Burmese Wars, the First and Second Opium Wars, and both World Wars.

During the British Raj, India faced numerous devastating famines, notably the Great Famine of 1876–1878, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 6.1 to 10.39 million Indians, and the Indian famine of 1899–1900, causing an estimated 1.25 to 10 million fatalities.

The end of British rule

The Indian independence movement gained traction following the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Opposition to British rule increased, where the ideology of satyagraha or non-violence was taken to a height by Gandhi while on another hand, 'self defense' or armed revolution was embraced by Nationalists like by Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, eventually led to the dissolution of British Raj and Independence of India on 15 August 1947. However, the end of the Raj also resulted in the Partition of India which created two new entities, the Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan (which included the eastern province of East Bengal that would later achieve independence as Bangladesh) and the Hindu-majority Dominion of India. Both remained in the Commonwealth of Nations, maintaining informal ties to the former British Empire.

Dominion of India (1947–1950)

King George VI, who as British Monarch had been "Emperor of India", abandoned this title in 1947, and served as India's ceremonial head of state as 'King of India' (in much the same way, he also served as 'King of Pakistan'). In 1950 India became a republic and the link with the British crown was severed. However, India decided to stay in the Commonwealth; this allowed India to maintain contact with the Indian diaspora, much of which was by then dispersed among the former British colonies.

The Dominion was part of the Sterling Area (the Republic of India finally leaving in 1966).

Republic of India (since 1950)

Since decolonisation, both Britain and India have pursued quite divergent diplomatic paths.

In particular, India became a major force within the Non-Aligned Movement, which initially sought to avoid taking sides during the Cold War. This contrasted with Britain's position as a founding member of NATO, and key ally of the United States. The death of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 also saw the weakening of ties, as Nehru had once remarked himself to be "the last Englishman to rule India".

Between 1947 and 1997, UK and India relations were contentious. India's independent ‘non-aligned’ foreign policy and its close ties with the USSR during the Cold War, had irked Britain. Britain opposed the Indian annexation of Goa from the Portuguese and Sikkim from the Maharajah. It opposed India's nuclear tests and raised the dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir. On its part, India opposed the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt during the Suez Crisis and demanded that the Indian Ocean be declared a Zone of Peace.

Post-Cold War

The 1990s saw a sea change in the relationship. Britain's relationship with India is “primarily driven by economic considerations rather than political/normative considerations.” The disappearance of the USSR in the 1990s and the economic reforms carried out in India between 1991 and 1996, had cleared the way for better UK-India ties. India's domestic market and its finances to invest abroad had grown exponentially. British prime ministers began to make a beeline to India beginning with John Major's visit to Delhi in 1997. In 2006, UK's Business and Enterprise Committee aimed at establishing a relationship with India “as special as the one with the US.” Major predicted that “within 25 years India will have firmly established herself as one of the world's economic powers”.

Being more eager to build economic relations with India than defend the BBC, then UK foreign minister James Cleverly said: “India is a hugely important partner to the UK and the deeper ties we are forging now, will help to grow the UK economy and boost industries for the future.” He went on to announce that the UK will appoint a ‘Tech Envoy’ to the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on India. Britain has a Tech Envoy for only one other country in the world – the US.

Former prime minister David Cameron described the relationship between the UK and India as "the New Special Relationship". After Brexit, EU nationals working in the health and social care sector were replaced by migrants from non-EU countries such as India. About 250,000 people came from India in 2023. In 2022, Rishi Sunak became the first British Asian to hold the office of prime minister, later also becoming the first British Asian to hold the office of leader of the opposition in 2024.

Through an FTA, the UK aims to double UK-India trade by 2030. Britain and India have already announced a scheme for young professionals, which will give 3,000 Indians and 3,000 Britons a pathway to live and work in each other's countries for up to two years. This partially addresses the Indian complaint that, while UK wants Indian trade and investment, it rejects Indian immigrants/expatriates.

In May 2025, the UK and India agreed a trade deal to make it cheaper and easier to buy and sell goods and services to one another. Incumbent prime minister Keir Starmer described this as the UK's best trade deal since Brexit. Starmer faced questions regarding India's continued purchase of Russian fossil fuels, stating that he respects India's "strategic independence."

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