India was once a British colony. What is the relationship between Britain and India now?

The insightful Winston Churchill predicted in 1931: "The loss of India will be our last and most fatal loss. If in the future we will weaken to a minor power , then this failure must have promoted this process."

The "crown jewel" is often used to describe India's position within the British Empire, but perhaps no word is more inappropriate. Precious stones were a small thing, but India was the most populous and largest (excluding Canada) territory within the British Empire's power. At that time, India included the entire South Asian subcontinent, which is today the Republic of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Its area was 15 times larger than that of the United Kingdom, and its population was more than 6 times larger.

Only when No. 10 Downing Street presented the Crown of India to Her Majesty Queen Victoria in 1876, she became the "King (Queen) of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India". India was undoubtedly the most important imperial possession. Initially, its greatest contribution to Britain was commerce. Over hundreds of years, Britain extracted tens of billions of pounds in profits from India through trade alone. After entering the 20th century, India surpassed other imperial territories in supplying manpower. In World War I, India sent 1 million people to fight for the British, and in World War II, 2 million people.

On August 14, 1947, thousands of British flags were lowered forever across India. For three centuries, they symbolized British dominance in this part of the world. Finally, at 11:58 pm, the Vice-Chancellor's special royal flag, a Union Flag with the "Star of India" emblem in the center, descended from the flagpole of the Vice-Chancellor Palace in Delhi.

A few minutes later, British rule in India ended forever. India's independence heralded the end of the British Empire. Looking at it now, the UK still maintains a long-term and stable trading partner and political alliance with India. Even now, India remains one of the important sources of immigrants to the UK.