I could agree with Tom , in that the idea for the colonizing powers was to open new markets for the products of their homeland/s .
A lot of the Great Game (aside from the potential invasion of India by Russia) was all about who got to sell their national wares in the disputed territories .
I would not be surprised if the British discouraged , or did not support , ore mining and smelting in India . That was not what they were after as they had plenty of good steel at home . England wanted the exotic stuff that only India and the Far East could offer .
I often wonder how prized the wootz of India really was to the English , they must have destroyed a hell of a lot of it when they broke up the nation states .
Why bother making steel in India when you had masses of unemployed at home who needed jobs ?
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