Dr. Charan Singh
CEO & Founder Director, EGROW Foundation
An economist whose work spans monetary policy, financial inclusion and the long arc of India's economic development.
The Roundtable · 17 July 2026
Terms of Trade: India, Britain, and the Long Shadow of Empire.
India just signed a trade deal with Britain. Is this a partnership — or a familiar pattern?
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The Core Question
“India has signed a new trade agreement with Britain. Does this represent a fundamentally new partnership between equals — or does history offer lessons that should inform how modern trade agreements are evaluated?”
The Roundtable examines the India–UK Free Trade Agreement (signed 2025) through the lens of 200 years of colonial economic history. India’s share of world GDP fell from 34% to 1.8% under British rule.
Today India negotiates on near-equal footing — but the terms still matter. Understanding what was extracted in the past is the only honest way to know what a fair deal looks like in the present.
Date
Friday, 17 July 2026
Format
Panel · Q&A · Press
Invite-only.
What this is
A genuine, evidence-based, multidisciplinary conversation.
- Across history, economics, policy, and law.
- Open to disagreement, grounded in scholarship.
- Designed to outlast a single news cycle.
What this is not
Not a political event.
- Not a protest or advocacy platform.
- Not a forum with a predetermined conclusion.
- Not commercial in nature.
Speakers
Mr. Colin Gonsalves
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India · Founder, HRLN
One of India's foremost human-rights lawyers; founder of the Human Rights Law Network and a leading voice on constitutional and public-interest law.
Prof. Abhijit Das
International Trade Policy & WTO Expert
A leading authority on international trade policy and the WTO, with decades of experience advising governments on trade negotiations and dispute settlement.
Mr. Prasenjit K. Basu
Economist & Historian · Author of India Reborn and Asia Reborn
Economist and historian whose books trace how Asia — and India within it — remade its economic destiny across the 20th century.
Organising Committee
Dr. Sukhdev Singh
Heritage Adviser · Former Vice Chairman, INTACH
Mr. Gyaneshwar Dayal
Editorial Adviser · Associate Editor, The Pioneer
Mr. Ramkumar Singaram
Outreach & Communications
The committee is being expanded; further members to be announced.
In Association With
Supporting partners.
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Event Agenda
- 09:30Registration & Networking
- 10:00Opening Remarks
- 10:15Keynote
- 11:00Panel Discussion
- 12:15Audience & Media Q&A
- 13:15Closing Reflections
- 13:30Networking Lunch
Read Before You Attend
Sample content from the campaign.
Reading
Empire and the Indian Economy — A Reading List
Where to start, what to question, who to read. A curated entry-point into the economic history of colonial India.
Read ReflectionTrade, Then and Now
From the East India Company to the 2025 India–UK Free Trade Agreement — what continues, what has changed.
Read EssayThe Core Question
Does a modern trade deal represent a partnership between equals — or does history still shape the terms?
ReadThis is an invite-only event.
Request your invitation — and tell us a little about why you’d like to attend.
Request your invitation