Hello I am back

I always wonder what makes the African continent poor? Is it because of the absence of an instituional setup?
I have a feeling that this could be a big reason.
Africa and India can be studied parallely, I think.
Both are large regions with enormous diversity. Both were colonised and both suffer from some of the worst socio economic maladies. But the likeness ends here.

India was fortunate to have a well oiled British administration take over the reins after the first war of independence( the west calls it the 'sepoy mutiny').This ensured that the British administration put in place judiciary, remarkable administrative services and last but not the least, propogated the English language. That made us institutionally 'rich' and also instilled the concept of 'nation state' which was unheard of in India before the British Sahibs set foot. Inspite of the atrocities by the colonisers, India had the fortune of inheriting these remarkably 'western' concepts.

This is where the other third world nations suffered ,the European colonisers plainly exploited them and forced them into a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger. The lack of institutional setup only attracted the Sesesekos, Idi Amins and the Mugabes to fill in the vacuum. The AIDS epidemic has only aggravated the situation. To an extent, US' and EU's reluctance to lessen subsidy on agriculture,lack of integration into global market and a burgeoning population makes Africa's future miserable.

Now here is a subject for an extended endless debate, the mass debate of my original title perhaps.
A good comparative study can be derived from comparing the Indian continent with that of Africa.
First we have to put to one side, temporarily, a section of both continents as they introduce a confusing religious element, Islam,into a debate that is really, how did we get here.Interestingly, apart from the zeal of Victorian Christian missionaries, the development of both areas has been largely uninfluenced by religious extremism.
With the benefit of hindsight, the self belief of the early british exploreres in the correctness of their values is staggering.
To arrive on a foreign shore and announce that it, and its people, are now subjects of The United Kingdom is, well, confident ? arrogant ? misguided ? demented ?
So we should then compare sub saharan African nations with India.
As you correctly point out both were touched by the hand of the British and subsequently grew to accept and in the case of India, value, the introduced structures.
Having spent a great deal of time in various Eastern, Central and Southern African nations I am struck by the complete abscence of an indigenous educated and committed middle class, a part of society very strong in Indian culture.Was it there in the Indian structure before the British ? or was it absorbed ? I do not know but it has given a sense of purpose and belonging to India that is simply none existant in any of the African nations I have ever visited.
From personal experience the first reaction of the African ruling class is how can I get my bribe out of this country into an off shore bank account rather than how can I invest this money to improve the life of my family, my relations and my country.
This has lead to complete absence of any added value manufacturing or processing. A good example is Zambia and its copper mining, why is there no processing of the raw material into a finished product. Could you ever imagine India just selling truck loads of copper ore, no chance, it would be turned into pipes, sheets, pots kettles, literally you name it an Indian entrepenuer would make it. In doing so the economy is strengthened and, far more importantly, spread further through the population.
So perhaps at the core of this issue is the nature, attitude, education of the people.
A perhaps superficial but none the less indicative example is, how many International IT call centres have been established in say, Malawi or Kenya, ? The pay rates are a fraction of any paid in India, English is the lingua franca.The basic driving forces of Capitalism should therefore lead to a rush of inward investment to exploit this situation,...
there is nothing.

As I said this is a huge subject and these thoughts barely touch the surface, perhaps others would like to add their contributions. but lets keep it away from bigotry and bias, black versus white, because it really, really is not that simple