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The ethos of every postcolonial country was shaped by the way in which it secured its independence, therefore in analyzing the political development of Pakistan from its creation one must consider the related development of India prior to Partition, exploring the nature of colonial rule and it’s far reaching impacts on the political development of Pakistan after independence. While India has seen innumerable kingdoms rise and fall and many waves of invasions, the British encroachment in India from the 18th century onwards, particularly the direct incorporation of India as the jewel of the British Empire in 1857, was unique in that it wrenched the locus of political and economic control away from the Subcontinent to Europe. However, many British residents in India ‘went native’, by adopting local religion and culture. The British loved India, whether residents such as Rudyard Kipling or the ruling elite in Britain (e.g. Queen Victoria had Indian servants and companions). The British cultivated an elite group of administrators from the powerful indigenous landowners and middle-class professionals (the latter of whom were mainly from Hindu castes), which helped the British to consolidate their vested interests to strengthen their rule in India. The amalgamated British army consisted of Indian and British soldiers under the command of British officers. This paper discusses in detail the impacts of British colonial rule in the Subcontinent with special reference to post-independence Pakistan drawing on archival records and other written materials on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]