Hi
I cant tell you much but from what I know India was a bit.. non existant in that time. It was really poor and all that until british colonies arrived and started modernizing stuff. I hope my idea helped and Im sure you can find other info to complete you essay on other sites.
Best of luck
EDIT: I found a web site that can help you: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/before.html
