India, July 19 -- A public dialogue examining India's colonial history alongside its newly signed free trade agreement with Britain has culminated in a call for a National Day of Commemoration for Victims of Colonialism.

India, Britain, and the Long Shadow of Empire," the dialogue was convened by Urzu Media at the India Habitat Centre on Friday. It brought together economists, historians, trade policy experts and a senior human rights lawyer to discuss how nearly two centuries of colonial rule shaped India's economy, institutions and collective memory, and how that history still informs policy choices today.

Closing the event, participants said they would begin wider consultations with historians, academics, museums, civil society group...