The English those days had some raw skills and strength. Jim Corbett traveled from Englad on a request to hunt a tiger, camped in the forest on a tree in the nights to deal with the beast. CP Brown studied Telugu and South Indian languages in a high detail. So many other Emglish men impacted India in many ways - irrigation, engineering and adminitrative framework etc. Second world War changed the course.
Also - James Prinsep - decoded the ancient Brahmi script, unlocking a lot of Indian history. And as an English person, it pains me but I should mention a lot of the Empire was run by random Scots people as well. They should share the credit/blame.
Scots legacy of the empire can still be seen in the bank HSBC. Unfortunately, history sort of forgets that the Scots were involved in some of the more egregious aspects such as slavery and opium.
(Studied British Empire/Indian History)