I don't think it's ASB, given an earlier Pod (I think that the XVIII is too late, cause by then Europe was too strong). But in earlier times, India was more advanced than Europe in every meassurable aspect.
This was certainly the case in 2500 BC, during the rise of the Indo valley civilization. It was also the case around 1000 BC, and also around 500 AD, during the times of the Gupta empire.
Even in V th century BC, most of India was more advanced than Europe (if we look at it gographically, as the Greek city states occupied only a fraction of "Europe"). Megatestenes, a Greek who lived in India under the Mauyra, admired the country due to, amnong other things, the fact that slavery was almost non existant.
Indian philosophy and religion was very attractive to the Greek. At the same time, the Indians adopted many Greek notions concerning medicine or astronomy and develoved them on their own. By the first centuries of our era, they had a great numerical system and already new the Earth moved (and not the sun). The fact that they were divided most of the time could have spured competition and innovation.
An Europe controled entirely by Sri Lanka is not less ASBish that a Beritish controlled India.
But I think we've got to start early, at the V centrury AD at least. Keep Europe in the Dark ages, and make India safer from nomadic invansions, and you might get what you're looking for.