1. What was the focus of the economic policies
pursued by the colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these
policies?
The
focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India was
to protect and promote the economic interests of their home country and not the
development of Indian economy.
Such policies transformed India into a supplier of raw
materials and consumer of finished industrial products from Britain.
2. Name some notable economists who estimated india’s
percapita income during the colonial period.
Dadabhai
Naoroji, William Digby, Findlay shirras, V.K.R.V. Rao and R.C Desai were the
notable estimators.
3. What were the main causes for agricultural
stagnation during the colonial period?
The main causes for agricultural
stagnation during the colonial period were:
a) The various
systems of land tenure. The Zamindars just collected the rent and did nothing
to improve the conditions of the farmers.
b) Low levels of
technology.
c) Lack of irrigation
facilities
d) Very little use of
fertilizers.
4. Name some modern industries which were in
operation at the time of independence.
Cotton textile industries, Jute textile
mills, Tata iron and steel company, sugar industries, cement industries, paper
industries.
5. What was the two fold motive behind the
systematic deindustrialization effected by the British in pre-independence
India?
a) To make India an
exporter of raw materials for Industries in Britain &
b) To turn India into
a huge market for British made goods.
6. The traditional handicrafts industries were
ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in
support of your answer.
The
traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule due to
the following reasons:
a) No modern industrial base was allowed to come
up in place of handicrafts industries.
b) The cheap manufactured goods from Britain
ruined our handicrafts
c) Severe
unemployment resulted due to the decline of handicrafts industries.
7. What objectives did the British intend to
achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?
Through
the policies of infrastructure development in India the British just wanted to
sub serve various colonial interests.
Roads
were built for mobilizing the army within India and to move raw materials from
the countryside to the nearest railway station or the port to send these to
England or other lucerative foreign destinations.
Railways
helped commercialization of Indian
agriculture but it affected the self sufficiency of the village economies in
India.
8. Critically apprise some of the shortfalls of
the industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration.
a)
India could not develop a sound industrial base under the colonial rule.
b)
Though the handicrafts industries declined, no modern industries were
allowed to replace them.
c)
India was a mere exporter of raw materials to the industries in Britain
and a market for the British made finished goods.
d)
The decline of handicrafts
resulted in massive unemployment.
e)
Apart from few cotton and jute textile mills, TISCO, and few other
industries, such as sugar, cement, paper etc, there were hardly any capital
goods industries
f) Public sector
remained confined only to railways, power generation, communication, ports and
some other departmental undertakings.
9. What do you understand by the drain of Indian
wealth during the colonial period?
During
the colonial period large export surplus was generated in several essential
commodities- food grains, clothes, kerosene etc although they were scarce in
the domestic market.
This
export surplus did not result in any flow of gold or silver into India. This was used to make payment for the
expenses incurred to set up office in Britain and expenses on war fought by the
British which led to the drain of Indian wealth.
10. Which is
regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first
to the second decisive stage?
1921
11. Give the
quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial
period.
a) The overall literacy was less than 16%.
b) Out of this female literacy was just 7%
c) Public health facilities were unavailable
to majority of the population.
d) The available health facilities were
highly inadequate.
e) The overall mortality including infant
mortality (218 per thousand) was very high due to water and air-borne diseases.
f) Life expectancy was just 44 years.
12.
Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational
structure.
Agriculture
sector accounted for the 70-75%
Manufacturing
and services sectors accounted for 10 and 15-20% respectively
Parts
of the Madras presidency, Bombay and Bengal witnessed a decline in agriculture
and an increase in Manufacturing and services sector.
During
the same period there had been an increase in the share of agriculture in the
states such as Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab.
13.
Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of
independence.
The
economic challenges at the time of independence were enormous.
a) Agriculture sector had surplus labour and
extremely low productivity.
b) The industrial sector badly needed modernization,
diversification, capacity building and increased public investment.
c) Foreign trade aimed to help the industrial
revolution in Britain.
d) Infrastructure facilities, including the
railways needed up gradation, expansion and public orientation.
e) Prevalence of widespread poverty and
unemployment required welfare oriented economic policy.
14. When was
India’s first official census operation undertaken?
1881
15. Indicate
the volume and direction of trade at the time of independence.
India
became an exporter of primary products such as raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar,
jute etc and an importer of finished of consumer goods like cotton, silk and
woolen clothes and capital goods
More
than half of India’s foreign trade was restricted to Britain while the rest was
allowed with a few other countries like china, Ceylon and Persia.
16. Were
there any positive contributions made by the British in India? Discuss.
There
are several positive contributions made by the British in India.
a)
They reformed the education system and
the English language is actually a boon to the Indians to compete with the
world.
b)
They built several roads and introduced
the railways.
c)
They introduced the postal system in the
country.
d) They abolished the sati system and child
marriage.
e) They abolished the Thug gee system.
f) They introduced the modern banking system.
g)
They constructed hospitals.
h)
They unified 56 provinces and brought
them under single administration and divided the country into three
presidencies-Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency and Bengal Presidency for efficient
administration.
