Class 11 Economics: Indian Economic Development Question and Answer

Categories: NCERT Class 11

Class 11 Economics: Indian Economic Development Question and Answer

 

Q1: Name some notable economists who estimated India's per capita income during the colonial period.

Answer: As the British government was never interested in upliftment of our country, so they never took any initiative to measure India's national and per capita income. Though some economists tried to estimate India's national and per capita income during colonial rule, the results are mixed and conflicting. The following are some of the notable economists who were engaged in estimation of national income and per capita income:

  1. Dadabhai Naroji
  2. William Digbay
  3. Findlay Shirras
  4. V.K.R.V Rao
  5. R.C. Desai

Out of these, V.K.R.V Rao's estimates are considered to be significant. Most of these studies revealed that Indian economy grew at even less than two percent during 1900-50 with half per cent growth in per capita output per year.

 

Q2: What were the main causes of India's agricultural stagnation during the colonial period?

Answer: Under colonial rule, India was basically an agrarian economy, employing nearly 85% of its population. Nevertheless, the growth of the agriculture sector was meager. The following are the causes explaining stagnancy in the Indian agriculture sector during the colonial rule:

1. Introduction of Land Revenue System

This was due to prevalence of various systems of Land Settlement, particularly Zamindari system. This system was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal in 1793. Under this system, the zamindars (owners of land) were required to pay very high revenue (lagaan) to the British government, which they used to collect from the peasants (landless labourers, who were actually cultivating). The zamindars were mainly concerned with extracting high revenues from the peasants but never took any steps to improve the productivity of the land. This resulted in low agricultural productivity and worsened the peasants economically.

2. Forceful Commercialisation

Initially before the British rule, the farmers were practicing conventional subsistence farming. They used to grow crops like rice and wheat for their own consumption. But afterwards, in order to feed British industries with cheap raw materials, the Indian farmers were forced to grow commercial crops (like indigo required by British industries to dye textiles) instead of food crops (like rice and wheat). This led to the commercialisation of Indian agriculture. This commercialisation of Indian agriculture not only increased the burden of high revenues on the poor farmers but also led India to face shortage of food grains, resources, technology and investment. Therefore, Indian agriculture remained backward and primitive.

3. Lack of Irrigation Facilities and Resources

Besides the above factors, Indian agricultural sector also faced lack of irrigation facilities, insignificant use of fertilisers, lack of investment, frequent famines and other natural calamities, etc. that further exaggerated the agricultural performance and made it more vulnerable.

 

Q3: Name some modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence.

Answer: The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed the emergence of modern industries. At the initial stage, development was confined to setting up of cotton and jute textile mills. The western parts of the country Maharashtra and Gujarat was the hub for cotton textile mills which were mainly dominated by the Indians whereas the jute industries were mainly concentrated in Bengal and were dominated by the British. In the beginning of the 20thcentury, Iron and steel industries also started emerging gradually. It was incorporated in 1907. Some other industries that were operating at a smaller scale during the British era were sugar industry, cement industry and paper industry.

 

Q4: What was the two-fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialization affected by the British in pre-independent India?

Answer: The following are the two-fold motives behind the systematic deindustrialization affected by the British:

1. Making India a Supplier of Raw Materials: The main motive of the British government was to make India a mere supplier of cheap raw materials to feed its own flourishing industrial base.

2. Making India a Market for Finished Goods: Another important objective of the British government was to use India as a virgin market to sell the finished goods produced by the British industries.

 

Q5: The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.

Answer: Yes, we do agree with the above statement that the traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British times. The following are the reasons in favour of the statement.

  1. Discriminatory Tariff Policy: The British rule in India corresponded with its industrialisation. The British rule used India both as a source of cheap raw materials as well as easy accessible market for their finished products. Thereby, they imposed heavy tariffs (export duties) on India's export of handicraft products, while allowed free export of India's raw material to Britain and free import of British products into India. This made Indian exports costlier and its international demand fell drastically leading to the collapse of handicrafts industries.
  2. Competition from Machine made Britain Goods: The demand for the handicrafts products experienced a downward trend in the domestic markets as well. This was due to stiff competition from the machine made textiles from Britain. This was because of the reason that the goods produced mechanically in Britain were comparatively cheaper and of superior quality than the Indian handicraft goods. This narrowed the market for Indian industries.
  3. Emergence of New Class: The British rule in India popularised western lifestyle in India. There was an emergence of a new section of population (consisting mainly of zamindars) in India who liked the British goods. This section used to spend lavishly on the British products that provided impetus for the development of British industries at the cost of the domestic industries. Hence, gradually Indian industries perished away.
  4. Disappearance of Princely State: Prior to the advent of British, India was ruled by princely states. They used to patronize handicrafts industries and consequently, Indian handicrafts gained reputation in the international markets. But during the British rule, these princely states were ruined thereby ruining the protection of these handicrafts industries. Thus, gradually Indian handicrafts lost its reputation and its importance deteriorated.

 

Q6: What objectives did the British intend to achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?

Answer: One cannot deny the fact that under British rule, there was a significant change in the infrastructural development in the country. But the bona fide motive of the British behind the infrastructure development was only to serve their colonial interests. There was infrastructural development in the fields of transport and communication. The roads served the purpose of facilitating transportation of raw materials from different parts of the country to ports, and ports were developed for easy and fast exports to and imports from Britain. Similarly, railways were introduced and developed for the transportation of finished goods from British industries to the interiors of India. Railways assisted British industries to widen the market for their finished products. Post and telegraphs were developed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the British administration. Hence, the aim of infrastructural development was not the growth and development of the Indian economy but to serve their interest.

 

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