1. The economic policies followed by the British led to the rapid transformation of India’s economy into a colonial economy. Consider the following statements regarding the existence of basic economic pattern after the settlement of British in India:
I. The peasant, the artisan, and the trader had continued to lead the same type of existence as before.
II. The British always remained foreigners in the land, exploiting Indian resources and carrying away India’s wealth as tribute.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?a. Only I
b. Only II
c. Both I and II
d. Neither I nor II
Answer: c
Explanation:
The economic policies followed by the British led to the rapid transformation of India’s economy into a colonial economy whose nature and structure were determined by the needs of the British economy. In this respect the British conquest differed from all previous foreign conquests. The previous conquerors had overthrown Indian political powers but had made no basic changes in the country’s economic structure; they had gradually become a part of Indian life, political as well as economic. The peasant, the artisan, and the trader had continued to lead the same type of existence as before.
The basic economic pattern that of the self- sufficient village economy, had been perpetuated. Change of rulers had merely meant change in the personnel of those who appropriated the peasant’s surplus. But the British conquerors were entirety different. They totally disrupted the traditional structure of the Indian economy. Moreover they never became an integral part of Indian life. They always remained foreigners in the land, exploiting Indian resources and carrying away India’s wealth as tribute.
The results of this subordination of the Indian economy to the interests of British trade and industry were many and varied.
2. There was a sudden and quick collapse of the urban handicrafts which had for centuries made India's name a byword in the markets of the entire civilised world. Consider the following statements regarding the ruin of artisans and craftsmen after establishment of British rule in India:
I. The collapse of the urban handicrafts was caused largely by competition with the cheaper imported machine-goods from Britain.
II. The British imposed a policy of one-way free trade on India after 1813 and the invasion of British manufactures, in particular cotton textiles, immediately followed.
III. The ruin of Indian industries, particularly rural artisan industries, proceeded even more rapidly once the railways were built.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. I and II
c. II and III
d. All of the above
Answer: d
Explanation:
There was a sudden and quick collapse of the urban handicrafts which had for centuries made India’s name a byword in the markets of the entire civilised world. This collapse was caused largely by competition with the cheaper imported machine-goods from Britain. As we have seen earlier, the British imposed a policy of one-way free trade on India after 1813 and the invasion of British manufactures, in particular cotton textiles, immediately followed. Indian goods made with primitive techniques could not compete with goods produced on a mass scale by powerful steam-operated machines.
The ruin of Indian industries, particularly rural artisan industries, proceeded even more rapidly once the railways were built. The railways enabled British manufactures to reach, and uproot the traditional industries in the remotest villages of the country. As the American writer, D, H. Buchanan, has put it, “The Armour of the isolated Self- sufficient village was pierced by the steel 'rail, and its life blood ebbec' away.”
3. Consider the following statements regarding the condition of Indian industries after British conquest:
I. The cotton weaving and spinning industries were the worst like silk and woollen textiles fared no better and a similar fate overtook the iron, pottery, glass, paper, metals, shipping, oil-pressing, tanning and dyeing industries.
II. The oppression practised by the East India Company and its servants on the craftsmen of Bengal during the second half of the 18th century, forcing them to free distribute their goods.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. Only II
c. Both I and II
d. Neither I nor II
Answer: a
Explanation:
The cotton weaving and spinning industries were the worst hit. Silk and woollen textiles fared no better and a similar fate overtook the iron, pottery, glass, paper, metals, shipping, oil-pressing, tanning and dyeing industries.
Apart from the influx of foreign goods, some other factors arising out of British conquest also contributed to the ruin of Indian industries. The oppression practised by the East India Company and its servants on the craftsmen of Bengal during the second half of the 18th century, forcing them to sell their goods below the market price and to hire their services below the prevailing wage, compelled a large number of them to abandon their ancestral professions In the normal course Indian handicrafts would have benefited from the encouragement given by the company to their export, but this oppression had an opposite effect.
4. Consider the following statements regarding the import and export of good after British conquest in India:
I. The high import duties and other restrictions imposed on the import of Indian goods into Britain and Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, combined with the development of modern manufacturing industries in Britain, led to the virtual closing of the European markets to Indian manufacturers after 1820.
II. The British policy of exporting raw materials also injured Indian handicrafts by raising the prices of raw materials like cotton and leather.
III. The gradual disappearance of Indian rulers and their courts who were the main customers of town handicrafts also gave a big blow to these industries.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. I and II
c. II and III
d. All of the above
Answer: d
Explanation:
The high import duties and other restrictions imposed on the import of Indian goods into Britain and Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, combined with the development of modern manufacturing industries in Britain, led to the virtual closing of the European markets to Indian manufacturers after 1820. The gradual disappearance of Indian rulers and their courts who were the main customers of town handicrafts also gave a big blow to these industries. For instance, the production of military weapons depended entirely on the Indian states.
The British purchased all their military and other government stores in Britain. Moreover, Indian rule is and nobles were replaced as the ruling class by British officials and military officers who patronised their own home- pro ducts almost exclusively. The British policy of exporting raw materials also injured Indian handicrafts by raising the prices of raw materials like cotton and leather. This increased the cost of handicrafts and reduced their capacity to compete with foreign goods.
5. British conquest led to the deindustrialisation of the country and increased dependence of the people on agriculture. Consider the following statements regarding this change of de-industrialisation in India:
I. According to Census Reports, between 1901 and 1941 alone the percentage of population dependent on agriculture increased from 63.7 per cent to 70 per cent.
II. This increasing pressure on agriculture was one of the major causes that agriculture was more profitable under British rule.
III. India became an agricultural colony of manufacturing Britain which needed it as a source of raw materials for its industries.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. I and II
c. I and III
d. All of the above
Answer: c
Explanation:
British conquest led to the deindustrialisation of the country and increased dependence of the people on agriculture. No figures for the earlier period are available but, according to Census Reports, between 1901 and 1941 alone the percentage of population dependent on agriculture increased from 63.7 per cent to 70 per cent. This increasing pressure on agriculture was one of the major causes of the extreme poverty of India under British rule.
In fact India now became an agricultural colony of manufacturing Britain which needed it as a source of raw materials for its industries. Nowhere was the change more glaring than in the cotton textile industry. While India had been for centuries the largest exporter of cotton goods in the world, it was now transformed into an importer of British cotton products and an exporter of raw cotton.
6. Consider the following statements regarding the impoverishment of the peasantry in India after British conquest:
I. The British Government took the place of the Zamindars and levied excessive land revenue which was in the beginning fixed as high as one-third to one-half of the produce.
II. Heavy assessment of land was one of the main causes of the growth of poverty and the deterioration of agriculture in the 19th century.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. Only II
c. Both I and II
d. Neither I nor II
Answer: c
Explanation:
The peasant was also progressively impoverished under British rule. In spite of the fact that he was now free of internal wars, his material condition deteriorated and he steadily sank into poverty.
In the very beginning of British rule in Bengal, the policy of Clive and Warren Hastings of extracting the largest possible land revenue had led to such devastation that even Cornwallis complained that one-third of Bengal had been transformed into “a jungle inhabited only by wild beasts." Nor did improvement occur later, in both the permanently, and the Temporarily Settled Zamindari areas, the lot of the peasants remained unenviable. They were left to the mercies of the Zamindars who raised rents to unbearable limits, compelled them to pay illegal dues and to perform forced labour or begat and oppressed them in diverse other ways.
The condition of the cultivators in the Ryotwari and Mahalwari areas was no better. Here the Government took the place of the Zamindars and levied excessive land revenue which was in the beginning fixed as high as one-third to one-half of the produce. Heavy assessment of land was one of the main causes of the growth of poverty and the deterioration of agriculture in the 19th century.
7. By the end of the 19th century the money-lender had become a major curse of the countryside and an important cause of the growing poverty of the rural people. Consider the following statements regarding the debt and poverty situation of India by the end of the 19th century:
I. In 1911 the total rural debt was estimated at Rs.300 crores which amounted to Rs. 1,800 crores in 1937.
II. The pressure of taxation and growing poverty pushed the cultivators into debt which in turn increased then poverty.
III. The growing commercialisation of agriculture also helped the money- lender-cum-merchant to exploit the cultivator.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?a. Only I
b. I and II
c. I and III
d. All of the above
Answer: c
Explanation:
The incidence of poverty and oppression of money-lenders were the common aspects of the Indian society by the end of 19th century. In 1911 the total rural debt was estimated at Rs.300 crores. By 1937 it amounted to Rs. 1,800 crores. The entire process became a vicious circle. The pressure of taxation and growing poverty pushed the cultivators into debt which in turn increased then poverty. In fact, the cultivators often failed to understand that the money-lender was an inevitable cog in the mechanism of imperialist exploitation and turned their anger against him as he appeared to be the visible cause of their impoverishment, For instance, during the Revolt of 1857, wherever the peasantry rose in revolt, quite often its first target of attack was the money-lender and his account books. Such peasant actions soon became a common occurrence.
The growing commercialisation of agriculture also helped the money- lender-cum-merchant to exploit the cultivator. The poor peasant was forced to sell his produce just after the harvest and at whatever price he could get as he had to meet in time the demands of the Government, the landlord, and the money-lender,. This placed him at the mercy of the grain merchant, who was in a position to dictate terms and who purchased his produce at much less than the market price. Thus a large share of the benefit of the growing trade m agricultural products was reaped by the merchant, who was very often also the village money-lender.
1. The growing commercialisation of agriculture during British period helped the money- lender-cum-merchant to exploit the cultivator. Consider the following statements regarding the status of the cultivators:
I. The poor peasants were forced to sell their produce just after the harvest and at whatever price they could get as they had to meet in time the demands of the Government, the landlord, and the money-lender.
II. A large share of the benefit of the growing trade in agricultural products was reaped by the merchant, who was very often also the village money-lender.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. Only II
c. Both I and II
d. Neither I nor II
Answer: c
Explanation:
The growing commercialisation of agriculture also helped the money- lender-cum-merchant to exploit the cultivator. The poor peasant was forced to sell Iiis produce just after the harvest and at whatever price he could get as he had to meet in time the demands of the Government, the landlord, and the money-lender,. This placed him at the mercy of the grain merchant, who was in a position to dictate terms and who purchased his produce at much less than the market price. Thus a large share of the benefit of the growing trade m agricultural products was reaped by the merchant, who was very often also the village money-lender.
The loss of land and the over-crowding of land caused by de-industria- lisation and lack of modern industry compelled the landless peasants and ruined artisans and handicraftsmen to become either tenants of the money-lenders and zamindars by paying rack-rent or agricultural labourers at starvation wages. Thus the peasantry was crushed under the triple burden of the Government, the zamindar or landlord, and the money-lender. After these three had taken their share not much was left for the cultivator and his family to subsist on. It has been calculated that in 1950-51 land rent and money-lenders‟ interest amounted to Rs. 1400 crores or roughly equal to one-third of the total agricultural produce for the year. The result was that the impoverishment of the peasantry continued as also an increase in the incidence of famines. People died in millions whenever droughts or floods caused failure of crops and produced scarcity.
2. Consider the following statements regarding the ruin of old zamindars and rise of new landlordism during British era:
I. The heaviness of land revenue—the Government claimed ten-elevenths of the rental—and the rigid law of collection, tinder which the zamindari estates were ruthlessly sold ill case of delay in payment of revenue, worked havoc for the first few years.
II. By 1815 nearly half of the landed property of Bengal had been transferred from the old zamindars, who had resided in the villages and who had traditions of showing some consideration to their tenants, to merchants and other moneyed classes.
III. The Permanent Settlement in North Madras and the Ryotwari Settlement in the rest of Madras were equally harsh on the local zamindars.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. I and II
c. II and III
d. All of the above
Answer: d
Explanation:
The first few decades of British rule witnessed the ruin of most of the old zamindars in Bengal and Madras. This was particularly so with Warren Hastings‟ policy of auctioning the right of revenue collection to the highest bidders, The Permanent Settlement of 1793 also had a similar tact in the beginning. The heaviness of land revenue—the Government claimed ten-elevenths of the rental—and the rigid law of collection, tinder which the zamindari estates were ruthlessly sold ill case of delay in payment of revenue, worked havoc for the first few years. Many of the great zamindars of Bengal were utterly ruined.
By 1815 nearly half of the landed property of Bengal had been transferred from the old zamindars, who had resided in the villages and who had traditions of showing some consideration to their tenants, to merchants and other moneyed classes, who usually lived in towns and who were quite ruthless in collecting to the last pie what Was due from the tenant irrespective of difficult circumstances, Being utterly unscrupulous and possessing little sympathy for the tenants, they began to subject the latter to rack-renting and ejectment. The Permanent Settlement in North Madras and the Ryotwari Settlement in the rest of
3. Consider the following statements regarding the stagnation and deterioration of Agriculture during British period:I. Indian agriculture began to stagnate as a result of overcrowding of agriculture, excessive land revenue demand, growth of landlordism, increasing indebtedness, and the growing impoverishment of the cultivators.
II. Overcrowding of agriculture and increase in sub-infeudation led to subdivision and fragmentation of land into small holdings most of which could not maintain their cultivators.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. Only II
c. Both I and II
d. Neither I nor II
Answer: c
Explanation:
As a result of overcrowding of agriculture, excessive land revenue demand, growth of landlordism, increasing indebtedness, and the growing impoverishment of the cultivators, Indian agriculture began to stagnate and even deteriorate resulting in extremely low yields per acre.
Overcrowding of agriculture and increase in sub-infeudation led to subdivision and fragmentation of land into small holdings most of which could not maintain their cultivators.
The extreme poverty of the overwhelming majority of peasants left them without any resources with which to improve agriculture by using better cattle and seeds, more manure and fertilizers, and improved techniques of production. Nor did the cultivator, rack-rented by both the Government and the landlord, have any incentive to do so. After all the land he cultivated was rarely his properly and the bulk of the benefit which agricultural improvements would bring was likely to be reaped by the horde of absentee landlords and money lenders. Subdivision and fragmentation of land also made it difficult to effect improvements.
4. The first textile mill was started by Cowasjee Nanabhoy in 1853 in which of the following cities?
a. Mumbai
b. Kolkata
c. Madras
d. Chennai
Answer: a
Explanation:
An important development in the second half of the 19th century was the establishment of large-scale machine-based industries in India. The machine age in India started when cotton textile, jute and coal mining industries were started in the 1850‟s. The first textile mill was started in Bombay by Cowasjee Nanabhoy in 1853 and his associates. The Company was designed by Sir William Fairbaim. This mill began production on 7 February 1856 under the supervision of British engineers and skilled cotton operatives.
5. The first Jute mill was started in which of the following place in India?
a. Kolkata
b. Rishra
c. Madras
d. Mumbai
Answer: b
Explanation:
The first textile mill was started in Bombay by Cowasjee Nanabhoy in 1853, and the first jute mill in Rishra (Bengal) in 1855 These industries expanded slowly but continuously, In 1879 there were 56 cotton textile mills in India employing nearly 43,000 persons. In 1882 there were 20 jute mills, most of them in Bengal employing nearly 20,000 persons. By 1905, India had 206 cotton mills employing nearly 196,000 persons. In 1901 there were over 36 jute mills employing nearly 115,000 persons.
The coal mining industry employed nearly one lakh persons m 1906. Other mechanical industries which developed during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries were cotton gins and presses, rice, flour and timber mills, leather tanneries, woollen textiles, paper and sugar mills, iron and steel works, and such mineral industries as salt, mica and saltpetre. Cement, paper, matches, sugar and glass industries developed during the 1930s. Bat all these industries had a very stunted growth.
