Economic Impact of British Rule on India

41. Which one of the following was NOT a feature of railways in colonial

Which one of the following was NOT a feature of railways in colonial India?

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The main purpose of the setting up of railways in India was to serve the interest of the empire
British capital investments were invited with 15% guaranteed interest to be paid if necessary from Indian revenues
The construction work disturbed ecology
The construction of the railways was planned in such a way that it connected the internal markets with the ports, but provided no inter-connection between internal market cities
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The statement that British capital investments were invited with 15% guaranteed interest is NOT a feature of railways in colonial India.
Under the Guarantee System, introduced in the mid-19th century, British investors were guaranteed a fixed return on their capital invested in Indian railways, but the rate was typically 5%, not 15%. This high guaranteed return, payable from Indian revenues regardless of profit, incentivized British investment while burdening Indian finances.
Statement A is correct; railways were primarily built to facilitate the movement of raw materials from the interior to ports for export to Britain and the movement of British finished goods into internal markets, as well as for strategic military purposes. Statement C is correct; large-scale construction projects often lead to environmental changes. Statement D is correct; the network prioritized linking production areas to ports, rather than connecting internal consumption centers with each other, which hindered the development of a unified internal market beneficial to Indian industry.

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42. Which one of the following propositions from the book ‘History of Brit

Which one of the following propositions from the book ‘History of British India’ by James Mill is correct ?

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The tax payable by the zamindars should not be more than thirty percent of the total produce
The rights of cultivators should be protected by the State
The State should remain as the landlord and that each peasant should hold land directly from the State as its tenant
Sufficient advances should be given to the peasants so that they are encouraged to cultivate cash crops
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C
James Mill, in his ‘History of British India’ and other writings reflecting his Utilitarian views, advocated for administrative systems that he believed were rational and efficient. In the context of land revenue, he supported the Ryotwari system, where the state dealt directly with the peasant cultivators (ryots), considering them as tenants of the state. This approach aimed to eliminate intermediaries like zamindars, whom he viewed as inefficient and potentially exploitative, and to maximize revenue collection directly for the state, which was seen as the ultimate owner or landlord of the land.
Mill’s perspective was heavily influenced by classical economics (Ricardo) and Utilitarian philosophy (Bentham). He believed that direct interaction between the state and the cultivator was the most economically sound and just system, although his views were also shaped by a critical and sometimes prejudiced understanding of Indian society. This proposition aligns with the Ryotwari settlement that was implemented extensively in parts of British India like Madras and Bombay.

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43. Which one of the following caused the ruin of the rural artisan indust

Which one of the following caused the ruin of the rural artisan industries in India in the 19th Century?

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Flooding of Indian markets with machine-produced goods on a mass scale
Promotion of urban craftsmen
Promotion of expensive silk and woollen goods
Import of raw materials from Britain at high prices
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The flooding of Indian markets with machine-produced goods on a mass scale caused the ruin of the rural artisan industries in India in the 19th Century.
Under British rule, India’s economy was integrated into the global capitalist system primarily as a supplier of raw materials and a market for British manufactured goods. Cheap, mass-produced textiles and other goods from industrialized Britain flooded the Indian market, making the products of traditional Indian handloom and handicraft industries uncompetitive, leading to their decline and the impoverishment of rural artisans. This process is often termed ‘deindustrialization’.
Other factors like discriminatory tariff policies (free trade for British goods entering India, tariffs on Indian textiles entering Britain) also contributed to the decline, but the fundamental cause was the inability of handmade goods to compete with factory production.

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44. Which one of the following was one of the major currencies in circulat

Which one of the following was one of the major currencies in circulation in India when the East India Company first considered the introduction of a uniform currency?

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Awadh Silver Rupee
Arcot Silver Rupee
The Madras Silver Rupee
Sindh Rupee
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Arcot Silver Rupee was one of the major currencies in circulation in India when the East India Company first considered the introduction of a uniform currency.
Before the standardization efforts by the East India Company, India had multiple regional currencies. The Arcot Rupee, issued by the Nawab of Arcot, was widely circulated in South India and formed the basis for the initial coinage introduced by the Madras Presidency before the eventual adoption of a uniform rupee standard across British India.
The East India Company aimed to establish a uniform currency system based on the silver rupee, which was finally achieved with the Coinage Act of 1835, leading to the introduction of the Company Rupee based on the standard weight and purity of the Farakhabad Rupee (a variant of the Mughal rupee) and incorporating features from other prevalent coins like the Arcot Rupee.

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45. In 1797, under a clause of which one of the following settlements, Raj

In 1797, under a clause of which one of the following settlements, Raja of Burdwan’s estate was auctioned when he failed to pay the revenue to the East India Company?

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Taluqdari
Ryotwari
Permanent
Mahalwari
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The correct answer is Permanent. The auction of the Raja of Burdwan’s estate in 1797 occurred under the provisions of the Permanent Settlement.
– The Permanent Settlement was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 in Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. It fixed the land revenue demand in perpetuity and recognized Zamindars as the owners of the land.
– A strict ‘Sunset Clause’ was part of the Permanent Settlement, which mandated that revenue payments had to be made by a specified date (sunset). Failure to pay led to the auction of the Zamindar’s estate. The case of the Raja of Burdwan is a famous example of this clause being enforced.
– Ryotwari Settlement was introduced in parts of Madras and Bombay presidencies, where revenue was settled directly with the cultivators (Ryots).
– Mahalwari Settlement was introduced in parts of the North-Western Provinces, Punjab, etc., where revenue was settled with the village community or a group of villages (Mahal).
– Taluqdari is a system where Taluqdars collected revenue over an area, sometimes linked to other settlements but not the primary settlement under which the Burdwan auction took place.

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46. The Bengal Famine of 1769-70 was worsened by

The Bengal Famine of 1769-70 was worsened by

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Locust attacks
Rat infestation
High levels of taxation
Smallpox epidemic
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The Bengal Famine of 1769-70 was significantly worsened by high levels of taxation imposed by the East India Company.
– The famine occurred after the East India Company gained control over Bengal following the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the grant of Diwani rights (1765).
– The Company’s focus on maximizing revenue collection through oppressive taxation policies, combined with discouraging the cultivation of food crops in favor of cash crops like indigo, exacerbated the impact of the drought.
– The Company also hoarded grain and did little to provide relief, prioritizing profit over the welfare of the population.
– While natural factors like drought contributed to the initial crop failure, the severity and duration of the famine, leading to an estimated 10 million deaths, are largely attributed to the economic policies and mismanagement by the East India Company.
– Locust attacks, rat infestation, and epidemics can contribute to famines, but in this specific historical event, the Company’s policies were the primary human factor worsening the natural calamity.

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47. Tea growing in India in the 19th century was made possible by

Tea growing in India in the 19th century was made possible by

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Joseph Banks
James Cook
Robert Fortune
Robert Owen
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Robert Fortune was a Scottish botanist who played a crucial role in the introduction of tea cultivation to India in the 19th century. He was commissioned by the British East India Company in the 1840s to travel to China and secretly collect tea plants, seeds, and knowledge about tea processing, which were then introduced and cultivated in British India.
Before Fortune’s efforts, attempts to cultivate tea in India using plants from China were less successful. Fortune’s expeditions significantly contributed to establishing the Indian tea industry on a commercial scale, particularly in Assam and Darjeeling, using both smuggled Chinese tea plants and indigenous Assam tea varieties discovered earlier.
Joseph Banks advised on agricultural matters but was not directly involved in establishing the Indian tea industry in the 19th century. James Cook was an explorer. Robert Owen was a social reformer and a founder of utopian socialism.

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48. The Economic historian, who has used the data collected by Buchanan-Ha

The Economic historian, who has used the data collected by Buchanan-Hamilton to support the thesis of deindustrialization in the 19th century India, is

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Tirthankar Roy
Amiya Kumar Bagchi
Sabyasachi Bhattacharya
Irfan Habib
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Amiya Kumar Bagchi, a prominent Indian economic historian, extensively researched the economic history of India under colonial rule. He is known for using data collected by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton during his surveys in the early 19th century to support the thesis of deindustrialization in India during that period.
The deindustrialization debate centers on whether India experienced a decline in its traditional manufacturing sector, particularly textiles, due to British colonial policies and competition from machine-made goods from Britain. Buchanan-Hamilton’s detailed surveys provided valuable micro-level data on various crafts and industries in specific regions.
While other historians listed have also contributed significantly to Indian economic history, Amiya Bagchi’s work is particularly associated with using Buchanan-Hamilton’s data to argue for significant deindustrialization in certain sectors and regions of India in the 19th century. Tirthankar Roy offers a more nuanced view, arguing for regional and sectoral variations and some industrial growth alongside decline in traditional crafts. Irfan Habib is a renowned historian primarily known for his work on Mughal India’s agrarian economy.

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49. Which of the following industries was most affected by the ‘deindustri

Which of the following industries was most affected by the ‘deindustrialisation’ of India in the 19th century?

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Silk manufacture
Cotton textiles
Iron and steel
Woolen manufacture
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B
During the 19th century, India experienced a process of deindustrialisation, particularly in its traditional handicraft industries. This was largely due to colonial policies that favoured British manufactured goods and raw material extraction from India. The cotton textile industry, which was historically one of India’s largest and most important sectors, was arguably the most severely affected. The influx of cheap, machine-made textiles from Britain devastated the indigenous handloom industry, leading to mass unemployment and impoverishment among weavers and artisans.
While other industries like silk, iron and steel, and woollen manufacture were also impacted, the scale and social impact of the decline of the cotton textile industry were immense, affecting rural and urban populations across vast regions of India.

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50. Consider the following statements about the initial development of rai

Consider the following statements about the initial development of railways in India by the British :
1. Private financial investors for railways would get land free from the British Government in India.
2. The investors would get a return of 5 percent on their capital from the government if they ran at a loss or secured inadequate profit.
3. The railways would be jointly managed with the government.
How many of the above statements is/are correct?

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1
2
3
None
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B
Statement 1 is correct. Under the ‘guarantee system’ initiated in the mid-19th century, the British government in India provided land free of cost for the construction of railways by private companies.
Statement 2 is correct. The same guarantee system assured the private companies a guaranteed return (usually 5%) on their invested capital, regardless of whether the railway lines made a profit or incurred losses.
Statement 3 is incorrect. In the initial phase under the guarantee system, the railways were primarily managed by the private companies. While the government exercised some supervisory control over aspects like route selection and standards, it was not a system of joint management in the sense of equal participation in day-to-day operations. The government later moved towards direct state management and construction of railways.
The guarantee system was adopted to attract hesitant British capital into railway construction in India. While it spurred rapid development, it also led to wasteful expenditure as companies were guaranteed profit even if inefficiently managed, and it placed a significant financial burden on the Indian treasury.

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