Indian economy at the time of British rule
At the
time of Independence, Indian economy was under-developed, there was low
per-capita income, poor infrastructure, illiteracy, it was mainly dependent on
agriculture and there was no industrial development, it was dependent on
imports. Apart from these Indian economy was semi feudal, depreciated,
stagnant. India suffered from capital deficiency, high population growth,
famines, unemployment, economic disparities and lots more. ndia was one of the richest and the most
flourishing nations of the world and this is evident from the past history of
the nation. India attracted many invaders in the past with its wealth. However,
after British Invasion, India suffered a massive economic downfall and it
continued even after India's Independence. Nevertheless, Indian economy is now
gaining momentum and is developing quite fast. The condition or characteristics of Indian economy at the time of independence are
1 )Low level of economic
under the colonial rule India had an independent economy
before the advent of the British rule. Though agriculture was the main source
of livelihood for most people, the country’s economy was characterized by
various kinds of manufacturing activities. India was particularly well known
for its handicraft industries in the fields of cotton and silk textiles, metal
and precious stone works etc. These products enjoyed a worldwide market based
on the reputation of the fine quality of material used and the high standards
of craftsmanship seen in all imports from India.
The economic policies pursued by the colonial government in india
were concerned more with the protection and promotion of the economic interests
of their home country than with the development of the Indian economy. Most
studies did find that the countries growth of aggregate real output during the
first half of the twentieth century was less than two per coupled with a meager
half per cent growth per capita output per year.
AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
India’s economy the British colonial rule remained fundamentally agrarian- about 85 per cent of the country’s population lived mostly in
villages and derived livelihood directly or indirectly from agriculture.
However, despite being the occupation of such a large population, the
agricultural sector continued to experience stagnation and, not infrequently, unusual deterioration. Agricultural productivity became incrementally low
though, in absolute terms, the sector shows expansion some growth due to the
expansion of the aggregate area under cultivation.
This stagnation in the agricultural sector was caused mainly
because of the various systems of land settlement that were introduced by the colonial government.that is the introduction of middle man to farm field.
Neither the government nor the zamindars did nothing for the improvement of farm
field. The other reason for the back ward condition of agriculture duing this
period was low level of technology,negligible use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and low irrigational felicities aggravated the problem.
The commercialization of agriculture also act as a reason
for the back ward condition of the sector, commercialization of agriculture
refers shifting of production from food grains to cash crops or the agriculture
produce is for market not for consumption. There was some evidence of a
relatively higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country due to
commercialization of agriculture.
2 ) INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
As in the case of agriculture, so also in manufacturing, India could not develop a sound industrial base under the colonial rule. Even as the
country’s world famous handicraft industries declined, no corresponding modern
industrial base was allowed to come up to take pride of place so long enjoyed
by second by the former.the British did not take a sufficient step for industrialization of the country rather than de industrilise the nation. There
are two motives behind this one is to convert india as a chief supplier of
raw material for British factories and a market for selling British finished goods.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, modern industry
began to take root in india but its progress remained very slow. Initially,
this development was confined to the setting up of cotton and jute textile mills. , the only large scale
industry was set u p in 1907 (TISCO) The growth rate new industrial sector and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained very
small.the public investment in industries will remain very low in this period.
4 ) FOREIGN TRADE
India has been an important trading nation since ancient times.
But the restrictive policies of commodity production, trade and tariff pursued
by the colonial government adversely affected the structure, composition and
volume of india’s foreign trade.
Consequently, india become an exporter of primary products such as
raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar, indigo, jute ect. And an importer of finished
consumer goods like cotton, silk and woolen clothes and capital goods like light machinery produced in the factorice of Britain. Britain maintained
a monopoly control over india’s exports and imports.
The most important characteristic of india’s foreign trade
throughout the colonial period was the generation of a large export
surplus,this surpuls was used for meeting was expences.
5) DEMOGRAPHIC CONDITION
Various details about the population of British india were first
collected through a census in 1881. Though suffering from certain limitations,
it revealed the unevenness in india’s population growth. Subsequently, every
ten years such census operations were carried out. Before 1921, India was in
the first stage of demographic transition. The second stage of ttransition
began after 1921. However , neither the total population of india nor the
rate of population growth at this stage was very high.
The socio domographic indicaters moves in backward direction
during british rule, the literacy rate was less than16% amog hiese the female
literacy was about 7% only.the public health fecilities are not availiable if
availiable the fecilities are adequate.therefore water bone and air bone
deasise are frequient in india. The mortalitity rate is very alarming
especially in fant mortality rate is very high in worl is about 218per
thousand. The life expectancy at that time was 32 years
6 ) OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE
During the colonial period, the occupational structure of india,
i.e., distribution of working persons across different industries and sectors,
showed little sign of change. The agricultural sector accounted for the largest
share of workforce, which usually remained at a high of 70- 75 per cent which
the manufacturing and the services sectors accounted for only 10 and 15-20 per
cent resectively.
7 ) INFRASTRUCTURE
Under the colonial regime, basic infrastructure such as railways,
ports, water transpport, posts and telegraphs did railways, ports, water
transport, posts and telegraphs did develop. However, the real motive bahind
this development was not to provide basic amenities to the people but to sub
serve verious colonial interests. Roads constructed in india prior to the
advent of the british rule were not fit for modern transport.
The British introduced the railways in 1850 and it is considered
as one of their moste important contributions.
