Though the colonial rule in India led to wide spread exploitation and backwardness of the Indian economy the British did make some positive contributions as well. In the light of the above statement explain why India is indebted to the British for the introduction of railways.
Answers
Answer:
The primary motive of the colonial government of systematically de
industrialising India was two-fold.
(a) The intention was to reduce India to the status of a mere exporter
of important raw materials for the upcoming modern industries in
Britain.
(b) To turn India into a sprawling market for the finished products of
their industries so that their continued expansion could be ensured
to the maximum advantage of their home country Britain.
The impact of these policies were
(a) Decline of handicraft industry. Indian market were full of
manufactured goods from Britain which were priced low. Indian
handicrafts could not face competition and thus the demand of
handicrafts declined.
(b) Massive unemployment. Millions of craftsmen became unemployed
due to decline in demand of handicrafts.
(c) Low standard of living. The per capita income of indians was one
of the lowest in the world indicating that the average indian was
extremely poor and could not afford even the basic necessities of
life. The extent of poverty can be known by the fact that three million
people died during Bengal famine of 1943.