Question

write a note on the various stages of the colonial rule in India.

Answer 1

The first is the period of ‘merchant capital’ dating from 1757 to 1813. This ‘mercantilist’ phase was marked by direct plunder and the EIC’s monopoly trade functioning through the investment of surplus revenues in the purchase of Indian finished goods for export to England and Europe.

(ii) The second is the period of ‘industrial capital’ dating from 1813 to 1858. This period saw the classic age of free trader industrial capitalist exploitation. The entire pattern of trade underwent a dramatic change under the mighty impact of England’s industrial revolution.

During this period, India was converted rapidly into a market for British textiles and a great source for raw materials. Traditional handicrafts were thrown out of gear—a period when the ‘homeland of cotton was inundated with cotton’ (Karl Marx).

(iii) The third period is the period of ‘finance capital’ starting from the closing years of the 19th century and continuing till independence. During this phase, finance-imperialism began to entrench itself through the managing agency firms, export-import firms, exchange banks, and some export of capital.

However, this sort of periodization of the colonial exploitation is somewhat arbitrary and over-schematic as Rajani Palme Dutt himself believed.