Daily Answer Writing GS 1 (Modern Indian History 02)

Subject: GS 1

Syllabus: Modern Indian History

Questions

1. The economic policies implemented by the British resulted in a rapid transformation of India's economy into a colonial economy shaped by the requirements of the British economic system. Discuss the impact and implications of these policies. (10 Marks, 150 Words)
2. In the aftermath of the Khilafat non-cooperation struggle, a series of riots occurred that significantly undermined the concept of Hindu-Muslim unity. In this context, critically evaluate the level of success attained by the Non-Cooperation movement. (15 Marks, 250 Words)

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Model Structures

Q1. The economic policies implemented by the British resulted in a rapid transformation of India's economy into a colonial economy shaped by the requirements of the British economic system. Discuss the impact and implications of these policies. (10 Marks, 150 Words)

Model Structure

• Introduction(1): At the beginning of the 18th century, the Indian economy accounted for approximately 23% of the global economy. However, over the course of British colonial rule, this share dwindled significantly, plummeting to just 3% by the time of India's independence. 
• Introduction(2): Before British rule in India, the Indian economy operated as a predominantly self-sufficient economy. It boasted a thriving trade in various handicraft items, which were highly sought after in international markets. The policies and economic exploitation implemented by the British significantly impacted India's economic growth and led to a decline in its global economic position.

Main Body:

• Impact of British economic policies on the Indian Economy:
  • Deindustrialisation:
    • One-Way Free Trade: After the Charter Act of 1813, which allowed one-way free trade for British citizens, cheap and machine-made imports flooded the Indian market.
    • No Modern Industrialisation: The loss of traditional livelihoods in India was not accompanied by an industrialisation process, as it had been in other rapidly industrialising countries at the time.
    • Ruralisation: Another feature of deindustrialisation was the decline of many cities and the process of ruralisation in India.
    • An overburdened agriculture sector was a major cause of poverty during British rule, upsetting the village's economic set-up.
  • The impoverishment of Peasantry:
    • The government had imposed the Permanent Settlement system largely because it was only interested in maximising rents and securing its revenue share.
    • Rise of Intermediaries, Absentee Landlordism, and Ruin of Old Zamindars
    • The zamindars' only interests were in the continuation of British rule and in opposing the national movement.
  • Famine and Poverty
    • These famines were caused not only by a lack of food grains but also by the poverty unleashed by colonial forces in India.
  • Destruction of Industry
    • The British stopped paying for Indian textiles in pounds, instead paying Bengal revenue at very low rates, further impoverishing the peasants.
    • A thriving shipbuilding industry was destroyed. Surat and Malabar on the western coast, as well as Bengal and Masulipatnam on the eastern coast, were well-known for their ship-building industries.
    • The Company granted a monopoly on trade routes to British ships, while Indian merchant ships plying along the coast were subjected to heavy duties.
• Character and structure dictated by demands of the British economy:
  • Industrial Revolution in England: The Charter Act of 1813 ended the commercial monopoly of the British in India mainly based on the demand of British capitalists.
  • Financial capitalism: Initially, industrialisation in India was discouraged, and modern machine-based industries only came up in the 19th and 20th centuries when British capitalists had accumulated capital for investment. 
  • War Funding: British used the Indian economic drain to fund their wars in Africa and Europe. They also used Indian money to pay the salaries of their officials and also to supply food for their army.
• Conclusion(1): The economic critique of British policies, including the drain of wealth, became a rallying point for Indian intellectuals and nationalists during the moderate phase of the national struggle for independence. It helped foster a greater sense of national consciousness and served as a catalyst for the demand for economic self-sufficiency and control over India's resources.
• Conclusion(2): The economic policies pursued by the British in India had dire consequences for the peasantry and agricultural sector, resulting in impoverishment and heightened pressure on agriculture. The exploitative nature of these policies, often called the "drain of wealth," contributed to the worsening economic conditions and created a fertile ground for famines to occur in India.

Q2. In the aftermath of the Khilafat non-cooperation struggle, a series of riots occurred that significantly undermined the concept of Hindu-Muslim unity. In this context, critically evaluate the level of success attained by the Non-Cooperation movement. (15 Marks, 250 Words)

Model Structure

• Introduction(1): The Non-cooperation Movement was launched on 5th September 1920 by the Indian National Congress (INC) under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in the wake of a series of events, including the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the Khilafat issue.
• Introduction(2): From 1920 to 1922, Mahatma Gandhi orchestrated the Non-Cooperation Movement(NCM), a strategic campaign aimed at urging the British government in India to grant self-rule, known as Swaraj, to India. This movement marked one of Gandhi's initial and well-planned endeavors to promote widespread civil disobedience, using the principle of Satyagraha.

Main Body:

• Negative consequences of NCM:
  • Communalisation of politics: The movement engaged Muslims in the national movement, resulting in communalism rather than nationalist unity. Hindus and Muslims united on religious matters rather than for purely nationalist purposes.
  • Violence at Chauri Chaura: Misunderstanding the principles of non-violence, the movement abruptly ended with the Chauri Chaura incident on February 5, 1922.
  • Communal organisations: the Muslim League, the Hindu Mahasabha and a section of the Swarajists( led by N.C.Kelkar) all started making political alliances on ‘communal’ grounds.
  • Shuddi and tabling movement: The Arya Samaj’s siddhi and Sanga then found parallel in the tabling (propaganda) and Tanzim (organization) of the Muslim League.
  • Mappila revolt: was between Muslim tenants and Hindu landlords. Earlier, it was part of NCM, but later it acquired communal tones and caused large-scale riots.
• Success of the Non-cooperation movement: 
  • National schools: Students left government schools and colleges, and national schools came up like Kashi Vidyapeeth, Jamia milia etc.
  • Foreign clothes: Stops selling foreign clothes were picketed, and foreign clothes were burned. It drastically brought down the import of foreign clothes.
  • Peasant movements: It saw the massive participation of peasants in the nationalist struggle. Many peasant movements like the Kisan Sabha movement, the Eka movement, Mappila revolt took place.
  • Women’s participation: saw the massive participation of women in picketing shops, taking part in processions, and even facing lathi charge, thus a liberating experience for them.
  • Unity of Hindu and Muslim: This movement saw the remarkable unity of Hindu - Muslims, a kind of unity which was never seen and will never be seen.
  • Enhanced reach: The movement reached every nook and corner of the country and politicised every population stratum.

Conclusion:

• The Non-cooperation movement was an important watershed moment in the national struggle, and it was successful in bringing Muslims into the nationalist struggle, but it failed in converting the religious consciousness into secular consciousness.

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