INDIAN ECONOMY ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE
EXERCISES
1. What was the focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these policies?
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2. Name some notable economists who estimated India’s per capita income during the colonial period.
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3. What were the main causes of India’s agricultural stagnation during
the colonial period?
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4. Name some modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence.
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5. What was the two-fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialisation effected by the British in pre-independent India?
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6. The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
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7. What objectives did the British intend to achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?
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8. Critically appraise some of the shortfalls of the industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration.
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9. What do you understand by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?
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10. Which is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage?
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11. Give a quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.
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12. Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational structure.
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13. Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence.
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14. When was India’s first official census operation undertaken?
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15. Indicate the volume and direction of trade at the time of independence.
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16. Were there any positive contributions made by the British in India? Discuss.
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1. Prepare a list of goods and services that were available to people in pre-independence India in rural and urban areas. Compare it with the consumption pattern of such goods and services by the people today. Highlight the perceptible difference in the people’s standard of living.
2. Find pictures of towns/villages, in your vicinity, of the preindependence period and compare these with their present scenario. What changes can you mark? Are such changes for better or for worse? Discuss.
3. Rally around your teacher and organise a group discussion on ‘Has the zamindari system really been abolished in India’? If the consensus is negative, then what measures would you think should be taken to banish it and why?
4. Identify the major occupations followed by the people of our country at the time of independence. What major occupations do the people follow today? In the light of reform policies, how would you visualise the occupational scenario in India 15 years from now—say, 2035?
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