BRITISH ECONOMIC POLICIES AND THEIR IMPACT - PRAKASH GK
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BRITISH ECONOMIC POLICIES AND THEIR IMPACT

Before the appearance of land in India, particularly throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, India was the commercial workshop of the globe during a pre-capitalist sense. it had been blessed with fertile soil and a prosperous agriculture; an honest geographical location and climate appropriate for production, possessing mineral resources. Centres in Western India, Bengal and therefore the Coromandal Coast had designed up intensive international commerce links, supported producing within the interior, engaged in ship building and even developed refined sorts of banking and exchange. Such a prosperous India changed into a selling house of finished merchandise from Great Britain and bourgeois of raw materials within the wake of crude and cruel control policies of British colonial rule.
      A Bottleneck:- The economic policies of the colonial power proven to be the chief bottleneck within the development of the Indian economy. land rule resulted within the forceful changes within the system of land tenure and land possession. within the commercialisation of agriculture, in rural obligation, in growth of contemporary business (though lopsided) and rise of capitalist category, the land revenue system introduced by land caused a radical modification in property relations in land. a brand new proprietary category, consisting principally of businessmen, came on the scene. They explored on zamindari as Associate in Nursing financial gain yielding quality. the most motive of land behind this policy was to stabilize and increase its supply of revenue and to form a loyal category of landlords in its colony to help in its unblushing and remorseless plunder of Indian economy. The impact was unfortunate. The cultivators, unable to face up to the burden of rent and taxes shortly changed into tenants-at-will.
      Commercialisation:- To feed its industries, land remodeled the independent Indian agriculture into an advert enterprise. This transformation, tho' ending isolation of the village social and economic life, proven unfortunate because it resulted within the decrease of cereal production,
unprecedented rents and interest rates plus natural calamites. It forced the peasants into the hands of cash lenders. The legal protection below British law gave an extra boost to the shylock
to squeeze the cultivator of his meagerly financial gain. Neither the government's credit policy nor the debt legislations helped the indebted peasants to flee kind the clutches of the moneylenders. The new land relations, rural obligation and therefore the destruction of ancient handicraft and manufacture by the British to save lots of its own business resulted within the growth of agriculture labour as there was no alternative means that to survive. This successively resulted in over-pressure on agriculture and through famines, this trend vie havoc with several lives. Drain of Wealth: no matter was accumulated by land in India throughout their keep was transported to their fatherland, this kind of exploitation is popularly called 'drain of wealth'. This was within the form of home remittances, gifts, gratitude's etc. If this was spent in India, it might have vastly benefited the Indian plenty. The exchange policy monetized the Indian economy and expedited simple transactions for land financiers. It undermined the peasants' natural economy and destroyed the normal economic ties. Its industrial policy aimed toward crushing the expansion of contemporary industries in India. However, despite the hostility of land, modest beginnings were created during this sphere. The baby capitalist category had to wage a continuing struggle against British to survive. During the varied stages of victimisation, the sole motive behind land policies was to plunder as much as they may, to that Karl Marx referred as a trauma method with a retaliation. Not even one side of Indian economy went untouched nor left undeveloped. Thus, its agriculture became commercial; rural obligation grew by leaps and bounds; the world- celebrated handicrafts business was destroyed; following the ruin of artisans and craftsmen, agricultural labour swelled; the country's richness was drained; the baby Indian business was strangled; the increase of capitalist category restrained and famine-conditions were aggravated golf stroke millions to death.
Agrarian Changes
In pre-colonial India, the zamindars were solely tax farmers and will not extract the rent as matter
of course through the normal legal channels. The peasants had hereditary and customary rights over
land cultivation. However, these relationships modified radically with the appearance of land. land call to acknowledge the idea of individual possession aimed toward making Associate in Nursing enterprising and constant class of landlords. whether or not within the case of Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793, or the Ryotwari system that came into force in Madras, metropolis and therefore the geographic region some decades later, the underlying principle was the concept of individual possession. Land became the property of the individual. The feudalistic structure changed into semi feudalistic. This policy paid wealthy dividends to land in sort of exaggerated and stable revenues and a loyal landed aristocracy, however expose sharply the owner peasant drawback. whereas the Ryotwari peasants visaged immoderate rates of revenue, the zamindari peasant suffered unprecedented  oppression. Between 1800 and 1810, rents nearly doubled. Raja Ram Mohan Roy,
himself a Bengal zamindar, admitted that the conditions of cultivators had not improved though
the financial gain of the proprietors had exaggerated. the govt presented on the zamindras powers to
confiscate the property and arrest the cultivator, departure him no alternative means that of redress against the illegal or unjust seizure or arrest. The civil courts may do very little as a result of the settlement was created with no previous survey, on record of rights and while not even an outlined technique of assessment. The zamindars' domination became Associate in Nursing accepted reality to such Associate in Nursing extent that the tenants UN agency, in theory had substantial
occupancy rights became tenants at can. The burden of revenue semiconductor diode them into the firm grip of the shylock and additionally towards crop cultivation that had unfortunate consequences. The pauperization and appalling condition of the class were echoed in Lord full general statement,
when he said: 'I might safely assert that one third of the Company's territory in geographic region is currently a jungle inhabited solely by wild beasts, that once was active with cultivators'.
How was Agriculture Commercialized?
In pre-British times, Indian agriculture had been characterised by independence, double-geared principally to produce food to fulfill the wants of village and restricted amount of raw cotton and jute for native handlooms. However, conditions created by British rule inspired a slow transition towards industrial agriculture. The gap of the shipway in 1869 shortened the sea-route between India and European nation by over 3000 miles. By linking India with the international market wherever industrialisation had created a gradual demand for raw materials, by rising the mode of transportation, mainly railways, and by providing the mandatory experience for the improved cultivation of such crops, land gave a sufficiently sturdy stimulation for the expansion of such crops as cotton, jute tobacco, sugarcane, indigo, tea, low and flower on an advert basis. If land inspired commercialisation for raw materials and food grains, the Indian peasants made money crops to pay his rents, interests and land revenue in money.
Was it helpful to India?
At least one positive side developed from this alteration. a lively exchange agricultural turn out
emerged within the country. currently it had been not necessary for any village or perhaps an entire region to be self-sufficient in food grains and alternative requirements of life. The isolation and self sufficiency of the villageswere currently broken.
What were its negative impacts?
The unfortunate consequences that the commercial agricultural had were varied. The
peasants had to rely upon the vagaries of the international costs scenario. Bombay's cotton for
example once a spectacular increase earlier, skilled a explosive fall within the costs level within the
late decennary attributable to the unsettled conditions within the USA.Despite monumental increase within the foreign demand for Indian agricultural turn out, the Indian peasants couldn't develop his agriculture thanks to lack of resources for technological enhancements. The peasant met the new scenario not most by the extension of the world below cultivation, not by increasing productivity of land per acre however by substitution of business crops food grains, fodder, and alternative crops that proven unfortunate and resulted in incidence of a series of famines. the instance of seasoning cultivation can function a transparent testimony to the blatant colonial perspective towards the Indian farmer and his food. once the Crown assumed full management of India the controlled substance revenue, next to it from land and salt, was the most important supply of financial gain to the Indian treasury, aggregating one thing over one tenth of its total financial gain. The lands wherever controlled substance was cultivated were among the most effective in Indian dominions. The diversion of fertile land for flower caused shortage of food grains and indirectly contributed to famine conditions. British statement, whereas defensive the stand of the govt of India with regards to the Indo-Chinese controlled substance trade, argued that one among the good evils of China was over population and if controlled substance wasn't foreign from India, the Chinese would cultivate it in situ of cereals and alternative food and therefore deprive China of a number of her fertile land for cereals.

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