Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The two chapters in this unit give us an overview of the state of the Indian economy as it was at the eve of independence till after four decades of planned development, which was a path that India chose. This meant that the Government of India had to take a series of steps such as the establishment of the Planning Commission and announcement of five year plans. An overview of the goals of five year plans and a critical appraisal of the merits and limitations of planned development has been covered in this unit.
. understand the factors that led to the underdevelopment and stagnation of the Indian economy.
Victor Alexander Vruce, the Viceroy of British India in eighteen ninety-four
One point one. INTRODUCTION
One point one. INTRODUCTION
The primary objective of this book, Indian Economic Development, is to familiarise you with the basic features of the Indian economy, and its development, as it is today, in the aftermath of Independence. However, it is equally important to know something about the country's economic past even as you learn about its present state and future prospects. So, let us first look at the state of India's economy prior to the country's independence and form an idea of the various considerations that shaped India's post-independence development strategy.
The structure of India's present-day economy is not just of current making; it has its roots steeped in history, particularly in the period when India was under British rule which lasted for almost two centuries before India finally won its independence on fifteen August nineteen forty-seven. The sole purpose of the British colonial rule in India was to reduce the country to being a raw material supplier for Great Britain's
Muslin is a type of cotton textile which had its origin in Bengal, particularly, places in and around Dhaka (spelled during the pre-independence period as Dacca), now the capital city of Bangladesh. 'Daccai Muslin' had gained worldwide fame as an exquisite type of cotton textile. The finest variety of muslin was called malmal. Sometimes, foreign travellers also used to refer to it as malmal shahi or malmal khas implying that it was worn by, or fit for, the royalty.
own rapidly expanding modern industrial base. An understanding of the exploitative nature of this relationship is essential for any assessment of the kind and level of development which the Indian economy has been able to attain over the last seven and half decades.