Mains Daily Question
March 12, 2024
Q3. ‘There has been plenty of economic critique of the British Empire in India, but the work of Dadabhai Naoroji is invaluable.’ In the light of this statement, elaborate on the contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji. (10M, 150W)
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Approach to the answer: The question talks about the contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji as an economic critique of British imperialism in India. Here, we state the economic contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji and follow the arguments with examples/facts to authenticate them. Introduction: We can introduce the answer by stating who was Dadabhai Naoroji? or we can also highlight a few of his economic contributions in the introduction. Body: Since the directive is to ‘elaborate’, we need to further explain the demand of the question (which here is to list the economic critique contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji). The arguments must be backed by facts. Conclusion: We can conclude by summarizing the arguments of the body section or we can also conclude by stating the impact of Dadabhai’s contribution in Indian freedom struggle. |
Answer:
Dadabhai Naoroji was a Parsi social reformer, freedom fighter, a nationalist but most importantly, he was an economic critique of British imperialism in India. His study (drain of wealth) and his findings had a profound impact on laying the foundation of early nationalism in India.
Contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji:
- Data Driven Findings: Naoroji gathered information and developed arguments that British officials could not ignore on India's severe poverty.
- For instance, Naoroji documented how the Indian exchequer was starved through excessively high interest-rate loans, especially for railway construction.
- British Imperial Glory at Indian Cost: Naoroji noted how Indian taxpayers paid for British military adventures.
- For example, the 1868 British expedition in Abyssinia and other costly frontier wars waged by the British eager for imperial glory were not necessary for India’s defense.
- Deliberate Weakening of Indian Rupee: Naoroji thought that measures taken to support the rupee, such as switching to a gold standard and banning the free coinage of silver at Indian mints, increased taxes on the typical Indian by as much as 45%.
- For instance, the rupee lost one-fifth of its value when transferred to British pounds due to exchange regulations.
- Starving India of Capital: India was starved of capital, which reduced average wages. Naoroji demonstrated that prices rose, not because of prosperity but scarcity.
- For instance, Naoroji faulted railway projects as they drew agricultural laborers to construction gangs, reducing local agricultural productivity.
- Drain of Indian Wealth: The infrastructure project accelerated the drain of Indian wealth through repayment of exorbitant railway loans, employment of large European staff, and the more efficient transfer of Indian resources for export to Britain.
- Modern Statistical Methods: Between the 1860s and 1880s, Naoroji harnessed modern statistical methods to illustrate the appalling nature of Indian poverty.
- For instance, he tabulated the first-ever estimate of the country’s annual per capita income at meager £2 per year (in today’s terms, this could be as low as £200 or Rs. 20,000). Through comparisons, he demonstrated that £2 was barely enough to keep the average Indian alive.
- Man-induced Famines: Low per capita, with starvation, explained the frequency of mass famine in the subcontinent.
- For instance, Naoroji quoted in 1870, "Can it then be a matter of any surprise that the very first touch of famines should so easily carry away hundreds of thousands as they have done during the past twelve years?"
Naoroji’s investigations of the drain theory and Indian poverty showed the ugly nature of British imperialism in India. The works of Naoroji were supplemented and followed by other economists (M.G. Ranade, G.V. Joshi, R.C. Dutt, K.T. Telang, G.K. Gokhale, and D.E. Wacha) which ultimately united Indians against British economic exploitation.
