CBSE Class 11 Economics IIndian Economy At The Time Of Independence VBQs Set 02

‘Very Short Answer’ 

Question. What is a stagnant economy?
Answer: A stagnant economy is an economy in which there is little or no scope of GDP growth.

Question. Define land-productivity.
Answer: Land-productivity refers to output per hectare of land.

Question. What is meant by subsistence agriculture?
Answer: Subsistence agriculture is a form of farming in which only subsistence crops are grown to provide for the basic needs of the family.

Question. What do you mean by commercialisation of agriculture?
Answer: Commercialisation of agriculture refers to a shift from cultivation for self-consumption to cultivation for the market.

Question. Define occupational structure.
Answer: Occupational structure refers to distribution of working population across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.

Question. What is infant mortality rate?
Answer: Infant mortality rate is an estimate of the number of infant deaths for every 1,000 live births (infants refer to children below the age of one year).

Question. What is life expectancy?
Answer: Life expectancy is defined as the average number of years that a person can expect to live.

Question. Define literacy rate.
Answer: It refers to the percentage of people in a certain sample of population who can read and write.

Question. What do you mean by Population Census?
Answer: Population census is a detailed estimation of population size, along with a complete demographic profile of the country.

Question. State two main indicators of backwardness and poverty of the masses.
Answer: Two main indicators of backwardness and poverty are:
(i) High mortality rate, and
(ii) Low life expectancy.

Reason-based Questions (Comprehension of the Subject-matter)

Read the following statements carefully. Write True or False with a reason.

Question. Low level of productivity was the principal characteristic of Indian agriculture on the eve of independence.
Answer: True. Reason: Use of primitive technology and small-size holdings.

Question. Zamindari system of land revenue gave incentives to tillers of soil to increase their productivity.
Answer: False. Under zamindari system, the tillers lacked ownership rights. As a result, they had no interest in improving the agriculture.

Question. Railways during the British rule in India promoted colonial exploitation of the Indian economy.
Answer: True. Railways promoted colonial exploitation of the Indian economy in two ways, as under:
(i) Railways facilitated the movement of raw material from their source of supply to the ports for further transportation to England.
(ii) Railways led to expansion of the market for the British products in India.

Question. The year 1921 was the year of Great Divide with regard to the growth of population in India.
Answer: True. The year 1921 was the year of Great Divide. Because, prior to 1921, population growth in India was not consistent. It was only after 1921 that the population recorded a consistent rise.

Question. Zamindari system brought stability to cultivation during the British rule in India.
Answer: False. The zamindari system during the British rule did not bring stability. Instead, it brought instability to Indian cultivation. Because, this system led to frequent ejection of the tillers of the soil. They lost their permanent rights of cultivation, and accordingly, lost permanent interest in cultivation.

Question. The tillers of the soil could not leave agriculture even when they were always exploited.
Answer: True. The tillers of the soil could not leave agriculture despite their continuous exploitation. This was because of the lack of vocational avenues outside agriculture.

Question. Under the British Raj, discriminatory tariff policy was pursued with a view to protecting the Indian industry.
Answer: False. British pursued discriminatory tariff policy which allowed tariff-free export of raw material from India and tariff-free import of British industrial products into India. This enabled the British industrial products to capture the Indian markets.

Question. Surplus generated in trade was used to meet administrative expenses by the British government in India.
Answer: True. Surplus generated in trade was used by British government to meet administrative expenses in India which led to a huge drain of wealth.

Question. Partition of the country had a negative impact on Indian agriculture.
Answer: True. India got 82 per cent of population and 65 per cent of food grain area. Fertile areas of West Punjab and Sindh went to Pakistan which led to food crisis in the country.

Question. How Railways moderated the impact of famines during the colonial period?
Answer: Railways facilitated the movement of food grains from the surplus zones or from the government warehouses (Godowns) to the areas afflicted with famines. Accordingly, the impact of famines was moderated.

Question. How would you support the view that the destruction of handicraft in India coincided with the industrial revolution in Great Britain?
Answer: The destruction of the Indian handicrafts was systematically planned by the British government to coincide with the industrial revolution in Great Britain. The success of industrial revolution depended on (i) growth of Indian market for the British products, and (ii) export of raw material from India to Britain. Achievement of both these objectives (largely through discriminatory trade policy) led to the destruction of Indian handicrafts.

Question. The policy of colonial exploitation of the Indian economy during the British Raj had some positive side-effects for the Indian economy. Do you agree?
Answer: It is true, that the policy of colonial exploitation during the British Raj had some positive side-effects for the Indian economy. Start of Railways, development of ports, improvement of the means of communication and a good system of administration were some critical elements of the policy of colonial exploitation. But all these implied a growth-oriented change in the Indian economy.

Question. How did discriminatory trade policy contribute to the success of industrial revolution in Great Britain?
Answer: Discriminatory trade policy contributed to the success of industrial revolution in Great Britain in two ways:
(i) Low duty on the import of British industrial goods into India led to the growth of domestic demand for these goods, and
(ii) Low duty on the export of raw material from India ensured availability of low-cost inputs for the British industry.

Question. Legally, Zamindari System of Land Revenue has been abolished in independent India. Yet Indian agriculture continues to be in a state of backwardness. What in your opinion is the principal reason for this situation?
Answer: Despite abolition of zamindari system, poverty continues to be pervasive in Indian agriculture owing to two reasons:
(i) The bulk of the Indian farmers are small and marginal holders. Small and marginal holdings are not conducive to the adoption of innovative techniques of farming, and
(ii) The delivery mechanism related to financial help by the state is grossly inefficient and ineffective.

Question. MNCs (Multinational Corporations) are dominating the Indian industrial sector and are offering stiff competition to the small scale industry. How do you compare this situation with the one under the British rule when the Indian handicrafts were exposed to stiff competition from the machine-made products of Britain?
Answer: Competition promotes the adoption of innovative technology and is therefore, expected to open new vistas of growth for the small scale enterprises. But the adoption of new technology needs a level playing field. Do the small enterprises in India have it? 'No' is the answer. Small enterprises in India do not get enough funds at a low rate of interest as the MNCs can manage. Accordingly, they often fail to upgrade their technology to make it competitive. Also, they fail to spend as much on advertisement and publicity as the MNCs can do to capture the market. Thus, survival of small enterprises in the face of stiff competition from the MNCs seems to be doubtful.

Question. What was the focus of the economic policies pursued by the colonial government in India? What were the impacts of these policies?
Answer:  The focus of the economic policies pursued by the British government was to exploit the Indian economy as much as they could do to foster the growth process of the British economy. The colonial policies changed the nature and structure of the Indian economy. It was rendered as a supplier of raw materials and net importer of finished industrial products from Britain.

Question. Name some notable economists who estimated India’s per capita income during the colonial period.
Answer: Dadabhai Naoroji, William Digby, Findlay Shirras, V.K.R.V. Rao and R.C. Desai.

Question. What were the main causes of India’s agricultural stagnation during the colonial period?
Answer:  Following were the principal causes of India’s agricultural stagnation during the colonial period:
(i) Tillers of the soil were not the owners of the soil.
(ii) Land Revenue System under the British Raj focused on exploitation of the farmer.
(iii) Forced commercialisation of agriculture which led to uncertainty of farm income.

Question. Name some modern industries which were in operation in our country at the time of independence.
Answer: (i) Cotton Textile Industries,
(ii) Jute Textile Industries,
(iii) Iron and Steel Industries,
(iv) Sugar Industries,
(v) Cement Industries,
(vi) Paper Industries, etc.

Question. What was the two-fold motive behind the systematic deindustrialisation effected by the British in pre-independent India?
Answer:  (i) To exploit India’s wealth of raw material and primary products like cotton and jute.
(ii) To exploit India as a potential market for the industrial products of Britain.

Question. The traditional handicrafts industries were ruined under the British rule. Do you agree with this view? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer: Yes, the traditional handicraft industries were ruined under the British rule. The reasons are as follow:
(i) Discriminatory tariff policy of the state.
(ii) Disappearance of princely courts.
(iii) Competition from machine-made products.
(iv) New patterns of demand (favouring machine-made goods).
(v) Introduction of railways in India which led to the spread of Indian market for the British industrial goods.

Question. What objectives did the British intend to achieve through their policies of infrastructure development in India?
Answer:  The British intends to achieve the following objectives through their policies of infrastructure development in India:
(i) Expansion of the Indian market for the British products through the expansion of railways.
(ii) To handle export of raw material to Britain and import of finished goods from Britain through the development of ports.
(iii) To enhance administrative efficiency through the development of post and telegraphs.
(iv) To facilitate transportation of raw material from different parts of the country to the ports through the development of roads.

Question. Critically appraise some of the shortfalls of the industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration.
Answer: Industrial policy pursued by the British colonial administration was to foster the process of industrial growth in Britain. In India, capital goods industry was developed only to the extent that it aided the development of industry in Britain. The contribution of the industrial sector was insignificant. The public sector recorded a very dismal growth.

Question. What do you understand by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?
Answer: Huge administrative expenses were incurred by the British government to manage their colonial rule in India. Also, huge expenses were incurred by the British government to fight wars in pursuit of their policy of imperialism. All these expenses were borne by the Indian Exchequer. This implied a drain of India’s wealth.

Question. Which is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage?
Answer: The year 1921 is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage. 1921 is also known as the year of great divide.

Question. Give a quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.
Answer: India’s demographic profile showed the following features:
(i) High birth rate and death rate.
(ii) High infant mortality rate.
(iii) Low life expectancy
(iv) Low female literacy rate indicating high degree of gender-bias in the society.

Question. Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational structure.
Answer: The agricultural sector accounted for the largest share of workforce (70-75%). The manufacturing and the services sectors accounted for only 10% and 15-20% share, respectively.

Question. Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence.
Answer: (i) Agricultural sector of the economy was backward, stagnant and non-vibrant. It was a crucial economic challenge.
(ii) There was an urgent need of modernisation, diversification, capacity building and increased public investment in industrial sector.
(iii) Infrastructure facilities, including the famed railway network needed up-gradation and expansion.
(iv) Prevalence of rampant poverty and unemployment required welfare-orientation of the economic policies.

Question. Were there any positive contributions made by the British in India? Discuss.
Answer: Following points highlight positive contributions made by the British in India:
(i) Commercial outlook of the farmers started replacing subsistence-based production decisions of the farmers.
(ii) Opportunities of employment were generated through infrastructural growth.
(iii) Famines were effectively controlled through the development of rapid means of transport.
(iv) There was a significant shift from barter system of exchange to monetary system of exchange.
(v) Efficient system of administration emerged as a sine-qua-non of growth.