Yellow Boxes in the Eco textbook

Zamindari System of Land Revenue

A system of land revenue that worked through middlemen called zamindars; an intermediary
between the colonial government and the peasants.

Owners of the Soil vs. Tillers of the Soil

Owners of the soil were the zamindars and tillers of the soil were peasants and labourers who
worked on the farms of zamindars.

Famines in India During the British Rule

Famines refers to a severe shortage of food (owing to crop failure) resulting in violent hunger
and starvation.
From 1760 till 1943, India was hit by terrible famines on a regular basis.
The most significant amongst those was the great famine of Bengal of 1769-70, which claimed a
large toll of lives.
More than 85 million people died owing to repeated famines.
In contrast, there have been no famine related deaths since independence.

Partition of the Country and its Impact

The partition of the country had a negative impact on Indian agriculture.

India got 82 per cent of population and 65 per cent of food grain area.
Rich food producing areas of West Punjab and Sindh went to Pakistan.
This aggravated the food crisis in the country.

Prior to the British Rule

The textile industry of India was famous worldwide. 'Deccai Muslin', found in Bengal, in places
near Dhaka (present capital of Bangladesh) was famous all over the world as the finest cotton
textile. Malmal was the finest variety of muslin and was primarily worn by royalty giving it the
name of malmal shahi or malmal khas.
Suez Canal and access to Indian Markets

It is an artificial waterway running from north to south across Isthmus of Suez in north- eastern
Egypt.
The canal provides direct trade route between European or American Ports and ports located in
South Asia, East Africa and Oceania by removing the need to sail around Africa.
Opening of Suez Canal in 1869 significantly reduced the cost of transportation of goods between
Britain and India.
A significant reduction in transport cost promoted monopoly control of India's foreign trade by
the British government.

Drain of India's Wealth

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.

Population Census

Population census in India is a detailed estimation of population size, along with a complete
demographic profile of the country.
It was first conducted under the British rule in 1881. Since then, it is conducted after every ten
years.

Agriculture as a Means of Subsistence

*Money and Banking questions*
Greater dependence on agriculture (as suggested by occupational structure on the eve of
independence) implied lesser availability
Q.1 ofWhat
land per head of thecredit
is selective farming population.
control?
Accordingly, agriculture was taken largely as a means of subsistence, and less as an occupation
for profit. Q.2 How is quantitative credit control different from qualitative credit control?

Q.3 If CRR is scrapped as a legal requirement, do you think the banks can create unlimited
amount of money supply?

Q.4 In the present scenario when the industrial growth is low, do you think a cut in repo rate by
the RBI would accerlate the pace of economic growth?

Q.5 Why is RBI, sometimes reluctant to lower the repo rate even when investment is low
because of high market rate of interest?