Prabhu: themes in economic history 1850-1950.

2023
1. How will you explain the significant changes in the economic structure of Britain and specially
in its external sector in the context of the changing world economic order between 1846-19147
What were the implications of these changes specially for India?

2. Delineate the key features of India's pattern of foreign trade in the period under study
focussing on the changes in the composition and direction of imports and exports trade. How
does this pattern mark out India as a colonial economy?
3. How does an analysis of India's Balance of Payment position in the period under study
(1850-1914) validate the concept of "economic drain" used by the Indian nationalists? Answer
by referring to recent researches on the subject.
4. How will you characterize Colonial India's economic and commercial policy in the 19th
century? Elucidate by drawing examples from tariff policy of the government.
5. Outline the main issues of debate and the positions taken by the protagonists in the
controversy over currency standard that raged in India and Britain between 1860-1914.
6. Would you agree that "deindustrialisation" is an apt term for describing the fate 6 of traditional
industries including handloom in the 19th century? Answer by referring to recent region based
and industry researches.
OR
How did the Handloom industry survive in the 20th century? Answer by drawing out the
contradictory experiences of growth and immiserisation experienced by the workers in this
industry in the period under study.
7. What are the distinguishing features of the widespread commercialisation of agriculture in the
late 19th century colonial India? To what extent did it lead to a capitalist transformation of the
countryside? Answer by drawing regional or crop-based examples.
8. Elucidate the main factors and processes behind the shift in colonial state policy after the
First World War from "Discriminating Laissez Fairre" to one of "Discriminating Protection".

2019
1. Which features of British economy and its external trade pattern influenced India's changing
position in the global economy and global trade in the period under study.( 1850-1939)?
OR
Why is the economic policy of the Government of India in the late 19th century termed as one of
"Discriminating Laissez Fairre"?

2. How will you explain the changes in the structure, composition and direction of India's
external trade between 1850-1939? Will you agree that the first world war marked a break in the
pattern of trade?
3. What were the peculiarities of India's Balance of Payment positions between 1850s and 1939
and how will you explain them? How did these peculiarities reflect the colonial character of
Indian economy?
Or

How was the drain of wealth conceptualized by the nationalists and how have recent researches
tried to measure, modify or refute the concept?

4. What were the main reasons for India not being put on a Gold standard? Analyse the different
positions taken by the main protagonists at different points of time in the Currency controversy.

5. To what extent have recent research on the subject enriched, modified or refuted the earlien
understanding of the De industrialisation" thesis? Answer with specific reference to the state of
handloom industry and conditions of workers employed in the sector in the period under study?

6. Is the concept of Forced Commercialisation adequate to explain the pattern of

commercialisation of agriculture in the period under study? Explain by keeping in view the
variations in this pattern based on specific crops or regions?

7. How will you explain the shift in colonial state policy after the First World War from
"Discriminating Laissez Fairre" to one of "Discriminating Protection"?

8 How successful was Britain's attempt to promote of Imperial Preference as a policy measure
in the Inter war period? How did it affect Indian economy Answer with reference to the Ottawa
Agreement and its ultimate failure.

2018-14

1.How did shifts in the structure of British economy and its external sector shape India's role in
in- ternational trade in the period 1850-1914?
1. In what ways did the first world war mark a break in the pattern of foreign trade of India?
Answer by explicating the changing trend in the structures and composition of external trade of
India.

2. Delineate the changes in the structure, composition and direction of India's foreign trade
during 1850-1914. How was it linked to the emergent Multilateral payment system that came
into being in this period?
2. How did the balance of payment position of India help in the functioning of a world economy
led by Britain during the period 1850-19147

3. Does the concept of "drain of wealth" fully explain India's Balance of Payment position vis a
vis Britain during 1850-19147 Delineate the arguments for and against the proposition.
4. What were the various positions taken by the supporters and opponents of Gold standard for
In- dia? Analyse these views in the context of the currency controversy of 1873-1897.
3. Why was the gold standard not adopted during the period under study? Do you think this
was to the detriment of India's economy.

5. What were the main factors governing the development of the Handloom Industry in the
period under study (1850-1950)? Answer by taking into account spatial and temporal variations
of the state of the industry.
5. How do you explain the survival of traditional industries, such as the handloom industry in
the first half of the 20th century.

6. How would you characterise the process of commercialisation of agriculture in the period
under study (1850-1950)?
4. How do you explain the distinctive pattern of commercialization of agriculture during the
period under study. What accounted for the dominance of merchants and moneylenders in this
period.

6. What were the significant features of the pattern of labour migration (external and internal) in
India between1850-1940?.

7. What were the continuities and changes that you notice in the interrelation between India,
Britain and the world economy in the Interwar period (1919-39) compared to the earlier era of
free trade Gold stan- dard, and multilateral payment system?

8) Give an account of the limited success of the policy of" discriminating" protection and the fail-
ure of the idea of Imperial Preference as a policy measure in the Inter war period.
7. How would you explain the colonial government policy of selective protection to Indian
industry in the 1920s and 30s?

8. What were the significant changes in the Indo-British economic relations during the interwar
period?