Who among the following Indian freedom fighters made an attempt to estimate the per capita income of India ?

Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the 'Grand Old Man of India', was the first Indian freedom fighter to attempt a scientific estimation of India's per capita income. In his seminal work, 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India', he calculated the per capita income to be approximately ₹20 based on 1867-68 prices [t1]. He used a 'subsistence-based' approach to highlight the extreme poverty and economic exploitation under British rule, estimating a poverty line ranging from ₹16 to ₹35 per capita per year [c2]. His findings formed the basis of the 'Drain Theory', which argued that Britain was systematically draining India's wealth [t3][t5]. While other leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale also critiqued British economic policies, Naoroji's statistical attempt remains the pioneering effort in national income accounting during the colonial period [t1].

Sources

1. [1] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 3: Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment > Pre-Independence Estimates > p. 37
2. [2] https://sirsyedcollege.ac.in/crm/public/uploads/download_image/EixYixYlnOXqytBUyRnjEPlHomhoVK.pdf