UPSC Mains 2017 GS1 Q12 — Modern Indian History
Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal industry in colonial India crippled the rural economy. (250 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Examine
- Scope keywords
- decline of traditional artisanal industrycolonial Indiacrippled the rural economy
- Implicit sub-parts
- Identify the specific colonial policies (tariffs, railways, unfair competition) that led to the 'de-industrialization' process.
- Explain the 'one-way' link between the destruction of urban/rural crafts and the subsequent pressure on agriculture.
- Analyze the socio-economic consequences like forced commercialization, land fragmentation, and the cycle of rural indebtedness.
- Common pitfalls
- Focusing only on the textile industry while ignoring other artisans like metalworkers, potters, and shipbuilders.
- Writing a general history of British rule without linking every point back to the specific 'crippling' of the rural economic structure.
- Failing to mention the concept of 'De-industrialization' as a formal historical phenomenon.
- Omitting the shift from 'self-sufficiency' to 'commodity dependency' for basic rural needs.
- Dimensions required
- Economic (trade barriers, drain theory)Sociological (breakdown of the Jajmani system)Demographic (reverse migration from towns to villages)Agrarian (increased pressure on land and decline in per capita productivity)
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate 50-60 words to the causes of decline to set the context. Devote the bulk (150 words) to the multi-dimensional impact on the rural economy, specifically the agrarian crisis and loss of self-sufficiency. Use the final 40 words to conclude with the long-term structural weakness it left in the Indian economy at independence.
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