Evaluation of British Policies in India

* Statement 1 is incorrect: Introduced primarily in Madras (now Tamil Nadu) and Bombay (now Mumbai) presidencies by Alexander Reed and Thomas Munro. Ryotwari System, while aiming to establish direct contact with the cultivators (ryots), did not offer blanket exemption from revenue payment during bad harvests or calamities. While some provisions for remission existed, they were not automatic or guaranteed.

* Statement 2 is correct: Introduced in Bengal, Bihar, and parts of Odisha by Lord Cornwallis in 1793. A key feature of the Permanent Settlement was the strict revenue collection timeline. Zamindars were obligated to pay a fixed amount of revenue to the British by a specific date. Failure to do so could result in the auctioning of their Zamindari to recover the dues.

_Note: UPSC dropped this question from the final answer key._

* Alexander Rea (1858-1924) was a British archaeologist who worked mainly in South British India. He is known for unearthing a sarcophagus from the hillocks of Pallavaram in Tamil Nadu.

* Albert Henry Longhurst (1876-1955) was a British archaeologist and art historian, working in India and Ceylon. From 1927 to 1931 he was in-charge of the systematic digging of Nagarjunakonda.

* Robert Sewell (1845-1925) worked in the civil service of the Madras Presidency during the period of colonial rule in India. Sewell undertook archaeological work at the Buddhist stupa at Amaravati, which had already been largely destroyed prior to his arrival. The site had previously been surveyed by Colin Mackenzie and Walter Elliot (1803-1887)

* James Burgess (1832-1916), was the founder of the Indian Antiquary in 1872 and an important archaeologist of British India in the 19th century. From 1886-89 he was Director General, Archaeological Survey of India.

* Walter Elliot (1803-1887), visited the Amaravati site in 1854, collecting sculpture panels that later became crucial for understanding South Indian Buddhist art.

Pair 1 is not correct. Aurang was a Persian term for a warehouse, a place where goods are collected before being sold; also refers to a workshop.

Pair 2 is correct. Banians (banias) were agents of the company. A Banyan is a personby whom the English gentlemen in general conduct all their business. He is interpreter, head book-keeper, head secretary, head broker, the supplier of cash and cash-keeper, and in general also secretkeeper. They might appear to have become their masters? servants, merely managing their trade for them; but the reality was often less that of master and servant than of trading partners. The banian brought his skill and his capital to the partnership; the European contributed his privileges.

Pair 3 is correct. Mirasdar in Urdu means hereditary landowner, co-proprietor. In Persian, miras is inheritance, estate. He was also a revenue payer to the state.

Statement A is correct. Deindustrialisation of Indian traditional cottage and handicraft industry was a direct consequence of the industrial revolution in England along with colonization of India.

Statement B is incorrect. Machines were not introduced in the Indian textile industry in large numbers in the first half of the 19th century. Rather, the modern textile mills with imported machinery started taking baby steps in the 1850s in Bombay, Ahmedabad, and Calcutta. It was only after the first world war that Indian industrialization started taking fast steps.

Statement C is incorrect. The first railway line in India was laid between Bombay and Thane in 1853. Railway expansion was relatively slow even till mid-1860. It was only in the latter half of the 19th century that Railway expansion gathered pace in India.

Statement D is incorrect. Heavy duties were not imposed on the imports of British manufactures. In fact, the British goods were given duty-free trade permits, which further disadvantaged the Indian industries.

Indigo, also known as "Blue Gold", was a highly profitable commodity in the European market during the 19th century. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, its cultivation in India declined significantly.

The main reason for the decline in indigo cultivation was its unprofitability in the world market due to new inventions. Synthetic dyes were invented in the late 19th century, which were cheaper and easier to produce than natural indigo. This led to a drop in the demand for natural indigo, making its cultivation unprofitable.

Therefore, the correct answer is B.

In the middle of the 18th century (c. 1750s), Bengal was the most prosperous province of the Mughal Empire and the primary base for the English East India Company's trade. The staple commodities exported from Bengal were:

- Cotton and Silk: Bengal was world-renowned for its high-quality textiles, including fine muslins and silk fabrics, which were the most sought-after Indian exports in European and Asian markets. - Saltpetre: This was a strategic commodity used as a key ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder. Bengal was the primary source of saltpetre for European powers during the frequent wars of the 18th century. - Opium: Bengal was a major producer of opium, which the East India Company exported primarily to China and Southeast Asia. While the Company's formal monopoly was established in 1773, it was already a staple export item by the mid-18th century.

Note on other options: During this period, India was a 'sink' for precious metals; therefore, copper, silver, and gold (Option C) were typically imported into India as bullion to pay for Indian goods, rather than being exported.

The main aim of the colonisation of India by the Britishers was the economic exploitation of India. The commercialisation of Agriculture was an outcome of colonial exploitation. Various cash crops such as Indigo, Tea, and Cotton were forced on Indian farmers to meet the needs for raw materials for the Industrial Revolution in England.

On the other hand, the Handicraft of India was ruined thus exports decreased. Ruralisation of India led to a decrease in factories in the 19th century.

Statement 1 is Incorrect: Lord Cornwallis was associated with the introduction of the Permanent Settlement (also known as the Zamindari System) in Bengal and Bihar in 1793. Statement 2 is Correct: Captain Alexander Read first introduced the Ryotwari system on a small scale in the Baramahal district (Madras Presidency) in 1792 after the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Statement 3 is Correct: Thomas Munro, who later became the Governor of Madras (1820–1827), is considered the primary architect of the system as he refined and extended it across most of the Madras Presidency.

Statement 1 is Correct: Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the 'Grand Old Man of India', was a pioneer in the economic critique of British rule. He formulated the 'Drain of Wealth' theory and authored the influential book 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' (published in 1901), which argued that British policies were the primary cause of India's poverty.

Statement 2 is Correct: G. Subramania Iyer was a prominent journalist and economist who co-founded 'The Hindu'. He criticized colonial economic policies through his writings and his book 'Some Economic Aspects of British Rule in India' (1903), highlighting how British rule led to economic stagnation.

Statement 3 is Correct: Romesh Chandra (R.C.) Dutt was a retired ICS officer who wrote the seminal work 'The Economic History of India' (published in two volumes in 1902 and 1904). He meticulously documented the negative impact of British land revenue systems and trade policies on the Indian economy.