Romesh Chunder Dutt

Romesh Chunder Dutt CIE (1848-1909) was an Indian civil servant, economic historian, and nationalist leader whose two-volume Economic History of India established the intellectual foundations of Indian economic nationalism.

Career

Born into a distinguished Bengali family, Dutt qualified for the Indian Civil Service in 1869. He became the first Indian appointed as district magistrate (1883) and the first to reach the rank of Divisional Commissioner (1894). His administrative experience managing famines gave him firsthand knowledge of colonial taxation’s impact on rural poverty.

Economic Scholarship

His magnum opus, The Economic History of India, documented the destruction of Indian manufactures, excessive land taxation, and the drain of wealth to England. Alongside Dadabhai Naoroji’s work, it established the “drain theory” central to nationalist thought.

Legacy

Elected Congress President in 1899, Dutt represented moderate nationalism in the pre-Gandhian era. He also translated the Ramayana and Mahabharata into English verse.