India in the Victorian Age: An Economic History of the People

A foundational text in Indian economic history and nationalist thought, this work by Romesh Chunder Dutt examines the economic transformation of India under British rule from 1838 to 1900. Divided into three books covering the East India Company period (1838-1858), the early Crown period (1858-1876), and the later Victorian era (1877-1900), Dutt meticulously documents how colonial land revenue policies, the destruction of Indian manufactures, and the continuous drain of wealth to England impoverished what had been one of the world’s richest regions.

Drawing on parliamentary papers, official reports, and his own extensive administrative experience as an ICS officer, Dutt presents a devastating critique of British economic policies while proposing concrete reforms. His analysis of the connection between excessive land taxation and recurring famines remains influential, and the work stands as a classic of nationalist economic thought alongside Dadabhai Naoroji’s writings on the drain theory.