About This Work
This volume is a companion to Lajpat Rai’s Young India, which examined British rule from a political standpoint. Here, he examines its economic effects with devastating precision—and notably, not a single statement in this volume is unsupported by the best available British testimony.
Written during World War I from New York, the book addresses the Anglo-Saxon public directly, reminding them of how India had fared economically under British rule at a time when there was talk of imposing fresh burdens on India after the war. As Lajpat Rai notes in his preface: “Any fresh burden might tend to break the proverbial camel’s back.”
The work covers the destruction of Indian industries (particularly cotton and shipbuilding), the constant drain of wealth to England, the causes of recurring famines, the state of education, taxation, and the true economic condition of the people. It remains an essential text for understanding the economic dimensions of colonialism.
Contents
- 1 Post-Scriptum
- 2 A Historical Retrospect
- 3 India and the British Industrial Revolution
- 4 "Tribute" or "Drain"
- 5 How India Has Helped England Make Her Empire
- 6 The Cotton Industry of India
- 7 Shipbuilding and Shipping
- 8 Miscellaneous Industrial, Agricultural, and Mining Operations
- 9 Agriculture
- 10 Economic Condition of the People
- 11 Famines and Their Causes
- 12 Railways and Irrigation
- 13 Education and Literacy
- 14 Certain Fallacies About the "Prosperity of India" Examined
- 15 Taxes and Expenditure
- 16 Summary and Conclusion
- 17 Appendices
- 18 Index
- 0 Front Matter