Modern History GS Paper I (Early Nationalism) by Rashid Yasin Sir

Model Answer

Question #1. Economic critique offered by moderate leaders influenced the economic policies of independent India. Comment

Approach    

• Brief description of economic critique offered by moderates (30 words)
• Explain in short the features of economic critique  (60 words)
• Explain how economic critique shaped economic policies of independent India (130 words)
• Conclusion (30 words)

Hints:

The Indian national movement was deeply rooted in an understanding of the nature and character of colonial economic domination and exploitation. Its early leaders, known as Moderates, were the first in the 19th century to develop an economic critique of colonialism.

Moderate leaders like RC Dutta, Dadabhai Naoroji and MG Ranade criticized the official policies on tariff, trade, transport, and taxation and vehemently opposed the attempts of foreign rulers to convert India into a supplier of raw materials and a market for British manufacturers.

Features of economic critique offered by moderate leaders:

• Although their political demands were moderate, their economic demands were radical. They advocated anti-imperialist economic policies and laid great stress on basic changes in the existing economic relations between India and England.
• They demanded reduction of land revenue in order to lighten the burden of taxation on the peasants, improvement in the conditions of work of the plantation laborers, the abolition of the salt tax, and the reduction in the high military expenditure of the Government of India.
• In 1867, Dadabhai Naoroji put forward the idea that the colonial rule was draining and bleeding India of its wealth. He wrote (in “Poverty and Un-British Rule in India”, 1880) that it was the pitiless action of British policy which was eating India off its substance.
• Dadabhai Naoroji had estimated that every year, anywhere between 30 million to 40 million pound sterlings were flowing out of India. He described it as the main cause of India’s poverty.
• Another well-known argument supporting the drain of wealth was given by R.C. Dutt. In his work, “Economic History of India”, and compared the drain of wealth to moisture being sucked out of Indian soil to fertilize the lands in England.

In the following way, the economic critique given by pre-independence moderate leaders shaped economic policies of independent India:

• After independence, the government had set up the Planning Commission in 1950 to assess the country’s material, capital, and human resources and to formulate a plan for the most effective and balanced utilization.
• Achieving self-sufficiency and generating employment opportunities was its main objective. The approach was inspired by the critique offered by moderates of skewed British policies that always subjugated Indian economic interests to that of the British Empire.
• Independent India inherited a predominantly agrarian economy from the colonial period. High land revenue, the exploitative land tenure system, low productivity, and stagnation were some of the problems plaguing Indian agriculture that were openly scrutinized by moderates.
• After Independence land reforms, the ceiling on land holdings, the abolition of intermediaries was taken up to improve the condition of peasants. Deterioration of small industries was exposed by moderates as a result of British policies.
• Thus, the development of small-scale enterprise was one of the objectives of industrial policy in India. For attaining this objective, the government introduced several laws and regulations to protect small scale industries and encourage new entrepreneurial groups.

Conclusion:

Therefore, it can be said that it was the effect of Moderate’s criticism of British economic policies in India that shaped economic policies of modern India. Independent India’s leaders understood the importance of industrialization, development of capital goods industries and heavy metal industries for growth and employment opportunities. Subsequently, such concerns were reflected in 5 year plans of India, IPR 1948 (Industry Policy Resolution of 1948), IPR 1956 and other government policies for major industries.

Question #2. Analyze the role played by the press in the pre-congress era in awakening the Indians for the nationalistic cause.

Approach:

• Briefly introduce the objectives of press and its utility during freedom struggle (40 words)
• Give out the various ways in which the press helped in reaching out to wide variety of audiences ( 170 words)
• Conclusion ( 40 words)

 Hints:

It is famously said about the Indian press, “Freedom movement did not begin with guns and bombs but it started with the publication of newspapers.” The press was the chief instrument for carrying out this task that is for arousing, training, mobilizing and consolidating nationalist public opinion. 

The powerful newspapers that emerged during the period included ‘Hindu’ and ‘Swadesmitram’ under the editorship of G.SubramaniyaIyer,  ‘Kesari’ and ‘Mahratta’ under B.G. Tilak, Bengalee by Surendranath Banerjee, ‘Amrit Bazar Patrika’ by Sisir Kumar Ghosh, ‘Sudharak’ under G.K Gokhale, ‘Indian Mirror’ under N.N Sen and many more.

 Significant role of the press:

•   Political educator: The influence of press extended far beyond its literate subscribers. Nor was it confined to cities and large towns.
  • The library movements that gradually picked up, was a place where every piece of news would be read and thoroughly discussed.
  • Reading newspapers became a form of political participation.
•   Newspapers as service: Newspapers were not business enterprises but public service. Journalism was often an act of self-sacrifice and starting press was considered to be an act of philanthropy.
•   Spreading rational attitude: All the social reformers started newspapers/journals to bring masses out of ignorance and spread scientific temperament and rational thinking among them. Example: Raja Rammohan Roy published Siddhant Kaumudi, Vidyasagar published Shom Prakash.
•   Institutional role of Opposition: Nearly all major political actions were conducted through press. Almost every act and policy of the government was met with sharp criticism, in many cases with great care and vast learning backing it up.
•   Exposing government fallacies through astuteness: The government rules and laws were designed to curtail the freedom of the press. Section 124A of the IPC, Vernacular Press Act 1878 etc were draconian laws to curtail the freedom of the press. Indian journalists adopted several clever stratagems to shield themselves from the law. They performed the difficult task of combining simplicity and subtlety – simplicity to reach commoners, and subtlety to remain without falling foul of the law.
•   Rousing rebel attitude: The newspapers utilized propaganda and wit in a manner to stir the consciousness of the masses.
  • In 1883, S N Bannerjee wrote an angry editorial against Justice Norris’s decision and was hauled up for contempt of court.
  • Tilak was arrested after the murder of Rand on the basis of the publication of a poem, ‘Shivaji’s Utterances’, in Kesari, and of a speech which Tilak had delivered at the Shivaji festival, justifying Afzal Khan’s murder by Shivaji.

The effectiveness of the Press forced the Britishers to adopt curbing policies such as: Censorship of Press Act (1799), Licensing Regulations (1823) Press Act (1835), Metcalfe Licensing Act (1857), Registration Act (1867), Vernacular Press Act (1878) Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act (1908), Indian Press Act (1910)

Conclusion

Pre congress publications and their editors carried out the tremendous efforts of laying down a nationalistic foundation in the country before mass movements were mainstream. It is precisely the reason why the editors commanded a very high reputation at the time of the birth of the Indian National Congress. The first ever resolution at the Bombay Session was proposed by the editor of The Hindu, G. Subramaniya Iyer. There was not a single province in India that did not produce a journal of newspaper to uphold the cause of freedom struggle.