The Legacy of British Colonialism in India Post 1947
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26686/nzref.v2i0.1740Abstract
India was under direct British administrative control for almost a century, with independence from Britain not gained until relatively recently, in August 1947. British imperialism had a number of significant impacts on the region – many of which had lasting legacies on the country’s economic and social positions. While some of these impacts were positive for India, many resulted from British imperial interests being prioritized over domestic interests, which led to an uneven pattern of development and weak central government. This note canvasses some of the commonly explored legacies of British colonialism in India, and concludes that a century of foreign control may have done more harm than good for the country’s development.Downloads
References
Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Robinson, J. (2001). The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation. The American Economic Review, 91(5), 1369-1401. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.5.1369
Aperture. (1976). The Last Empire: Photography in British India, 1855-1911. Hong Kong: Aperture.
Banerjee, A., & Iyer, L. (2005). History, Institutions, and Economic Performance: The Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India. American Economic Review, 95(4), 1190-1213. https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828054825574
Clark, G., & Wolcott, S. (2003). One polity, many countries: economic growth in India 1873-2000. In D. Rodrik (Ed.), Analytical Case Studies on Growth(pp. 53-79). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400845897-005
Dutt, A. (1992). The Origins of Uneven Development:The Indian Subcontinent. The American Economic Review,, 82(2), 146-150.
Gokhale, B.G. (1977). The Merchant in Ancient India. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 97 (2), 125-130. https://doi.org/10.2307/599001
Macpherson, W.J. (1955). Investment in Indian Railways, 1845-1875. The Economic History Review, New Series, 8 (2), 177-186. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.1955.tb01558.x
Misra, M. (1999). Gentlemanly capitalism and the Raj: British policy in India between the world wars. In R. Dumett (Ed.), Gentlemanly Capitalism and British Imperialism: The New Debate on Empire(pp. 157-174). New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315839974-8
Mohan, R. (2006). Evolution of Central Banking in India. Lecture delivered at the seminar organised by the London School of Economics and the National Institute of Bank Management at Mumbai, January 24, Reserve Bank of India Bulletin.
Moraes, F. (1959). Jawaharlal Nehru. New York: Macmillan.Penn World Tables 6.2, http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt62/pwt62_form.php, accessed 12:30pm 28/07/2009.
Roy, T. (2002). Economic History and Modern India: Redefining the Link. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16(3), 109-130. https://doi.org/10.1257/089533002760278749
Tomlinson, B. (1993). The New Cambridge History of India: The Economy of Modern India 1860-1970. Cambridge: University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521362306
World Bank. (1993). The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
