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Book No. – 19 (Sociology)
Book Name – Social Background of Indian Nationalism (A.R. Desai)
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1. Transformation of Indian Society, A Product of British Conquest
2. British Conquest, its Causes
3. British Conquest, its Peculiar Features
4. Far-Reaching Effects on Economic Structure of India
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LANGUAGE
British Conquest of India
A.R. Desai
Chapter – 2
Table of Contents
Transformation of Indian Society, A Product of British Conquest
- The transformation of pre-British feudal economy to a capitalist economy was a long process, mainly resulting from the British conquest of India.
- This transformation was shaped by the political and economic policies of the British government and the economic penetration of India by British capitalism in three phases: trading, industrial, and financial.
- Unlike in Europe, where the transition from feudal to capitalist economy was driven by the indigenous capitalist classes, in India, it was driven by the capitalist class of Britain, not by any local capitalists.
- India was described as the economic colony of Britain, as the development of the capitalist economy was determined by the needs and interests of British capitalism.
- A native merchant capitalist class existed in India, though weak, and began to gain strength before and during the period of British and other foreign companies’ involvement in India.
- In the early 18th century, as the Mogul Empire disintegrated, a new middle class was rising in India, contributing to the growth of urban trading centres.
- These trading centres were developed by a middle class becoming wealthy through the exchange and distribution of commodities, some for export.
- The new states emerging from the collapse of the Mogul Empire were largely financially controlled by the trading class, though their political structure remained feudal.
- India was in a state of transition and disintegration, making it vulnerable to foreign conquest before the native capitalist class could gain enough strength to challenge the feudal classes.
- Foreign commercial corporations, economically and militarily stronger, competed for economic and political domination in India, with the British East India Company eventually emerging victorious.