|
The Great Depression of 1929 had a very severe impact on India, which was then under the rule of the British Raj. The Government of British India adopted a protective trade policy which, though beneficial to the United Kingdom, caused great damage to the Indian economy. During the period 1929–1937, exports and imports fell drastically crippling seaborne international trade. The railways and the agricultural sector were the most affected. The international financial crisis combined with detrimental policies adopted by the Government of India resulted in soaring prices of commodities. High prices along with the stringent taxes prevalent in British India had a dreadful impact on most Indians. The discontent of farmers manifested itself in rebellions and riots. The Salt Satyagraha of 1930 was one of the measures undertaken as a response to heavy taxation during the Great Depression. The Great Depression and the economic policies of the Government of British India worsened already deteriorating Indo-British relations. When the first general elections were held according to the Government of India Act 1935, anti-British feelings resulted in the pro-independence Indian National Congress winning in most provinces with a very high percentage of the vote share. == Economy of British India == Indian economy had been largely agricultural before and during the rule of the British. However, during British rule, there was a major shift from the growth of food grains to the cultivation of cash crops. This change was fostered by India's British rulers in order to provide for the textile mills in England, the most important of them being the cotton mills of Manchester and Lancashire which were fed with raw cotton produced in India. Since 1858, committees were established to investigate the possibility of cotton cultivation in India to provide raw materials for the mills in Lancashire.〔Dutt, Preface p. viii〕 New technologies and industries were also introduced in India, albeit on a very small scale compared to developed nations of the world. An estimate by Cambridge University historian Angus Maddison reveals that India's share of the world income fell from 22.6% in 1700, comparable to Europe's share of 23.3%, to a low of 3.8% in 1952. India's per-capita income for the year 1904 was ₤2.〔Dutt, Preface p. vi〕 Most economists feel that this decline was due to a systematic exploitation of India's resources by its British rulers. Import duties on British goods were reduced following the 1879 famine.〔 In 1882, apart from those on salt and liquor, all other import duties were abolished. Duties on cotton were revived in 1894 only to be removed once again in 1896.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great Depression in India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|