Which one of the following was a direct economic consequence of British colonial rule on India during the nineteenth century?

Question

Accepted Answer

B. Commercialisation of Indian agriculture, with cultivators shifting toward cash crops grown for export. Colonial policy pushed Indian agriculture away from subsistence food crops and toward cash crops such as indigo, cotton, jute and opium, grown for export to feed British and world markets, a shift known as the commercialisation of agriculture. Indigenous handicrafts actually declined sharply under British rule, undercut by cheap machine-made imports, not the other way round, and food grain self-sufficiency and landholding consolidation were not real outcomes of this period either, colonial land revenue policy instead fragmented and impoverished peasant holdings. Since only commercialisation of agriculture genuinely describes this economic consequence, option B is correct.

Answer

A. A steady rise in indigenous handicraft exports

Answer

B. Commercialisation of Indian agriculture, with cultivators shifting toward cash crops grown for export

Answer

C. A marked increase in India's self-sufficiency in food grain production

Answer

D. The consolidation of small landholdings into larger, more efficient farms