UPSC Prelims 2018 GS Paper I · Q52 of 100 History easy

Economically, one of the results of the British rule in India in the 19th century was the

  1. (a) increase in the export of Indian handicrafts
  2. (b) growth in the number of Indian owned factories
  3. (c) commercialization of Indian agriculture ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) rapid increase in the urban population

Why the answer is (c)

• In the 19th century British policy turned Indian agriculture towards cash crops for export and for British industry — cotton, jute, indigo, opium, tea and sugarcane — a process called commercialisation of agriculture — option (c).

• Cash-based revenue demands, railways and world market links drove peasants to grow for sale rather than subsistence, increasing vulnerability to famines.

• Handicraft exports collapsed (a), Indian-owned factories were few until the 20th century (b), and urban population stagnated or fell (d).

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) increase in the export of Indian handicrafts
Handicraft exports declined sharply under British rule.
(b) growth in the number of Indian owned factories
Indian-owned factories grew mainly in the 20th century.
(d) rapid increase in the urban population
Urban population share fell in the 19th century.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free