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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

“The role of the East India Company proved disastrous to the handicraft industry in India for a number of reasons.” Comment.

  • UPSC 1991
  • Economic Impact of British Colonial Rule

India's pre-colonial reputation as the world's foremost exporter of textiles and finished manufactures was reversed within decades of Company rule, turning it into an importer of British manufactures and an exporter of raw material.

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What the full answer covers

  • Political Causes: The Loss of Traditional Patronage
  • Commercial and Tariff Policy: One-Way Free Trade
  • Technological Competition from Industrial Britain
  • Railways as an Instrument of Penetration
  • Sector-Wise and Regional Impact
  • Negative Consequences for the Wider Economy
  • …and 1 more sections, with a conclusion

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