India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.

      When was India’s first official census operation undertaken?

Answer:

First official census was under taken in the year 1881

    Which is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic  transition from its first to the second decisive stage?

Answer:

1921 is the defining year. It is called “ Year of Great Divide”.

Give a quantitative appraisal of India’s demographic profile during the colonial period.

Answer:

High Birth Rate (48) and High Death Rate (40)

High infant Mortality Rate (18 per thousand live birth)

Low Life Expectancy- 32 Years

Mass illiteracy –Literacy Rate as per 1941 Census was 17%

Low standard of Living- Income was being spent only on Basic necessities.

      What do you understand by the drain of Indian wealth during the colonial period?

Answer:

Drain of wealth means that British policies in India were to snatch maximum from India and serve the interests of the British. The surplus did not bring any wealth to India. The surplus was used to pay for the expenditure incurred on the offices in Britain. The surplus was used to pay the expenses of war.

The surplus was paid to the import of services of British officers in India.

      Highlight the salient features of India’s pre-independence occupational structure.

Answer:

The occupational structure means the distribution of work force among different sectors of an economy. The state of occupational structure at the time of independence  was as follows:

Pre-dominance of Agriculture sector:  nearly 72% of the work force was engaged in agriculture.

Growing Regional variations: TN Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra the agricultural declined but in North it remained high.

      Underscore some of India’s most crucial economic challenges at the time of independence.

Answer:

Little industrialisation and decline of handicraft

Low agriculture output and high imports of grain

Low national income

Very sluggish economic progress

Unemployment and underemployment

Very high infant mortality rate low standard of living

 6.      Indicate the volume and direction of trade at the time of independence.

Answer: India has been an important trading nation since ancient times. But restrictive policy was in favour of British. The state of India’s Foreign at the eve of independence was as follows.

•                                   Net exporter of raw material and importer of finished goods. Exporter of primary                         Products- such as raw silk, cotton, wool, sugar, indigo, jute, etc. Importer of finished goods                 such as cotton, silk and woollen clothes, machinery.

•                                Monopoly control over India’s Foreign Trade

•                               India had large export surplus which was used by British to finance their expenditure on                      office, war,

*                                                                                    ***