Amiya Kumar Bagchi
There are history books which cover subjects and periods that make interesting cocktail conversations—White Moguls by William Dalrymple, for instance—without diluting the importance of substance. And there are history books that remain confined to strict academic interests, providing deep insight, that may be used as a reference point for the time to come. Colonialism and Indian Economy by historian Amiya Kumar Bagchi falls in the latter category. While the first category attracts an immediate, larger readership and also a direct connect with the common bibliophile, an academic work comes with a longer shelf life. To each its own.
Colonialism and Indian Economy is a painstaking effort by all means. And although it may not present a shocker to an Indian reader in terms of the revelations, drawn and figured out of period gazettes and research works, the book does bulwarks conclusively the ill-effects of an oppressive Raj era on Indian economy. The work moves chapter-wise, with the spread of the British influence, and concurrently presents its economic fallouts on the said regions, with statistics on land revenues, production, exports, industry etc. The disparity in the exploits of British-ruled sections and others brings home what has already been known, only feebly resisted by a number of western historians and economists.
Full report here Economic Times
