Structural Change

1. 9 examples of colonialism’s impact on our daily life today

In what ways has colonialism affected our life? (4)
In what ways has colonialism affected our life? Explain with suitable examples (6)
Some of the many and complex ways that British colonialism lives on in contemporary
India:
1. We have a parliamentary and a legal system, a police and educational system built very
much on the British model.
2. We drive on the left side of the road like the British.
3. We have ‘bread-omlette’ and ‘cutlets’ as menu offered in many roadside eateries and
canteens.
4. A very popular manufacturer of biscuits, is actually named after Britain.
5. Many school uniforms include neck-ties.
6. We often admire the west and as often resent it.
7. English is widely used in India and the knowledge of English gives Indians an edge in
the global market
8. Structural changes: industrialization and urbanization
9. Cultural changes: westernization, modernization and secularization

2. How has English language impacted our society?

1. English is not only widely used in India but we now have an impressive body of literary
writings by Indians in English.
2. This knowledge of English has given Indians an edge in the global market.
3. English is a mark of privilege. Not knowing English is a disadvantage in the job market.
4. For those who were traditionally deprived of access to formal education such as the
Dalits, knowledge of English may open doors of opportunities that were formerly closed.

3. 7 examples and explanations for British policies that were at the detriment of Indians and profit
of British.
1. British colonialism changed the laws of the land. It changed not just land ownership
laws but decided even what crops ought to be grown and what ought not to be.
2. It meddled with the manufacturing sector. It altered the way production and distribution
of goods took place.
3. It entered into the forests. It cleared trees and started tea plantations. It brought in
Forest Acts that changed the lives of pastoralists. They were prevented from entering
many forests that had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle.
4. Colonialism also led to considerable movement of people from one part to another
within India. For instance people from present day Jharkhand moved to Assam to work
on the tea plantations. A newly emerging middle class particularly from the British
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 Presidency regions of Bengal and Madras moved as government employees and
professionals like doctors and lawyers moved to different parts of the country. People
were carted in ships from India to work on other colonised lands in distant Asia, Africa
and Americas. Many died on their way. Most could never return.
5. Western education was introduced to create Indians who would manage British
colonialism.
6. Harsh measures were taken against the labourers of tea plantations to make sure they
benefited the planters.
7. Cities such as Bombay, Madras and Calcutta were developed and the older urban
centers such as Masulipatnam were left to decline.

4. There are vital differences between empire building of pre-capitalist times and that of capitalist
times. Give reasons. OR
How is British colonization different from historical annexation of foreign territory?
There is a vital difference between the empire building of pre-capitalist times and that of
capitalist times. The changes brought about by British colonialism were far reaching and deep.
1. In the pre-capitalist times, the conquerors were interested only in the constant flow of
tribute without interfering in the economic base. They simply took the tribute that was
skimmed off the economic surplus that was produced traditionally in the subjugated
areas.
2. In contrast, British colonialism which was based on a capitalist system directly interfered
in the economic base for the maximum profit and advantage to British capitalism.
For instance, it changed the laws regarding land ownership and growing of crops. It
meddled with the manufacturing sector, cleared forests for tea plantations, brought in
forest acts that harmed the livelihood of pastoralists.

5. To facilitate smooth functioning of its rule, colonialism introduced a wide array of changes in
every sphere be it legal or cultural or architectural. Colonialism was a story apart in the very
scale and intensity of the changes that it brought about. Some of these changes were
deliberate while some took place in an unintended fashion. For example we saw how western
education was introduced to create Indians who would manage British colonialism. Instead it
led to the growth of nationalist and anti-colonial consciousness.
What do you understand by colonialism? (2m)
(definition from guide)
What structural changes were seen in India during the colonial period? (4m)
• Industrialization - definition
• Urbanization - definition
• Points 1 and 2 from answer to Q10

6. How did capitalism develop in India? What was its impact?

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 British colonialism brought capitalism to India. The colonial rulers directly interfered with social,
political, economic, and cultural aspects of India to ensure greatest profit and benefit to British
capitalism. Every policy was geared towards the strengthening and expansion of British
capitalism.
Impact:
1. When capitalism became the dominant economic system, nation states became the
dominant political form.
2. Nation states led to the rise of nationalism which assumes that any set of people have a
right to be free and exercise sovereign power.
3. Indian nationalist leaders quickly realized that the practice of colonialism and the
principle of nationalism and democratic rights are contradictory. Colonial rule implied
foreign rule such as British rule over India. But, nationalism implied that the people of
India or of any colonised society have an equal right to be sovereign.
4. They declared that freedom or swaraj was their birth-right and fought for both political
and economic freedom.

7. What is industrialization? (2)

(Definition from guide)

8. What were the prime features of industrialization in colonial India OR

3 ways in which British industrialization impacted India OR
British industrialization led to deindustrialization. Explain. (2m) OR
What was the impact of british industrialization in India?
In India the impact of British industrialisation led to deindustrialisation in some sectors
and decline of old urban centres.
1. Just as manufacturing boomed in Britain, traditional exports of cotton and silk
manufacture from India declined in the face of Manchester competition.
2. Urbanisation in the colonial period saw the decline of some earlier urban centres such
as Surat and Masulipatnam and the emergence of new colonial cities such as Bombay,
Madras and Calcutta.
3. The initial impact of British industrialisation led to more people moving into agriculture.

9. What was the role of cities in colonial India?

The coastal cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras played a pivotal role in the economic
system of colonial India.. These cities were the prime link between the economic centre or
core in Britain and periphery or margins in colonised India. From here primary commodities
could be easily exported and manufactured goods could be cheaply imported.

[Link] were coastal cities favoured by the colonial rulers?

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 The coastal cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were favored by the British because
they played a pivotal role in the economic system of colonial India.. These cities were the
prime link between the economic centre or core in Britain and periphery or margins in
colonised India. From here primary commodities could be easily exported and manufactured
goods could be cheaply imported.
Which cities were developed by the British in India and why?
Ans - The coastal cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were developed by the
British in India because they played a pivotal role in the economic system. These
colonial cities were the prime link between the economic centre or core in Britain and
periphery or margins in colonised India.

[Link] is urbanization?
The process by which the population in the cities increases and people living in rural areas
also internalise the lifestyle of the urban society is called urbanization.

[Link] did the colonial laws favour the owners and managers of the tea industry?
The tea industry in colonial India is an example of how all policies were designed to serve
colonial interest.
1. The colonial government often used unfair means to hire and forcibly keep labourers
and clearly acted on behalf of the British planters.
2. Harsh measures were taken against the labourers to make sure they benefited the
planters.
3. Even though the labourers came from far-off homes into strange lands, possessing an
unhealthy climate and infected with strange fevers, the planters did not provide financial
and other incentives. Instead, they had recourse to fraud and coercion; and they
persuaded the government to aid and abet them by passing penal laws.
4. The labour-contract authorised by the Assam Labour and Emigration Bill of 1901 is a
transaction by which a man is often committed to Assam before he knows what he is
doing, and is thereupon held to his promise for four years, with a threat of arrest and
imprisonment if he fails to perform it.

[Link] note - industrialization in independent india

1. Post independence, Indian nationalists saw rapid industrialisation of the economy as the
path towards both growth and social equity.
2. Development of heavy and machine-making industries, expansion of the public sector
and holding of a large cooperative sector were considered very important.
3. Many new industrial towns like Bokaro, Bhilai, Rourkela, and Durgapur emerged in
independent India.

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 4. The first prime minister of India, Nehru’s remarks on the Bhakra Nangal Dam clearly
show his vision of a modern and prosperous India - a country to be built on an edifice of
giant steel plants or gigantic dams and power stations.

[Link] note - urbanization in independent india

1. Recent years of globalization have led to enormous urbanization and changes in cities.
2. India will be witnessing a fast pace of urbanization with the ambitious scheme of “smart
city” initiated by the government of India.
3. Sociologist MSA Rao argued that villages all over India were becoming increasingly
subject to the impact of urban influences. He described 3 different situations of urban
impact.
4. Now, the absolute increase in population is more in urban areas than in rural areas.

[Link] the 3 different situations of urban impact as per MSA Rao

The 3 different situations of urban impact as per MSA Rao are:
1. Firstly, there are villages in which a sizable number of people have sought employment
in far-off cities. They live there leaving behind the members of their families in their natal
villages. A considerable number of emigrants reside not only in Indian cities but also in
overseas towns. They have built fashionable houses in their natal villages, invested
money on land and industry, and have donated to the establishment of educational
institutions and trusts.
2. The second kind of urban impact is to be seen in villages which are situated near an
industrial town. When an industrial town like Bhilai comes up in the midst of villages,
some villages are totally uprooted while the lands of others are partially acquired. The
latter are found to receive an influx of immigrant workers, which not only stimulates a
demand for houses and a market inside the village but creates problems of ordering
relationships between the native residents and the immigrants.
3. The growth of metropolitan cities accounts for the third type of urban impact on the
surrounding villages. While a few villages are totally absorbed in the process of
expansion, only the land of many others, excluding the inhabited area, is used for urban
development.

[Link] the 2 structural changes brought about by colonialism

The 2 structural changes brought about by colonialism were:
1. Urbanization (+ defn)
2. Industrialization (+defn)

[Link] post independent india, the absolute increase in population is more in urban areas than in
rural areas. Why?

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 Post independence, there is a sharp decline in the growth rate in rural areas, while the growth
rate in urban areas remains almost the same. Hence, the absolute increase in population is
more in urban areas than in rural areas.

[Link] has colonialism impacted our lives? You can either focus on one aspect like culture or
politics, or treat them together OR What was the impact of colonialism on the Indian society
(6m)
Colonialism brought about many changes in modern India.
1. (page 2, 2nd para) “Our social reform movements . . . . . . paradoxical experience with
colonialism.”
2. Colonialism brought into being new political, economic and social structural changes
such as urbanization and industrialization.
3. It also brought about cultural changes such as modernization, westernization and
secularization.
4. 9 examples

[Link] and urbanization are linked processes. Discuss (4m)

1. Industrialisation refers to the emergence of machine production based on the use of
inanimate power resources like steam or electricity.
2. Urbanisation is the development of towns and cities which are centers of factories and
offices.
3. In an industrialized society, the majority of the employed population work in factories,
offices or shops rather than agriculture.
4. Hence more and more people start migrating to towns and cities to work, which leads to
more and more urbanization.
5. Example 1 - From 1800 to 1900, London became a vast manufacturing, commercial
and financial center, and its population grew from 1.1 million to over 7 million.
Could urbanization have been achieved through agriculture alone? Urbanization and
industrialization are linked processes. Explain.
No. Urbanization could not have been achieved through agriculture alone.
5 points from above.
If industrialization didn’t occur, urban centers with factories and offices would not have
developed. Without employment opportunities in factories and offices, people would not have
migrated from villages to cities. Without migration of people and subsequent economic
development, urban centers would not have been developed. Hence urbanization could not
have been achieved through agriculture alone.

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