UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 20 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Economic Critics of Colonialism
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectModern History
- TopicIndian National Movement
- DifficultyEasy
- TypeStatement
Who of the following was/were economic critic/critics of colonialism in India?
1. Dadabhai Naoroji
2. G. Subramania Iyer
3. R.C. Dutt
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Show answer
Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3
Verdict
The answer is 1, 2 and 3. Dadabhai Naoroji, G. Subramania Iyer and R. C. Dutt were all economic critics of colonialism.
Analysis
All three belong to the early nationalist generation that built the economic critique of British rule. Dadabhai Naoroji developed the drain of wealth theory and wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. R. C. Dutt wrote The Economic History of India, tracing the deindustrialisation of the country. G. Subramania Iyer, founder of The Hindu and Swadesamitran, attacked colonial economic policy through journalism. Together with Ranade and Gokhale, they grounded Indian nationalism in anti imperialism by exposing the economic consequences of colonial rule.
Source
Rajiv Ahir, A Brief History of Modern India, page 68.
How to crack it
The economic critique is a specific school within the moderate phase, so learn it as a group of five or six names rather than testing each individually. Naoroji, Dutt, Ranade, Gokhale, Joshi and Subramania Iyer are the recurring set. When a question lists three names all drawn from the same phase and the same intellectual tradition, the inclusive option is usually correct, and the burden shifts to finding a name that does not belong.