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Question 37 of 236 · Books & Authors
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Who wrote 'The Economic History of India'?

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Answer: Option B — R. C. Dutt

Detailed Solution

  • Dutt. "The Economic History of India" was written by Romesh Chunder Dutt (R. C. Dutt) and published in two volumes: "The Economic History of India under Early British Rule" (1902) and "The Economic History of India in the Victorian Age" (1904).

About the book:

  • It is one of the most important works of early Indian economic nationalism.
  • Dutt argued that British policies had ruined India's traditional industries (especially handicrafts and textiles), imposed heavy land revenue on farmers, and caused frequent famines.
  • He supported the "drain theory", which said that India's wealth was being drained to Britain through salaries, pensions, profits and "home charges".
  • He used official statistics and records to support his arguments.

About R. C. Dutt (1848-1909):

  • He was born in Calcutta and was one of the first Indians to join the Indian Civil Service (ICS), in 1871.
  • He served as a district officer in Bengal and later as Divisional Commissioner.
  • He was President of the Indian National Congress at the Lucknow session in 1899.
  • He translated the Ramayana and the Mahabharata into English verse and wrote historical novels in Bengali, such as "Banga Bijeta".
  • He also wrote "A History of Civilisation in Ancient India" and "Famines in India".

Other economic nationalists:

  • Dadabhai Naoroji: "Poverty and Un-British Rule in India" (1901); first to put forward the drain theory; called the "Grand Old Man of India".
  • G. Ranade: "Essays on Indian Economics"; a founder of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha.
  • Gopal Krishna Gokhale: famous for his speeches on the budget in the Imperial Legislative Council; political guru of Gandhi.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Dadabhai Naoroji wrote "Poverty and Un-British Rule in India".
  • ✗G. Ranade wrote "Essays on Indian Economics".
  • ✗Gopal Krishna Gokhale was known for his budget speeches.

Quick tip

Remember: "The Economic History of India" = R. C. Dutt (1902-04, drain theory; INC President 1899); "Poverty and Un-British Rule in India" = Dadabhai Naoroji.

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Books & Authors — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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