Chapter 1 Structural Change

1.1 Understanding Colonialism

Understanding the present state of a country like India requires an understanding of its past, particularly its colonial experience. While ancient and medieval history are important, the impact of colonialism is especially significant for grasping modern India.

Colonialism introduced many modern ideas and institutions to India, but often in a paradoxical way. For instance, Indians encountered Western ideas of liberalism and freedom while simultaneously living under a colonial rule that denied them these very liberties. This fundamental contradiction shaped many significant structural and cultural changes in India.

Distinct Nature of Modern Western Colonialism

At its core, colonialism means one country establishing rule over another. Historically, empires expanded through conquest and domination. However, modern Western colonialism, particularly British rule in India, differed significantly from earlier forms:

• Interference in Economic Base: Unlike pre-capitalist conquerors who primarily extracted tribute or wealth from the existing economic system, British colonialism actively interfered with and restructured the Indian economy to benefit British capitalism.
• Profit Maximisation: Every colonial policy, including legal changes, land laws, crop cultivation decisions, manufacturing regulation, and resource exploitation (like forests for plantations), was designed to strengthen and expand British capitalist interests.

Colonialism also triggered significant **population movement**. This included internal migration within India (e.g., people from Jharkhand moving to Assam for tea plantations) and the movement of Indians to other colonized regions globally as indentured laborers, many of whose descendants are now part of the Indian diaspora.

To consolidate its control, colonialism implemented extensive changes across all spheres of life – legal, cultural, and architectural. The scale and intensity of these changes were unprecedented. While some changes were intentional (like introducing Western education to create administrators), they sometimes had unintended consequences, such as fostering anti-colonial nationalist consciousness.

Capitalism, Nation-States, and Contradiction

Modern Western colonialism was deeply intertwined with the rise of **capitalism**. Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of production means, profit accumulation through markets, and characterized by dynamism, expansion, innovation, and global reach. Western colonial expansion was crucial for the growth of this global capitalist system.

Simultaneously, the **nation-state** emerged as the dominant political form globally. A nation-state involves a sovereign government exercising power within a defined territory, with the population holding common national citizenship. The principle of **nationalism** asserts that people have the right to self-determination and sovereignty. This creates an inherent contradiction with colonial rule, where a foreign power governs another nation. Indian nationalist leaders recognized this paradox, asserting their inherent right to 'swaraj' (self-rule) and fighting for both political and economic freedom.

1.2 Urbanisation And Industrialisation

Industrialisation and urbanisation are often seen as interconnected processes, typical of modern societal development.

The Colonial Experience

Industrialisation involves the shift to machine-based production powered by inanimate energy sources like steam or electricity. Historically, most societies were agrarian. Industrial societies, in contrast, have a majority workforce in factories, offices, and services, with high levels of urban living.

In Britain, the first industrial society, industrialisation and urbanisation occurred together, leading to a rapid population shift from rural areas to burgeoning towns and cities like London, which became massive centers of manufacturing, commerce, and finance supporting the empire.

However, in India, the impact of British industrialisation was different and often paradoxical:

• Deindustrialisation: Traditional Indian manufacturing, particularly in textiles (cotton and silk), declined due to competition from cheaper British machine-made goods.
• Decline of Old Urban Centers: Cities that were centers of traditional crafts and administration (like Surat, Masulipatnam, Thanjavur, Dhaka, Murshidabad) lost their economic base and patronage, leading to their decline.
• Growth of New Colonial Cities: Port cities strategically important for colonial trade (like Bombay, Madras, Calcutta) grew rapidly as they served as conduits for exporting raw materials from India to Britain and importing manufactured goods from Britain to India. These cities were planned and developed to facilitate colonial economic interests.

Unlike Britain, where industrialisation led to population migration to cities, in colonial India, the initial impact often resulted in more people being pushed back into agriculture, as indicated by Census data showing the decline of village industries (Box 1.2).

Colonial industrialisation brought about significant changes in social structure by creating new social groups and relationships, often distinct from the patterns seen in the West. The colonial economy fostered groups like 'zamindars' who became landlords detached from agricultural productivity and a class of educated 'job hunters' (Box 1.3), contrasting with the ideal of a dynamic middle class integrated with economic growth.

The Tea Plantations

The tea industry serves as a specific example of colonial industrialisation driven by British interests. Established in India from 1851, particularly in Assam, plantations required a large labor force. Since local populations were sparse or unwilling to work under harsh conditions, laborers were often forcibly recruited or brought from other regions (like present-day Jharkhand), sometimes under penal laws that benefited planters (Box 1.5).

The lives of tea plantation laborers were marked by hardship and exploitation, contrasting sharply with the luxurious lifestyles of British planters who lived in sprawling bungalows, served by a large staff of Indian domestic workers, with goods imported from Britain (Box 1.6). This illustrates the deeply unequal social relations inherent in colonial industrial enterprises.

Industrialisation In Independent India

After gaining independence, the Indian state actively pursued a policy of industrialisation as a means to achieve economic growth, reduce poverty, and counter the legacy of colonial exploitation. Indian nationalists viewed rapid industrial development, focusing on heavy industries, expanding the public sector, and fostering a cooperative sector, as essential for progress and social equity. This approach represented a deliberate effort to shape industrial growth differently from the colonial pattern, a topic further explored in later chapters.

Urbanisation In Independent India

Urbanisation continued and accelerated significantly in India after independence. Recent trends, intensified by globalisation and government initiatives like 'Smart City' schemes, have led to the rapid expansion and transformation of cities.

Sociologist M.S.A. Rao identified different types of urban impact on villages in the early post-independence period (Box 1.7):

• Migration-influenced Villages: Villages where residents migrate to distant cities for work, sending money back and occasionally visiting, leading to economic and social changes in the village.
• Industrial Town Proximity: Villages located near industrial towns, experiencing displacement due to land acquisition or facing social challenges due to the influx of immigrant workers.
• Metropolitan City Expansion: Villages near large metropolitan areas that get partially or fully absorbed into the urban sprawl, with land used for urban development.

Statistical data shows a consistent rise in India's urban population and the number of urban centers from 1951 to 2011. While the percentage share of the urban population steadily increased, the decennial growth rate of the urban population showed fluctuations but remained significant. Notably, for the first time since independence, the absolute increase in population between 2001 and 2011 was greater in urban areas than in rural areas, indicating a substantial demographic shift.

In conclusion, colonialism left a complex and lasting imprint on India's structural development, profoundly influencing its industrialisation and urbanisation patterns. These processes are not merely about economic or technological changes but involve fundamental shifts in social systems and ways of life.