some_text
Hindustan Books

Discovering the lost knowledge of rich Indian history.

some_text

England's Debt to India

by Lala Lajpat Rai

Download Free PDF

In this book Lala Lajpat Rai analyze economic effects of British Rules in India taking an impartial view of the subject. This book contains extensive quotation from contemporary English economists and politicians which can help in understanding true picture of Economic effects of British rule in India. This book also analyze growth of Railways and it economic effects. I believe that this book will help in clearing many misconceptions about British Rule in India.

HindustanBooks.com has re-compiled the book and is soon going to hit the stands. Currently we are offering the digital copy of the book in PDF format free of cost to the readers.

Extract from the book "England's Debt To India"
POST-SCRIPTUM

India’s “Gift” of One Hundred Million Pounds to England. Since the above was put in type our work fears have come to be true .The British Government of India has decided, with the sanction of the secretary of state for India, to float a war loan in India of an unlimited amount The idea is to make a gift of $100,000,000 (or $500,000,000) to the British Exchequer. The amount of the loan , or as much is raised, will be made over to the Government of Great Britain and liability for the rest will be accepted by the Government of India. The British cabinet have , with the sanction of The house of commons, accepted this “gift” and in lieu therefore allowed the Indian Government to raise their customs duty on the imports of cotton goods by four percent.ad valorem. This transaction involves an additional burden of $6000,000 a year (or$30,000,000) on the Indian tax payer. It is expected that out of this some $1,000,000 will be recovered by the additional duty on cotton imports and the rest will be raised by additional taxation.



TABLE OF CONTENTS
  1. A HISTORICAL RETROSPECT
    • India Once War Rich
    • Thornton’s “Description of Ancient India.”
    • India Reform Pamphlet.
    • The Observations of Mr. Torrcns, M. P., comparing India with Europe.
    • India Under the Mohammedans
    • Raid of Tamerlane.
    • From 1206 to 1526 A.D.
    • Elphinstane on the General State of the Country.
    • Carsar Frederic and Ibn Batuta.
    • Abdurisag.
    • Baber.
    • Sher Shah.
    • Akbar.
    • Pietro del Valle
    • Shah Jehan
    • Aurangzeb and His Successors
    • The Raid by Nadir Shah
    • Pre-British Period
    • Principal Political Divisions of the Country
    • Tonjore and Arcot
    • Mysore
    • Northern India
    • Bengal
    • The Kingdom of Oude
  2. INDIA AND BRITISH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
    • Before Plassy
    • Effects of Plassy
    • The Second Administration of Lord Clive
  3. “TRIBUTE” OR “ DRAIN”
    • General Observations
    • Drain: the Case Against England
    • Drain: the Case for England.
    • Drain: Weighing the Evidence.
    • The Extent of the Drain
  4. HOW INDIA HAS HELPED ENGLAND MAKE HER EMPIRE
    • India and “The Empire”
    • Lord Lansdowne on the Indian Army
    • Lord Roberts on India as Training Ground for British Army
    • Sir Henry Brackenberry on Indian Army Expenditure
    • Sir Edwin Collen on the Apportionment of Expense
    • Lord Northbrook on Wars Outside India
    • The First Treaty with Persia
    • Other Nations of Asia
    • Isle of France
    • The Muluccas
    • Ceylon
    • Eastern Archipelago; Strait: of Malacca and Singapore
    • Siam and Cochin-China
    • Burmah
    • Malacca
    • The China Consular Representatives
    • Aden
    • The Zanzibar and Mauritius Cable
    • The Red Sea Telegraph
  5. THE COTTON INDUSTRY OF INDIA
    • Early Mention
    • Excellence of Indian Cotton Fabric
    • Extent of Cotton Industry in Olden times
    • Decline of the Indian Industry
    • Besides the Drawback of the Excise Duty
    • Silk Goods
    • Testimony of Montgomery Martin
    • Cotton Goods
    • Legislative Acts
    • Cotton duties — 1917 developments
  6. SHIPBUILDING AND SHIPPING
    • Conditions in Foarmor Times
    • The Decline of the Industry
    • Ships built at Indian Ports
    • Ships Built at Indian Ports - Continued
  7. MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIAL, AGRICULTURAL, AND MINING OPERATION
    • Indigo
    • Jute
    • Woollen Mills
    • Paper Mills
    • Breweries
    • Rice Mills and Saw Mills
    • Iron
    • Copper
    • Manganese
    • Coal
    • Other Minerals
    • Tea and Coffee
  8. AGRICULTURE
    • India’s Greatest Industry
    • Land Tax
    • Bengal
    • Northern India
    • Bombay
    • Village Communities
    • Changes Under the British Rule
    • The Punjab
    • Central Provinces
    • The Present Policy as to the Land Tax
  9. ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE
    • The Poverty of the Masses
    • Testimony of English Public Man
    • Average Income of the People
  10. FAMINES AND THEIR CAUSES
    • Famine: in the Past
    • Mr. Digby’s Table
    • Digby’s “Prosperous British India.”
    • Famines in the Twentieth Century
    • Famines During the British Period
    • Causes of Famines
    • Shortage of Rainfall
    • Are the Famine: of India Due to Over-Population !
    • Are Famines Due to Scarcity of Food!
    • Is the Distress Due to the Extravagance of the Ryat on Occasions of Marriages and Funerals!
    • The True Cause
  11. FAMINE RELIEF
    • Building of Railways
    • Building of Canals and Irrigation Works
    • Pressure on Land
    • The Opening of Agricultural Banks
    • Special Agrarian Legislation
  12. RAILWAYS AND IRRIGATION
    • The Government Policy
    • The Beginning of Railway Policy
    • Benefits of Capital Investment
    • Irrigation
  13. EDUCATION AND LITERACY
    • Early Conditions
    • Law
    • Medicine
    • Engineering
    • Agriculture
    • Technical and Industrial Education
    • Commercial Schools
    • Art Schools
    • Education of Europeans
    • Education of Girls
  14. CERTAIN FALLACIES ABOUT THE “PROSPERITY OF INDIA” EXAMINED
    • TAXES AND EXPENDITURE
    • Abstract of Revenue and Expenditure
    • Ingenious Way of Calculating the Burden of Taxation
    • The Growth of Army Expenditure
    • The Growth of Expenditure on Education
  15. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
  16. APPENDICES
    • How the Villager: Live in the Madras Presidency — An Article from the Tribune of Lahore of January 19, 1917
    • WAGES IN INDIA
    • APPENDIX E
    • THE COST OF ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA, JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
    • PROPORTION OF INDIANS IN HIGHER SERVICES — LATEST FIGURES
    • Gold Value of Rupee