Was there any positive contributions made by the British in India? Discuss.
Although the motive behind the British rule in India was colonial exploitation, but the means resulted in some positive side effects which are as under.
(i) Commericalisation of agriculture helped to change the outlook of farmers who started to treat it as a profitable venture rather than a means of subsistence.
(ii) Spread of railways and other means of transport helped break geographical and cultural harriers and also emerged as a support system to fight droughts and famines.
(iii) The economy witnessed a transition from barter system to monetary system which facilitated exchange transactions and promoted specialisation and large-scale production.
(iv) They left an efficient system of administration.