• Famines refers to severe shortage of food due to crop flilure.
• It causes hunger and starvation.
• From 1760 till 1943, India was hit by terrible famines.
• Great famine of Bengal of 1769-70 was very severe.
• 85 million people died due to repeated famines.
• There has been no famine related deaths after independence.

Partition of the country and its impacts:-

• The participation of the India and Pakistan had a negative impact on Indian agriculture.
• India got 82% population but only 65% food grains area.
• Food producing areas of West Punjab and Sindh went to Pakistan.

Question – Explain characteristics of Pre- British Period Agriculture ?

• Ans – Prior to British Rule in India, Indian economy was a self- sufficient economy. It had a system of self-contained village communities.
• These communities included farmers and the functionaries.
• Famers were engaged in crop farming or cattle farming.
• Functionaries were engaged in rendering essential services like goldsmith, washarman, shoes maker etc.
• There were no intermediaries like Zamindars, Famers had to pay land revenue directly to the king.
• French traveller Bernier called Bengal in 17th century as ‘Richer than Egypt’

Industrial Sector:-

Systematic de-industrialization is the term that describes the status of industrial sector during the British rule.

• To exploit India’s wealth of raw materials like cotton, jute and indigo. It was required as industrial input for the textile industries in Britain.
• To exploit India as a potential market for the industrial products of Britain.

This led to/ impact of this is :-

• Decay of world famous traditional handicraft industries and unemployment and
• increase of British goods in Indian markets.

Decay of Handicrafts :-

Prior sto British rule,  Indian handicraft enjoyed the worldwide reputation. But the British rule destroyed these industries.

Reasons for the decay of world famous Indian handicraft :-

1. Discriminatory Tariff Policy:-

• Tariff-free export of raw material from India, and 
• Tariff-free import of Finished goods from Britain.
• Heavy duty on export of Indian Handicraft.

1. Disappearance of Princely Courts.
2. Competition from Machine-made Products.
3. New Patterns of Demand.
4. Introduction of Railways in India in 1850.

Bleak Growth of Modern Industry :-

• Initially cotton and jute textile mills were set-up. cotton textile mills were mainly controlled by the Britishers.
• Only some industries were established by the private entrepreneurs like Tata iron and steel company, 1907,sugar, cement , paper induatries.
• Participation of state in the process of industrialization was limited. It was confined to railways and means of communication.
• There was hardly any capital goods industries.
• Contribution of the industrial sector in the Gross Domestic product was extremely low.