Indian Economic and Political

History

Term I Pre- Mid-Term

2021-22

Session 1

Rajesh Bhattacharya
Email:
Virtual Lounge: TBA
21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta
 Introduction to the Course
 Period covered in the course: From colonization of India
around the mid-18th century to early years of the 21st century.
 Understand the emergence of modern business in India, their
journey through colonial and post-colonial periods and the
challenges they face currently.
 Particular emphasis on the nature of industrialization in India,
its successes and failures.
 Continuing impact of institutional changes, implemented during
colonial rule, on economic performance of India today
 Historical understanding of contemporary challenges and
opportunities that India faces.

“History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes.”

(attributed to Mark Twain)

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta

IEPH Session Plan
Session 1: Introduction to the Course: Why is history important? (RB)
History, institutions and economic development; Alternative Explanations for
Great Divergence—culture, geography, institutions; Institutions and their
durability. Reading: Acemoglu

Session2: The Colonial Indian Economy (RB)

Phases of colonization in India; The changing forms of the “Tribute”; Colonial
Trade pattern; Deindustrialization. Reading: Habib

Session 3: The Rise of Modern Industry in Colonial India (RB)

Indian business communities and initial accumulation of capital; Emergence of
Modern industries in Bombay, Calcutta and Ahmedabad; social and economic
background of pioneer industrialists in India in comparison with the Western
Experience. Reading: Oonk

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta

 IEPH Session Plan (Contd.)
Session 4: Indian Economy at the time of independence: Critique of the
Colonial State (RB)
Land revenue Settlements under the British; Commercialization of
agriculture and its consequences; Pattern of economic growth in late colonial
India; Laissez faire and its critique in Indian nationalist thought.
Readings: Bhalla, Chattopadhyay

Session 5: Indian business, Nationalist Politics and Demand for Planning

(RB)
Maturation of Indian industries; Genesis of the idea of Planning; the Bombay
Plan of 1944. Reading: Chattopadhyay

Session 6: Planning in Independent India (1951-1961) (RB)

The Nehruvian vision; The Mahalanobis Four-Sector Plan Model; The Plan
framework and industrial policies; Planning—Successes and failures
Readings: Chakravarty, Bhalla

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta

IEPH Session Plan (Contd.)
Session 7: The Impact of Planning on Economic Growth (BPA)
Planning: Success and Failures in Implementation; Green Revolution and its
Impact
Reading: Chakravarty, Bhalla
Session 8: Command & Control (1969-80) (BPA)
Politics and Policies in the tumultuous 1970s; The License-Permit Raj;
Business Response and Critique of Planning
Reading: Chakravarty
Session 9: Liberalization in the Eighties (BPA)
Initiation of liberalization ,1980-84; Liberalization under Rajiv Gandhi, 1985-89;
political and economic consequences of liberalization 1984-89;Support and opposition
to liberalization.
Reading: Kochanek
Session 10: The Economic Crisis of 1991 and post-1991 Indian economy (BPA)
Economic strategy during liberalization; The reasons for higher economic growth in the
80s; Negative aspects of economic policies; The impact of the Gulf War; The balance of
payments crisis of 1991; liberalization and Pro-Business and growth strategy
Reading: Kohli

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta

Course Evaluation
1. Class Assignments: 3 quizzes—30% of
final grade
2. Class Participation—20% of final grade
3. End-Term, closed book Exam—50% of
final grade

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta

 TTA

Name Email Sections

Sohini Pal sohinip_tta@iimcal.a A&B

c.in
Vaijayanti vaijayantib_tta@iimc C&D
Burman al.ac.in
Sh. Sibam samantakc_tta@iimca E&F
Sain l.ac.in

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Prosperity and Poverty:
The Colonial Roots
of the Great Divergence

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Source: Angus Maddison
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A History of World Income by Region

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 A History of World GDP

Source: The Economist, 16.08.2010

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta
 The Great Divergence

Source: Galor, Oded, and Andrew Mountford. Trade, Demographic Transition and
the Great Divergence: Why are a Third of People Indian or Chinese?. Brown
University Working Paper, January, 2003.
21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta
 The Great Divergence: Continued

Source: Galor, Oded, and Andrew Mountford. Trade, Demographic Transition

and the Great Divergence: Why are a Third of People Indian or Chinese?.
Brown University Working Paper, January, 2003
21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta
 Per Capita Industrialization
Levels
1800 1860 1913 1953 1980

UK 16 64 115 210 325

Europe 8 17 45 90 267

India 6 3 2 5 16

China 6 4 3 5 24

Source: Galor, Oded, and Andrew Mountford. Trade, Demographic Transition

and the Great Divergence: Why are a Third of People Indian or Chinese?. Brown
University Working Paper, January, 2003. Notes: India is measured using its
boundaries in 1913. (The Index is normalized at 100 = UK at 1900)

21-23.06.2021 IIM Calcutta