Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
The most effective contribution made by Dadabhai Naoroji to the cause of Indian National Movement was that he:
exposed the economic exploitation of India by the British.
interpreted the ancient Indian texts and restored the self-confidence of Indians.
stressed the need for eradication of all the social evils before anything else.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. Dadabhai Naoroji’s most effective contribution to the Indian National Movement was his systematic exposure of India’s economic exploitation and the drain of wealth under British rule.
He demonstrated that a substantial part of the wealth produced in India was transferred to Britain through:
salaries and pensions of British officials,
the Government of India’s “Home Charges,”
interest and profits on British capital,
private remittances made by officials and traders, and
exports for which India received no equivalent economic return.
His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901) presented this economic critique systematically. It provided Indian nationalism with a strong economic foundation and demonstrated that India’s poverty was not natural but a consequence of colonial policies.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Interpreting ancient Indian texts and thereby restoring the self-confidence of Indians was not Naoroji’s principal contribution to Indian nationalism.
Statement 3 is incorrect. Naoroji supported social reform, but he did not insist that every social evil had to be eradicated before political and economic action could begin. His distinctive contribution was the analysis of colonial economic exploitation.
Therefore, statement 1 only is correct.
Additional facts concerning the correct option:
Dadabhai Naoroji was known as the “Grand Old Man of India.”
He established the East India Association in London.
He served as President of the Indian National Congress in 1886, 1893 and 1906.
In 1892, he was elected Liberal MP for Finsbury Central and became the first person of Asian origin elected to the British Parliament.
At the 1906 Calcutta Session under his presidency, the Congress accepted Swaraj as its goal.