Assertion: After independence Indians decided to make things themselves rather than relying on others.

Reason: British colonial ambitions turned India into an exporter of raw materials and a consumer of finished goods, damaging the Indian economy.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

During the colonial period, as a consequence of Britain’s imperial ambitions, India became an exporter of primary goods and raw materials and a consumer of finished goods. After independence, because of this experience with the British, we decided to make things ourselves rather than relying on others. We also decided not to allow others to export to us so that our own producers could learn to make things.