Assertion: The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain on India’s economy in the early 1970s.

Reason: About eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government stopped all aid to India.

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

The correct answer is Option 1- Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion

Assertion: The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain on India’s economy in the early 1970s.

Reason: About eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government stopped all aid to India.

In the elections of 1971, Congress had given the slogan of Garibi Hatao (remove poverty). However, the social and economic condition in the country did not improve much after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain on India’s economy. About eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government stopped all aid to India. In the international market, oil prices increased manifold during this period. This led to an all-round increase in prices of commodities. Prices increased by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974. Such a high level of inflation caused much hardship to the people.