Consider the following statements about the commercialisation of agriculture during British rule:
(A) Commercialisation of agriculture means production of crops for the market rather than for self-consumption.
(B) It brought a relatively higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country.
(C) The cash crops grown were ultimately used by Indian industries.
(D) A large section of farmers changed their cropping pattern from food crops to commercial crops.
(E) The railways fostered the commercialisation of Indian agriculture.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (E) only
(A) Commercialisation of agriculture means production of crops for the market rather than for self-consumption. — Correct. Crops are grown for the market, not for the family’s own use.
(B) It brought a relatively higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country. — Correct. Some areas saw a higher yield of cash crops.
(C) The cash crops grown were ultimately used by Indian industries. — Incorrect. The cash crops were used by British industries back home.
(D) A large section of farmers changed their cropping pattern from food crops to commercial crops. — Incorrect. Only a small section of farmers made this change.
(E) The railways fostered the commercialisation of Indian agriculture. — Correct. The railways fostered commercialisation, which hurt village self-sufficiency.
NCERT (2026-27): Glossary: “Commercialisation of Agriculture – It implies production of crops for the market rather than for self-consumption i.e. family consumption. During the British rule, the commercialisation of agriculture acquired a different meaning —it became basically commercialisation of crops. The British started offering higher price to farmers for producing cash crops rather than for food crops. They used these cash crops as raw materials for industries in Britain.” “1.3 Agricultural Sector … There was, of course, some evidence of a relatively higher yield of cash crops in certain areas of the country due to commercialisation of agriculture. But this could hardly help farmers in improving their economic condition as, instead of producing food crops, now they were producing cash crops which were to be ultimately used by British industries back home. Despite some progress made in irrigation, India’s agriculture was starved of investment in terracing, flood-control, drainage and desalinisation of soil. While a small section of farmers changed their cropping pattern from food crops to commercial crops, a large section of tenants, small farmers and sharecroppers neither had resources and technology nor had incentive to invest in agriculure.” “1.8 Infrastructure … The British introduced the railways in India in 1850 and it is considered as one of their most important contributions. The railways affected the structure of the Indian economy in two important ways. On the one hand it enabled people to undertake long distance travel and thereby break geographical and cultural barriers while, on the other hand, it fostered commercialisation of Indian agriculture which adversely affected the self-sufficiency of the village economies in India. …” |