Given below are two statements:
Statement I: In colonial India, new communities emerged mainly by forcing existing merchant communities out of trade.
Statement II: A trading family that moved to colonial Calcutta and prospered through trade and moneylending shows a new community taking advantage of colonial opportunities.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
Statement I: In colonial India, new communities emerged mainly by forcing existing merchant communities out of trade. — Incorrect. New communities emerged by taking advantage of the economic opportunities that colonialism opened up. Forcing existing merchants out of trade is linked to new groups such as the Europeans, and even they sometimes worked in alliance with those merchants.
Statement II: A trading family that moved to colonial Calcutta and prospered through trade and moneylending shows a new community taking advantage of colonial opportunities. — Correct. Such a family matches the Marwaris. They took advantage of new opportunities in colonial cities such as Calcutta and settled across the country to carry out trade and moneylending.
NCERT (2026-27): “Colonialism and the Emergence of New Markets … “A good example of this process is provided by the Marwaris, probably the most widespread and best-known business community in India. Represented by leading industrial families such as the Birlas, the community also includes shopkeepers and small traders in the bazaars of towns throughout the country. The Marwaris became a successful business community only during the colonial period, when they took advantage of new opportunities in colonial cities such as Calcutta and settled throughout the country to carry out trade and moneylending. …” |