Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Under colonial rule, roads were built mainly to provide basic amenities to people living in rural areas.
Reason (R): The roads built by the British drew out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station or port.
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) → (A) is false but (R) is true.
Assertion (A): Under colonial rule, roads were built mainly to provide basic amenities to people living in rural areas. — False. Roads served colonial interests: moving the army and carrying raw materials to the railway station or port.
Reason (R): The roads built by the British drew out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station or port. — True. The roads took raw materials to the railway station or port, to be sent to England.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.8 Infrastructure … However, the real motive behind this development was not to provide basic amenities to the people but to subserve various colonial interests. Roads constructed in India prior to the advent of the British rule were not fit for modern transport. The roads that were built primarily served the purposes of mobilising the army within India and drawing out raw materials from the countryside to the nearest railway station or the port to send these to far away England or other lucrative foreign destinations. There always remained an acute shortage of all-weather roads to reach out to the rural areas during the rainy season. Naturally, therefore, people mostly living in these areas suffered grievously during natural calamities and famines.” |