Which of the following pairs relating to the economy under colonialis…

Which of the following pairs relating to the economy under colonialism is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Expansion of the market economy - new opportunities for some merchant communities

Option (1) Pre-colonial economy - exchange mainly by barter, without monetisation — Incorrect. Pre-colonial India already had a complex monetised economy. So exchange was not mainly by barter.

Option (2) Colonialism - disruptions in agriculture, while production and trade grew steadily — Incorrect. Colonialism disrupted production and trade as well as agriculture. Production and trade did not grow steadily; the handloom industry, for one, declined.

Option (3) New communities of the colonial era - loss of economic power after Independence — Incorrect. The new communities of the colonial era did not lose their power. They continued to hold economic power even after Independence, as the Marwaris show.

Option (4) Expansion of the market economy - new opportunities for some merchant communities — Correct. The market economy did not completely overturn existing economic institutions. It gave new opportunities to some merchant communities, which improved their position by adjusting to changing economic circumstances.

NCERT (2026-27): “Colonialism and the Emergence of New Markets …
Although pre-colonial India already had a complex monetised economy, most historians consider the colonial period to be the turning point. In the colonial era India began to be more fully linked to the world capitalist economy. Before being colonised by the British, India was a major supplier of manufactured goods to the world market. After colonisation, She became a source of raw materials and agricultural products and a consumer of manufactured goods, both largely for the benefit of industrialising England. At the same time, new groups (especially the Europeans) entered into trade and business, sometimes in alliance with existing merchant communities and in some cases by forcing them out. But rather than completely overturning existing economic institutions, the expansion of the market economy in India provided new opportunities to some merchant communities, which were able to improve their position by re-orienting themselves to changing economic circumstances. …”

Which of the following pairs relating to the economy under colonialism is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Expansion of the market economy - new opportunities for some merchant communities