RAS question
Dadabhai Naoroji's 'Drain Theory' argued that:
Correct answer: (B) British rule drained India's wealth to England without adequate return.
Dadabhai Naoroji's Drain Theory argued that British rule drained India's wealth to England without adequate return.
Explanation
Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the Grand Old Man of India, propounded the Drain Theory in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. The core argument was economic: under earlier Indian regimes, even heavy taxes largely stayed within the country, but under British rule the proceeds were sent out. eGyanKosh Unit 3 PDF says Naoroji accused the British of draining India's wealth through payments such as interest, pensions, furlough allowances of the British army and Home charges. This mattered because the drain kept India from accumulating the capital needed for Indian industry and trade. The answer is therefore not about culture, rivers or only military deployment, but about the outward transfer of Indian wealth under colonial rule.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Military expenditure formed one channel of drain through items such as army furlough allowances, but Naoroji's argument was broader than soldiers being sent to British wars without compensation.
- (C) The theory dealt with the economic transfer of wealth from India, not the diversion of rivers for irrigation.
- (D) Naoroji's claim was about colonial economic extraction, not the replacement of Indian culture by English culture.
Concept
This tests the economic critique of colonial rule in modern Indian history. It recurs in RAS because Drain Theory is a core link between early nationalist politics, poverty and the demand for Indian control over administration and resources.