RAS question
The 'Drain of Wealth' theory was also supported by which economic nationalist who wrote 'Economic History of India'?
Correct answer: (D) R.C. Dutt.
Romesh Chunder Dutt, or R.C. Dutt, supported Dadabhai Naoroji's Drain of Wealth theory and made it a major theme of his Economic History of India.
Explanation
R.C. Dutt is the economic nationalist linked to Economic History of India. He was Romesh Chunder Dutt (1848-1909), author of the two-volume work, and used detailed statistical analysis to support Dadabhai Naoroji's Drain Theory. The University of Calicut School of Distance Education material places Dutt with Naoroji among nationalist leaders who analysed British rule between 1870 and 1905, and states that Dutt promoted the same drain theory by making it a major theme of Economic History of India. This is why the answer is Dutt, not merely another Moderate leader or economist: the question is asking for the author whose economic critique specifically reinforced the drain argument.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a Moderate leader, but he was not the author of Economic History of India or the specific supporter asked here.
- (B) G.V. Joshi contributed to economic nationalist thought, but he did not write Economic History of India.
- (C) M.G. Ranade was an economist, but Economic History of India and this drain-theory support are tied to R.C. Dutt, not Ranade.
Concept
This tests the economic critique of colonialism within the early nationalist phase, especially the Drain of Wealth argument. It recurs in RAS because personalities, books and core arguments of Indian economic nationalism are frequently paired in Modern Indian History questions.