Economic historians have argued that the Industrial Revolution in Britain could not have occurred without the capital that became available from the plunder of India. The sudden acceleration of the revolution in Britain, R. P. Dutt points out, coincides with the establishment of British rule in India. He writes, “In 1757 came the Battle of Plassey and the wealth of India began to flood the country in an ever-growing stream… in 1764 came the spinning jenny of Hargreaves; in 1765 came Watt’s steam engine, patented in 1769; in 1769 came the water frame of Arkwright followed by his patents in 1775 for carding, drawing and spinning machines; in 1779 the mule of Crompton and 1785 the power loom of Cartwright; and in 1788 the steam engine was applied to blast furnaces.” These inventions, Dutt argues, did not result from some “special and unaccountable burst of inventive genius,” but from the accumulation of enough capital to make possible the largescale outlay needed to turn the inventions into functional fortunes. Contemporary accounts attest to the devastation that followed in India. “This fine country,” one of the East India’s own residents reported, “which flourished under the most despotic and arbitrary government is verging towards ruin.” Francis Buchanan, who surveyed the country in the early 1800s, wrote: “The natives allege that, although they were often squeezed by the Mogul officers, and on all occasions were treated with utmost contempt, they preferred suffering these evils to the mode that has been adopted of selling their lands when they fall in arrears, which is a practice they cannot endure. Besides, bribery went a great way on most occasions, and they allege that, bribes included, they did not actually pay one half of what they do now.” Both agricultural self-sufficiency and what by many accounts was a growing industrial economy were broken down. For the peasant, insecurity, impoverishment, and indebtedness followed. The shadow of famine stalked the next century. The new system of land taxes introduced with the Permanent Settlement of 1793 turned the zamindars, who were originally tax collectors, into landowners with new rights to evict the peasants who cultivated the lands for not paying the revenues

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According to the passage, which of the options accelerated the burst of inventive genius in Britain?

The Correct Option is C

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Which could be the prime attributing factor responsible for the disintegration of the Indian economy ?

The Correct Option is D

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The first paragraph is a fine example of

The Correct Option is C

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After the Permanent Settlement of 1793, the turn of events led to

The Correct Option is B

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The passage could probably be an excerpt from

The Correct Option is B

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