The book provides an analysis of the historical origins of the problems of development as rooted firmly in the colonial trade and discusses the ways in which the rich-poor dichotomy was propogated and perpetuated.
The author traces the history of economic relations between India and the Soviet Union after they signed a treaty of mutual military protection in 1971 and draws conclusions on the advantages and disadvantages of the close ties of a developing country with the centrally planned economies.
'...it is well written, balanced and comprehensive. It splendidly incorporates the new work of the last twenty years as no one else has and it will be the starting point for everyone doing any work, from sixth forms upwards, on modern India.' D.A.Low
Uncertain Dimensions was first published in 1985. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. World War I battered the Western imperial systems and destroyed one, that of Germany, but it did not sound the death knell of an empire. The ""scramble"" for overseas territory ha reached a virtual conclusion shortly before the war; afterwards, the main business of empire was to ensure a pax colonia: the often contradictory goals of a stable government and.
In recent decades, private investment has led to an economic resurgence in India. But this is not the first time the region has witnessed impressive business growth. There have been many similar stories over the past 300 years. India's economic history shows that capital was relatively expensive. How, then, did capitalism flourish in the region? How did companies and entrepreneurs deal with the shortage of key resources? Has there been a common pattern in responses to these issues over the centuries? Through detailed case studies of firms, entrepreneurs, and business commodities, Tirthankar Roy answers these questions. Roy bridges the approaches of business and economic history, illustrating the development of a distinctive regional capitalism. On each occasion of growth, connections with the global economy helped firms and entrepreneurs better manage risks. Making these deep connections between India's economic past and present shows why history matters in its remaking of capitalism today.
This penetrating examination of a paradox of colonial rule shows how the massive transfers of technology--including equipment, techniques, and experts--from the European imperial powers to their colonies in Asia and Africa resulted not in industrialization but in underdevelopment. Examining the most important technologies--shipping and railways, telegraphs and wireless, urban water supply and sewage disposal, economic botany and plantation agriculture, irrigation, and mining and metallurgy--Headrick provides a new perspective on colonial economic history and reopens the debate on the roots of Asian and African underdevelopment.