"Infrastructural upliftment of India was one of the key features of the British rule in India." State and discuss any two such developments, in the light of the given statement, with self-serving interests of the British. "In the post-independence era, India adopted a protective tariff policy." Do you agree with the given statement ? Justify your answer with any two valid arguments.

Question

Accepted Answer

**Infrastructural development during British rule:**

1. **Roads:** Built primarily for mobilising army and shifting raw materials from countryside to railway stations/ports. However, there remained acute shortage of all-weather roads to rural areas.

2. **Railways:** Introduced in 1850 for:
- Effective control and administration over vast Indian territory
- Earning profits through foreign trade by linking with major ports
- Profitable investment of British funds

3. **Telegraph:** Introduced to maintain law and order.

**Self-Serving Interests:**
- All infrastructure served colonial interests
- Roads and railways built to extract resources
- Infrastructure promoted foreign trade benefiting Britain
- Indian people did not benefit from infrastructure development