The essay reinterprets the British colonial empire in India (the Raj, for short) as a state. Based on that reinterpretation it offers fresh assessments on three issues: how its policies shaped the economy of India, what lessons the postcolonial state drew from history, and the gains and costs of the postcolonial development strategy.
Adivasis and the Raj: Socio-economic Transition of the Hos, 1820-1932 (Critical Thinking in South Asian History Series) by Sanjukta Das Gupta (Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan), 2011; pp xvi+367, Rs 820.
The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality by Angus Deaton (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press), 2013; pp xvi + 360, £19.95 (cloth).
The Oxford History of Contemporary Indian Business by Dwijendra Tripathi and Jyoti Jumani (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2013; pp xvi + 285; Rs 2,995.
History, Historians and Development Policy: A Necessary Dialogue edited by C A Bayly, Vijayendra Rao, Simon Szreter, Michael Woolcock (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press), 2011; pp xii + 276, price not stated.
This article explores three concepts in global history - empire, law and economic growth - and their coming closer together to form a new discourse. Two recent tendencies contribute to the making of the discourse. Imperial history moves away from a view of empires as extractive machines towards a view of empires as legislating states. Economic history, on the other hand, underscores the role of legislation as a foundation for modern economic growth. Law, then, is the new bridge between empire and economic growth. Does this idea help us understand Indian history?
