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During independence three quarters of the workforce was in agriculture, a sector which also contributed close to 60% of India's gross domestic product. There was a small but growing industrial sector, which accounted for about 12% of the workforce, and 25% of G.D.P. There existed enormous variations in agricultural practices across the subcontinent. These variations notwithstanding, everywhere in India agriculture was largely empirical, based on knowledge and traditions passed down over the generations rather than on innovative or scientific ideas. To the Indian nationalist, however continuity was merely a euphemism for stagnation. Almost from the time the Congress was founded in 1885, Indian nationalism had charged the British with exploitation of the peasantry. They had resolved that when power came to them, agrarian reform would be at the top of the agenda. The socialist elements in the Indian National Congress pushed the organization to commit itself to thoroughgoing land reform, as in the abolition of large holdings, the promotion of the security of tenants and the redistribution of surplus land. Further if India had to be industrialized which model it should follow? The Indian people had to choose whether they will come into closer contact with the outer world and become responsive to its influences or remain secluded and indifferent. Action not sentiment had to be the determining factor.

Keywords

Agrarian, Nationalist, Capitalism, Socialism, Provincialism, Industrial.

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