The Indian Bourgeoisie

The complex and hard-fought movement for political freedom in India coincided with the rise of a wealthy capitalist class of Indian industrialists who had profited under British rule. By 1947, these prominent businessmen had forged a partnership with the socialist-led Indian National Congress, and supported Jawaharlal Nehru's implementation of a centrally-planned economy. In this political history of modern India, David Lockwood traces the roots of this capitalist class, concentrated in Bombay, Calcutta and the west Bengal coal mining region, and examines British economic policy in the nineteenth century. Indian capitalists, such as J.R.D Tata of Tata Steel, established powerful relationships with domestic governments throughout the period, holding indigenous industrial conferences and supporting the swadeshi movement which aimed to promote Indian-manufactured goods. The Indian Bourgeoisie is a unique and important contribution to the lively debate on the role of India's capitalists during the Raj and throughout the early years of independence.

David Lockwood is associate professor of History at Flinders University in South Australia. He teaches Russian, Chinese and Indian history together with topics in world history. He is especially interested in the role of the bourgeoisie in historical development. He combines this with work in the broad areas of the role of the state in economic development; the transition from state-controlled to market economies; and the effects of globalisation on national states. His most recent book was a monograph on the bourgeois revolution in Russia.

Acknowledgements - vi Introduction - 1 Chapter One: Industry and Industrialists before 1914 - 8 Chapter Two: The Great War - 30 Chapter Three: Industrialisation Abandoned - 52 Chapter Four: Empire - 73 Chapter Five: Protection and Development: State and Bourgeoisie in the Inter-War Period - 93 Chapter Six: Congress and the Bourgeoisie: Inter-War Politics - 126 Chapter Seven: The Second World War - 149 Chapter Eight: Planning and Partition - 174 Conclusion - 195 Notes - 199 Bibliography - 292 Index - 310