Tale of Four Indian Cities: Consequences of British Empire on Native Centres of Prosperity

Tale of Four Indian Cities presents a vivid picture of how the British political regime reorganized the structure of the Indian economy to suit its own objectives. While doing so, the regime also affected the geographical distribution of economic activities. This resulted in the decline of native cities and the increased prosperity of colonial cities.

To reveal how British colonial power brought about such changes in the Indian subcontinents, the book narrates the account of two pairs of native and colonial cities – Dacca and Calcutta from the Indian Eastern coast, and Surat and Bombay from the Western coast. These were major centres of manufacturing, shared a common history and experienced the consequences of three different political dispensations – the Mughal Empire, the East India Company and the British Raj.

Accessibly written, the volume will be of great interest to students, scholars and researchers of Indian colonial business and economic history. It will also be of interest to the general reader.

Vijay K. Seth, PhD (Delhi School of Economics), is former Professor at Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi & at International Management Institute, New Delhi. He’s authored eight books, including the latest book ‘The Story of Indian Manufacturing: Encounters with the Mughals and British Empire (1498–1947)’. He has also published number of research papers, chapters in edited books, review articles and book reviews, that have appeared in Indian and Foreign journals. He has presented several research papers in the conferences in India and abroad. Dr. Seth is the founding editor of ‘Emerging Economy Studies’, a journal published by Sage, India. Dr. Seth has travelled widely and has trekked in various parts of the Himalayas and the Eastern and Western coast of India.