Kriti Agrawal supervised by Dr. Aniket Alam received her Master of Science – Dual Degree  in Exact Humanities (EHD). Here’s a summary of her research work on Colonial Legacies and Economic Development: Exploring Agrarian Transformations in Himachal Pradesh:

The two key debates in economic history, the transition from feudalism to capitalism and the relationship between colonialism and development, have occupied historians everywhere, especially in the post-colonial world, including India. This thesis aims to revisit these debates in the Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh. Drawing upon literature concerning the transition debate – which primarily centres on the evolution of economic systems in Western Europe from the mediaeval to the early modern period (as discussed by Marx, Brenner, Dobb and Sweezy) – this study investigates whether colonialism fostered conditions conducive to the emergence of a capitalist mode of production in the region. It will analyse changes in proprietorship, tenancy, labour, and the commodification of land, labour, and produce during British rule in the first half of the 20th century. This includes examining the establishment of markets, the codification and establishment of property and tenancy rights through land revenue settlement operations, and the injection of cash into the hill economy. For the second debate, the prevailing academic consensus is that colonialism slowed indigenous economic transformation or directly engendered under-development. While the statement may hold on a global scale, the varying outcomes at local levels necessitate exploration. This work centring on the Western Himalayan region, an under-studied mountainous terrain in India, during the 20th century spanning both colonial and post-colonial epochs, helps us do a comparative analysis of the agricultural sector to test the hypothesis of colonialism’s impact on development. Indian academics such as Patnaik, Mukhia, Bagchi, Roy and others have analysed this phenomenon in pan-Indian, as well as North and South Indian mainland contexts. However, no in-depth study has been conducted for the peripheral regions of India, which, due to their challenging terrain, remained relatively isolated until the late 20th century and consequently developed unique socio-economic and cultural conditions.

November 2025