Abstract
The article tries to strike a balance between the critical and ameliorist view of the
colonial impact on the Punjab. Under the British rule Punjab witnessed many
socio-economic changes. The article argues that although the profit motive and
running the empire on cheap was the primary motive behind all such changes,
however, given the size of its territory and population, as compared to the rest of
India, Punjab benefited from the colonial interception unprecedentedly. The
process of transformation started with the restoration of the seasonal irrigational
channels and marked its way through the introduction of perennial irrigation, canal
colonization schemes, construction of rail and road network, introduction of
telegraph and postal service, and Punjabisation of the colonial Indian Army.
Agricultural prosperity was supplemented by the military pay and pensions.
Punjab‟s economy was transformed from subsistence farming to an export
oriented economy. The British did not pay any heed to industrialization as they
only favoured agricultural production to deepen the colonial relationship by the
export of raw material and expansion of the revenue base.
Tahir Mahmood. (2017) SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENGINEERING AND THE BRITISH PROFIT MOTIVES IN COLONIAL PUNJAB, 1885—1922, Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Volume 54, Issue 1.
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