Commodity Export Surplus, Council Bills and Sterling Debt: India, 1861 to 1900

The fact that during the period of British rule India was a large importer of gold, has led to many misconceptions. Some writers from Britain denied that there could be a drain of wealth from India, when its population was absorbing so much imported gold and silver. Colonial administrators and historians have selectively referred to India’s huge appetite for gold and silver hoarded in unproductive forms such as jewellery. While it is true that India was a net importer of gold until the inter-war years of the Depression, which saw an outflow of gold, these claims are misleading to a great extent.