The relevance of a century-old Indian report on protectionism
A file photo of JNPT Port. Photo: Ashesh Shah/Mint
Premium
Share Via
Read Full Story
There is protectionism in the air. This year marks the centenary of a committee that recommended the first tariff hikes to protect Indian industry, but at a time when India was an impoverished colony rather than an independent nation with the fifth largest economy in the world. It is a good cue for this column to embark on one of its periodic excursions into economic history.
The Indian Fiscal Commission began its work in November 1921, and submitted its report the following year. Its chairman was Ibrahim Rahimtoolah, while John Maynard Keynes was vice- president. Keynes could not come over to India to make any meaningful contribution. There were seven Indians and five Englishmen in the commission. Rahimtoolah, in the company of others such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Madan Mohan Malaviya, had fought a hard battle over the previous