Indian entrepreneurship in historical perspective: a re-interpretation

Abstract

Although, in theory, the entrepreneur as the organiser of the factors of production has been recognised as the central figure in economic development, scholars of Indian economic history have tended to ignore this element in their studies. The tendency has been to stress the sociological factors such as caste or religion or to blame the policies of the British government (or the backwardness of the country. The contention of this paper is that this approach, while it provides useful insights, gives a lopsided explanation, and that a new line of inquiry would suggest a re-evaluation of the development of Indian entrepreneur ship. Empiricial data points to the fact that cultural and religious forms are re-interpreted in real life under the weight of changes in the material environment. The so-called Hindu value system transformed itself to permit the entry of non-business classes into industrial ventures, when the new economic opportunities were perceived and grasped by these classes. Indeed, if entrepreneur ship is the response to the disequilibrium between the perceivable opportunities and their exploitation at any point of time, then a study of the constellation of forces which led to the perception of new opportunities by certain sections of society, might yield more satisfactory results.