(i) The main changes which the British made in Indian society were at the top. They replaced the wasteful warlord nobility by a bureaucratic military establishment, carefully designed by practical technocrats, which was very efficient in maintaining law and order.

(ii) The greater efficiency of government. permitted a great reduction in the fiscal burden, and a biggest share of the national product was available for landlords, capitalists and the new professional classes. Some of this upper class income was sent off to the United Kingdom, but the bulk was spent in India.

(iii) However, the pattern of consumption changed as the new upper class no longer kept harems and palaces, nor did they wear fine muslims and well decorated swords. This caused some painful readjustments in the traditional handicraft sector.

(iv) Government itself carried out productive investment in railways and irrigation and as a result there was a growth in both agricultural and industrial output.

(v) The new elite established a western life- style using the English language and English schools. New towns and urban amenities were created with segregated suburbs and housing for them. Their habits were copied by the new professional elite of lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists and businessmen. Within this group, old caste barriers were eased and social mobility increased.

(vi) Few significant changes were brought in the mass of the population. The British educational effort was very limited.

(vii) There were no major changes in village society, in the caste system, the position of untouchables, the joint family system, or in the production techniques in agriculture. British impact on economic and social development was, therefore, limited. Total output and population increased substantially but the gain in per capita output was small or negligible.