Originating in the Nineteenth Century, the European idea of development was shaped around the premise that the West possessed progressive characteristics that the East lacked. As a result of this perspective, many alternative development discourses originating in the East were often overlooked and forgotten. Indian Economics is but one example. By recovering thought from the margins, Relocating Development Economics exposes useful new ways of viewing development. It looks at how an Indian tradition in economic thought emerged from a group of Indian economists in the late Nineteenth Century who questioned dominant European economic ideas on development and agricultural economics. This book shows how the first generation of modern Indian economists pushed at the boundaries of existing theories to produce reformulations that better fit their subcontinent and opens up discursive space to find new ways of thinking about regress, progress and development.

‘This volume seriously reevaluates economic thought by highlighting the contributions of several late-19th-century Indian economists … Readers interested in the intersections of economics, history, and postcolonial studies will obtain valuable insights into how localized knowledge systems can inform broader economic theories and issues … Highly recommended.’

A. A. Batabyal Source: Choice