Economically, one of the results of the British rule in India in the 19th century was the

The correct answer is C. British rule pushed Indian agriculture toward cash crops meant for export and British industry, such as indigo in Bengal and Bihar, cotton in the Deccan, jute in Bengal, opium and sugarcane. Land revenue demands in cash, through the Permanent Settlement of 1793 and the Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems, forced peasants to sell produce in the market. This is commercialisation of agriculture, and it is the economic result the question asks about.

• A is wrong. Handicraft exports collapsed. Machine-made British textiles flooded the market, and British tariff policy hurt Indian weavers. This is deindustrialisation.
• B is wrong. Factory growth was slow and narrow, concentrated in Bombay and Bengal textiles and jute. Much of the modern sector was controlled by British managing agencies and capital.
• D is wrong. Urbanisation stayed modest. Most of the population remained rural, and only port and administrative towns grew noticeably.

Mains link: this agrarian commercialisation without industrialisation explains the drain of wealth, chronic rural indebtedness and recurring revolts such as the Indigo Revolt of 1859-60 and the Deccan Riots of 1875.

Trap: Aspirants confuse commercialisation with industrialisation and pick B because Indian mills did grow in Bombay.