70–75% people during the colonial period were engaged in ________.

Correct option is D

The correct answer is: (d) agriculture activities
Explanation:
· During the British colonial period, India’s economy was essentially agrarian.
· Approximately 70% to 75% of the working population was engaged in agriculture and allied activities.
· Despite this massive workforce concentration, the agricultural sector was characterized by stagnation and low productivity.
· The colonial policies often prioritized revenue collection (like the Zamindari system) over agricultural development, leaving the majority of the population in poverty.
Information Booster:
· Regional Variation: While the overall figure was high, there were regional shifts. The Madras, Bombay, and Bengal presidencies saw a slight decline in the agricultural workforce (moving to manufacturing/services), while states like Punjab, Rajasthan, and Odisha saw an increase in agricultural dependence.
· Comparison: In contrast to the 70-75% in agriculture, the manufacturing sector employed only about 10%, and the service sector accounted for 15-20% of the workforce.
Additional Knowledge (Incorrect Options):
Mining activities (Option a)
· The mining sector was very small and undeveloped during the colonial period, limited to specific pockets (like coal in Bengal/Bihar), employing a negligible percentage of the total population.
The transport sector (Option b)
· While the British developed the Railways (introduced in 1853), the transport and communication sector employed a very small fraction of the workforce compared to the vast numbers in farming.
Small scale industries (Option c)
· India’s traditional small-scale and handicraft industries actually suffered a decline (de-industrialization) due to the influx of cheap machine-made goods from Britain, forcing many artisans into agriculture rather than employing them.