Produced by Joseph Koshy. Transcribed from: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.218118 THE PROBLEM OF THE RUPEE ITS ORIGINS AND ITS SOLUTION BY B. R. AMBEDKAR Sometime Professor of Political Economy at the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Bombay. LONDON P. S. KING & SON, LTD. ORCHARD HOUSE, 2 & 4 GREAT SMITH STREET WESTMINSTER 1923 DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER AND MOTHER AS A TOKEN OF MY ABIDING GRATITUDE FOR THE SACRIFICES THEY MADE AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT THEY SHOWED IN THE MATTER OF MY EDUCATION. _Printed in Great Britain by_ Butler & Tanner Ltd., _Frome and London_ PREFACE In the following pages I have attempted an exposition of the events leading to the establishment of the exchange standard and an examination of its theoretical basis. In endeavouring to treat the historical side of the matter I have carefully avoided repeating what has already been said by others. For instance, in treating of the actual working of the exchange standard I have contented myself with a general treatment just sufficiently detailed to enable the reader to follow the criticism I have offered. If more details are desired they are given in all their amplitude in other treatises. To have reproduced them would have been a work of supererogation; besides it would have only obscured the general trend of my argument. But in other respects I have been obliged to take a wider historical sweep than has been done by other writers. The existing treatises on Indian currency do not give any idea, at least an adequate idea, of the circumstances which led to the reforms of 1893. I think that a treatment of the early history is quite essential to furnish the reader with a perspective in order to enable him to judge for himself the issues involved in the currency crisis and also of the solutions offered. In view of this I have gone into that most neglected period of Indian currency extending from 1800 to [pg vi] 1893. Not only have other writers begun abruptly the story of the exchange standard, but they have popularised the notion that the exchange standard is the standard originally contemplated by the Government of India. I find that this is a gross error. Indeed the most interesting point about Indian currency is the way in which the gold standard came to be transformed into a gold exchange standard. Some old but by now forgotten facts had therefore to be recounted to expose this error.