This volume investigates whether agricultural productivity in British India experienced growth, stagnation, or decline during the colonial era. Sumit Guha, a scholar of Indian history, compiles and analyzes competing economic arguments regarding the impact of colonial rule on rural output. By examining the methodologies of early twentieth-century estimates and subsequent historical critiques, the book provides a framework for understanding the complexities of colonial-era agricultural data and the resulting debates on economic development.

Historians and economists recognize this work as a critical entry point for understanding the historiography of colonial Indian agriculture. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational text for those studying the economic history of the subcontinent.