The British Raj is socially and politically…

The British Raj is socially and politically conservative, but it brings profound economic change to the subcontinent.

For strategic, administrative, and commercial reasons, the British improve transportation and communications and keep them in good repair.

Coal mines are opened in Bihar and Bengal, and irrigation canals are laid out in the Yamuna (also seen as Jumna), Ganges, and Indus valleys; the Indus Valley becomes the largest irrigated area in the world.

The expansion of irrigation in the Punjab leads to the development of canal colonies, settled mainly by Sikhs and Muslims, and the designation of the Punjab as the granary of India

Law and order guarantee a high rate of return on British, and later Indian, investment in these enterprises.