An invaluable collection of detailed trade reports of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (http://bengalchamber.com), chronicling about a hundred years’ worth of information from 1853 to 1953.
The volumes serve not merely as records of trade undertaking in Calcutta, but also offer glimpses into the socio-cultural phenomenon of the time. Listings of enacted laws, legal proceedings, work schedules, famines, construction schedules, representation of mercantile interests in official councils, use of enemy property and similar information allows us to make informed conclusions about the British Raj’s conduct and its effect on the Indian Subcontinent. Given that Calcutta was among the most significant centres of trade and governance for the Empire’s colonial territory, it would not be amiss to say that these documents are a revealing register of the Raj’s operative methods and its consequences.
The BCCI has been extremely kind in allowing the SCTR to transport the materials to the School to be digitized. Online access to the materials is available. SCTR, JU does not in any way claim ownership over contents incorporated in this collection. The physical collection is the property of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Kolkata. The digital surrogates and metadata are created by SCTR, JU.