Industrial growth in India

Industrial Growth in India between the late 19th century & 20th century;

1) The early cotton mills produced coarse yarn rather than fabric beacuse they wanted to avoid competition with Manchestor goods in Indian market.

2) When swadeshi movement gathered momentum,
a)people boycotted foreign cloth.
b)Industrial groups were united & organized themselves.
c)They put pressure on Govt. to impose high tariff on imported goods so that they become costlier & their demand falls.
d)They pressurized Govt. to grant more concessions.
e)As a result the export of indian yarn to China declined.
3) Therefore cotton goods production in India doubled between 1900 & 1912

4) Industrial growth was slow till the first world war but during the first world war it increased manifold.

Industries in India

Setting up of industries in India;

1) In India industries were set up in different regions by rich businessmen.

2) a)Many businessmen had helped the British in trade of opium with China.
b) They had earned a lot through trade.
c) They had visions of setting up industrial enterprises in India.
e.g.Dwarkanath Tagore in Bengal & Dinshaw petit in Bombay.

3) a) The first cotton textile mill was estd. by Kawasji Nanabhai in Bombay in 1853.
b) The first jute mill was estd. at Rishra in Bengal in 1855.
c) The first Iron & Steel industry was set up by Jamshedjee Tata at Jamshedpur which started commercial production in 1912
d) In 1925 The Burma oil co: estd. a petrol refinery at Digboi in Assam.

4) Businessmen collected capital through other networks e.g. through trade with Burma,the middle east,& East Africa.

5) Some commercial groups operated in India ,earned money, which they later invested in setting up factories.

6) European managing agencies controlled a large sector of Indian industries till the first world war.

Migration of workers;

1) Workers came to work in industries from the neighbouring districts e.g. over 50 % workers in the Bombay cotton industries in 1911 came from neighbouring district of Ratnagiri.

2)Peasants & artsans who had no work in the village went to the industrial centres in search of work.

3)Workers travelled long distances in the hope of work in the mills. e.g. workers went to work in the textile mills of Bombay & in jute mills of Calcutta from the United provinces.

Competition with British goods

It was difficult for indians to compete with British cotton goods because ;

a)British cotton goods were produced by machines at lower costs.

b) Therfore they were cheaper than the indian goods.

c) Indian weavers could not get sufficient supplies of raw cotton of good quality
because it was exported to Britain at a much cheaper rate than its mkt. price.

Increase in the export of raw cotton from India & difficult for Indians to compete with British cotton goods because;

With the outbreak of American civil war --

a) cotton supplies from USA were cut off.

b) Britain started importing raw cotton from India.

c) Weavers in India could not get raw cotton in sufficient supply.

d) They were forced to buy raw cotton at high rates.

e) Weaving was no longer profitable for the indian weaver.

Clash between the weavers & gomasthas

There were clashes between weavers & gomasthas because;

1) The gomasthas were outsiders & had no social link with villages.

2) a)They were arrogant.
b) They marchedinto village with sepoys & peons.
c) They punished weavers for delay in supply.

3) The weavers could not sell their cloth to other buyers becuse they had to sell to the company due to the loans they took from them.

4) They had to accept the price offered by the company to them, although it was very low.

Reasons for the decline of textile exports from India;

1) Textile indusrial groups in Britain did not want any competition from outside therefore they put pressure on the Govt. to impose duty on textiles imported from India to Britain so that they become costlier in Britain 7 have few buyers.

2) They also pursuaded the East India Co: to sell British products in indian market.

3) Therfore cotton manufacturers faced problems from both sides,

a)Their exports to Britain declined.
b)The domestic market was flooded with British products.

East India Company

The East India Company took folowing steps to procure regular supplies of cotton & silk from indian weavers.

1) a)The company secured the monopoly rights over indian trade,
b) Eliminated existing traders.
c) Established direct control over the weavers.

2) a) East India Co: appointed a paid servant called the Gomasthas.
b) They suprervised over weavers.
c) Collected supplies.
d) Examined the quality of cloth.

3) a) The East India Co: made advance payment to the weavers,
to purchase raw material for their production.

4) The weavers had to hand over the cloth to Gomasthas,
they could not sell the cloth in any other market.

The port of Surat

1) The export trade controlled by indian merchants was breaking down by 1850s.
2) European companie gained power,
They got concessions from local courts
& secured monopoly rights over trade.
3) local banks went bankrupt & the loans Which provided finance for trade by indian merchants were no longer available.
4) Therfore the old ports of Surat & Hoogly declined
& the new port of Bombay & Calcutta grew.

The life of workers in late 19th century

The abundance of labourers affected the life of workers because--

1)There were ltd. job opportunities.Job seekers had to spend nights in night shelters or under bridges for many weeks waiting for jobs.
People having social connections got the jobs early.
2)In many industries, due to seasonal nature of work there were long periods of unemployment.
3)Due to rising prices,the real value(the purchasing power) of the wages declined.
4)The fear of unemployment made workers hostile to the introduction of machines.

It was only after1840s that there were greater employment opportunities due to rise in bldg.activities in cities.

Women workers in britain attacked spinning jenny because--

1)Spinning Jenny invented by James Hargreaves speeded up the spinning process & reduced demand for labour.
2)Women workers were surviving on spinning by hand.
3)The fear of unemployment made them hostile to machines therefore they attacked spinning jenny.