Crafts and Industries

Exercises
I. Fill in the blanks.
1. Cowasjee Nanabhai set up the first cotton mill at Bombay.
2. Calcutta was a major centre for the jute industry.
3. The British started tea plantations in Assam and Bengal.
4. Jamsetji Tata started the steel plant at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.
II. True or False?
1. Before British rule, India was a major centre of crafts and industry. (T)
2. The indigo plant is used in making a dye for textiles. (T)
3. Coorg became well known for its tea plantations. (F)
4. Coal mines are concentrated in Bihar, Bengal and Odisha. (T)

III. Answer the following:-

1. What was the impact of the Industrial Revolution on India?
After the Industrial Revolution, Britain started producing machine-made goods and
textiles that were much cheaper and often better than the Indian goods. Indian
handicrafts slowly died because they could not compete against the cheaper
products from Britain that were flooding the Indian markets. Many traditional
industries disappeared altogether.
The Indian princes, landlords and nobles could no longer patronise the artisans as
most of them now depended on the British.
Millions of artisans were left jobless leading to misery and poverty. The displaced
artisans tried to take up agriculture. This put further pressure on the land, with
pieces of land getting fragmented.

2. What was the recommendation of the Famine Commission set up in 1880?

The recurring famines in India forced the British to set up the Famine Commission
in 1880.
The commission strongly recommended the setting up of factories in India as this
would reduce pressure on agriculture.
IV. Answer in detail.
1. Describe how British rule resulted in the decline of the Indian industry.
The establishment of British rule set in motion a series of events which led to a
decline of the Indian industry.
After the Industrial Revolution, Britain started producing machine-made goods and
textiles that were cheaper than Indian goods and were of better quality. As a result
Indian handicrafts declined and slowly died.
When the British started taking over the country, princes, landlords and nobles
could no longer patronise the artisans as most of them now depended directly or
indirectly on the British. Indian artisans also lost most of their external market as
British government posed strict laws banning the import of Indian textiles into
Britain.
Company agents forced Indian farmers to cultivate cotton and sell it to them at
cheap rates. Soon only raw cotton was exported from India and readymade cloth
was being imported.
The East India Company did not care about artisans who lost their jobs. Millions
became jobless leading to misery and poverty.
2. Describe the beginning of industrialisation in India during the colonial
period, citing any two industries as examples.
The British government’s attitude to industrial development in India was
lukewarm.
It did not establish heavy industries in India as they would become competitors to
British industries.
The growing national movement and the Revolt of 1857 put pressure on the British
to do something about industry in India.
The recurring famines also added to this pressure. The Famine Commission also
recommended the setting up of factories.
The Swadeshi Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi, which stressed the need to
develop indigenous industries, also gave a boost to the industrialisation.
Large-scale industries required large-scale movement of raw materials and finished
products and India did not have modern and efficient means of transport and
communication.