RUINING ARTISANS AND HANDICRAFTS UNDER BRITISH RULE

Till the middle of eighteenth century Indian handicraft products were greatly demanded in the
markets all over the world. Specifically European markets needed constant supply of Indian
handicraft-products. The European traders and trading organizations made huge profits by selling
Indian products. Indian textile products had no equals and those products were the symbol of
craftsmanship and artistry. Indian cotton textiles became a house hold name in England.

But the Industrial Revolution in England and the economic policy of the East India Company
jointly closed the markets for Indian handicrafts. In England machines went for large scale
productions and those machine products were cheap and colorful. Not only markets but also the
British Government as well as manufacturers encouraged the supply of their machine products to
European markets.

As a result, the British machine-products entered into unfair competition with Indian products.
Handicrafts of India could not sustain the pressure of the competition with cheaper machine
goods. Thus, those were driven out of European markets. Further, the British trade policy proved
extremely fatal for Indian handicrafts. In 1813, trade monopoly was abolished and one way free
trade policy was imposed on India. By this policy the British machine products were imported to
India freely and the export of Indian goods to England was discouraged by imposition of heavy
duties on those products.

The Industrial Revolution closed foreign markets for Indian goods and British trade policy
closed domestic market for Indian products. Once the markets were closed demand for Indian
products declined suddenly and production stopped. It resulted in making the artisans and
craftsman jobless and handicraft industries were closed down.

Introduction of railways opened a new era for the transport system in India. But the railways
served the political and economic interest of the British to a larger extent. Through railways the
machine products of Britain found it much easier to enter into the rural India.

In other words, the machine products of England replaced the Indian handcrafts in the village
market. As a result the artisans and the craftsman who adopted caste-based occupation were
compelled to give upon the same. This ruined the rural artisan industries and the artisans lost
their occupations.

Added to this, modernization of India increased fascination for the machine-products which were
cheaper, colorful and attractive.

There developed a craze for the goods, ‘Made in England’ and use of those goods was
considered status symbol and sign of modernity. As the demand for Indian handicraft products
declined within India, production failed suddenly leading to forcible closure of the rural artisan
industries.

From the very day, the British won the Battle of Plessey, the Company and its servant’s
exploited the craftsmen of Bengal. The British pursued the policy of coercion of terrorist them.
The artisans were forced to sell their products below the market price.

The price was determined by the Company and it was not profitable for the craftsmen. The
services and the labour of the craftsmen were hired at very low wages. It was impossible for the
craftsmen to adopt their traditional profession.

So they were force to abandon those crafts. The worst affected were the weavers of Bengal and
textile industry of Bengal was virtually closed. It was said that the thumbs of the weavers were
cut off. Actually it meant that thousands of weavers were made jobless due to closure of weaving
industry.

Reasons for traditional Handicrafts ruined:

(i) Discriminatory Tariff Policy of the State:

The Britishers followed a discriminatory tariff policy by allowing tariff-free exports of raw
material from India and tariff-free import of British industrial products but placed a heavy duty
on the export of handicraft products. So, Indian handicraft products started losing their foreign as
well as domestic consumers.
(ii) Competition with Machine-made Products: Manufactured goods from Britain were cheap
and better in quality than the handicraft products. This competition forced many handicraftsmen
to shut down their business. We know that after 1813, the British imposed a one-way free trade
policy on India, which was followed by an invasion of British manufactured goods, particularly
cotton textiles.   Indian goods produced on a mass scale by powerful steam-powered machines
could not compete with goods produced on a mass scale by powerful steam-powered machines. 

(iii) Introduction of Railways in India: The Britishers introduced railways in India to expand

the market of its low priced industrial products. Consequently, the demand for high-priced
handicraft products started to fall, thus leading to the downfall of the handicraft industry.
(iv) New Patterns of Demand/Emergence of Western Lifestyle: As British rule progressed in
India, a new class emerged, which was keen to follow the British lifestyle. This changed the
pattern of demand in favour of British goods.
(v) Downfall of Princely States Prior to British Rule(Rajas and Princes used to patronize
handicrafts)

vi)De-industrialisation:As a result of these policies Indian handicrafts faced a severe challenge

from the foreign goods. India now became the exporter of raw materials to British industries and
an importer of ready-made goods from Britain. This phenomenon of the ruination of Indian
handicrafts industries is most well known as Deindustrialization.
This destroyed the self-sufficient village economy as the destruction of the traditional industries
led to overcrowding in the agrarian sector. De-industrialization had far reaching effects in
different sectors of the economy. As a result of the British conquest, the country became de-
industrialized, and the people became more reliant on agriculture. There are no figures for the
earlier period, but according to Census Reports, the percentage of the population dependent on
agriculture increased from 63.7 percent to 70% between 1901 and 1941. 

vii)INCREASING PRESSURE ON AGRICULTURE

 One of the major causes of extreme poverty in India during British rule was the increasing
pressure on agriculture. In fact, India was transformed into an agricultural colony of
manufacturing Britain, which required raw materials for its industries. The change was most
noticeable in the cotton textile industry. While India had been the world's largest exporter of
cotton goods for centuries, it had now been transformed into a buyer of British cotton products
and a seller of raw cotton.

Cotton weaving and spinning took the brunt of the damage. Silk and woollen textiles fared no
better, and the iron, pottery, glass, paper, metals, guns, shipping, oil-pressing, tanning, and
dyeing industries all suffered similar fates.
 
•    Apart from the influx of foreign goods, other British conquest-related factors also contributed
to the demise of Indian industries. 
 
•    During the second half of the eighteenth century, the East India Company and its servants
oppressed Bengali craftsmen, forcing them to sell their goods below market price and hire their
services for less than the prevailing wage, forcing a large number of them to abandon their
ancestral professions. 
 
, British rule disrupted the economic balance in the villages. The gradual abolition of rural crafts
shattered the rural economy's union between agriculture and domestic industry, contributing to
the demise of the self-sufficient rural economy. 
 
•    On the one hand, millions of peasants who had supplemented their income by part-time
spinning and weaving were forced to rely solely on cultivation; on the other hand, millions of
rural artisans lost their traditional livelihoods and became agriculturists or petty tenants with
small plots. They increased the pressure on the land.
 
 According to Census Reports, the percentage of the population dependent on agriculture
increased from 63.7 percent to 70% between 1901 and 1941.