Page 38 - SST Class 08

Case Study : Textiles Though industries had been introduced, weaving
continued to be a cottage industry for the Indian
In India before the arrival of the British, textile
was chiefly woven by handlooms. It was then people, as a large number of them were engaged in
this industry. The downfall that it witnessed during
famous all over the world. However, the the eighteenth and nineteenth century was made
introduction of powerlooms in Europe provided a up to a large extent in the twentieth century.
fine quality of textiles, so the demand for Indian Textile remains a large industry of India at present.
textiles went down drastically. Also, the biased
policy of the British further declined this industry. Technological Development in Weaving
The first cotton mill was established by Cowasjee In the pre-historic times, man used tree leaves,
Nambhoy in 1853 in Mumbai. In and after 1877, tree bark and animal skins for covering his body.
several cotton mills were established in India, With time, he learnt how to weave clothes, but it
chiefly in the cotton-producing areas, such as was a long-drawn process. Gradually, spindles and
Ahmedabad, Sholapur, Nagpur etc. The number of handlooms were invented. Until the arrival of the
cotton mills increased from 59 in 1879 to 206 in British, the Indian textiles continued to be
1905. The number of textile workers increased from handmade. In order to compete with the British
about 43,000 in 1879 to about 2 lakh in 1905. machine-made textiles, the Indians too went for
technological development in weaving. They also
The cotton textile industry had to face stiff
competition from the British industry. Still, India adopted power looms for weaving. At present, the
was famous for many of its textile articles, such as textile mills use the latest technological
muslin of Dacca (now in Bangladesh), carpets of innovations in the field of weaving and compete
Lahore (now in Pakistan), shawls of Kashmir and with the best in the world.
embroidery of Banaras (in Uttar Pradesh). Condition of Weavers
In addition to the above, the other centres of Textile remains one of the largest employers of
textile production were Krishnanagar, Chanderi, manpower in India. Weavers in India can be
Arni and Banaras. Some places were famous for classified into two groups. The first group of
particular articles, such as Ahmedabad for dhotis weavers comprises of those who weave clothes on
and dupattas , Lucknow for chikan , Nagpur for silk handlooms or powerlooms at a small-scale as a
borders , Malda and Murshidabad for silk products ; cottage industry. The other group of weavers
Kashmir, Punjab and western Rajasthan for woolen comprises of the mill workers. The overall condition
garments etc. of weavers remains poor as they have to work in
unhygienic conditions for a meagre salary.

v Before the arrival of the British, the Indian handicrafts were mostly in the form of a cottage industry.

v The Indian textiles could not compete with the British machine-made goods.
v A process of industrialisation was started with the establishment of the TISCO in 1911.
v Handicrafts declined in India due to a number of causes, such as the Industrial Revolution, discriminatory
policy of the British, unfavourable shipping conditions, oppression etc.
v The development of railways and telegraph can be said to be an important step in the direction of
industrial development in India.
v The major industries of India included textile, jute, coal mining, sugar, iron and steel, and plantation
industries.
v Textiles is one of the largest employers of workforce in India.

Contemporary Social Science-8
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