The Age of Industrialisation
Social Science Ten
The Early Entrepreneurs
The history of many business groups goes back to trade with China. From the late eighteenth century, the British in India began to export opium to China and import tea from there. Many Indians took active participation in this trade by providing finance, procuring supplies and shipping consignments. Once these businessmen earned enough, they dreamt of developing industrial enterprises in India.
Dwarknanath Tagore was among the pioneers to begin industries in the 1830s and 1840s. Tagore?s enterprise sank during the business crises of the 1840s. But in the later nineteenth century, many businessmen became successful industrialists. In Bombay, Parsis like Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetjee Nusserwanjee Tata went on to build huge industrial empires. Seth Hukumchand; a Marwari businessman; set up the first Indian jute mill in Calcutta in 1917. The Birla Group was similarly started by successful traders from China.
Capital was also accumulated through other trade networks; like Burma, the Middle East and Africa.
There was a virtual stranglehold of the British players on business in India which leaved little scope for growth of Indian merchants. Till the First World War, European Managing Agencies controlled a large sector of Indian industries.
Where Did the Workers Come from?
In most of the industrial regions workers came from the surrounding districts. Most of the workers were migrants from neighbouring villages. They maintained contact with their rural homeland; by returning to their villages during harvests and festivals.
After some passage of time, workers began to migrate greater distances in search of work. For example; people from the United Provinces began to migrate to Bombay and Calcutta.
Getting a job was not easy. Industrialists usually employed a jobber to hire new people. The jobber was usually an old and trusted worker. The jobber usually preferred people from his own village. He helped them settle in the city and provided financial help during crisis. The jobber thus became an influential person. He began to demand money and gifts for his favour and began to control the lives of workers.
The Peculiarities of Industrial Growth
European Managing Agencies were interested in certain kinds of products. They focused on tea and coffee plantations, mining, indigo and jute. These products were mainly required for export and were not meant for sale in India.
The Indian businessmen avoided competing with Manchester goods in the Indian market. For example; they produced coarse cotton yarn which was used by handloom weavers or exported to China.
By the first decade of the twentieth century, various changes affected the pattern of industrialization. This was the time, the swadeshi movement was gathering momentum. Industrial groups organized themselves for collective bargaining with the government. They pressurized the government to increase tariff protection and grant other concessions. This was the period when the export of Indian yarn to China declined. This was because the produce from Chinese and Japanese mills flooded the Chinese market. The Indian manufacturers began to shift from yarn to cloth production. Between 1900 and 1912, the cotton piece-goods production doubled in India.
Industrial growth was slow till the First World War. The War changed the situation. The British mills became busy in meeting the needs of the army. This resulted in decline of imports to India. There was a vast home market to be catered by the Indian mills. The Indian mills were also asked to supply goods for the British army. This created a boom in industrial activities.
After the war, Manchester could never recapture its lost position in the Indian market. The British industry was no longer in a position to compete with the US, Germany and Japan.
Small Scale Industries Predominate
In spite of industrial growth, large industries formed only a small segment of the economy. About 67% of the large industries were located in Bengal and Bombay. Small-scale production continued to prevail in the rest of the country. Only a small portion of the industrial workforce worked in registered factories. This share was just 5% in 1911 and 10% in 1931.
The handicrafts expanded in the twentieth century. The handicrafts people adopted new technology. For example; weavers started the use of fly shuttle in their looms. By 1941, more than 35% of handlooms in India were fitted with fly shuttles. The percentage was 70 to 80 in major textile hubs; like Travancore, Madras, Mysore, Cochin and Bengal. Many other small innovations helped in improving productivity in the handloom sector.
Market for Goods
The manufacturers practiced various ways to lure new customers. Advertisement is one of the various ways to attract new customers.
The producers from Manchester labeled their products to show the place of manufacture. The label ?Made in Manchester? was considered to be the sign of good quality. The labels also carried beautiful illustrations. The illustrations often carried the images of Indian gods and goddesses. This was a good attempt to develop a local connect with the people.
By the late nineteenth century, manufacturers began distributing calendars to popularize their products. A calendar has a longer shelf life than newspaper or magazines. It works as a constant brand reminder throughout a year.
The Indian manufacturers often highlighted nationalist messages along with their advertisement; in an attempt to develop a better connect with the potential customers.
NCERT Solution
Question (1) Explain the following:
(a) Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.
Answer:
Women workers in Britain saw the Spinning Jenny as a threat for their livelihood. This was the reason, they began to attack the Spinning Jenny.
(b) In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.
Answer:
There were powerful trade and craft guilds in urban areas. These associations controlled competition and prices and prevented entry of a new player in the market. Because of them, it was difficult for new merchants to set business in towns. Hence, the merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisan within the villages; during seventeenth century.
(c) The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.
Answer:
The East India Company had consolidated its business by the mid-eighteenth century. This led to decline of the earlier centres of trade; like Surat.
(d) The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.
Answer:
The Company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers who were connected with the cloth trade. It tried to establish a more direct control on the weavers. A paid servant; called gomastha was appointed to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
Question (2) Write True or False against each statement:
(a) At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector.
Answer: False
(b) The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.
Answer: True
(c) The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India.
Answer: False
(d) The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
Answer: True
Question (3) Explain what is meant by proto–industrialisation.
Answer:
The period of industrialization before the first factories came up in Europe. This period was marked by merchants from towns getting products made in villages. The proto-industrial system was a network of commercial exchanges. It was controlled by merchants. Goods were produced by peasants who worked within their family farms and not in factories. The finished product passed through several stages and reached the markets of London. From London, the products were supplied to the international market.
Discuss
Question (1) Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?
Answer:
During this period, there was no shortage of human labour. Because of good supply of workers, there was no problem of labour shortage or high wages. As a result, the merchants and industrialists preferred to manage with human labour rather than investing in costly machines.
Question (2) How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?
Answer:
The Company prevented weavers from dealing with other buyers. This was done through the system of advances. Under this system, the weavers were given loans to purchase raw materials. Once a weaver took the advance, he could not sell his produce to any other trader.
Question (4) Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?
Answer:
The First World War changed the situation. The British mills became busy in meeting the needs of the army. This resulted in decline of imports to India. There was a vast home market to be catered by the Indian mills. The Indian mills were also asked to supply goods for the British army. This created a boom in industrial activities. All of this led to growth of industry in India during this period.