How far was the Industrial Revolution in England responsible for the decline of handicrafts and cottage…

Question

How far was the Industrial Revolution in England responsible for the decline of handicrafts and cottage industries in India?

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

The Industrial Revolution was largely but not solely responsible for the decline of Indian handicrafts, since colonial one-way free trade, lost royal patronage and railways decided how deep it went. Cotton piece-goods fell from about 33% of India's exports in 1811-12 to about 3% by 1850-51.

**Introduction**

Paul Bairoch estimated that India's share of world manufacturing fell from about a quarter in 1750 to under 2% by 1900, as England industrialised. Naoroji and R.C. Dutt blamed British machines and policy, so the Revolution must be weighed against the colonial state.

**Industrial Revolution as the Main Driver**

SKETCH: flow | From Lancashire to Village Looms
- Power loom, steam
- Cheap Manchester cloth
- Free trade after 1813
- Railways reach interior
- Weavers ruralised

1. **Machine prices**: Lancashire's mechanised mills undersold Indian handloom cloth even in Indian bazaars.
2. **Markets lost both ways**: Cotton piece-goods fell from about 33% of India's exports in 1811-12 to about 3% by 1850-51, and by the 1870s made up over half of its imports.
3. **Human cost**: Dhaka shrank from about 1.5 lakh people to 30,000 to 40,000 by 1840, as Charles Trevelyan told Parliament, and Amiya Bagchi found Gangetic Bihar's industrial population fell from 18.6% to 8.5% by 1901.

**Colonial Policy and Internal Causes**

1. **One-way free trade**: The Charter Act of 1813 opened India to British goods at nominal duties while Indian textiles faced heavy tariffs in Britain.
2. **Lost patronage**: The decline of Mughal and princely courts destroyed demand for luxury crafts, a collapse that owed nothing to steam.
3. **Uneven decline**: Railways after 1853 carried imports inland, yet coarse handloom weaving survived on mill yarn, as Tirthankar Roy shows.

**Way Forward**

1. **Trade sovereignty**: Unequal tariffs, not technology alone, decide who industrialises.
2. **Craft with technology**: As Swadeshi revived handlooms, design, credit and GI tags like Banarasi sarees can keep crafts competitive.

**Conclusion**

The Industrial Revolution was largely, but not solely, responsible: it supplied cheap goods, while colonial policy and lost patronage decided how deep the decline went.

How far was the Industrial Revolution in England responsible for the decline of handicrafts and cottage industries in India?

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