Page 44 - SST Class 08

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Crafts and Industries
Indian art and craftwork during British rule had
witnessed an all-round upliftment, with the
government of India incorporating some regula-
tions to boom artisans. Schools and colleges and
even exhibitions were formed to make art and
craft work easier to common man. British hands
were also involved, which made such works earn
pride place in British museums.
DECLINE OF INDIAN TEXTILES
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 organisations 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 household 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
Social Science-8
production and those machine products were
cheap and colourful. 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 pres-
sure of the competition with cheaper machine-
made goods. Thus, those were driven out of
European markets. Further, the British trade
policy proved extremely fatal for Indian handi-
crafts. In 1813, trade monopoly was abolished
and one-way free trade policy was imposed on
India. By this policy, the British machine prod-
ucts were imported to India freely and the export
of Indian goods to England was discouraged by
imposition of heavy duties on those products.
Beginning of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution revolutionised the
textile industry in Britain. Cloth began to be
made on machines. This made it cheaper than
cloth made by hand. The Indian craftsmen, who
made cloth by hand, had to compete with the
machine-made cloth of Britain. Indian textiles
also lost out to British textiles on the issue of
price in the European and American markets.
The conquest of Bengal
The conquest of Bengal and eventually the
whole of India opened up a vast market for
manufactured textiles from Britain. The Industrial
Revolution was already in full swing and Britain
began to dump its finished textiles in India. India,
once the world’s leading exporter, was now
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