The Age of Industrialisation

Chapter summary

This chapter challenges the standard narrative of "industrialisation = factories replacing cottages." It shows that the story is more nuanced — both in Britain and in India.

In Europe, industrial production was already significant before the factory system, through "proto-industrialisation" — peasants and artisans working from countryside cottages for international markets, organised by merchant capital. The Industrial Revolution from the 1780s built on this base, transforming Britain into the world's first industrial economy by 1850.

In India, the picture was different. Before 1750, India had the world's largest textile industry — producing fine cotton textiles that dominated global markets. From 1820, British factory-produced textiles flooded Indian markets, destroying handloom industries. By 1900, India's share of world textile exports had fallen from 25% to under 2%. This was "deindustrialisation."

Yet from the 1850s, modern Indian industries emerged — jute mills in Bengal, cotton mills in Bombay, later iron and steel (Tata 1907). These industries grew slowly under colonial constraints, accelerated during World Wars I and II, and laid the foundation for post-independence industrial growth.

The chapter ends with the human dimension — the workers in these factories, their living conditions, the role of "jobbers" in recruitment, and the emergence of trade unions and workers' movements that would become a major force in 20th century Indian politics.

Proto-industrialisation (17th-18th centuries)

Before the factory system, much industrial production happened in the European countryside. Proto-industrialisation was the system where:

• Merchants from European towns moved to villages with money;
• They contracted with peasants and artisans to produce cloth, glass, leather, metal goods;
• Production happened in cottages — using the labour of all family members (men, women, children);
• Merchants supplied raw materials; took finished goods to markets across Europe and overseas;
• Peasants supplemented agricultural income; landlords often welcomed this as it helped peasants pay rents.

This was significant for several reasons:

• It linked countryside to international markets;
• It built the infrastructure of merchant capital — credit, transport, distribution networks;
• It provided the demand and supply preconditions for factories — concentrated population in textile producing areas, accumulated capital in merchant hands;
• It established the practice of large-scale production for distant markets.

The Industrial Revolution in Britain

From the 1780s, Britain saw a series of technical inventions that transformed industrial production:

These inventions enabled the factory system:

• Workers came to a single location instead of working from cottages;
• Machinery required steam power, which required centralised infrastructure;
• Production was organised around the machine's needs, not the worker's pace;
• Capital and labour were separated — capitalists owned factories, workers sold labour for wages.

The first cotton mills appeared in Lancashire (England) from the 1780s. By 1850, Britain produced two-thirds of the world's cotton textiles. The factories were powered first by water (waterwheels), then steam, then increasingly electricity from the 1880s.

Important nuances the chapter emphasises:

• The transition was NOT instantaneous. In 1900 — over a century after the Industrial Revolution began — most British workers were still in traditional handicrafts, agriculture, services. Factories employed perhaps 20-30% of workers.
• Technological change was UNEVEN. The new machines were used alongside hand-made production for decades. Hand-printed coloured cloth from India ("calico") continued to compete with British factory cloth in many markets.
• Human costs were severe — child labour, 14-16 hour days, unsafe machinery, urban slums.

India's deindustrialisation

Before 1750, India was a global textile manufacturing leader. Indian fine cotton textiles ("muslin," "chintz") were exported to Europe, West Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas. India had perhaps 25% of world manufacturing output.

Then came the British colonial economic order. From the 1820s, four forces destroyed Indian textiles:

1. British factory cotton flooded Indian markets: After the Industrial Revolution, British factories could produce cloth much cheaper than Indian handlooms. By 1850, British cloth was 50-70% of cloth sold in India.
2. British protectionism in their own market: Britain imposed high tariffs on Indian textile imports while Indian markets were open to British goods.
3. Free trade orthodoxy enforced in India: The East India Company and later the British government refused to allow protective tariffs for Indian industries.
4. Currency manipulation: Several rupee-sterling exchange rate changes worked against Indian exporters.

The result:

• India's share of world cotton textile exports: 25% (1750) → 5% (1830) → under 2% (1900);
• Indian handloom weavers lost their main market — many were ruined;
• India became a supplier of raw materials (raw cotton, indigo, jute) and a market for British finished goods;
• The economic structure shifted from manufacturing to agriculture — the opposite direction of European development.

This is what historians call deindustrialisation — a country that was an industrial leader being reduced to a primary commodity exporter.

The rise of Indian factories (1850s-1947)

Despite colonial constraints, modern Indian industries emerged from the 1850s:

Jute mills

The first jute mills opened near Calcutta in the 1850s. By the 1880s, Bengal jute mills dominated world jute production. Most were owned by British managing agencies (companies like Andrew Yule, Bird), but some Indian entrepreneurs entered the industry (Birla family expanded into jute by 1920s).

Cotton mills

The first cotton mill opened in Bombay in 1854. Indian capitalists — Cawasji Davar (first mill), Dwarkanath Tagore, Sassoon Mills, J.N. Tata — built up a substantial industry. By 1900, Bombay had over 100 cotton mills. The Indian cotton industry initially served the Indian market and exported coarse cloth to East Asia (where Japanese mills later became competitors).

Iron and steel

The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) was founded in 1907 at Sakchi (later Jamshedpur) by Jamshetji Tata's vision (he died before completion; his son Dorabji Tata oversaw the launch). TISCO began production in 1912 — the first major Indian iron and steel producer. Its product was the basis for India's industrialisation in subsequent decades.

Other industries

Sugar mills (UP, Bihar), paper mills, leather, cement, chemicals — all emerged in colonial India, mostly post-1920s. By 1947, India had a small but real modern industrial base.

Workers and the jobber system

The workers in these factories had distinctive characteristics:

• Mostly rural migrants: Pushed by rural poverty, peasants moved to cities seeking work;
• Often temporary: Many workers kept ties to their villages, returning periodically;
• Predominantly male in many industries: Women were significant in jute mills but less so in cotton mills;
• Recruitment through jobbers: Industrialists relied on trusted senior workers (jobbers) to recruit fresh workers from rural areas;
• Low wages: Indian factory wages were a fraction of British wages, providing labour-cost advantage but also reflecting poverty;
• Long hours: 12-14 hour days were common in the 19th century;
• Slum conditions: Workers lived in chawls (multi-storey tenements in Bombay) or cramped quarters in Calcutta — high disease rates, low life expectancy.

The jobber was a key intermediary:

• An old, trusted worker who knew village networks;
• Brought workers from his village; helped them settle in the city;
• Often charged commission and demanded gifts/favours;
• Held considerable power over workers' lives;
• The jobber system reflected the absence of formal labour markets in early Indian industrialisation.

By the 1920s, industrial workers had begun to organise. The All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was formed in 1920. The Bombay Textile Strike of 1928-29 was a major event. Workers became a political force; trade unions allied with the freedom movement.

Impact of World Wars on Indian industries

World War I (1914-18) was a turning point. British factories were diverted to war production. Indian markets were temporarily unprotected from British competition. Indian industries had an unprecedented opportunity:

• Cotton mills produced cloth for the British army and Indian markets;
• Demand for jute bags, leather boots, tents, blankets surged;
• TISCO expanded steel production for the war effort;
• Indian capitalists accumulated wealth that they reinvested in further industrial expansion;
• By 1923, Indian industrialists formed the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) — becoming a political force.

The Great Depression (1929-39) hurt Indian agricultural exports but helped industries — protective tariffs were finally imposed in the 1930s (after decades of nationalist demand).

World War II (1939-45) repeated the WWI pattern. Indian industries again expanded under wartime demand. By 1945, India had a substantial industrial base that would form the foundation for post-independence development.

NCERT exercise Q&A (with explanations)

UPSC / MPSC previous year questions on this chapter