How did the british rulers cripple indian handicrafts?What were its consequences?
Answers
The desolation of Indian economy under British rule can be summarized into two points.
Trade imbalance. The Indian export before British raj was higher because of our comparative advantage in production of many goods such as cotton, silk, ornaments etc. Small scale industries like handloom, silk, jewellery and leather had high productivity. Indian merchants collected the commodities and sold them abroad and in return brought decent amount of bullion and some import. Under British rule the company’s servants took over much of the exports and imposed heavy duties on the rest of the export done by Indian merchants. The absence of sufficient profit incurred by Indian traders deeply affected the native manufacturers creating a scarcity of capital for further production. In exchange of loan, British government compelled them to sign a weaver under which they were prohibited from selling to other buyers before fulfilling the need of East India company, selling price of which was again dictated by their own selves. This led to the decline of Indian industries. At the same time the company servants who snatched the jobs of Indian merchants were making good profits. They could easily transfer their wealth to their home country. In simple words, Indian goods were sold overseas but did not bring in any return, instead it went to a foreign country, whereas for the much needed imports India had to pay. Under such condition it was impossible for India to retain economic balance. Even this was not enough. Later, the import duties were minimized to open Indian markets for English manufacturers. Government also established their monopoly on certain goods like salt and opium.
Exploitation of country’s resources. The decline of indigenous industries caused a major section of population to rely on agriculture. A series of experiments on systems of land aimed at maximizing revenue by British government was a severe exploitation of natural as well as human resources of India. The forced cultivation of plants like indigo which can be hazardous if done manually affected the health of many. Furthermore, the incompetence of British government to take corrective measures before natural calamities proved fatal for masses. There was not any food reserve and British were too greedy to invest a part of their wealth acquired in India for the well-being of native Indians. Such inhuman and irrational moves degraded the quality of labour in India.
India being the biggest economy in Indian subcontinent deeply affected the neighboring economies. The impact of faltering Indian economy was accordingly felt in countries near by.
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