What was the impact of the british industrialisation in india?
Answers
Even though India had various economic activities that contributed to its economy, the textile industry was a dominant contributor. Prior to industrial revolution, India had an internationally acclaimed cotton textile industry and exported to different parts of the world including Europe, Middle East and the Americas among others. In fact, in 1750, India is documented to have dominated the world’s cotton textile markets. India’s textile industry thrived because it had access to cheap labor that resulted in high quality but low priced calicoes. It is no wonder that the Indian calicoes were popular in Britain the end of the 17th century.
However, after the industrial revolution the table was turned as the textile imports to Britain were hurdled by stringent tariffs and other protectionist policies. Even though the imposed tariffs frustrated the Indian textile market, the superiority of the Indian calicoes remained unrivaled and people still imported it. It was not until the discovery and use of steam power as from 1815 that the Indian textile industry faced a market threat. The steam power made the previous inventions of the spinning mule and power loom more effective and efficient thus reducing the cost of British cotton by 85% and making it internationally competitive. By 1820, Britain was a leading world exporter of textiles significantly displacing India.
Also, India’s colonial masters imposed laws that dictated to the farmers which crops exactly to cultivate and how much crops to cultivate. This led to a situation where no food crops were cultivated because all the land was dedicated to production of raw materials for the British industries. The end result was famine and poverty. Therefore, industrial revolution turned India into a source of raw materials for British industries as well as a market for its finished products. The Indian economy also dwindled because its industrialization process was slowed down. Poverty and starvation also became common.