Write about the decline of the small scale industry in the
19th century?
Answers
By process of de-industrialization
The process of de-industrialization is an economic change in which employment in the manufacturing decline due to various economic or political reasons.[1] The decline in employment in manufacturing is also followed by the fall in the share of manufacturing value-added in GDP. The process of de-industrialization can be due to development and growth in the economy and it can also occur due to political factors. In other words, the term de-industrialization means a general reduction in the industrial capacity and came into prevalence in India with the destruction of the handicrafts industry by external competition from British manufactured products during the 19th century.
The initial idea of Indian de-industrialization came from Sir William Bentinck, who acted as the Governor-General of India between 1833 and 1835 and his policy significantly impacted the cotton industry of India. The effect of the British cotton industry on the Indian cotton industry was originally presented by Karl Marx in Das Capital.[2]
The historical de-industrialization processes observed in the British colonies such as India are said to be a product of the British rule. The industrial revolution in Britain is followed by a significant decline in artisan and manufacturing activities in the colonial and semi-colonial regions of the East such as India.