QUESTION 13
GS1
15 marks
How far was the Industrial Revolution in England responsible for the decline of handicrafts and cottage industries in India?
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Judge how far Britain's Industrial Revolution caused the decline of Indian handicrafts, and how far colonial policy and internal changes did.
How farAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Industrial Revolution: cheap Lancashire machine cloth, flood of imports after 1813 when the Company's trade monopoly ended≈50 words
- 2Colonial policy: one-way free trade, high duties on Indian goods in Britain, export of raw cotton, railways opening interior markets≈50 words
- 3Internal factors: loss of royal and noble patrons after annexations, decline of towns like Dhaka and Murshidabad≈50 words
- 4Nuance: some crafts survived or adapted (handloom weaving persisted in coarse cloth)≈50 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Thesis (major but not sole cause)Industrial Revolution's roleColonial trade policyLoss of patronageSurvival and adaptationJudgement
Where marks usually go
- Blaming only machines and ignoring colonial tariff policy
- No example of a declining craft centre such as Dhaka muslin
Draw this
- Graph sketch: Indian cotton exports falling and British cloth imports rising after 1813
Value addition
- ExampleDhaka's muslin industry collapsed in the 19th century; the town's population fell sharply as weavers lost markets.Bipan Chandra / R.C. Dutt, Economic History of India
- Concept'Deindustrialisation' debate: Dadabhai Naoroji and R.C. Dutt blamed colonial policy; later historians like Tirthankar Roy stress adaptation by crafts.R.C. Dutt, Economic History of India (1902); Tirthankar Roy
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Monika Srivastava · AIR 16 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 21 ↗Same syllabus reference
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