Q . The advent of Europeans on Indian soil was more than a curse for the traditional Indian industries. Comment. (15 marks, 250 words, GS-1)
Answer-
Approach-
- Begin with the status of Indian industries earlier that is since ancient times.
- Next para to include what changed with the advent of Europeans and especially British.
- Final para to be about the factors responsible.
India since early time was famous for various arts, products, artefacts, etc. These products were exported to various parts of the world and brought bullions in the form of gold, silver and other precious metals.
But this changed with the advent of Europeans. With the establishment of European trade and rule, began the process of deindustrialization. Many artists lost their livelihood and turned to agricultural labourers, handlooms were systematically destroyed and replaced by machine made goods, and textiles were ruined.
The various factors that fuelled and aggravated the deindustrialization were-
- Industrial revolution–
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- It made the manufacturing sector of Europe mechanized and hence could produce cheap and in bulk.
- The handlooms and textiles of India became costly as compared to machine made goods.
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- Loss of market–
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- The imperialism and colonialism of most countries of the world led to the loss of market for Indian goods.
- The colonial powers established restrictions over the inflow of Indian goods.
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- Ruin of domestic market–
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- The nobles, kings and other wealthy class of India bought these Indian classic products.
- The establishment of British rule affected their income and purchasing power.
- Hence these sections no longer purchased the Indian goods.
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- Tax imposition–
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- The British imposed tax on the exports of the Indian goods thus making them costlier.
- Also the taxes on imports were removed and hence were queit cheap.
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- Raw material–
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- The raw materials were diverted from India to Britain to produce in bulk through the machines and earn huge profits.
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