British Administration

There were many reasons for it. First, the policies followed by the English East India Company proved to be highly detrimental to the Indian handicrafts industry. The Indian market was flooded with the cheap finished goods from Britain. It resulted in a steep decline in the sale of Indian products both within and outside of the country. In 1769, the Company encouraged the cultivation of raw silk in Bengal while imposing service restrictions on the sale of its finished products. In 1813 strategies were devised by the Company to enhance the consumption of finished goods from Britain. In this respect the tariff and octroi policies were suitably modified to suit the British commercial interests. To cite an example, in 1835 only a minimal import of British duty of 2.5 per cent was imposed on the import of British manufactured cotton cloth whereas a very high 15 per cent export duty was charged on Indian cotton textiles as per the new maritime regulations.

Moreover, goods from England could only be brought by the English cargo ships. As a result of all these policies, the Indian textiles could not enter the British market, whereas the Indian market was flooded with British goods.

Thus, with the rise of British paramountcy in India, the process of decline in the power and status of Indian rulers had set in. Thus, the demands for the domestic luxury goods like royal attires, armory and objects of art by the Indian royalty also reduced drastically.

So, with the disappearance of the traditional dynasties, their nobility also passed into oblivion. This led to a sharp decline in the demand for traditional luxury goods.

Besides, the Industrial revolution led to the invention of new machinery in Europe. Power looms replaced handlooms. In India also the advent of machines led to the decline of handicraft as now the machine-made products were available at cheaper rate and more goods could be produced in much lesser time.

Finally, the new communication and transport facilities brought about a revolution in public life. Earlier, goods used to be transported either by bullock carts or by ships. Thus, during the rainy season, it was not always convenient to carry on with the normal transportation. But now conditions were changed with the introduction of railways and steamer services. Concrete roads were laid to connect the country’s agricultural hinterland. The import of goods from England also increased with the simultaneous increase in exports of raw materials from India, leading to massive loss of jobs among Indian artisans and craftsman who lost their only means to livelihood.

---