Question 10 from UPSC CSE 2020 - MODERN INDIA

Question

Which of the following statements correctly explain the impact of the Industrial Revolution on India during the first half of the nineteenth century?

IASCODEX · Accepted Answer

Correct Option: A. Indian handicrafts were ruined.

Strategy: Focus on the central theme: the Industrial Revolution led to deindustrialization in India. Recognize that Indian handicrafts suffered due to cheaper British machine-made imports. Other options, such as large-scale mechanization in Indian textile mills and significant railway expansion, mostly occurred after the mid-19th century, not the first half. No heavy duties were placed on British imports into India; instead, Indian goods were taxed in Britain. Thus, only the decline of handicrafts aligns with historical causation in the stated timeframe.

Key Info: The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 18th century and intensified in the early 19th century, drastically altered the economic landscape of India under colonial rule.

### Impact on Indian Handicrafts
- India's traditional handicrafts, especially textiles, suffered enormously due to British manufactured goods flooding the Indian market.
- British policies favored the import of machine-made textiles from Manchester and Lancashire while imposing duties/tariffs that restricted Indian exports to Britain, causing a dual market loss for Indian artisans.
- The deindustrialization process led to unemployment, poverty, and a massive decline in artisanal and cottage industries, especially in Bengal, Punjab, and Madras regions.

### Mechanization and Railways
- Mechanization in Indian textile mills (e.g., first successful cotton mill in Bombay in 1854) became significant only in the second half of the nineteenth century.
- The first railway line in India was inaugurated in 1853 between Bombay and Thane. Extensive railway laying was a second half 19th-century development.

### Duties and Trade Policy
- Rather than heavy duties on British imports, colonial policies largely removed or kept tariffs low on British goods entering India, facilitating the import of British industrial products.
- Simultaneously, Indian goods faced discriminatory tariffs in Britain, harming their competitiveness.

### Broader Significance
- The loss of traditional handicraft industries reshaped India's economic structure, increasing dependence on agriculture and undermining indigenous businesses, leading to structural poverty and backwardness.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option B: Machines were introduced in the Indian textile industry in large numbers.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option C: Railway lines were laid in many parts of the country.

IASCODEX · Answer

Option D: Heavy duties were imposed on the imports of British manufactures.