Handicraft Industries and its Impact
The decline of handicraft industries in India refers to the nineteenth century The decline of Indian industries and agriculture as a result of British policies greater dependence on the economy to the decline of handicraft industries Among the major influencing factors, we can enumerate the following,the control of the export of finished goods by Britain from India.Indian products were highly taxed in Britain.The British officials controlled the handicrafts of Bengal through their Gumashtas, that is, they started interfering in the production process as well. They provided raw materials to the craftsmenat exorbitant prices and bought finished goods from the mat low prices.Through British social, cultural and educational policies, a class was created in India whose interest was towards British goods. Due to this, the indigenous industries had to suffer. Due to the expansion of the British Empire, the condition of the princely states was pathetic. happened. These native kingdoms traditionally support the handicrafts industry. They had been giving shelter and now they were not able to give shelter to the industries. The development of railways also contributed to the decline of handicraft industries.
Finally, the Charter of 1813 opened the door of India to British goods. It became impossible for Indian handicrafts to compete with British machine made goods. Impact of decline of handicraft industries Unemployment: The decline of handicraft industries was not compensated by modern industries and resulted in increase in unemployment. “Increased pressure on agriculture: The decline of handicraft industries resulted in increased migration to villages and pressure on land and agriculture.greatly increased.The self-reliant rural economy broke down and a pan-India economy developed. But it had its limits. The decline of handicraft industries increased the exodus of wealth from India.
