Question

In 1805, a British official, Benjamin Heyne, listed the manufactures of Bangalore which included the following:

• Women’s cloth of different musters and names

• Coarse chintz

• Muslins

• Silk cloths

Of this list, which kind of cloth would have definitely fallen out of use in the early 1900s and why?

Answer 1

Of the given list, silk cloths would have definitely fallen out of use because of the patriotic zeal that was aroused in the people due to the Swadeshi movement. In 1905, Lord Curzon decided to partition Bengal, and this gave birth to a nationalist sentiment that urged people to boycott British goods. Women were then encouraged to use homespun cloth, and throw away silks and glass bangles.