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Question

Who created the cotton mill? How did it help in improving production?


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Solution

Richard Arkwright had created the Cotton mill. Increased efficiency in the production process which increased the output per worker. It improved the production of stronger threads and yarn. Regulation of workers and maintenance of quality were better in mills.

Cotton Mills in India

During the British colonial period in India, the Spinner and Weavers who lost their livelihoods migrated to different cities and found work in new cotton mills, and some even migrated to different continents like South America and Africa, to work in plantations. Some people became agricultural labourers.

  • At Bombay, in 1854, a spinning mill was set up as the first cotton mill in India.

Reason for establishing First Cotton Mill in Bombay

Various important reasons played a role in choosing to set up the first cotton mill in Bombay. They are given below:

  • Cotton was grown in the vast tracts of black soil which was found in Western India. Bombay is in Western India.
  • Hence the cotton textile mills in Bombay could easily fetch the required raw materials.
  • Another reason is, that cotton was exported to China and England from India through Bombay. Hence Bombay had grown as an important port for trade.
  • In Bombay, by 1800, there were 84 mills operating in Bombay. These cotton mills were set up by Gujarati and Parsi businessmen who had earned their wealth by trading with China.

Cotton Mills in Other Cities

  • Cotton mills also started coming up in other cities of Western India.
  • In 1861, Ahmedabad got its first cotton mill.
  • Cotton mills were established in Sholapur, Nagpur of present-day Maharashtra.
  • Cotton mills were also established in Kanpur.

Production of Cotton

  • The first major growth in cotton production in India was during World War I since imports from Britain had reduced. Prior to it, cotton production in India could not grow due to heavy duties imposed on imports, and the colonial British Government refused favourable policies for local industries.
  • After 1921, cotton mills came up in South India and Central India. In South, India mills were set up in Bangalore, Madurai, and Coimbatore. In Central India, cotton mills were set up in Baroda, Nagpur, Sholapur, and Indore.
  • By 1947, India had 423 cotton mills, but after partition, the number of mills came down to 409 and cotton-producing areas had come down.
  • The important centres of cotton mills in Bengal were the Hoogly region, Kolkata, Howrah, Shyamnagar, and Serampore.

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