Bengal’s traditional industries, once celebrated worldwide, largely decayed under the backwash effects of the British Industrial Revolution in the first half of the nineteenth century. Although colonial ambivalence is often cited as an explanation, this study also shows that a series of new industries emerged during this period. The book reappraises the thesis of India’s deindustrialisation and discusses the development status of the traditional industries in the early nineteenth century, examines their technology, employment opportunities and marketing and, finally, analyses the underlying reasons for their decay. It offers a study of how traditional industries evolved into modern enterprises in a British colony, and contributes to the broader discussion on the global history of industrialisation. This book will be of interest to scholars of Indian economic history as well as those who seek to understand the widespread effects of industrialisation, especially in a colonial context.

This book seeks to enlighten two grey areas of industrial historiography. Although Bengal industries were globally dominant on the eve of the industrial revolution, no detailed literature is available about their later course of development. A series of questions are involved in it. Did those industries decline during the spells of British industrial revolution? If yes, what were their reasons? If not, the general curiosity is: On which merits could those industries survive against the odds of the technological revolution? A thorough discussion on these issues also clears up another area of dispute relating to the occurrence of deindustrialization in Bengal, and the validity of two competing hypotheses on it, viz. i) the mainstream hypothesis of market failures, and ii) the neo-marxian hypothesis of imperialistic state interventions

Bengal's traditional industries, once celebrated worldwide, largely decayed under the backwash effects of the British Industrial Revolution in the first half of the nineteenth century. Although colonial ambivalence is often cited as an explanation, this study also shows that a series of new industries emerged during this period. The book reappraises the thesis of India's deindustrialisation and discusses the development status of the traditional industries in the early nineteenth century, examines their technology, employment opportunities and marketing and, finally, analyses the underlying reasons for their decay. It offers a study of how traditional industries evolved into modern enterprises in a British colony, and contributes to the broader discussion on the global history of industrialisation. This book will be of interest to scholars of Indian economic history as well as those who seek to understand the widespread effects of industrialisation, especially in a colonial context.

In recent decades, private investment has led to an economic resurgence in India. But this is not the first time the region has witnessed impressive business growth. There have been many similar stories over the past 300 years. India's economic history shows that capital was relatively expensive. How, then, did capitalism flourish in the region? How did companies and entrepreneurs deal with the shortage of key resources? Has there been a common pattern in responses to these issues over the centuries? Through detailed case studies of firms, entrepreneurs, and business commodities, Tirthankar Roy answers these questions. Roy bridges the approaches of business and economic history, illustrating the development of a distinctive regional capitalism. On each occasion of growth, connections with the global economy helped firms and entrepreneurs better manage risks. Making these deep connections between India's economic past and present shows why history matters in its remaking of capitalism today.

Index Chapter-1 : Sources for the History of Modern India (Page:1 to 3) Chapter-2 : Major Approaches to the History of Modern India (Page:3 to 4) Chapter-3 : Advent of the Europeans in India (Page:4 to 9) Chapter-4 : Indian on the eve of British Conquest (Page:9 to 13) Chapter-5 : Expansion and Consolidation of British Power in India (Page:13 to 26) Chapter-6 : People’s Resistance Against British Before 1857 (Page:26 to 34) Chapter-7 : The Revolt of 1857 (Page:34 to 38) Chapter-8 : Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features (Page:38 to 42) Chapter-9 : A General Survey of Socio- Cultural Reform Movements (Page:42 to 49) Chapter-10 : Beginning of Modern Nationalism in India (Page:49 to 51) Chapter-11 : Indian National Congress: Foundation and the Moderate Phase (Page:51 to 53) Chapter-12 : Era of Militant Nationalism-(1905-1909) (Page:53 to 58) Chapter-13 : First Phase of Revolutionary Activities (1907-1917) (Page:58 to 60) Chapter-14 : First World War and Nationalist Response (Page:60 to 63) Chapter-15 : Emergence of Gandhi (Page:63 to 68) Chapter-16 : Non-Cooperation Movement and Khilafat Aandolan (Page:68 to 71) Chapter-17 : Emergence of Swarajists, Socialist Ideas, Revolutionary Activities and Other New Forces (Page:71 to 75) Chapter-18 : Simon Commission and the Nehru Report (Page:76 to 78) Chapter-19 : Civil Disobedience Movement and Round Table Conferences (Page:78 to 86) Chapter-20 : Debates on the Future Strategy after Civil Disobedience Movement (Page:86 to 89) Chapter-21 : Congress Rule in Provinces (Page:89 to 90) Chapter-22 : Nationalist Response in the Wake of World War II (Page:91 to 95) Chapter-23 : Quit India Movement, Demand for Pakistan, and the INA (Page:95 to 99) Chapter-24 : Post-War National Scenario (Page:99 to 104) Chapter-25 : Independence with Partition (Page:104 to 106) Chapter-26 : Constitutional, Administrative and Judicial Developments (Page:106 to 115) Chapter-27 : Survey of British Policies in India (Page:115 to 117) Chapter-28 : Economic Impact of British Rule in India (Page:117 to 119) Chapter-29 : Development of Indian Press (Page:119 to 121) Chapter-30 : Development of Education (Page:121 to 124) Chapter-31 : Peasant Movements 1857-1947 (Page:124 to 126) Chapter-32 : The Movement of the Working Class (Page:126 to 127) Chapter-33 : Challenges Before the New-born Nation (Page:127 to 128) Chapter-34 : The Indian States (Page:128 to 130) Chapter-35 : Making of the Constitution for India (Page:130 to 131) Chapter-36 : The Evolution of Nationalist Foreign Policy (Page:131 to 133) Chapter-37 : First General Elections (Page:133 to 134) Chapter-38 : Developments under Nehru’s Leadership (1947-64) (Page:134 to 137)

The majority of workers in South Asia are employed in industries that rely on manual labour and craft skills. Some of these industries have existed for centuries and survived great changes in consumption and technology over the last 150 years. In earlier studies, historians of the region focused on mechanized rather than craft industries, arguing that traditional manufacturing was destroyed or devitalized during the colonial period, and that modern industry is substantially different. Exploring new material from research into five traditional industries, Tirthankar Roy s book contests these notions, demonstrating that while traditional industry did evolve during the Industrial Revolution, these transformations had a positive rather than destructive effect on manufacturing generally. In fact, the book suggests, the major industries in post-independence India were shaped by such transformations. Tirthankar Roy s book offers new and penetrating insights into India s economic and social history.

Beginning in 1895, includes the Proceedings of the East India Association.