Ryan International School, Chandigarh

Class: 8 Subject: Social Science

Chapter: L-6 Changing Pattern of Industrialisation Under the British(History)
I. Based on your understanding, tick the correct option:
1. Chintz
2. The city of Calicut
3. 87
4. 1911
5. Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar
II. State whether the following statements are true or false and rewrite the incorrect statements
to correct them:
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
III. Answer the following in one sentence:
1. Where did the cotton textile industries exist in pre British India?
Ans.In pre-British India, the cotton textile industries existed in Dacca, Broach and Madurai.
2. Name the varieties of Indian cotton textile that were in demand in Europe.
Ans. The varieties of Indian cotton textiles that were in demand in Europe were muslin,
bandhani, calico and chintz.
3. What is bandhani?
Ans. Bandhani is a kind of brightly coloured cotton cloth produced mainly in Rajasthan and
Gujarat.
4. Who established the first cotton spinning Mill in Bombay?
Ans. The first cotton spinning Milll in Bombay was established by Cowasji Nanabhoy Davar.
5. What does TISCO stand for?
Ans. TISCO stands for Tata Iron and Steel Company.
IV. Answer the following questions in brief:
1. What is the factory system?
Ans. The factory system came up during the Industrial Revolution. It was an innovative
technique of production for harnessing the new machines and further improving and
mechanising production. In this system, workers went to work in a building called the factory,
which was owned by a person who invested the capital to set up the factory. Workers were paid
wages by the factory owner.
2. What is chintz? Why was this so popular in England and Europe?
Ans.Chintz is a cloth with small colourful flowery designs. This was popular in England and
Europe for its floral designs, fine texture and relative cheapness.
3. What is De- industrialisation?
Ans. De-industrialisation is the process through which the existing traditional industries were
destroyed. For example, the colonisation and conquest of India by the British resulted in the
destruction of the Indian textile industry.
4. How did the Civil War in America help the Indian cotton mills?
Ans. The Civil War in America adversely affected cotton imports from the plantations of the USA
to Britain. This resulted in a sharp increase in India’s raw cotton export to Britain. The Civil War
thus helped the Indian cotton mills.
5. Name the new machines introduced during the industrial revolution.
Ans. The new machines introduced during the Industrial Revolution were steam engine,
spinning jenny, water frame, cotton gin and power loom.
V. Answer the following questions in detail:
1. Which were the three definite factors that caused the decline of the Indian textile industry?
Ans. The factors that caused the decline of the Indian textile industry were as follows:
• Britain, after the Industrial Revolution, started producing machine-made textiles that were
much cheaper and better in quality than traditional Indian textiles.
• The Indian textile industry did not have the advantages of mechanisation and the
factory system and thus could not keep up with the production in Britain.
• English-made cotton textiles successfully ousted Indian goods from their traditional
markets in Africa and Asia as well as America and Europe, by the beginning of the 19th century.
English and European companies stopped buying Indian goods, and their agents no longer
gave advances to weavers to secure supplies
• The coercive policies adopted by the British government affected the Indian textile industry.
The Company’s agents forced Indian farmers to cultivate cotton and sell it to them at cheap
rates. The Company also made it compulsory for the weavers to register with the Company and
do nothing independently
2. How did the industrial revolution in England affect the Indian handicraft industry?
Ans. The Industrial Revolution in England affected the Indian handicraft industry in the following
ways:
• Machine-made textiles that were much cheaper and better in quality replaced the
traditional Indian textiles.
• The Indian textile industry could not keep pace with the mechanisation and factory system,
which came into existence after the Industrial Revolution.
• Traditional Indian markets in Africa, Asia, American and Europe were taken over by British
companies.
• The Indian ruling class lost its political power and its economic status and was no longer able
to patronise the weavers and craftsmen who were now forced to seek other means of livelihood.
3. How did the Charter Act of 1813 affect Indian craftsmen?
Ans. The Charter Act of 1813 affected the Indian craftsmen in the following ways:
• The Act ended the EEIC’s monopoly and threw open Indian trade to all British subjects. This
resulted in British-manufactured textile goods flooding Indian markets.
• The English-made cotton textiles successfully ousted Indian goods from their traditional
markets in Africa and Asia as well as America and Europe.
• English and European companies stopped buying Indian goods, and their agents no longer
gave advances to weavers to secure supplies.
4. Why did the Indian iron smelting industry decline in the 19th century?
Ans. The Indian iron smelting industry declined in the 19th century due to the following reasons:
• A series of British Forest Laws passed by the mid-nineteenth century restricted access to
forested areas. Iron smelters, thus could either not go into the forests to collect wood for the
charcoal or had to pay heavy taxes to forest officials to secure permission to enter the forests.
• A decline in the demand for iron produced by local indigenous smelters because of tough
competition from British steel.The large demand for iron and steel required for the construction
of railways in India was met by importing iron and steel from England.
• Indian iron-smelters gave up their craft and had to look for other means of livelihood.
5. Describe the beginning of the iron and steel industry in India in the 20th century.
Ans. The beginning of the iron and steel industry in India in the 20th century started with the
vision of one man, Jamsetji Tata. The sequence of events that led to its establishment were:
• Sir Dorabji Tata set up a factory in 1907 called TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company) at
Sakchi
• Sakchi, located at a distance of 32 km from Kalimati Station on the Bengal–Nagpur railway
line, was seen as the ideal place to set up the steel plant.
• TISCO started producing pig iron in 1911, and steel in 1912. This was the first Indian-owned
steel producing unit in India.
• In 1914, the First World War broke out. Steel produced in Britain now had to meet the
demands of war in Europe. So, imports of British steel in India declined, and the Indian Railways
turned to TISCO for the supply of steel for rails.
• The demand of the colonial government for steel increased because the war in Europe
dragged on for several years and TISCO became the biggest steel supplier.