TEXTILE AND LEATHER INDUSTRY DURING THE 1ST HALF OF 20TH CENTURY

Textile and Leather industry during the first half of 20th century.

Learning objectives

After reading this article we will be able to know about:

• Two major Industries such as textile and Leather that exist fast half of the 20th century.

• The importance of small scale industries for the development of the rural economy, emergence of new towns, cities and Employment generation.

• How the textile and Leather industry survived, even if with the entry of the Europeans.

• The most important of reorganization of production and technological changes within small scale industries.

• Impact upon the labour market.

Introduction

    Modern industries or the large scale industries are the 19th Century phenomenon. Economic historians often have a tendency to focus on the large scale industries and international trade in goods. But here we emphasize the need of small producer commerce, study the changes within additional production and significance of local trade.Here our main concern about the survival of a textile and leather industries that is small scale industry with the entry of Europeans to the Indian market.

Textile industry

Scale

• In the interwar period that is 1919 to 1939 possibly 3 to 3.5 million persons were engaged in the Cotton silk and wool spinning industries.

• From the late 19th century, it is possible to estimate the scale of production of Handloom cotton cloth based on quantities of mill made and yarn that imported by the mills. The total production of cotton cloth expanded by about 30% between 1900 and 1939.

• Taking all fibres together except wool, in the 1930 Handlooms market share in total cloth consumption in the value may have been about 50%.

• The number of Handlooms was roughly stable in the first half of 20 th century at around 2 million.

• The condition of Handloom weaver was very poor. There was a great variation between more skilled and less skilled weaver.

Condition of demand

• Cotton textile industries were highly commercialized even before British rule. These segments supplied mainly foreign trade. From the first quarter of the 19th century, the foreign trade declined and British cloth began to compete with Indian cloth even in Indian market.

• The power driven 100m is much faster than Handloom but the Handloom was more efficient in certain types of traditional clothing.

• Due to the complex design woven on the loom ,handloom had greater demand in the Indian market. The best example of Handloom speciality is a saree with a design border.

The supply-side

• The second half of the 19th century, the usual system of work in weaving was the household and family remaining in unity of Handloom weaving during and after the colonial period. But there was a noticeable expansion in Handloom factories from the interwar period. This factory is employed mainly migrant labour.

• Capital and Labour involved in the Handloom industry become increasingly mobile. There was a migration from rural regions towards the new point of trade and towards the railways and Spinning Mills.

• Many types of invention in Handloom weaving became available for wide usage in the 20th century largely due to efforts of the provincial government. On the other side, the increasing wealth and knowledge of capitalist weavers, increasing certainty of their markets, made them more willing to try out new tools. The traditional Loom was replaced by a power driven frame Loom. They spread much faster from 1930 when Mini search town received electricity. This looms, of course, were run with power. By 1940, there were about 15000 such  looms,some  in cotton and some  in silk and rayon.

Leather industry

• Tanned hides and skin became a measure export item in the late 19th century. From 1870 down to the Great Depression, it is a major export. Thereafter, the export of tanned hides and skin fell, but the Hides are being used more and more as inputs by local leather manufacturers and the exports of such manufacturers begin to increase.

• Tanning was originally a rural craft, and practiced by groups who are part time agricultural labourers. They were very lowly placed in the caste hierarchy and had little bargaining power with their main customers.

•  the export market concentrated hide trade in Kanpur, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. And the better quality demanded by foreign buyers of Indian hides encourage factories in these cities owned by hide merchants.

• These developments weakened the rural barter system. It also encouraged leather artisans  to migrate to cities. They were re employed as factory labourers.

• In the course of this change flaying, tanning and Leather manufacturers which are often performed by the same person formally separated out.

• .division of labour and separation increased.

• The old customer did not vanish, but often persisted in the tannery in the form of direct or indirect hierarchy between workers and supervisors.

Conclusion

    Textile industry and Labour industry act as a new perspective of  industrialisation during the first half of 20th century. Textile industry in India traditionally after agriculture is the only Industry that has generated enormous employment. Textile production survived because European imports could not displace the very coarse and very fine varieties of textile. While the Workforce continues to decline, output increased. This was because of reorganisation of production and technological changes with small scale industries.