Development in India

Development in India The British trade policy took a heavy toll on the indigenous industry. Industrialization of India was not part of British policy. Like other colonies, India was treated as a raw material procurement area and a market for their finished goods. Despite this, industrial expansion took place in India, because of certain unforeseen circumstances, first during the course of the First World War and then during the Great Depression. The first Indian to start a cotton mill was Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar ( – ), a Parsi, in Bombay in . This was known as the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company. The city’s leading traders, mostly Parsis, contributed to this endeavour. The American Civil War ( – ) was a boon to the cotton farmers. But after the Civil War when Britain continued to import cotton from Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar Period of Radicalism in Anti-imperialist Struggles the first time, an industrial commission was appointed in . During the war-period, the cotton and jute industries showed much growth. Steel industry was yet another sector marked by substantial growth. Other industries showing progress were paper, chemicals, cement, fertilisers, tanning, etc. The first Indian owned paper mill – Couper Paper Mill – was set up in in Lucknow. Following this, Itaghur Paper Mill and Bengal Paper Mill, both owned by Europeans, were established. Cement manufacturing began in in Madras with the establishment of South Indian Industries Ltd. Tanning industry began in the late nineteenth up in in Raiganj by Dwarakanath Tagore ( – ), grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore. The coal industry picked up after and its growth peaked during First World War years. It was in the early twentieth century, industries in India began to diversify. The first major steel industry – Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) – was set up by the Tatas in as a part of swadeshi effort in Sakchi, Bihar. Prior to this, a group of Europeans had attempted in to found the Bengal Iron Company. Following this, the Bengal Iron and Steel Company was set