Indian Industry during the First World War

 

Indian Industry during the First World War

During the First World War (from 1914 to 1918), the import of foreign goods into India reduced. One reason was that cargo ships were on war related duties, and hence there was a shortage of ships. Secondly, in the factories of Europe, things needed for the war were being made. So very few goods meant for the Indian markets were available. Under these circumstances, the factories that had been established in India started selling their goods in large quantities. Because of heavy sales, there was a rapid development of industries.

 After the war ended, Indian factory owners purchased a large numbers of European machines and set up new industries. Indian industrialists began demanding that the government should levy a tax on foreign goods so that the sales of Indian goods might continue in future as well. The government had to accept this demand for many reasons.

After 1917, taxes were levied on many foreign goods, one after the other. As a result, factories set up in India were able to develop speedily. Problems of Indian Industry at the Time of Independence After a long struggle, Indian industry had got a little help from the British government. Yet, a very large number of factories, banks, ships etc. were in the control of Europeans. Europeans had many advantages for these companies. They could easily contact officers and authorities of the British government, whereas Indians were never able to do so.

 All the foreign trade was in the hands of European companies, hence, they had no shortage of funds either. Even though the Europeans had more influence on industries, Indian industrialists developed a great deal. For example, Indian industrialists were able to control the textile industry. The greatest example of the achievements of Indian industrialists was the steel factory at Jamshedpur that was set up by an industrialist named Jamshedji Tata.

The tax on foreign goods was a great help for the Indian industrialists from the government, but this was not sufficient. Many resources and facilities were needed such as railways, roads, electricity, coal and iron. However, the British government did not pay attention to development in these areas. Indian industrialists also had to buy all their machines from abroad. Industries that would manufacture machines had simply not started in India.

For the development of industry, help was needed from scientists, engineers, and technicians. Educated workers were needed at all levels. But education was not given importance in India. Industrial development depended on foreigners because very few Indian scientists and engineers were there. In order to promote Indian industry, many organisations of industrialists were formed even during British times. One of the most important was the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI). Such organisations brought up the problems of the industrialists before the government. With the end of the British rule in India and the formation of a free government, the situation changed. The government of India gave encouragement to the growth of industries in a planned manner.

Labourers in Indian Industries Industrial Towns and Labour Settlements From 1850 onwards, machine-based industries had started setting up in India. The biggest industry was the spinning and weaving of textiles. In 1905, around 2.25 lakh labourers were in the textile industry, 1.5 lakh in the jute industry and about 1 lakh in coalmines. Needy farmers, labourers and artisans started coming from villages to the cities in the hope of employment. Along with them or after them, their relatives, neighbours, and friends also came. The number of labourers in cities increased. Huts and tenements of labourers started setting up around factories. Many cities of India, such as Kanpur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, became large industrial cities.

Work Conditions In the early phase, work would begin every day at dawn in the mills, and would stop only at sundown. The labourers would wake up early and go to the mills - men as well as women and even children. Once they started working on the machines, there was no question of stopping. There was no fixed break even for meals.

The labourers would eat their food in 15 - 20 minutes break from work, and would ask a fellow labourer to look after their work. There was no separate place to eat either. The labourers spent the whole day in the heat, humidity, noise, dust and suffocation of the mill. Only when the sun set and it became impossible to see in the dark, the machines would stop and work would end. This would go on for months. Even a weekly holiday was not allowed. They were given a holiday only for the major festivals of the year. However, it is not possible to work every day of the year. Sometimes they fell ill or had to attend to family duties.

People also got exhausted and tired of monotonous work. But if they did not go to work, they lost the day’s wages. In those days, payment was made in proportion to the amount of goods produced. The owners laid the condition that “as much as you make, so much will you be paid.” Sometimes things went wrong with the machines, or the supply of raw material was delayed or it was inadequate. Although this was not the fault or the responsibility of the labourer, yet the mill owners would deduct the labourer’s money. Thus, labourers were not able to get any fixed income each month. At the end of the month, the mill owner would not even make the full payment to the labourers.

He would keep some money till the end of the next month. In such a situation, if labourers wanted to leave the work and go away they could not - because their earlier month’s wages were still stuck with the owner. There were also plenty of fines. The owners would fine the labourers for the smallest reason - if they came late, if the cloth got spoilt, if the owner thought the labourer did not work sincerely - there would be fines and they were deducted from the month’s wages.

All the labourers - men, women, and children - had to work under such conditions for 14 hours in the summers and 12 hours in the winters. Then, in 1880, something new happened. Electric bulbs began to be fitted in the mills. As the hours of light increased, the hours of work also increased. Now it was not necessary to stop work when the sun set. And now it became common to take up to 15 hours of work each day from each labourer.