‘Industrialisation in India was a mixed blessing.’ Justify the statement.
It is true to say that industrialisation in India was a mixed blessing because it had both positive and negative aspects as mentioned below : (a) Positive aspects of industrialisation : A large number of people got employment in factories. For example, people from the United Provinces went to work in the textile mills of Bombay and in the jute mills of Calcutta. During the First World War new factories were set up and old one ran multiple shifts. Many new workers were employed and everyone was made to work longer hours. People started working in factories. There was migration of people from rural to urban areas. There was now less pressure on agriculture. (b) Negative aspects of industrialisation : The condition of weavers was affected badly. With the arrival of Manchester goods, the local market shrank. There was decline in most of weaving region in India. The weavers could not get sufficient supply of raw cotton of good quality.
