Pre-History
Indian handloom has an ancient lineage and India was the leading exporter of textiles till imperial policies systematically caused ruin to it. As R C Dutt, the first Indian entrant to ICS and one of the early drain theorists noted: ’Weaving was…the national industry of the people’ (Dutt, 1906, pp. 256). In seventeenth century, led by European demand, India exports of cotton goods alone averaged between 50-60 million yard, of which Europe accounted for 32 million, Far East comprised 18 million, and to Persia and Central Asia 3 million yards (Leadbeater, 1993). From the Battle of Plassey (1757) to 1813 when the monopoly of the East India Company was abolished, imports from Britain kept on increasing at a steady pace as shown by the rising value of British export of cotton goods to the East (mainly India)
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