The Threads of an Empire which Unknotted the Fabric of Indian Society
by Tanya Souther
Since very early ages, civilizations have sought after high-quality fabrics. These fabrics ranged from silk, linen, cotton, and many more. Textiles have driven trade in foreign markets for ages. This search for high quality is linked to the rich history of fabrics from the Coromandel Coast in India. Generations of Indian artisans have prized this fabric for its soft, rich, and traditional crafting methods. Coromandel Coast fabrics had become world-renowned due to their intricate floral and bird designs, vibrant colors, and luxurious feel. All of these traits make them highly desirable across all the global markets. The East India Company became the major exporter of these textiles to Britain and other parts of the world. As noted in East India Company records, “The Northern Circars have from very early times been the seat of an extensive manufacture of cotton piece-goods.” 1 Ultimately, this global demand for the Coromandel Coast fabric came at a significant cost to India and its economy. The British colonial rule, through the East India Company’s control of trade, exploited the textile industry of the Coromandel Coast by extracting the resources, undermining local artisans, and reshaping trade to benefit Britain solely. Ultimately this exploitation was the cause of economic decline and cultural disruption in India. In this context, exploitation refers to the extraction of economic value and labor from Indian producers without fair compensation while simultaneously weakening the local fabric industries for the benefit of British imperial interests.
To understand how this exploitation developed, European colonial powers expanded during the early days. Many of the world's regions, such as India, sought after spices and textiles. The British East India Company, founded in 1600. They quickly established dominance over trades by securing the key ports and forming alliances with the local rulers. That authority developed into economic control of the region. Company records highlight the scale of these exports, noting “two hundred seventy million pounds of chiefly Indian cotton exported to Europe." 2 This large-scale export reflects just how old the resources were that were extracted from India without reinvestment into India, contributing to the long-term economic decline. The fabric trade generated immense wealth for the United Kingdom. It solely depended on the systematic extraction of Indian local resources and labor. Rather than helping local economies, this system drained profits from them, creating a foundation for prolonged economic exploitation and destroying India’s once-independent textile production. As a result, India’s economy and development were directly affected, which hindered India’s ability to compete in the global market.
One clear example of this exploitation, can be seen in the "sack-back" 3 gown house at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The elite in 18th-century Europe would have worn this gown. The gown reflects the high demand for Indian textiles among European women. The gown was made around 1770; its features include pleats behind the bodice, gold inlay, and a low neckline all these are indicators of wealth and status among the elite. The Indian textiles were used to produce the garment for European consumption, demonstrating the diversion of Indian labor and resources to the foreign market. This is a central facet of exploitation, as it removes goods from their original cultural and economic contexts without any benefit to the producer of the item, maintaining unequal power relations and enriching colonialism.
As British influence continued to grow, British control over the textile industries contributed to the decline of local production in India. With the regulation of the manufacturing and export of goods, the East Indian Company limited the ability of the Indian artisan to compete in their own markets too. At the same time, cheaper, machine-made British textiles were introduced to India, reducing the demand for the local produce goods. This process led to what historians describe as what history calls "deindustrialization," which is the alternate collapse of traditional industries due to extreme external economic pressures. Many Indian weavers were forced into poverty or to rely on the British for their livelihood. The term “Sakar Ki Churi,” or “sugar knife,” 4 signifies that the British rule shared benefits but concealed its negative effect on the local economy. The history of the Coromandel Coast textile industry is evidence of the long-term effect of the British colonial expansion on the Indian economy and culture. Through the monopoly of the East Indian Company and the resource extraction, the British turned a previously flourishing artisan industry into one of market decline and dependency. While the Indian textile was still a symbol of influence in the global markets, the Indian artisans themselves were marginalized within this system. By examining this history, it reveals how colonial trade practices prioritized their profit over the local prosperity, thus reshaping the economic structures in a way that had long-term consequences for the Indian society.
- East India Company. 1836. Reports and Documents Connected with East India Company. by order of the East India Company. “Google Books.” 2018. Google.com. 2018.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reports_and_Documents_Connected_with_the/mx83AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=textile+industry+of+%C2%A0east+india+company%C2%A0&printsec=frontcover ↩ - East India Company. 1836. Reports and Documents Connected with East India Company. by order of the East India Company. “Google Books.” 2018. Google.com. 2018.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reports_and_Documents_Connected_with_the/mx83AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=textile+industry+of+%C2%A0east+india+company%C2%A0&printsec=frontcover ↩ - Dadabhai Naoroji, Essays, Speeches, Addresses and Writings (On Indian Politics) Bombay: Caxton Printing Works, 1887, 32 ↩
- Museum, Victoria and Albert. n.d. “Gown | V&a Explore the Collections.” Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15445/gown/ ↩
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