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The Age of Industrialisation

NCERT Class 10 · Social Science Based on NCERT Class 10 Social Science textbook · Free CBSE study kit

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Chapter Notes

Overview
This chapter challenges the popular glorification of industrialisation as a story of rapid technological progress and factory growth. It examines the history of industrialisation in Britain (the first industrial nation) and India (a colony), revealing that proto-industrialisation, hand labour, small-scale production, and the survival of traditional industries were equally important. The one big idea is that industrialisation was not a sudden, machine-driven revolution but a complex, uneven process shaped by merchants, workers, colonial control, and the persistence of non-mechanised production.
Key Concepts (12)
Proto-industrialisation
The phase of industrialisation before factories, when large-scale industrial production for an international market was carried out by peasants and artisans working in their family farms, controlled by merchants from towns.
e.g. In 17th-18th century Europe, merchants supplied money to peasants in the countryside to spin wool or weave cloth at home, which was then collected and sold internationally.
Guilds
Associations of producers that trained craftspeople, maintained control over production, regulated competition and prices, and restricted the entry of new people into the trade.
e.g. In European towns, guilds had monopoly rights granted by rulers to produce and trade in specific products, making it difficult for new merchants to set up business.
Gomastha
A paid servant appointed by the East India Company to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.
e.g. Gomasthas marched into weaving villages with sepoys and punished weavers for delays in supply, often beating and flogging them.
Jobber
An old and trusted worker employed by industrialists to recruit new workers, usually from his own village, and help them settle in the city.
e.g. In Bombay mills, a jobber would demand money and gifts from workers in exchange for getting their sons employed in the mill.
Spinning Jenny
A machine devised by James Hargreaves in 1764 that speeded up the spinning process by allowing one worker to spin several threads at the same time by turning a single wheel.
e.g. When introduced in the woollen industry, women who survived on hand spinning attacked the new machines because they feared loss of livelihood.
Fly shuttle
A mechanical device used for weaving, moved by ropes and pulleys, that places the weft (horizontal threads) into the warp (vertical threads), enabling weavers to operate larger looms and weave wider cloth.
e.g. By 1941, over 35% of handlooms in India were fitted with fly shuttles, increasing productivity and helping weavers compete with mills.
Managing Agencies
European firms that controlled a large sector of Indian industries by mobilising capital, setting up joint-stock companies, and managing them, while Indian financiers provided the capital.
e.g. Bird Heiglers & Co., Andrew Yule, and Jardine Skinner & Co. were three of the biggest European Managing Agencies in India.
Orient
The countries to the east of the Mediterranean, usually referring to Asia, a term arising out of a western viewpoint that sees this region as pre-modern, traditional, and mysterious.
e.g. In the picture 'Two Magicians', Aladdin from the Orient represents the East and the past, while the mechanic stands for the West and modernity.
Stapler
A person who 'staples' or sorts wool according to its fibre.
e.g. A merchant clothier in England purchased wool from a wool stapler before carrying it to the spinners.
Fuller
A person who 'fulls' – that is, gathers – cloth by pleating.
e.g. After weaving, the cloth was taken to fullers and then to dyers as part of the production process.
Carding
The process in which fibres, such as cotton or wool, are prepared prior to spinning.
e.g. Inventions in the 18th century increased the efficacy of carding, twisting, spinning, and rolling in textile production.
Sepoy
The British pronunciation of the word 'sipahi', meaning an Indian soldier in the service of the British.
e.g. Gomasthas marched into weaving villages with sepoys and peons to punish weavers for delays in supply.
How It Works
Proto-industrial System
  1. Merchants from towns moved to the countryside and supplied money (advances) to peasants and artisans.
  2. Peasants and artisans produced goods (e.g., cloth) for an international market within their family farms.
  3. Merchants collected the finished goods and sold them in international markets through a network of commercial exchanges.
  4. Each merchant employed 20-25 workers at each stage of production, controlling hundreds of workers in total.
💡 Students often think industrialisation began with factories, but proto-industrialisation shows large-scale production existed before factories, based in the countryside.
East India Company's Control Over Weavers
  1. After establishing political power, the Company asserted a monopoly right to trade in textiles.
  2. It eliminated existing traders and brokers by appointing gomasthas to directly supervise weavers.
  3. It prevented weavers from dealing with other buyers through the system of advances — loans given to weavers to purchase raw materials.
  4. Weavers who took loans had to hand over all cloth produced to the gomastha and could not sell to anyone else.
  5. Gomasthas acted arrogantly, using sepoys to punish weavers for delays, and paid miserably low prices.
💡 The key point is that the system of advances tied weavers to the Company, destroying their bargaining power and leading to conflicts.
Decline of Indian Textile Exports
  1. British cotton industries developed and industrialists pressurised the government to impose import duties on Indian textiles.
  2. The East India Company was persuaded to sell British manufactures in Indian markets.
  3. Exports of British cotton goods to India increased dramatically — by 1850, cotton piece-goods were over 31% of Indian imports.
  4. Indian weavers faced collapse of export markets and shrinkage of local markets due to cheap Manchester imports.
  5. During the American Civil War, raw cotton exports from India to Britain increased, raising raw cotton prices and starving Indian weavers of supplies.
  6. By the end of the 19th century, Indian factories began flooding the market with machine-made goods, further threatening weavers.
💡 Students often forget that the American Civil War (1861-1865) indirectly harmed Indian weavers by causing raw cotton shortages and price hikes.
Recruitment of Factory Workers in India
  1. Workers came from districts around industrial centres — e.g., over 50% of Bombay cotton workers in 1911 came from Ratnagiri.
  2. Peasants and artisans who found no work in villages moved to cities in search of jobs.
  3. Industrialists employed a jobber (an old, trusted worker) to recruit new workers.
  4. The jobber brought people from his own village, helped them settle, and provided money in times of crisis.
  5. The jobber gained authority and power, often demanding money and gifts for his favours.
💡 The jobber system was informal but crucial — students should note that entry into mills was restricted and the jobber controlled workers' lives.
Shift from Yarn to Cloth Production in Indian Mills
  1. Early Indian cotton mills produced coarse cotton yarn (thread) rather than fabric to avoid competing with Manchester goods.
  2. Indian yarn was used by handloom weavers or exported to China.
  3. From 1906, exports of Indian yarn to China declined due to competition from Chinese and Japanese mills.
  4. The Swadeshi movement (from 1905) mobilised people to boycott foreign cloth, boosting demand for Indian cloth.
  5. Industrialists shifted from yarn to cloth production — cotton piece-goods production doubled between 1900 and 1912.
💡 The shift was driven by both external (decline of Chinese market) and internal (Swadeshi movement) factors — both must be mentioned in answers.
Exam Traps — Don't Make These Mistakes
⚠ Confusing proto-industrialisation with factory-based industrialisation
✗ Proto-industrialisation means the first factories set up in England in the 1730s.
→ Proto-industrialisation refers to large-scale production before factories, carried out by peasants and artisans in their homes, not in factories.
✓ Proto-industrialisation was the phase before factories, where merchants controlled production by peasants and artisans working in their family farms for an international market.
⚠ Thinking industrialisation meant the end of hand labour in Britain
✗ By the mid-19th century, most workers in Britain were machine operators in factories.
→ Even at the end of the 19th century, less than 20% of the total workforce was employed in technologically advanced industrial sectors. The typical worker was a traditional craftsperson or labourer.
✓ In mid-19th century Britain, hand labour continued to dominate because labour was abundant and cheap, and many products required human skill that machines could not replicate.
⚠ Assuming the East India Company's control immediately reduced textile exports
✗ After the 1760s, Indian textile exports declined immediately because of British control.
→ Initially, the Company was keen on expanding textile exports from India because British cotton industries had not yet expanded. The decline began only in the early 19th century.
✓ After the 1760s, the East India Company expanded textile exports from India. The decline started in the early 19th century when British cotton industries grew and Manchester goods flooded Indian markets.
⚠ Thinking all weavers were wiped out by machine-made goods
✗ By the 20th century, handloom weaving had completely disappeared in India due to competition from mills.
→ Handloom cloth production actually expanded steadily in the 20th century, almost trebling between 1900 and 1940, due to technological innovations like the fly shuttle and demand for specialised weaves.
✓ Handloom weaving survived and expanded in the 20th century because weavers adopted new technology (fly shuttle) and produced specialised cloth (e.g., Banarasi saris) that mills could not imitate.
⚠ Confusing the role of Indian merchants in early industrialisation
✗ Indian industrialisation was entirely driven by European Managing Agencies with no Indian involvement.
→ Indian merchants and financiers provided capital for many industries, and some Indian businessmen (e.g., Dwarkanath Tagore, Jamsetjee Tata) set up industries themselves, often accumulating wealth through trade with China.
✓ Indian industrialisation involved both European Managing Agencies (which controlled decision-making) and Indian entrepreneurs who provided capital and later set up their own industries, often after earning from the China trade.
Compare & Contrast
Location and organisation of production
Proto-industrialisation
Factory-based industrialisation
Proto-industrialisation involved production in family farms and homes in the countryside, controlled by merchants; factory-based industrialisation brought all processes under one roof with machines, supervised by management.
Preference by industrialists
Hand labour in Britain
Machine labour in Britain
Hand labour was preferred in Britain because labour was abundant and cheap, and many products required intricate designs and human skill; machines were expensive, often broke down, and produced standardised goods for mass markets, mainly for export to colonies.
Volume and control
Indian textile exports before 1750
Indian textile exports after 1800
Before 1750, Indian fine textiles dominated international markets through a network of Indian merchants and ports like Surat; after 1800, exports collapsed due to competition from Manchester goods, British import duties, and colonial control shifting trade to Bombay and Calcutta under European companies.
Exam Focus
Marks pattern: 2 MCQs (1 mark each), 1 Short Answer (3 marks), 1 Long Answer (5 marks) — total 10 marks typically
Most asked: Proto-industrialisation and its features · Impact of colonial rule on Indian weavers · Role of gomasthas and jobbers · Peculiarities of industrial growth in India · Survival of handloom weaving in the 20th century
Don't skip: Explain the system of advances and its impact on Indian weavers (5 marks); Describe the role of jobbers in the recruitment of factory workers (3 marks); Why did hand labour continue in Britain despite the availability of machines? (3 marks)
One-Line Revision (read aloud before the exam)
  1. Proto-industrialisation was large-scale production for an international market before factories, carried out by peasants and artisans in their homes.
  2. Guilds were powerful associations of producers in European towns that restricted entry and controlled production.
  3. The East India Company used gomasthas to directly supervise weavers and the system of advances to tie them to the Company.
  4. Jobbers were old, trusted workers who recruited labour from their villages and controlled workers' lives in Indian mills.
  5. In Britain, hand labour persisted because labour was abundant, cheap, and needed for intricate, non-standardised goods.
  6. Even at the end of the 19th century, less than 20% of Britain's workforce was in technologically advanced industries.
  7. The American Civil War cut off cotton supplies to Britain, leading to increased raw cotton exports from India and higher prices for Indian weavers.
  8. Indian textile exports declined in the early 19th century due to Manchester imports and British import duties.
  9. The Swadeshi movement and the decline of yarn exports to China led Indian mills to shift from yarn to cloth production.
  10. Handloom cloth production in India trebled between 1900 and 1940 due to the fly shuttle and demand for specialised weaves.
  11. European Managing Agencies controlled large sectors of Indian industries, with Indian financiers providing capital but not decision-making power.
  12. Advertisements and labels with images of Indian gods were used by Manchester industrialists to sell cloth in India.
  13. The First World War boosted Indian industrial production as British mills focused on war needs and Manchester imports declined.
  14. After the war, Britain could not recapture its position in the Indian market due to its inability to modernise and compete with the US, Germany, and Japan.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. What does proto-industrialisation refer to?

  • A. Factory-based production using steam power
  • B. Large-scale industrial production for export markets using rural cottage labour ✓
  • C. Traditional guild-based craft production in towns
  • D. The first experiments with electric machinery

Answer: B — Proto-industrialisation describes merchant-controlled production networks using rural homes before factories, combining commercial markets with household labour.

Q2. Why did medieval and early modern merchants avoid expanding production in towns?

  • A. Towns had no skilled workers
  • B. Urban guilds held monopolies and restricted entry of new merchants ✓
  • C. Technology was unavailable in towns
  • D. Transportation costs were too high

Answer: B — Guilds maintained exclusive rights to produce specific goods and controlled quality, making it impossible for new merchants to expand business in urban areas.

Q3. Which event most directly created a supply of rural workers willing to accept merchant advances?

  • A. The invention of the steam engine
  • B. The fall of the Roman Empire
  • C. The enclosure of common lands ✓
  • D. The rise of Islam

Answer: C — Enclosure removed peasants' access to common grazing and gathering, forcing them to seek income; tiny plots could not employ all family members, making home production for merchants attractive.

Q4. What was the primary role of London in the proto-industrial cloth production system?

  • A. Sourcing raw wool from merchants
  • B. Spinning and weaving cloth
  • C. Finishing cloth and exporting to international markets ✓
  • D. Training weavers and fullers

Answer: C — London acted as the finishing centre where cloth was dyed, finished, and prepared for sale in international markets, completing the merchant's production chain.

Q5. By how much did Britain's cotton imports increase between 1760 and 1787?

  • A. From 2.5 million to 12 million pounds
  • B. From 2.5 million to 22 million pounds ✓
  • C. From 5 million to 25 million pounds
  • D. From 10 million to 50 million pounds

Answer: B — Cotton imports increased nearly ninefold from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds in 1787, driven by new machines and colonial market demand.

Q6. What significant change did Richard Arkwright introduce to cotton production?

  • A. He invented the spinning wheel
  • B. He created the cotton mill to centralise costly machinery ✓
  • C. He discovered raw cotton in America
  • D. He established the first international trade route

Answer: B — Arkwright's cotton mill brought together expensive new machines in one location, shifting production from scattered countryside homes to a centralised factory.

Q7. How many workers did each merchant clothier typically control in the proto-industrial system?

  • A. 5–10 workers per stage
  • B. 20–25 workers per stage (hundreds in total) ✓
  • C. 100–150 workers per stage
  • D. Over 500 workers in one location

Answer: B — Each merchant employed 20–25 workers at each production stage (carding, spinning, weaving, etc.), meaning a single clothier controlled hundreds of scattered rural workers.

Q8. Which statement best explains why peasants eagerly accepted merchant advances during proto-industrialisation?

  • A. Merchants paid higher wages than any other employer
  • B. Peasants lost access to common lands and had tiny plots; home production supplemented shrinking farm income ✓
  • C. Peasants wanted to learn factory skills
  • D. Merchants offered free housing to workers

Answer: B — Enclosure stripped peasants of commons and left them with insufficient land; home work for merchants allowed them to stay in countryside while earning essential supplementary income.

Q9. What is the main limitation of studying industrialisation only through the lens of factory development?

  • A. It ignores the proto-industrial system that existed before factories ✓
  • B. It overestimates the role of machines
  • C. It fails to account for colonial expansion
  • D. It undervalues merchant profits

Answer: A — Histories focusing only on factories miss proto-industrialisation, a large-scale commercial production system that already existed using cottage labour before the factory age.

Q10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an invention that boosted cotton production in the 1700s?

  • A. Carding of fibres
  • B. Spinning and twisting machines
  • C. The electric loom ✓
  • D. Rolling machines

Answer: C — The text mentions carding, spinning, twisting, and rolling as 1700s inventions; the electric loom is a later 19th-century development not discussed in this passage.

Flashcards

What is proto-industrialisation?

Large-scale industrial production for international markets based on cottage industries and rural workers controlled by merchants, before the factory system.

Why did merchants move to the countryside in the 1600s-1700s?

Urban guilds held monopolies and restricted new traders, so merchants could not expand production in towns and moved to rural areas.

What happened to peasants after enclosure of common lands?

Cottagers lost access to free grazing and firewood, had tiny plots, and eagerly accepted merchant advances to produce goods from home.

Name the textile inventions that boosted cotton production in the 1700s.

Carding, spinning, twisting, and rolling machines increased output per worker and allowed production of stronger yarn.

Who was Richard Arkwright and what did he create?

Richard Arkwright invented the cotton mill, a centralised facility where costly new machines could be purchased, set up, and maintained.

How much did British cotton imports increase between 1760 and 1787?

Cotton imports rose from 2.5 million pounds in 1760 to 22 million pounds by 1787.

What was the role of London in proto-industrial cloth production?

London was the finishing centre where cloth was dyed, finished, and prepared for export to international markets.

How many workers did each merchant clothier typically control?

Each merchant employed 20-25 workers at each stage of production, meaning one clothier controlled hundreds of scattered workers.

What is the difference between a guild and a merchant-run cottage system?

Guilds trained and regulated craftspeople with quality control in towns; merchant systems scattered production across villages with profit as the motive.

Why is early industrialisation often misunderstood in history?

Historians focus only on factories, ignoring the proto-industrial period when large-scale production already existed in rural homes under merchant control.

Important Board Questions

Define proto-industrialisation and explain why merchants moved from towns to the countryside in the 1600s–1700s. [2 marks]

Define proto-industrialisation as merchant-controlled rural production before factories. Explain that urban guilds monopolised trades and restricted competition, forcing merchants to organise production in countryside where peasants had just lost access to common lands.

Analyse how the enclosure of common lands and the arrival of merchants affected peasant households in the countryside. What benefits and losses did they experience? [3 marks]

Enclosure removed access to free resources (grazing, firewood, food), forcing peasants to seek income. Merchants offered advances, allowing peasants to earn supplementary income at home while keeping their small plots. Benefits: income and family labour use; losses: independence and security from commons.

Evaluate the argument that early industrialisation was purely a story of technological progress. Discuss the role of merchants, colonial markets, and social change in shaping industrial development before the factory system. [5 marks]

Explain that glorified images of progress (angel of progress, machines, railways) mask the real drivers: merchant profit-seeking, colonial demand (cotton imports 2.5M → 22M pounds), enclosure laws displacing peasants, and guild restrictions forcing relocation. Technology was important but shaped by economic and social interests, not inevitable development. Discuss how proto-industrialisation reveals production was organised for profit and export, using displaced rural labour, long before factories and steam power emerged.

Assertion-Reason Questions for The Age of Industrialisation

Q1. Assertion (A):

Proto-industrialisation was based on production in factories with advanced machinery.

Reason (R):

The proto-industrial system involved merchants controlling production that was carried out within village households and family farms, not in factories.

Answer: D — A is false but R is true — Both the assertion and reason are false. Proto-industrialisation was NOT based on factory production; instead, it was based on dispersed household and family farm production. The reason correctly describes proto-industrialisation, but the assertion is incorrect about its factory basis.

Q2. Assertion (A):

Urban trade guilds restricted the expansion of merchant business in towns during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Reason (R):

Trade guilds were powerful associations that controlled production, regulated competition and prices, and restricted entry of new people into the trade.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both the assertion and reason are true, and the reason correctly explains why guilds restricted business expansion. Guilds' monopolistic practices directly prevented new merchants from establishing businesses in urban areas, forcing them to turn to the countryside.

Q3. Assertion (A):

Poor peasants and artisans eagerly accepted work from merchants primarily because they were attracted to higher wages.

Reason (R):

The enclosure of common lands had deprived peasants of essential resources, and their small plots could not provide work for all household members.

Answer: C — A is true but R is false — The assertion is true—peasants did eagerly accept merchant work. However, the reason is not that higher wages were the primary attraction; rather, the reason given (enclosure and insufficient landholding) is the correct explanation for their eagerness. This means the assertion is correct but the reason stated in the question is false.

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Case-Based Questions (CBQ) for The Age of Industrialisation

Case Study:

A merchant clothier named Thomas operated his business in Manchester during 1780. He purchased raw wool from wool staplers in the town market. He then employed spinners in nearby villages to convert the wool into yarn. The spun yarn was transported to weavers in other villages who made cloth from it. The woven cloth was sent to fullers to gather the fabric, then to dyers to colour it. Finally, the finished cloth was transported to London where export merchants completed final finishing before selling it in European and colonial markets. Thomas never directly employed all these workers but maintained financial control through advances of money and raw materials at each stage.

Q1. What was Thomas's primary role in this production system?

  • A. A factory owner managing workers in one location
  • B. A merchant controlling a dispersed network of producers across multiple locations ✓
  • C. A skilled craftsman personally producing cloth
  • D. A porter responsible for transporting goods between locations

Answer: B

Q2. How many stages of production were involved in Thomas's cloth business?

  • A. Two stages—purchasing and selling
  • B. Three stages—spinning, weaving, and dyeing
  • C. Multiple stages including spinning, weaving, fulling, dyeing, and finishing ✓
  • D. Only one stage in his factory

Answer: C

Q3. Why would Thomas have preferred using village workers rather than establishing a factory in Manchester?

  • A. Village workers were more skilled than town workers
  • B. He could avoid guild restrictions in towns and control dispersed workers through merchant advances ✓
  • C. Factories were not invented yet in 1780
  • D. Village workers worked for free

Answer: B

Q4. What characteristic of this system demonstrates it as proto-industrialisation rather than factory industrialisation?

  • A. Large-scale production for international markets using dispersed household workers, not factories ✓
  • B. Production involved new machinery and steam power
  • C. All workers were located in one central location
  • D. Only local markets were supplied

Answer: A

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Previous Year Questions (PYQ) for The Age of Industrialisation

Real CBSE board exam questions from past papers — free to attempt.

CBSE 2025 · Set 31/3/2 · 2 marks

Mention any two economic impacts of the First World War on India.

CBSE 2025 · Set 31/3/3 · 5 marks

[Question text not clearly visible in provided text]

CBSE 2024 · Set 31/4/2 · 2 marks

''Until the nineteenth century, poverty and hunger were common in Europe.'' Analyse the statement.

CBSE 2024 · Set 31/5/1 · 1 mark

Which one of the following religions emerged from eastern India and spread in several directions through intersecting points on the 'silk routes' ?

  • Hinduism
  • Christianity
  • Buddhism
  • Jainism

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/2/1 · 1 mark

In the 1920s, which country had the important feature of large-scale production?

  • United States of America
  • Poland
  • France
  • Japan

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/2/1 · 1 mark

Yet, till the First World War, industrial growth was slow. The war created a dramatically new situation. With British mills busy with war production to meet the needs of the army, Manchester imports into India declined. Suddenly, Indian mills had a vast home market to supply. As the war prolonged, Indian factories were called upon to supply war needs: jute bags, cloth for army uniforms, tents and leather boots, horse and mule saddles and a host of other items. New factories were set up and old ones ran multiple shifts. Many new workers were employed and everyone was made to work longer hours. Over the war years industrial production boomed. After the war, Manchester could never recapture its old position in the Indian market. Unable to modernise and compete with the US, Germany and Japan, the economy of Britain crumbled after the war. Cotton production collapsed and exports of cotton cloth from Britain fell dramatically. Within the colonies, local industrialists gradually consolidated their position, substituting foreign manufacturers and capturing the home market.

Why did Manchester imports decline in India?

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/2/2 · 1 mark

In the 1920s, which one of the following countries was an important feature for mass production?

  • United States of America
  • Poland
  • France
  • Japan

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/2/3 · 1 mark

In which one of the following countries was an important feature mass production in the 1920s?

  • United States of America
  • Poland
  • France
  • Japan

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/4/1 · 1 mark

Who among the following improved the steam engine?

  • James Watt
  • Thomas Edison
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • Alexander Fleming

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/4/2 · 2 marks

Mention any two changes that occurred in West Punjab in the 19th century.

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/4/2 · 2 marks

''Industrialisation and Urbanisation go hand in hand.'' Explain.

CBSE 2023 · Set 31/5/1 · 1 mark

The first cotton mill in Bombay came up in 1854 and it went into production two years later. By 1862, four mills were at work with 94,000 spindles and 2,150 looms. Around the same time, jute mills came up in Bengal, the first being set up in 1855 and another one seven years later, in 1862. In north India, the Elgin Mill was started in Kanpur in the 1860s, and a year later the first cotton mill of Ahmedabad was set up. By 1874, the first spinning and weaving mill of Madras began production.

(34.1) When was the first cotton mill set up in India?

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Class 10 Social Science Previous Year Questions, Chapter-wise

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