Some people spurn the idea of making in this age of mechanism
hand-spinning and hand-weaving a national industry, but they forget
there are millions of their countrymen in this age who, for want of
suitable occupation, are eking out a most miserable existence, and
thousands who die of starvation and underfeeding every year, whereas
only a hundred years ago hand-spinning and hand-weaving proved an
insurance against a pauper's death. The extent to which relief was
provided by this industry is recorded by Mr. Dutt in his "History of
India: Victorian age" from the investigations conducted by Dr. Buchanan
for seven years, 1813-1820. Dr. Buchanan travelled throughout of the
whole country. And his observations and statistics convinced him that
next to agriculture, hand-spinning and hand-weaving were the great
national industries. We make no apology for giving some of the facts and
figures collected by Dr. Buchanan:
In the districts of Patna and Behar with a population of 3,364,420
souls, the number of spinners was 330,426. "By far the greater part of
these," observed Dr. Buchanan, "spin only a few hours in the afternoon,
and upon the average estimate the whole value of the thread that each
spins in a year is worth Rs. 7-2-8 giving a total annual income of
Rs. 23,67,277 and by a similar calculation the raw material at the retail
price will amount to Rs. 12,86,272, leaving a profit of Rs. 10,81,005
for the spinners or Rs. 3-4-0 per spinner...."
In the district of Shahbad, spinning was the chief industry. 159,500
women were employed in spinning and spun yarn to the value of
Rs. 12,50,000 a year. Deducting the value of cotton each woman had some
thing left to her to add to the income of the family to which she
belonged.
In the Bhagalpur district (with a population of 2,019,900) where all
castes were permitted to spin, 160,000 women spent a part of their time
in spinning and each made an annual income of Rs. 4-1/2 after deducting
the cost of cotton. This was added to the family income. In the
Gorakhpur district (population 1,385,495) 175,600 women found employment
in spinning and made an annual income of Rs. 2-1/2 per head. In the
Dinjapur district (with a population of 300,000) cotton-spinning which
was the principal manufacture occupied the leisure hours 'of all women
of higher rank and of the greater part of the farmers' wives.' Three
rupees was the annual income each woman made by spinning in her
afternoon hours.
In the Purniya district (population 2,904,380) all castes considered
spinning honourable and a very large population of women of the district
did some spinning in their leisure hours.
In eastern Mysore women of all castes except Brahmans bought cotton and
wool at weekly markets, spun at home, and sold the thread to weavers.
Men and women thus found a profitable occupation. In Coimbatore, the
wives of all the low class cultivators were great spinners.
The statistics of weavers show that they also were as numerous as the
spinners. In the Patna city and Behar district, the total number of
looms employed in the manufacture of chaddars and table cloths was 750,
and the value of the annual manufactures was Rs. 5,40,000 leaving a
profit of Rs. 81,400, deducting the value of thread. This gave a profit
of Rs. 108 for each loom worked by three persons or an income of Rs. 36
a year for each person. But the greater part of the cloth-weavers made
coarse cloth for country use to the value of Rs. 24,386,621 after
deducting the cost of thread. This gave a profit of Rs. 28 for each
loom.
In Shahabad weavers worked in cotton only. 7,025 houses of weavers
worked in cotton and had 7,950 looms. Each loom made an annual income of
Rs. 20-3/4 a year and each loom required the labour of a man and his
wife as well as one boy or girl. But as a family could not be supported
for less than Rs. 48 a year, Dr. Buchanan suspected that the income of
each loom given above was understated.
In the Bhagalpur district some worked in silk alone. A great many near
the town made Tasar fabrics of silk and cotton intermixed; 3,275 looms
were so employed that the annual profit of each weaver employed in the
mixed silk and cotton industry was calculated to be Rs. 46 besides what
the woman made.
For the weaving of cotton-cloth, there were 7,279 looms. Each loom
yielded a profit of Rs. 20 a year. But by another calculation, Dr.
Buchanan estimated it to be Rs. 32 a year.
In the Gorakhpur district there were 5,434 families of weavers
possessing 6,174 looms and each loom brought an income of Rs. 23-1/2.
Dr. Buchanan thought this was too low an estimate and believed that each
loom brought an income of Rs. 88 in the year.
In the Dungarpur district "Maldai" cloth was manufactured. It consisted
of silk warp and cotton woof. 4,000 looms were employed in this work
and it was said that each loom made Rs. 20 worth of cloth in a month,
which Dr. Buchanan considered too high an estimate. About 800 looms were
employed in making larger pieces in the form of Elachis.
In the Purniya district weavers were numerous.... In Eastern Mysore
cotton-weavers made cloth for home-use as silk weavers produced a strong
rich fabric. Workmen who made cloth with silk borders earned As. 6 a day
and those who made silk cloth earned As. 4.
Thus we see that crores of rupees were earned by these spinners and
weavers by following their noble and honest calling. The
decentralisation of the industry--every village, town and district
having always at its command as much supply as it needed--automatically
facilitated its distribution and saved the consumer from Railway Excise
and all sorts of tariffs and middlemen's profits that he is a victim to
to-day. If we cannot return to these days--though there is no reason,
except our own bias and doubt why we should not--can we not at least so
organise our industries as to do away without much delay with the
foreign cloth with which our markets are being dumped to-day?
_Y. I.--15th Sep. 1920._