Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
'It appears that twenty years ago, a brisk trade was carried on in the manufacture of cloth at Jahanabad, and Behar, which has in the former place entirely ceased, while in the latter the amount of manufacture is very limited, in consequence of the cheap and durable goods from Manchester with which the Native manufactures are unable to compete.'
— Commissioner of Patna
(i) What does this account reveal about the impact of Manchester goods on local cloth manufacturers in India? (1 mark)
(ii) Why were Manchester goods cheaper than Indian handloom products? (1 mark)
(iii) Identify two regions in India where weavers reported stories of decline and desolation by the 1850s as a result of competition with imported goods. (1 mark)
(iv) Despite the pressure of cheap mill cloth, some Indian weaving communities survived into the twentieth century. State one reason why. (1 mark)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:43 · grounding rag
Model Answer
(i) The account reveals that Manchester goods completely destroyed local cloth manufacturing in Jahanabad and severely reduced it in Behar. The cheap and durable machine-made cloth from Manchester made it impossible for native manufacturers to compete.
(ii) Manchester goods were produced by machines at lower costs, so they could be sold far more cheaply than Indian handloom products, which were made by hand and thus cost more to produce.
(iii) Two regions where weavers reported stories of decline and desolation by the 1850s were Jahanabad (Behar/Bihar) and Central Provinces (areas of Koshti weavers).
(iv) Some Indian weavers survived because mills could not imitate specialised weaves such as saris with woven borders, Banarasi saris, or Madras lungis and handkerchiefs. Demand for these finer varieties remained stable among well-to-do buyers.
Source: Chapter 4, Section 3.3 (Manchester Comes to India) and Section 5.1 (Small-scale Industries Predominate)
---
Explanation
- (i) Stick to what the passage says — complete ruin in Jahanabad, near-ruin in Behar.
- (ii) The key phrase from the chapter is "Produced by machines at lower costs" — use it.
- (iii) The source passage names Jahanabad/Behar; the Census Report (Source D) names Central Provinces — these are the two region examples drawn directly from the sources.
- (iv) Examiners expect one clear reason. "Mills could not imitate specialised weaves" is the textbook answer (Section 5.1). Avoid vague answers like "better quality" — be specific about which products or why demand persisted.