Over 50 per cent of workers in the Bombay cotton mills in 1911 came from the neighbouring district of Ratnagiri, yet many of them regularly returned to their villages during harvests and festivals. What does this pattern of movement tell us about the relationship these workers maintained with rural life, and how might it have affected the mills' ability to maintain a stable workforce?
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:01 · grounding rag
Model Answer
This pattern shows that mill workers maintained strong ties with their villages — physically and emotionally. As Vasant Parkar noted, workers went home during harvests and sowing seasons, and mills even granted leave for this purpose. Workers saw the city as a place of employment but the village as their true home.
For the mills, this created difficulty in maintaining a stable, permanent workforce. When large numbers left during harvest seasons and festivals, production was disrupted. Mills had to rely on jobbers to continuously recruit new hands, which also increased their dependence on these middlemen.
Source: Chapter 4, Section 4.2 — Where Did the Workers Come From?
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Explanation
- The examiner expects two angles: (1) what the pattern reveals about workers' identity/attachment to rural life, and (2) its impact on mill operations (workforce instability).
- Quoting or paraphrasing Source E (Vasant Parkar) scores well as it directly supports the answer.
- Mention of jobbers as a consequence of workforce instability adds depth within the word limit.
- Avoid writing a general essay — keep it focused and factual, tied to the passage.