'The colonial era was responsible for the decline/ruin of traditional handicraft industries.' Accept or refute the above statement.

Question

Accepted Answer

Indeed, it is a well-accepted fact that it was the colonial era which brought about the decline of India's world-famous handicraft industries.

1. The colonial government had a vested interest in reducing India to the status of a mere exporter of raw materials, which were essentially required by the modern industries coming up in Britain.

2. At the same time, India was to act as a ready market for the products of these British industries, which were sold at cheaper rates. So the handicrafts started facing competition from machine-made products.

3. The British did not contribute significantly to the replacement of handicraft industries by a modern industrial base.

Thus, the colonial era was clearly responsible for the decline and ruin of the traditional handicraft industries.