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The History of Textiles in South Asia


Korean Minjok Leadership Academy
International Program
Yeon, Haram
Term Paper, AP World History Class, December 2009



Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Indus valley civilization
II.1 Cotton
II.2 Silk and silk saris
II.3 Indian textile in the ancient international trade
III. Medieval India
III.1 Muslim conquest and its cultural impact
III.2 Textile industry during the time of Islamic rule
III.2.1 Active international trade and textile mixtures
III.2.2 The interaction with the Islamic culture
III.2.2.1 Muslim impact on designs
III.2.2.2 Production of woolen carpets
III.3 Saris and division of gender and caste
IV. British Influence
IV.1 Exports of Indian cotton products
IV.1.1 India as the most competitive textile producer
IV.1.2 Exports via EIC (East India Company) or VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie)
IV.1.3 Export of Indian cotton to the British market and its impact
IV.1.4 Changes in design due to British influence
IV.2 British industrial revolution
IV.3 Textile imports from Britain : The Great Divergence
IV.4 Indian independence movement and the symbolic role of local cotton industriesy
V. Contemporary textile industry, Republic of India
V.1 Postcolonial Indian textile industry
V.2 Current status of Indian textile industry
VI. Conclusion
Notes
Bbliography



I. Introduction
            The history of textiles in South Asia is mainly focused on that of India. The region 'South Asia' usually is defined as consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (1). Here, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as defined today were until 1947 parts of India (generally defined here as the entire Indian plate) and the rest were heavily influenced by Indian textile culture, which was for a long time one of the most influential textile cultures in the international world. Therefore, it seems appropriate that this paper deals chiefly with the history of Indian textiles, which, even by itself, is very long and diverse.

II. Indian textiles in the ancient world

II.1 Cotton
            The history of textiles in India can be traced back to the Indus valley civilization. The cotton cultivation of the Indus valley civilization are traced back to the 4th and 5th millennium B.C. (2) Three material sources reveal the presence of textile in the Indus Valley: actual textile and textile material; terracotta or sculptures representing human figures wearing various costumes; and, tools and instruments used in manufacturing textiles. (3)
            Fragments of woven cotton and bone needles have been discovered at Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa, the ancient seats of the Indus Valley Civilization, and even the Rig Veda (a collection of more than 1000 hymns concerning the Hindu gods and mythology, which is considered to be one of the foundations of the Hindu religion (5)) and the epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana dwell upon the craft of weaving at length. (6) The cotton industry of Indus Valley civilization was highly developed, to a state that some of the technology used by the manufacturers of the Indus valley civilization continued until the industrialization of the textile industry after the colonization of India. (7)

II.2 Silk and silk saris
            Silk, known as Pattu in southern parts of India and Resham in Hindi/Urdu (from Persian) also has a long history in India. According to the archeological evidence from Harappa and Chanhu-daro, the silk production in India also began during the Indus valley civilization, roughly contemporaneous with the earliest known silk use in China. (8) The first Indian silk, spun as early as 1725 B.C., was produced not by the domesticated Bombyx mori silkworm, fed on mulberry leaves, but from the cocoons of indigenous Tussah, Eri and Muga moths. (9) Most of this silk is used to make saris, and were an integral part of Indian weddings and other celebrations. (10)
            A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine meters in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff. (11)
            It is evident from many sources that saris were worn from ancient times. The above figure, Yakshi of Didarganj (3rd century BC, Mauryan period), found near Patna, seems to be wearing a dress that is reminiscent of the sari without the pallav draped over the upper part of the body. Another of the earliest depictions of a Sari-like drape covering the entire body dates back to about 100 B.C. A north Indian terracotta (Shunga period 200 - 50 B.C.) depicts a woman wearing a sari wound tightly around her entire body in the kachcha style. (13) The technology of silk weaving was extremely developed, to a degree that legend even refers to the fabulous semi-transparent saree (a great technical feat) worn by Amrapali, the famous courtesan. (14)

II.3 Indian textiles in ancient international trade
            Indian textiles were extremely popular in the ancient world of trade. Inscriptions from the Middle East - for example that of King Sharrukin of Akkad - suggest the trade of textiles of the Indus valley civilizations form as early as 2350 B.C. (15) They were exported to many ancient civilizations, mainly through the port of Guzarat. The records of the Greek geographer Strabo mention the Guzarat port as exporting various Indian textiles. (16) Greeks and Babylonians called Indian cotton as ¡®Sind¡¯ and ¡®Sindon¡¯. (17) Indian silk was popular in Rome during the early Christian era, and Egyptian tombs from the 5th century exhibit hoards of fragments of cotton material originating from Gujarat. (18)
            Indian textiles also were spread through the Silk Road trade and influenced the early Chinese textile traditions. The Indians were famous for their skills in dying the textiles, and the thirteenth-century Chinese traveler Chau Ju-kua even referred to Gujarat as a source of cotton fabrics of every color. (19)

III. Medieval India

III.1 Muslim conquest of India
            Although there were earlier invasion attempts, the main phase of Muslim conquest of India took place from the 12th century. (20) The conquest made considerable impact on the culture of India, among which was the restoration of contact with the outside world. (21) With the Islamic Sharia courts capable of imposing a common commercial and legal system that extended from Morocco in the West to Mongolia in the North East and the Malay Archipelago (modern Indonesia) in the South East, India saw much progress in its foreign relationships. (22) It is by this time that India¡¯s trade relationship with Europe became more active.

III.2 Textile industry during the time of Islamic rule

III.2.1 Active international trade and textile mixtures
            With the active international transactions during the Muslim rule, Indian textiles also were spread among the entire world. They influenced not only the Arabic states under Muslim rule, but also had a great impact on European economy. During the 13th century, Indian silk was used as barter for spices from the western countries, (handicraft) and was also exported to the Malay Archipelago. (23)
            While pure silk or cotton products were of considerable demand, textile mixtures were generally more popular in international trades, since mixtures, being more luxurious and therefore more expensive, were more profitable considering the great transaction costs (especially in trades with Europe). For example, chintz (cotton cloth, usually printed with flowery patterns, that has a slightly shiny appearance) was exported to Europe and the Far East during these days, much before the coming of the Europeans. (24)
            Brocade (richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silk and with or without gold and silver threads (25)) were another popular kind of textile mixture products. Brocade has an age old tradition; even the Rig Veda, written between 1700-1100 BC, refers to a hiranyadrapi or a shining, gold-woven cloth. (26) Brocade flourished under the Mughal rule, and saris made in brocade were popular with high prices. (27) Cities like Banaras, Ujjain, Indore and Paithan (near Aurangabad) were known also to foreigners as producing centers of fine silk and brocade. (28)

III.2.2 The interaction with the Islamic culture

III.2.2.1 Muslim impact on designs
            Where the Hindu weaving had an abundance of life and spontaneity, with imaginary animals, plants and human figures, the Islamic tradition was more withdrawn and discreet. Representation of living creatures was stylized to the point of abstraction since Islam did not believe in graphic representation of living creatures. (29)
            The Mughal floral style is unique and born from an amalgamation of Mughal/Persian and European designs, most notably botanical drawings. European drawings often depict the full life cycle of a plant in a single page, from buds to fully-formed flowers. While Ottoman artists showed a strong preference for more stylized, geometric compositions of common Ottoman floral motifs such as tulip, rose, hyacinth, and carnation, Mughal art displayed a preference for naturalistic floral representations. (30)
            In their support of the arts and music, the tastes of the early Mughals remained strongly biased towards Central Asian, Persian and Chinese traditions. (31) In the 16th century, the old designs with floral motifs and animal depictions were replaced by Persian floral motifs. Akbari paintings show half-blooming flowers, the Jehangir period, full-blown blossom and the Shahjehan period, tiny blossoms with emphasis on the leaves. (32) Generally, the designs on textiles - especially saris - during the Mughal period were characterized by a mixture of Persian and Indian motifs. (33)

III.2.2.2 Production of woolen carpets
            Evidence of Indian woolen carpet manufacture suggests that it began during the 5th century B. C. By the 16th century, carpet-weaving centers were established in all the major courts of the sub-continent. However, it is the output of the Mughal period that is now attracting international attention. Large-scale production from the imperial workshops of Akbar laid the foundation for subsequent carpet weaving in India. (34)
            Kashmir is famous for its carpets. The art of carpet weaving came to Kashmir from Persia in the 15th century during the reign of Sultan Zain ul_Abadin. The art got a boost in the 17th century during the reign of Ahmed Khan the then governor of Kashmir. (35)

III.3 Saris and division of gender and caste
            India is often described with a highly discriminative nation, with its rigid gender inequality and caste system attributed to the Hindu tradition. However, according to some paintings or scriptures from medieval India, the equity among different genders and castes was maintained at least in the clothes they wore because of the universal wearing of saris.
            There existed a wide variety of saris. Because sari was a simple un-sewn cloth with length from 6 to 9 yards, it could be worn in a variety of activities ranging from sports to battle depending on the style with which they are worn. The nobles wore saris as a manifestation of their wealth, and the commoners also wore them without the undergarments and usually not covering the upper part of the body. (36)
            Therefore, due to the universal use of sari, the social discrimination in medieval India was shown not much in clothing but rather in other aspects such as jewelry or headwear. (37)

IV. British Influence

IV.1 Export of Indian cotton products

IV.1.1 India as the most competitive textile producer
            Under the rule of the Mughal Empire, India had become the largest economy in the world by the 17th century. (38) With the increasing trade, Indian textiles were celebrated worldwide for skill and delicacy.
            Textile trade took a great portion in India's international trade with various European nations. The Portuguese, for example, having been involved in trade with India since the early centuries AD, were attracted to Bengal and its high quality sink embroideries and textiles, and textiles maintained a significant portion in the trade between the two nations. (39)
            India was the most competitive international cotton producer. India¡¯s advantage in cotton production could be explained by the abundant supply of local raw cotton, tacit knowledge passed down for a long time, and the skilled labor specialized by the division of labor based on the caste system. (40) While the technology remained stagnant, Indian productivity was nevertheless high by pre-industrial standards due to these factors. (41)

IV.1.2 Export via EIC (East India Company) or VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie)
            In the 1600s, Dutch and English trading settlements were established in Golconda, from which finely colored cotton was exported via the port of Masulipattinam. The attractiveness of fast dyed, multi-colored Indian prints on cotton (i.e. chintz) in Europe led to the formation of the London East India Company in 1600, followed by Dutch and French counterparts. (42)
            From the 17th century, textile exports to Europe were mostly done via these companies. The exports generally consisted of cotton, which became the source of economic conflict between India and Britain. (43)

IV.1.3 Export of Indian cotton to the British market and its impact
            The local British cotton industry remained relatively small until the late 18th century. The abundant supply of high quality Indian cotton greatly influenced the British market. Even by the early 19th century, British cotton exports were at a very low level compared to those of later periods and British cotton took only about 3% of the Indian cotton market share.
            At the end of the 17th century, the silver outflow from Europe to India due to textile trade was considerable, and the silk and wool merchants of France and England were unwilling to put up with the competition from Indian textiles which had become the rage in the new bourgeoisie societies of Europe. (44) Such influence of Indian textiles in the British market led the domestic producers to lobby for protectionist methods. Initially, in 1690, the methods began with import duties, but with the British Calico Act of 1701, some cotton products were actually prohibited. These measures, however, could not eliminate the overwhelming advantage of Indian textiles, and the imports actually increased even during the early 18th century. (45)

IV.1.4 Changes in design due to British influence
            In the early stages of textile trade between India and Britain, Indian cotton had a great impact on the British textile market. Indian motifs became so popular in Britain that some domestic traders even attempted to imitate the Indian styles. (46) However, in the 19th century, as Britain began to take more dominant positions in the trade, Indian brocade designs changed drastically to fit the tastes of the British customers. (47) Traditional Indian motifs were replaced with large wallpaper-like designs including images of helicopters, airplanes, gardens, houseboats and palm trees etc. This decline in traditional design, among other things such as the decline of the sari industry and the replacement of traditional textiles with synthetic yarns, were signs of the general downfall of Indian textile industry. (48)

IV.2. British industrial revolution
            The major problem that the British manufacturers faced when competing with the Indian textile industry was their high labor costs. The various regulations on imports proving insufficient, and the local labor costs simply unable to compete with those of India, the only choice left for the British manufacturers was to reduce amount of labor required for production. (49)
            Around the period of Industrial Revolution, many inventions in Britain made this reduction possible. In 1733, John Kay (1704-1764), a spinner and mechanic, patented the flying shuttle, making it possible for one person to weave wide bolts of cloth by using a spring mechanism that sent the shuttle across the loom. (50)
            The invention, greatly increasing the efficiency of yarn weaving, upset the balance between the labor required for spinning and weaving; ten spinners were required to produce enough yarn needed by one weaver. (52) However, in 1764, a British carpenter and weaver named James Hargreaves invented an improved spinning jenny, a hand-powered multiple spinning machine that was the first machine to improve upon the spinning wheel by making it possible to spin more than one ball of yarn or thread. (53)
            The invention of the spinning jenny was followed by subsequent inventions that facilitated cotton production to a greater degree. One of the most important was Richard Arkwright (1732-1793)¡¯s 1769 patent for the ¡®water frame,¡¯ a machine which drew out and spun threads of cotton strong enough to be used as the warp - the long thread - in weaving cloth. (55) Ten years after that Samuel Crompton (1753-1827), a spinner, combined the spinning jenny and water frame into the water mule, which, with some variations, is used today. Then, in 1785 Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823) invented the power loom that mechanized the weaving process, thus turning cotton production, once a home-based craft, into an industry. (56)
            The production of cotton, however, was limited by concerns with energy; water power, the major source of energy then, was insufficient for the needs of modern industry. James Watt, a Scottish inventor, improved Newcomen¡¯s steam machine, a device that converted heat from burning coal into kinetic energy. Now it was possible for a textile factory to power numerous spinning and weaving machines via a system of belts and wheels all connected to a (relatively) reliable steam engine, running on coal. (57)

Table 1: Best-practice labour productivity in spinning 80s yarn in England, 1780-1825 (OHP: operative hours to process 100 lb of cotton) (58)
Year Technology OHP
1780 Crompton's mule 2,000
1790 100 spindle mule 1,000
1795 power-assisted mule 300
1825 Robert's automatic mule 135


            As demonstrated in the above table, with all these numerous inventions, the British productivity of cotton production greatly improved, even to the degree that the industry became competitive against the Indian one in which wages were less than 20% of those in the British market. Thus, British cotton began to gain competitiveness in the world market. (59)

IV.3 Textile imports from Britain: The Great Divergence

Table 2: Indian exports of cotton textiles, 1790-1859 (thousand pieces per year) (60)
Year Exports to Britain Total exports
Bengal Total India Bengal Total India
1790-1799 787 2,200 4,500
1800-1809 1,331 1.824
1810-1819 1,358
1820-1829 431
1830-1839 6 271 478 3,000
1840-1849 304 2,606
1850-1859 2,279


            With the development of these labor-saving techniques, British textile production became as productive as to compete with the Indian industry. As a consequence of the industrial revolution, by the end of the 18th century, competitive advantage had started to shift in Britain¡¯s favor, and price of British cotton now began to fall below the price of Indian goods in Britain so that Britain increasingly displaced India from the home market. Also, Britain became increasingly able to compete against India in third markets such as Africa, where transport costs were similar for both countries. (61) These changes in the market are shown in the above table, which shows the decline of Indian cotton in the British and the worldwide market from 1790 to 1859.

Table 3: Exports of cotton textiles, measured at constant official prices, Great Britain, 1697-1850 (?000 at 1697 prices) (62)
Year Piece goods Yarn Total
1697-1699 16
1700-1709 13
1710-1719 8
1720-1729 16
1730-1739 14
1740-1749 11
1750-1759 86
1760-1769 227
1770-1779 246
1780-1789 756
1790-1799 2,525 101 2,626
1800-1809 7,603 749 8,352
1810-1819 17,712 1,133 18,845
1820-1829 25,605 3,225 29,830
1830-1839 44,086 7,519 51,605
1840-1849 73,838 12,109 85,947


            In the next stage, from about 1830, British cotton productivity increased to a level that it could compete with Indian cotton even in the Indian domestic market at least in some products. The result of this change was shown in the increase of the Britain¡¯s share of the Indian cotton market: while it only took 3.9 % of the market share in 1831-1835, the share increased to 35.3 % by 1856-1860, and eventually to 58.4 % in 1880-1881. (63) As a consequence, India¡¯s domestic handicraft industries suffered such a decline that they almost were merely memories of the past by the end of the 19th century. The liquidation of the artisans gave rise to the problem of unemployment on an unprecedented scale and a large number of craftsmen died of starvation. (64)
            The decline in Indian textile industry was part of a greater phenomenon called the Great Divergence, which refers to the period beginning in the 18th century in which the "West" clearly emerged as the most powerful world civilization, eclipsing the Islamic empires (the Ottoman Empire, Mughal India), Tokugawa Japan, and Qing China. (65) Other industries such as iron smelting, salt-petre, bangle-making, and glass manufacture also experienced complete decline (66), and the economy of India gradually declined from its position at the second largest economy in the world in 1775-1825 to the sixth in 1900-1925. (67) This economic decline, coinciding with the collapse of Mughal Dynasty and the beginning of the British Raj in the mid 19th century, showed the downfall of India (among other Asian nations).

IV.4 Indian independence movement and the symbolic role of local cotton industries
            Under British rule, Indian economy suffered de-industrialization and its independence continued to decline. In 1905, there were efforts by Indian nationalist leaders to lead the industrial development of India, called the Swadeshi movement. Their encouragement of indigenous goods and the boycott of imported goods led to a tremendous increase in cotton and jute industries, among others. However, soon after the outbreak of World War I, imports - especially from enemy countries - were stopped, and India realized its dependence on imports even in necessities of life. (68)
            When Gandhi returned to his native India in 1915, he found India in such abject conditions under the British rule. While the British did not resort to the brutality used by most occupying forces, they limited basic liberties wherever the power of the raj was threatened. And, while Britain had granted self-rule to Canada and Australia, it did not permit self-rule for India. British viceroy Lord Irwin ignored most of the demands of the Indian National Congress. Against the British rule, Gandhi began his civil disobedience movements, among which were the boycott of imported British cloth in favor of homespun cotton. (69)
            He promoted the khadi cloth, which refers to the different versions of coarse cotton cloth, hand woven using hand spun yarn. Peasants and artisans in pre-industrial India always wore Khadi that had been made from locally grown organic cotton, harvested by local laborers, spun into thread by their womenfolk and woven into cloth by men from various specialist-weaving castes.
            Gandhi recommended all the people of India to wear khadi garments. It was not only an attempt for self-reliance but also to find some common thread (literally) to bring about unity among Indians. Khadi was given a more prominence by Gandhi after his return from South Africa. While in search of the charka (spinning wheel) Gandhi felt that for a nation to be self-reliant, it had to revive indigenous manufactured goods. Gandhi wrote: Swaraj (self-rule) without swadeshi (country made goods) is a lifeless corpse and if Swadeshi is the soul of Swaraj, khadi is the essence of swadeshi. Consequently, khadi became not only a symbol of revolution and resistance but part of an Indian uniqueness. (70)
            Thus, in his civil disobedience movement, the spinning wheel and the handloom became symbols of freedom and students made bonfires of Lancashire cloth throughout India. (72) Afterwards, Gandhi continued his civil disobedience movement or the independence of India until it finally gained independence in 1947, and the symbols of homespun cotton continue even now to serve as symbols of his independence campaigns.

V Contemporary textile industry, Republic of India

V.1 Postcolonial Indian textile industry
            When the British left India in 1947, the economy was only slightly more industrialized than when they had taken formal control nearly one hundred years earlier. (73) During the five-year plans of Nehru, the government agenda was in favor of handloom industry over cotton mills, and it placed restrictions against any increase in the number of looms in cotton mills. Despite these restrictions, the cotton industry did experience considerable growth, and the production of cloth was 33% higher in 1960 than that of 1950. (74)
            Afterwards, the Indian economy lumbered along with an anemic rate of growth, and chronic unemployment amidst entrenched poverty due to the limitations of state controlled economy. However, with the economic liberalization in 1990s and 2000s, changes began to take place in Indian economy. (75) Nowadays, the Indian government is taking various progressive steps in order to increase India¡¯s share in the world textile market. (76)

V.2 Current status of Indian textile industry
            The domestic textiles and apparels market in India is witnessing strong growth owing to a young population, an increase in disposable incomes and a rapid growth in organized retail. Consequently, the domestic market is estimated to grow to over USD 50 billion by 2014. Significantly, the textile sector is estimated to offer an incremental revenue potential of no less than USD 50 billion by 2014 and over USD 125 billion by 2020. It is one of the most significant industries in the country, accounting for around 4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), 14 per cent of industrial production and over 13 per cent of the country's total export earnings. Moreover, it provides employment to over 35 million people.
            The Indian textile industry is estimated to be around USD 52 billion and is likely to reach USD 115 billion by 2012. The domestic market is likely to increase from USD 34.6 billion to USD 60 billion by 2012. It is expected that India's share of exports to the world would also increase from the current 4 per cent to around 7 per cent during this period. India's textile exports have shot up from USD 19.14 billion in 2006-07 to USD 22.13 billion in 2007-08, registering a growth of over 15 per cent. (77)

VI. Conclusion
            Throughout the history of India, the textile industry has maintained its position as one of the most important - sometimes symbolic - industries in the nation. It has a long and diverse tradition; the first cotton was cultivated by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization, and now India is a producer of a variety of textiles ranging from the woolen products of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh to embroidered cotton and silk from Rajasthan and Gujarat to silk saris of Banarasi, Patola, Baluchari, and Pochampalli. (78) It also has taken an important position in the international trades from ancient times.
            The success of Indian textile industry can be attributed to abundant sources of raw materials, sufficient labor, traditionally developed technology and labor division due to the caste system. With the rise of India as one of the most important developing nations, Indian textiles continue to clothe India and the world.


Notes

1.      Article: South Asia, in Wikipedia
2.      Article: Cotton, in Wikipedia
3.      Textiles and Costumes in Early India, from Exotic India
4.      ibid.
5.      Indian Textile, in Crafts in India
6.      Article: Silk, in Wikipedia
7.      Article: Cotton, in Wikipedia
8.      Article: Silk, in Wikipedia
9.      Fibre Stories, International Year of Natural Fibres 2009
10.      Articles: silk - Early history, Silk trade, Wild silks and other types of silk, Europe, India, World War II, in State University Encyclopedia
11.      Article: Sari, in Wikipedia
12.      Picture from Saris and Churidhars from antiquity ! from Non-random-Thoughts
13.      Ammas Blog
14.      History of Handlooms, from Tantuvi
15.      Textiles and Costumes in Early India, from Exotic India 16.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, in South Asian History
17.      Textiles and Costumes in Early India, from Exotic India 18.      Indian Textile, in Crafts in India
19.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, in South Asian History
20.      Article: Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent in Wikipedia
21.      Impact of Muslim Conquest in India, in Indianetzone
22.      Article: Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent in Wikipedia
23.      Antique Textile History, from Textile as Art
24.      ibid.
25.      Article: Brocade, in Wikipedia
26.      Indian Textile, in Crafts in India
27.      Banarasi Brocade, from Articlesbase
28.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, in South Asian History
29.      History of Handlooms, from Tantuvi
30.      Bucci 2004
31.      The Rise and Fall of the Mughals, in South Asian History
32.      Antique Textile History, from Textile as Art
33.      History of Handlooms, from Tantuvi
34.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, in South Asian History
35.      Article: Textiles, from Culturopedia
36.      Sarees for Men ! in Kamat¡¯s Potpourri
37.      Tarlo 1996, pp.151-152
38.      Article: Economic history of India, in Wikipedia
39.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, in South Asian History
40.      Broadberrry and Gupta, 2005, pg 10-11.
41.      ibid. pg 20
42.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, in South Asian History
43.      Broadberrry and Gupta, 2005, pg 11.
44.      From Trade to Colonization - Historic Dynamics of the East India Companies, from South Asian History
45.      Broadberrry and Gupta, 2005, 2005, pg 6-7.
46.      ibid. pg 4.
47.      Antique Textile History, from Textile as Art
48.      History of Handlooms, from Tantuvi
49.      Cotton, the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester, from Regional Geography
50.      Industrialization: The First Phase: 1700-1850, from Emayzine
51.      Picture of Flying Shuttle, from About.com
52.      Industrialization: The First Phase: 1700-1850, from Emayzine
53.      Industrial Revolution - Pictures From The Industrial Revolution, from About.com, pg 3
54.      ibid.
55.      Cotton, the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester, from Regional Geography
56.      Industrialization: The First Phase: 1700-1850, from Emayzine
57      Cotton, the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester, from Regional Geography
58.      Broadberrry and Gupta, 2005, pg 36, Table 8.
59.      ibid. pg 23-24
60.      ibid. pg 35. Table 6
61.      ibid. pg 26.
62.      ibid. pg 32. Table 2
63.      ibid. pg 33. Table 4
64.      Jayapalan, 2008, pg 132-133
65.      Article: Great Divergence from Wikipedia
66.      Jayapalan, 2008, pg 133.
67.      Article: Economic history of India, from Wikipedia
68.      Jayapalan, 2008, pg 140-141.
69.      India-Defying the Crown, from A Force More Powerful
70.      SOS-arsenic.net
71.      Picture from Krishan, Shubhra, Moving Quotes, from South Asian Women¡¯s Forum
72.      Gandhi: Struggle for Independence, from Cotton Town
73.      Textile Industry, history, in Citizendium
74.      Jayapalan, 2008, pg 281-282
75.      Article: Economic history of India, from Wikipedia
76.      Textiles, from India Brand Equity Foundation
77.      ibid.
78.      India Textile, from Bibliography

Note: websites quoted below were visited in October-December 2009.
1.      WHKMLA, History of India,
2.      Article: Brocade, from Wikipedia
3.      Article: Cotton, from Wikipedia
4.      Article: Economic history of India, from Wikipedia
5.      Article: Great Divergence, from Wikipedia
6.      Article: History of India, from Wikipedia
7.      Article: Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent, in Wikipedia
8.      Article: Rigveda, from Wikipedia
9.      Article: Sari, from Wikipedia,
10.      Article: Silk, from Wikipedia
11.      Article: South Asia, from South Asia
12.      Article: Textile Industry, from Wikipedia
13.      Article: Wool, from Wikipedia
14.      From Trade to Colonization - Historic Dynamics of the East India Companies, from South Asian History
15.      History of Crafts, Manufacturing and Trade in the Indian Subcontinent, from South Asian History
16.      History of Social Relations in India, from South Asian History, < http://india_resource.tripod.com/social.htm>
17.      The Rise and Fall of the Mughals, from South Asian History
18.      Developments in Indian Art and Architecture, from South Asian History
19.      Brocade, from India Crafts
20.      India Textile, from India Cradts
21.      Indian textile, from Crafts in India
22.      Indian textile, from Indian gifts and handicraft
23.      Ammas Blog
24.      State University Encyclopedia Article: ¡°silk - Early history, Silk trade, Wild silks and other types of silk, Europe, India, World War II¡±
25.      Jyotsna Kamat, Kamat¡¯s Potpourri Sarees for Men
26.      Jyotsna Kamat, Kamat¡¯s Potpourri The Story of the Saree
27.      International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 D. Narasimha Reddy, Sudha Kishore. Fibre Stories
28.      Article: India, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India>
29.      Article: Textile, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online,
30.      Industrialization: The First Phase: 1700-1850, from emayzine
31.      Cotton, the Industrial Revolution, and Manchester, from Regional Geography
32.      Flying Shuttle, from about.com
33.      Industrial Revolution - Pictures From The Industrial Revolution, from about.com,
34.      Tarlo, Emma, Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity, 1996
35.      Banarasi Brocade, from Articles Base
36.      Agrawal, Yashodhara, Silk Brocades, Roli & Janssen BV, 2003
37.      The History of Brocade Fabric, from ehow,
38.      Guzarati Brocade Sarees, Sarees of West India, from India Net Zone
39.      Impact of Muslim Conquest in India, from India Net Zone
40.      Motifs and Patterns in Indian Sarees, from
41.      History of Handlooms, from Tantuvi
42.      Antique Textile History, from Textile as Art
43.      Gandhi: Struggle for Independence, from Cotton Town
44.      Streat, Raymond, and Marguerite Dupree, Lancashire and Whitehall: 1931-39. v. 2. 1939-57, 1987
45.      India-Defying the Crown, from A Force more Powerful,
46.      MKGandhi
47.      GandhiServe Foundation About Gandhi < http://www.gandhiserve.org/about_gandhi.html>
48.      Pomeranz, Kenneth, The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy, Princeton University Press, 2001
49.      Broadberry, Stephen, and Bishnupriya Gupta, COTTON TEXTILES AND THE GREAT DIVERGENCE: LANCASHIRE, INDIA AND SHIFTING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE, 1600-1850, University of Warwick, 12 April 2005
50.      Jayapalan, N. Economic History of India, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2008
51.      Article: Textile Industry, history, from Citizendium
52.      Fibres to Fashion Ramkumar, Seshadri, ¡°Growth Road for the Indian Textile Industry¡±
53.      India Brand Equity Foundation Textiles
54.      History of Textile Industry in Ahmedabad, from Textile Fair Co.,
55.      Bengal Handloom Mukherjee, Aditi, ¡°Indian handloom: A glorious tradition of weaving¡±, June 1, 2009
56.      South Asian Women¡¯s Forum Krishan, Shubhra, Moving Quotes
57.      How to Wrap a Sari, blog entry by Claudia, 2005,
58.      Fowler, Alan, British Textile Workers in the Lancashire Cotton and Yorkshire Wool Industries, National overview Great Britain, Textile conference IISH, 11-13 Nov. 2004
59.      Utsav, Introduction to Textile Tradition of India,
60.      Exotic India Jain, P. C. and Dr. Daljeet, ¡°Textiles and Costumes in Early India¡±
61.      Singh, Kiran, Textiles in Ancient India, Viswavidyalaya Prakashan, 1994.
62.      Article: Textiles, from Culturopedia
63.      Bucci, Rachel, Floral Perspectives in Carpet Design, The Textile Museum Apr 23, 2004.
64.      Floral Motif, Textile, from Metropolitan Museum of Art.
65.      SOS-arsenic.net Folk Art, Heritage and Traditional Professions,
66.      Non-Random-Thoughts Saris and Churidhars from antiquity !


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