Q.The production Handicrafts declined in India in British Period. Why ?

Handicrafts declined under British rule due to cheap machine-made imports, loss of patronage, biased tariff policy and India's reduction to a raw-material supplier — a process called de-industrialisation.

Before British rule, India was famous for handicrafts such as fine cotton and silk textiles, metalwork and pottery. Under colonial rule these industries collapsed. The main reasons were:

1. Competition from cheap machine-made goods — the Industrial Revolution in Britain flooded India with cheap, mass-produced factory goods (especially textiles) that handmade Indian products could not compete with.
2. Loss of patronage — the decline of Indian kings, nawabs and the aristocracy meant the loss of the wealthy patrons who had earlier bought fine handicrafts.
3. Discriminatory tariff / trade policy — Britain imposed heavy duties on Indian goods entering Britain while allowing British goods into India almost duty-free (one-way free trade), ruining Indian producers.
4. India as a colonial (feeder) economy — India was made a supplier of cheap raw materials to British industry and a market for British finished goods, discouraging domestic manufacturing. …