Craft Production,

UNIT 6 CRAFT PRODUCTION, Manufacture and Artisanal

Groups
MANUFACTURE AND ARTISANAL
GROUPS*
Structure

6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Agro-based Production
6.2.1 Textiles
6.2.2 Indigo
6.2.3 Sugar, Oil, Etc.
6.3 Minerals, Mining and Metals
6.3.1 Mineral Production
6.3.2 Metals
6.4 Wood-based Crafts
6.5 Miscellaneous Crafts
6.6 Organisation of Production
6.7 Let Us Sum Up
6.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

6.0 OBJECTIVES
During the period of our study, India had a high level of craft production. After going
through this unit, you would:
• know the various types of articles manufactured in India;
• be also to list the main centres of specific crafts;
• have an idea about the minerals found in various parts of the country;
• know about the techniques used in production of a few commodities; and
• have some idea about the organisation of production in certain crafts.

6.1 INTRODUCTION
India had a high level of craft production during the period of our study. This craft
production was linked with the pattern of trade and commerce. We find that the
manufacturing activity was brisk in and around the main commercial centres.
The Persian chronicles provide limited information about the crafts and techniques of
production. European travelers and documents and correspondence of various European
trading companies supply more detailed information. These companies were keen
observers of the process of production and the quality of production.

*
Prof. Surendra Gopal, Department of History, Patna University, Patna. The present Unit is
adopted from IGNOU Course EHI-04: Non Agricultral Production, Block 6, Unit 22. 89
Production and Craft production was basically governed by the demand and consumption in the home
Commercial Practices
market. The increase in demand in overseas markets in the 17th century was so great
that it started influencing the production activity.
In this unit, we will take into account the major crafts, their centres, raw materials used
and, wherever possible, the techniques of production. We will also discuss the availability
of minerals and their production. We will also analyse the organisation of production in
some selected crafts.

6.2 AGRO-BASED PRODUCTION

It should be noted that the term agro-based industries in the present time is used
altogether for a different type of industries. We are using it here simply to indicate the
crafts where raw material come from agricultural produce.
The most wide-spread production of commodities during the period of our study was
in a sector where the basic raw material was obtained from agricultural produce. As
we noticed in Unit 14 of BHIC-109, India had a high level of production of cash crops
like cotton, sugarcane, indigo, tobacco, etc. It was therefore, natural that crafts related
to these would flourish. Let us first discuss the textile production.

6.2.1 Textiles
Under the textiles we will mainly study the manufacture of cotton, silk wool cloth.
Cotton
Cotton textiles were manufactured practically all over the country since with the
exception of sub-Himalayan region, cotton could be grown almost everywhere. Abul
Fazl gives a list of important centres of production of cotton textiles.
Gujarat emerges as one of the important region of textile manufacture. Here the main
centres were Ahmedabad, Broach Baroda, Cambay, Surat, etc. In Rajasthan we could
mention Ajmer, Sironj and many small towns. In U.P., Lucknow and a number of small
towns around it, Banaras, Agra, Allahabad, etc. were prominent centres. Other areas
in the north like Delhi, Sirhind, Samana, Lahore, Sialkot, Multan and Thatta produced
textiles of good quality. In Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, Sonargaon and Dacca, Rajmahal.
Qasimbazar and a number of towns, Balasor, Patna and a number of small towns
around it were famous textile centres.
In Deccan, Burhanpur and Aurangabad produced cotton cloth of a fine variety. On the
western coast of Maharashtra Chaul and Bhivandi had a flourishing weaving industry.
The Qutab Shahi Kingdom was also famous for its textiles. Masulipatnam and
Coromandal also produced cotton textiles. In the South, Coimbatore and Malabar
were also known for producing good quality cotton.
Many centres specialized in producing only yarn which was taken to weaving centres
and even exported. Spinning of yarn thus became a specialized occupation. In and
around all the major centres of textile production, many peasants and women took it
up as an additional source of earning and supplied yarn to weavers.
Women in large number spun yarn in Mysore, Vizagapatam and Ganjam. Broach,
Qasimbazar and Balasore were prominent markets for selling yarn. Gujarat supplied
90 yarn to Bengal in the second half of the seventeenth century.
The fine yarn required for Dacca muslin was spun by young women with help of takli Craft Production,
Manufacture and Artisanal
or spindle. Groups

There was a considerable variation in quality. Hameeda Naqvi has listed forty-nine
varieties of clothes, produced in five major production centres of the Mughal Empire.
The European accounts mention more than one hundred names. It is very difficult to
list all the varieties of cotton textiles produced in the country. Every region had their
own specialities.

A few important varieties many be explained here. Bafta is described in the Ain-I
Akbari as a type of high quality calico normally white or of a single colour. The word
calico was commonly used by Europeans for all kinds of cotton cloth. It also meant
white cloth of a thick variety. Tafta was a silk cloth some times inter-woven with
cotton yarn. Zartari was a cloth which was inter-woven with gold or silver thread.
Muslin was a very fine quality of thin cloth. Chintz (Chheent) was cotton cloth with
floral or other patterns printed or painted. Khasa was a kind of muslin. It was expensive
cloth of a fine quality. (Irfan Habib has provided a detailed glossary of textile terms,
see An Atlas of the Mughal Empire, pp. 69-70.)

Some clothes were named after the place of production, such as Dariabadi and
Khairabadi, Samianas (Samana), Lakhowries (Lakhowar Near Patna), etc. Some
regions specialized in a particular variety, Bafta from Gujarat and masulin from sonargaon
and thereafter from Dacca in Bengal are examples of this specialization. In the
Seventeenth century, significant changes were noticed due to the intensified activities
of the European trading companies whose numbers now increased with the arrival of
the English, Dutch and French East India Companies, etc.
However, the most common cotton cloth much in demand was superior quality white
calico cloth called by different names such as Ambartess (in Bihar, Begnal etc.), Bafta
in Gujarat, etc. Other famous varieties were fine muslin of Bengal called Khasa, Chintz,
a printed cloth and fabric made with mixing silk yarn. Ahmedabad acquired fame for its
printed cloth known as chintz (Chheent).

The manufacture of cotton textiles involved a number of steps. The first was ginning, that
is separting seeds from cotton. Latter, the carder (dhuniya) cleaned cotton with the
bowstring. Next, yarn was spun on the spinning wheel. The yarn was used on looms by
the weavers. The most common loom was horizontal, the pit-loom with foot treadles.

The cloth thus woven was as yet in a raw state. The next step was to get it bleached or
dyed before used. Functions were performed by a separate group of people. Though
these processes were performed everywhere, some centres became prominent. Broach
in Gujarat was supposed to be the best bleaching place because of the special quality
of its water. The English East India Company sent baftas purchased in Agra.
Ahmedabad, Surat, Patna, Sonargaon, Dacca, Musulipatam, etc., were other towns
where textiles were bleached in large quantities.

Bleaching involved soaking of cloth (as in fine fabrics) or boiling it in a special solution.
After this it was washed and dried. Indigo was used for bleaching (whitening).

Dyeing and printing also became specialized profession. Rangrez (dyers) had specialised
in it and were considered a separate caste. Vegetable dyes were generally used. Red
dye was produced by chay or lac and blue by using indigo. 91
Production and Silk
Commercial Practices
Silk was another important item for the manufacture of textiles. Abul Fazl mentions
Kashmir where abundant silk textile was produced. Patna and Ahmedabad were known
for silk fabrics. Banaras were equally famous. In the seventeenth century., Bengal
produced the largest amount of raw silk which was exported abroad as well as to
other parts of India. In Bengal silk fabrics were manufactured at Qasimbazar and
Murshidabad. Around the middle of the 17th century, the total annual production was
estimated around 2.5 million pounds. Around. 75 million pounds were carried away in
raw form by the Dutch alone. In 1681, the London silk weavers petitioned to the
British Parliament to ban its import by the English East India Company. The import of
Bengal silk fabrics was stopped in 1701. Nevertheless, Bengal remained the premier
centre in India for producing silk textiles and raw silk.
Wool
Wool was another important material used for manufacturing textiles. The most famous
was the Kashmiri shawl, exported all over the world. The fine wool used in these
shawls was imported from Tibet. Akbar promoted its manufacture at Lahore but it
could not match the quality of Kashmiri shawls. Finer varieties of woolen textiles were
generally brought in by Europeans for the upper classes. Blankets were made from
wool all over North India.
Other textile items included cotton durries, carpets (of silk and wool), tents and quils,
etc. Carpet weaving was yet another branch of textile production. Bihar (Daudnagar,
Obra, etc.), Delhi, Agor, Lahore and Mirzapur were famous centres in the north.
Warangal in the south was also famous for carpet weaving. The carpet weaving was
also done in Musulipatam along the Coromandal coast. The output of carpet weaving
was not very large and Persian carpets continued to be in use. Akbar took special
interest in developing the manufacture of silk carpets in the royal Karkhana after the
Persian variety.
The terms used mostly by royal establishment and nobles were also manufactured.
Abul Fazl mentions eleven types of tents. Their size varied a great deal.
Embroidery on all type of textiles with cotton, silk or silver and gold thread was also an
allied craft. Large number of craftsmen were involved in it.

6.2.2 Indigo
The demand for it in the country and for export was very high. As we read in Unit 14
of BHIC-109, the cultivation of indigo was widespread.
Except for the hilly regions, indigo was available in all parts of the country. The best
variety was secured from Bayana, near Agar. The next best variety was from Sarkhej
near Ahmedabad. Being a basic dye (blue), it was in great demand in India as well as
abroad.
In Gujarat, other centres where indigo dye could be had were Jambussar, Broach
Baroda, etc. in North India, Agra and Lahore were two other cities where indigo dye
could be purchased in vast quantities. On the Coromandal coast, Mauslipatam was
another mart for this dye.
The process of extracting was simple. The stalks of plants were put in water. After the
92 dye was dissolved, the water was taken to another vat where the dye was allowed to
settle at the bottom. It was strained and dried in the form of cakes. The process was Craft Production,
Manufacture and Artisanal
done mostly in the villages by peasants. Groups

6.2.3 Sugar, Oil, etc.

Since sugarcane was cultivated widely, sugar was also manufactured all over the country.
Generally, we get references to three types of sugarcane products; the gur or jaggery;
the power sugar and the finer quality grains called candy. The jaggary was made in all
sugarcane producing areas and was mainly consumed locally. The other two qualities
were manufactured mainly in Bengal, Orissa, Ahmedabad, Lahore, Multan and parts
of Northern India. Writing about Deccan in the 17th Century, Thevenot remarks that
every peasant who grew sugarcane had his own furnance. Abul Fazl records the price
of powder sugar around 128 dams for one man, while that of the candy 220 dams.
The method of extracting sugarcane juice involved the cane-press which was operated
manually or with animal power. The jaggery or finer quality was obtained by boiling it
over in pans or open furnace. It was during the process of boiling the different qualities
were obtained. Bengal sugar was considered the best and was in great demand for
export to Europe and Persia.
Extraction of oil was also mostly a village-based industry. The oilseeds were put to a
simple oil-press operated manually or by animal power. The specialised caste involved
in extracting the oil was called telis. The residual product was used for animal feed.
Check Your Progress 1
1) List some important places of cotton textiles production.
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
2) Write a small note on silk production in India.
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
3) Which were the main indigo varieties produced in India?
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................

6.3 MINERNALS, MINING AND METALS

Deep mining was not carried out in the 16th and 17th centuries in India, but surface 93
Production and mining for a large number of minerals and metal was practices. We will deal with both
Commercial Practices
in this section.

6.3.1 Mineral Production

The salt was the essential commodity in which India seems to have been self-sufficient.
The sources of salt were the Sambhar lake in Rajputana, the Punjab rock-salt mines
and sea-water. Sea salt was made mainly in Sind, the Rann of Cutch, other coasts of
Gujarat, Malabar, Mysore and Bengal, etc. Since salt was not available in all parts of
the country, it was one of the major articles of trade at regional and inter-regional level.
Saltpetre was one of the most important mineral products. It was in great demand by
the European. It was primarily used an ingredient for gun powder. Initially, saltpetre
was extracted at Ahmedbad, Baroda, etc. But since the supply could not meet the
demand, it started to be made even in the Delhi-Agra region. However, by the second
half of the seventeenth century, Patna in Bihar became an important centre for procuring
saltpetre. Saltpetre, collected from the nearby places of Patna, was then sent by boats
down the Ganges to Hugli and sent to Europe.
The method of obtaining saltpetre from salt earth was a simple one. Shallow reservoirs
were made on the ground and salt earth was mixed in water. The salt dissolved in
water earth settled down. This salt water was then boiled in large pans, the water
evaporated and saltpetre was obtained. Indian artisans used earthern pans for boiling.
The Europeans used iron or copper pans for boiling. Tavernier (17th century) found
that Dautch were using boiler imported from Holland. According to one source, the
total production in year (1688) was around more than two lakhs mans of raw saltpetre
from Bihar alone.
Other minerals such as alum and mica were produced on small scale.

6.3.2 Metals
India did not have gold and silver mines in the proper sense. The famous gold mines of
Kolar were not explored. However, small quantities of gold were obtained from river
beds, but the cost of procurement was more than its value. Fitch (1584) has described
the method of washing the river sand and finding gold dust in Bihar. Similarly, gold was
found in river beds in some other regions.
Most of the silver requirements were met through imports. Gold and silver were used
for minting of coins. A large amount was used for making ornaments and for hoarding
purposes as precious metal.
Rajasthan was the main centre for copper production where copper mines existed (at
Khetri). The bulk of the copper was used for minting copper coins. Small and big
household objects, were also manufactured.
Iron was the most commonly found metal. Iron mines were widely distributed in the
north, east, west, central and southern parts of the country. Abul Fazl records Bengal,
Allahabad, Agra, Bihar, Gujarat, Delhi and Kashmir as iron producing regions.
Chhotanagpur in Bihar and adjoining regions of Orissa also produced large quantities.
The iron found in the south was converted into steel.
Iron was used for marking ploughs, axes, nails, screws, swords, daggers. The steel
made in the south, especially in Golconda, was used for the manufacture of Damascus
94 swords, Admired all over the world.
Some other metals, though in small amount, were also produced. Lead was found in Craft Production,
Manufacture and Artisanal
north and western India. Groups

Diamond Mining
Diamond mining was carried out in some parts of India, but the diamond miners of
Golconda were most famous. Other places included Biragarh in Berar, Panna in Madhya
Pradesh, Khokhra or Chhotanagpur in Bihar.

6.4 WOOD-BASED CRAFTS

Wood provided the basis for a large number of crafts. The means of surface transport
made of wood included palanquins and bullock-drawn carts. Both were made in a
wide variety of styles and the ones used by rich were carved and decorated. Large
number of boats and sea-going ships were always needed since India has a long coast
line and north India is criss-crossed by a large number of navigable rivers.
The boats were built in various sizes: from small one for pleasure trips to large once for
transporting hundreds of kilograms of goods over long distance.
The parts on the Arabian sea as well as the Bay of Bengal, such as Thattah Surat,
Bassein, Goa, Cragnore, Cochin, Masulipatam and the neighbouring, Naraspur,
Hariharpur, Satgaon and Chittagong were important ship-building centres. When the
Europeans intensified their activities, they got their ships repaired at these places. They
found Indian ships better suited for eastern waters and, hence, they purchased ships
built in India. Thus ship-building industry received a considerable boost because of the
rising European demand throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
Other uses of wood were to make doors, windows, and a large number of housechold
furniture such as boxes, bed stead etc. The rich had their furniture made from high
quality wood.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Write ten lines on Saltpetre production in India.
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
2) Describe the main regions of:
i) Diamond mining
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
ii) Ship-building
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................. 95
Production and
Commercial Practices 6.5 MISCELLANEOUS CRAFTS
Each and every region had its highly specialised crafts. Here it would not be possible
to go into the details of all these crafts. We will describe some important crafts only.
Stone-cutting was an important craft as stones were widely used in the construction of
house, palaces, forts, temples, etc. Indian stone-masons were known for their skill.
Other items of non-agricultural production were leather goods such as shoes, saddles,
bookcover, etc., manufactured all over the country.
Paper
Paper was manufactured during the period under review in a number of centres, such
as Ahmedabad, Daulatabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Biharsharif near Patna, etc. Ahmedabad
paper was of several varieties and was exported to Arabia, Turkey and Persia. The
paper from Kashmir was also famous.
In a number of places in north India, paper was made which was used for local needs.
The manufacture in South India was limited. Most of the paper was had made and of
a coarse variety.
Pottery
The contemporary records refer to the uses of earthenwares by people for cooking,
storing water and grains, etc. Besides, most of the houses had earthen tiled (khaprail)
roof. The demand for earthenware must have been great. Every large village in India
had its potter and pottery for every day use was made all over the country.
Apart from the above coarse pottery, fine crockery was also made. Manucci (1663)
mentions the manufacture of earthen crockery which was finer than glass and lighter
than paper. Marshal (1670) also noticed fine crockery.
Glass manufacturing was also undertaken in several parts of the country.
Other miscellaneous items produced by Indian craftsmen included soap, objects of
ivory and shell, articles of horn, etc.
Several crafts were forest-based. Among them, lac was used for the manufacture of
bangles, varnishing doors and windows and toys and for preparing a red dye. It was
extracted from forests in Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa, Malwa, Gujarat, Malabar, etc.
Bengal lac was considered to be the best. In Surat, bangles and toys were made of lac.
It was also used for sealings.
Various contemporary authorities refer to pearl fisheries being practiced in the sea
waters along the southern coast.

6.6 ORGANISATION OF PRODUCTOIN

All forms of production from independent artisan level to the karkhanas existed in
India during the period of our study. The organisation of production varied in different
crafts and industries in accordance with the needs and requirements of that craft.
Village Artisans: The artisans in rural areas, who produced articles of daily use,
96 formed a regular part of the village establishment called jajmani system. The most
crucial services were those of the blacksmiths, carpenters, potters and shoemakers. Craft Production,
Manufacture and Artisanal
Generally, they were paid in kind for providing the basic tools, agricultural implements Groups
and their maintenance needs. The system was much more organised in Deccan and
Maharashtra where village artisans and servants were called balutedars. There was
one more group of workers in Deccan called alutedars which were also included in
some regions.
With the money economy penetrating into the rural areas and also the increasing demand,
the situation in this subsistence-oriented system started changing. According to Tapan
Ray Chaudhuri, “By the seventeenth century, if not much earlier, exchange had made
significant inroads into the subsistence-oriented system of manufacture by collectively
maintained artisans. Payments in cash and kind for additional work, or entirely on a
piece-work basis, co-existed with the more widespread practice of allocating fixed
shares of the rural produce and/or land to the artisan families”.
Tapan Ray Chaudhuri adds that probably by the mid-eighteenth century the entire
production for the long and medium distance trade was dependent on artisans who
were fully weaned from the jajmani system.
With the increase in demand, it seems the rural artisan catered to ruban markets also.
The village artisan seems to be quite mobile and would move from one village to
another or to the nearby towns.
Production for the Market
Production for the market was mainly done at the independent artisan-level production.
Almost every craft had specialised artisans manufacturing articles for sale. Pelsaert, a
Dutch traveler (1623) mentions that around 100 specialized categories of artisans
work in different crafts. The high level of specialization is most evident in the textile
manufacture. Almost every operation was performed by a different group of workmen
like carding, spinning of yarn, winding silk thread, weaving of cloth, bleaching, dyeing,
printing and painting of cloth, etc. Peasants in villages played a significant role by taking
up various manufacturing activities. In almost all the agro-based crafts like indigo,
sugar and others like spinning of silk and cotton yarn, manufacture of salt and saltpetre,
they were at the core of manufacturing activity.
The localization of manufacture was a significant feature. As referred to in the earlier
sections, different regions specialised in the production of certain crafts. The European
traders tell us that they had to go from place to place to procure the desired commodities.
Masulipatam and Benaras each are said to have around 7000 weavers. Similarly,
Qasimbazar had around 2500 silk wavers.
At the individual artisan-level production, the artisan himself procured the raw material
and tools, performed the manufacture and also retailed the products. The working
place was invariably the house of the craftsman or artisan. The artisans had little capital
to work with. Therefore, the individual output was small and merchants had to make
efforts to procure it. The quality also differed.
Dadni
These problems gave rise to a revised form of production called dadni or a sort of
putting-out system. In dadni the money was advanced to artisans by the merchants
and the artisans promised to deliver the goods at a given time. Here the merchant was
in a position to dictate his specifications. The practice in textiles sector became so 97
Production and widespread that it was difficult to obtain cloth without making advance payment to the
Commercial Practices
artisans. In the seventeenth century, the weaving industry in Deccan was found to be
dominated by merchants. In South India, according to Alaev., “The subjection of crafts
to merchant capital was widespread. Practically all the artisan settlements along the
Coromandal coast were under the control of one trader or another. In the 17th century,
the biggest of them (merchant) was Kasi Viranna, who had in his hands all the coasts
from Madras to Armagaon expect Pulicat. Weaver settlements of this region were
known as ‘the Viranna villages’.” (The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol. I,
p. 320.)
The system of dadni empowered the buyer to dictate the quality and quantity of the
goods produced. The artisan got the much needed money to buy raw material with the
guarantee of the sale of the goods made, but he lost his control over sale.
Manufactories
In 1620-21, the English factory at Patna established probably the first such unit for
winding silk yarn and employed around 100 workmen. The Dutch at Qasimbazar
employed 700-800 weavers in their silk factory. But such instances are just sporadic
(see A.J. Qaisar, “The Role of Brokers in Medieval India’).
Another specialised area where large number of workmen were assembled to work at
one place were ship-building and building constriction. Almost all the ship-building
centres in Deccan and South India had large number of artisans working on each ship
under one single supervision. Building activity also like ship-building required large
number of artisans working under one single supervision. (See A.J. Qaisar, ‘Ship-
building in the Mughal Empire during the Seventeenth Century’ and (Building
Construction in Mughal India: The Evidence from Painting,.)
There were two other production sectors where large number of workmen (though
not very skilled artisans) were employed. One, the diamond mines of Golconda and
Deccan had around 30,000 to 60,000 people working at periodical season of mining.
Here, the plots of land were taken on rent from the ruler by the prospectors. Each of
them used to employ 200 to 300 miners to work on their plots. The miners were paid
wages per day. Similarly, in Bihar around 8000 men used to come to diamond mines in
the season of mining (December-January). These people were generally peasants and
workers who came to work here after sowing their fields.
The second case of assemblage of large workers was in the production of saltpetre. In
this case also large number of people worked under one master in small groups. In
Bihar they were called nooneas. With the increasing demand, the Dutch and English
established their own units for refining saltpetre. The workmen in their refineries were
to work with the equipment provided by these European companies.
Karkhanas
A unique feature of production in the period of our study was the karkhanas. These
karkhanas were in operation even in 14th- 15th centuries. These karkhans were part of
the royal establishment and also of the nobles. These produced things for the
consumption of the royal household and the court. Many high nobles also had their
own karkhans. Generally expensive and luxury items were produced here. Skilled
artisans were employed to work under one roof to manufacture things needed. They
were supervised by state officials. The need for such karkhanas arose because the
98
artisans on their own were not in a position to invest huge amounts required for royal Craft Production,
Manufacture and Artisanal
needs. Because of valuable raw material, the state also did not want to give these to Groups
artisans to work at their own places. We will not go here into details of the functioning
of these karkhans as their production was not for the market but for personal
consumption of the king and nobles.
We notice that the process of production was undergoing a change during the period
of our study. As summed up by Tapan Ray Chaudhari, “The organisation of manufacture
in Muhal India did not remain unchanged. A lot was happening, but on a limited scale,
and the sum total of new developments did not amount to a break with the past.
Continuity was still the dominant characteristic. Yet the changes in organisation were
more basic than those in technique”.
Check Your Progress 3
1) Briefly describe the jajmani system.
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
2) Write five lines on each of the following
i) Dadni
ii) Manufactories
iii) Karkhanas
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................

6.7 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we discussed the non-agricultural production of India which was sufficiently
developed for being recognised separately. Here the largest and perhaps the most
widespread production was that of textile goods. There was a great demand for cotton
textiles which seemed to have given a great boost to the industry. The other agro-
based industries were those pertaining to indigo and sugar.
The salt production was sufficient for meeting the needs of the domestic sector. Saltpetre
was another important industry where the production was carried out on a large scale.
As a result there existed enough surplus for export. Substantial quantities of iron and
copper were also produced though production of silver on an equal scale was missing.
The ship-building industry also developed considerably during this period.
Significantly the bulk of production in non-agricultural sector was undertaken through
the agency of the individual artisan. In some sectors like, saltpetre and diamond mining,
large number of artisans and workmen worked jointly under common supervisions. A
few experiments for establishing manufactories for silk winding were undertaken by
the East India Company. But they met with little success. The system of advancing
99
Production and money to artisans for production purposes was well developed. Royal karkhanas
Commercial Practices
produced luxury items catering to the needs of the royalty and the nobility.

6.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1) Gujarat, Bengal and parts of U.P. were famous textile centres. See Sub-section
6.2.1
2) Bengal produced large quantities of silk yarn which was woven in many other
parts of the country. See Sub-section 6.2.1
3) Two famous varieties were Bayana and Sarkhej indigo. See Sub-section 6.2.2
Check Your Progress 2
1) In 17th century large quantities were produced in Bihar, Bengal and Gujarat. See
Sub-section 6.3.1.
2) See Sub-sections 6.3.1 and 6.3.2
Check Your Progress 3
1) In jajmani system the artisans were paid by the community for the service provided
by them. See Section 6.5.
2) See Section 6.6
Recommended Readings
Chaudhuri Tapan Ray and Irfan Habib, eds. 1982. Cambridge Economic History of
India, Vol.-I. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press.
Sahai, Nandita Prasad. 2006. Politics of Patronage and Protest: The State, Society,
and Artisans in Early Modern Rajasthan. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

100