“The capital to finance the Industrial Revolution in India instead went into financing the Industrial Revolution in Britain”.

Rajani Palme Dutt: Marxist historian

The material prosperity of Britain after the Second World War, had left India as an economically poor consumer of British Textiles products. The Indian subcontinent was no longer able to supply cotton goods to Europe, as it became a victim to competition, innovation and Imperialism, so any production that took place in the country was solely for local consumption. Following 60 years of independence from Britain, India has been reaffirming it’s global position as a leading supplier of textiles products. However, after several years of consistent increase in growth and profits, India’s textile industry is currently suffering under the global economic crisis.

Textiles is currently India’s second largest industry after agriculture and provides direct employment to about 35 million people. Many workers come from poorer Indian states, in search of employment. In Gujarat, almost half of factory owners said their units are utilising only 50 to 60 per cent of production capacity due to labour shortages. Religious festivals and other social occasions are the main cause of absenteeism. Factory owners complain about the difficulty of finding a reliable workforce and are struggling to meet sales targets, due to the emergence of new job opportunities. Workers are moving away from labour-intensive, low-waged work to better-paid jobs.