Brief History: Rise of Cotton Industry in Cawnpore

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Cotton was grown and spun in this region of northern India, since times immemorial. With Humid weather, Long summers, Heavy seasonal rains and fertile tract of Doab, irrigated by rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, farmers of the region produced some of the finest cotton in the country. This cotton was spun by hundred’s of “charkha’s” in villages. Soon trade of cotton began flourishing in the area of Cawnpore (village Kanhpur) as it was situated on the banks of Ganga, which made movement of goods and people easily possible. Religious significance of Ganga & Bithoor also helped in growth of trade, as they had attracted people from far off places since ages.

In those times every family had a spinning wheel and people engaged in the occupation of spinning cotton were grouped under a special cast known as “dhuniyian” or “bahena’s”. This spun cotton was used for making clothes and farming of Indigo developed parallel occupation of dyeing the cotton cloth. Significantly large portion of population was engaged in growing, spinning, dyeing and trading Cotton.

From the time it came under British influence the growth of cotton trade had stagnated, but the volume of trade was still big. Infact this was one of the reasons, amongst many others, which prompted British to develop Cawnpore and by 1803 it was declared a district. As per records old cloth market of Generalganj was existent even before 1840. According to “Statical Report of District of Cawnpore” published in 1848 by District Magistrate Mr. Robert Montgomery, “main economic activities in the city were cotton trade and money lending, by this time city had almost 50 private banks”. From 1801 to 1857 development of infrastructure was undertaken by the British and a social setup like collection of taxes etc was also established, due to which a city started being born out of villages. This development laid foundation for Cawnpore’s bright industrial future which kicked off with the development of Railways in 1859.

During American Civil War there was acute shortage of raw cotton in the international markets which resulted in increasing demand of Indian cotton. In this period cotton produced by neighboring areas like (Bundelkhand etc.) was sent to Calcutta for exports via Cawnpore through railways. People say “lanes of the city were filled with cotton bales, and officers had to make special arrangements for the purpose”. British business man soon realized the economic advantage of the city. Factors like Land, Labor, Capital, Raw material were easily available and British entrepreneurs were quick to combine them into production houses.

Realizing the opportunity a group of people came together and formed Cawnpore Cotton Committee in 1960, this organization gave the city it’s first ever cotton mill. It the year 1862 it began construction Elgin Mills, which was completed in 1864. This was a gigantic step towards industrial growth, which changed fortune of Cawnpore forever. Volume of trade in the city started increasing and by 1866 new market places like “Cooperganj” was established, which dealt in wholesale trade of cotton. Soon other British businessman started coming to the city. In 1869 a farmer from England Mr. Hugh Maxwell came to Cawnpore. He purchased Elgin Mill in 1771 and appointed Mr. Gavin Sibald Jones as its Manager.

Under the control of Gavin Jones, Elgin Mill grew leaps and bounds. He left Elgin Mill in 1874 only to establish Muir Cotton Mills in the same year and Cawnpore Cotton Mills in 1876. He gave the city an industrial edge by improving quality of production & taking it to the international markets. Jones took great care of his workers, provided them with healthy working conditions and constructed labor colonies for them. In the later years he also established leather and cycle companies. Regarded as one of pillars of industrial growth & for his contribution towards the city he is also known as “Father of Industrial Cawnpore”.

As per Governments records & statically reports, growth in trade between 1847 to 1877 was several hundred percents. In the year 1875 goods worth 50 lakh pounds was exported from here and goods worth 34lakh pounds was imported into the city. With opening of Cawnpore Cotton mills & New Victoria mills in 1882 & 1886 the total number of mills in the city reached 5. Cawnpore became one of the main centers of industrial revolution in the country. This growth continued its momentum after twentieth century (1900) as well. Mr. Harmison established Swadeshi Cotton Mills in 1911, at that time this was the biggest mill in India. The Period of First World War (1914-16) witnessed phenomenal growth. The War had opened new doors for development, with the demands of various products rising in the international markets the mills of Cawnpore started working round the clock. Cashing on the opportunity, Businessman of Cawnpore earned huge profits. After the First World War, Lala Kamlapat established J.K.Cotton Mills. In the year 1920 British India Corporation (BIC) was formed with five companies. Cawnpore Textile Mills (1922) and Atherton west Mills (1923) were also established.