Cawnpore The Film

Clock Tower

2010-08-29T21:36:00.001-07:00

clock tower 2, originally uploaded by d ha rm e sh.

clock tower of cawnpore woolen mills. one of the landmark of kanpur, india

Mutiny memorial church, Cawnpore

2010-08-27T16:59:00.001-07:00

Mutiny memorial church, Cawnpore, originally uploaded by Saurabh Kautilya.

Bridge of boats across the river Ganges at Cawnpore, 1891

2010-08-27T16:57:00.001-07:00

Bridge of boats across the river Ganges at Cawnpore, 1891, originally uploaded by msb1606.

Cawnpore (Kanpur), 1810

2010-08-27T16:54:00.001-07:00

Cawnpore (Kanpur), 1810, originally uploaded by msb1606.

View of the city from the Ganges river

Lal Imli

2010-08-27T15:43:00.001-07:00

Cawnpore Woolen mills, kanpur, originally uploaded by d ha rm e sh.

Cawnpore Woolen Mills

Conversations with my Mother

2010-08-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Maa

It was hot and humid. Must be around 8:15 in the morning. I was having my cup of coffee; my mother (I still call her “Maa”) was busy with newspapers and her cup of tea. I don’t know why, but I just asked her what does she thinks of the film I am planning to make. We started talking. I just kept my cup on the floor and rushed to get my handy-cam. Here is the first part of transcript of that conversation we had. Interestingly it brought out her experiences, issues and her opinion about the city, family and Mills.

Apart from being my mother she is…

1. Resident of the city.

2. Daughter of a freedom fighter

3. Wife of a businessman

4. A businesswoman

5. And mother of my brother as well.

Before the transcript of the interview, a little background about my mother. Born “Usha Shukla in 1954, in a middle class Brahmin “Shukla” family, she was the youngest in the family with two elder brothers and an elder sister. She is still very proud of her father being a freedom fighter. All brother and sisters had their mothers influence (as I think all of us have). As children they all were persuaded to study hard as it would help them in making a decent living. The family owned a sweet shop in the traditional “Khoya Bazaar” (old area of the city majorly filled with wholesale shops). They lived in a joint family, with their “Chacha’s” family (Paternal Uncle). Even after splitting they all are really close today.

Maa: Wait let me get ready, what everyone will say, your mother knows nothing.

Me: It’s ok!

Maa: One day your kids will see this, what will they say:”was our grandmother an idiot”. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself.

Me: Maa why are you reading my questionnaire, that’s for me.

Maa: why not? I can read it. I am 1954 born and I am still there, I understand.

After some hiccups we started…

Me: How was it like growing up in the city, your growing years?

Maa: What do you mean growing years?

Me: What was city like when you were growing up, what was the Ethos at that time?

Maa: It was different then, like, trees on the both sides of guarded streets you see. Parrots and birds chirped all day. My mother woke me up by saying birds are up its time you also get up from bed. Now people don’t talk much, now even neighbors don’t talk. Earlier people were happy, you could see people talking to each other in the morning. You could see children playing and sleeping in the mornings. Now you see children in uniform and parents running to leave them. Earlier children were lazy and playful.

Me: So what do you remember of mills.

Maa: ya! We use to go to schools walking and we saw hundreds of mill workers on their cycle. It always was like this, simultaneous children on foot, workers on cycle. City was lively. Live was lively …”raunak thi”. Not like today, where all you find is dead faces, fearful faces, and ‘yellow’ faces. Workers Tiffin’s had food in it. They ate together, they talked together…they lived together. Now I get news from T.V channels, earlier there was exchange of thoughts. Shops in neighborhood had everything of need, there weren’t big malls. Not even many schools, children from all classes studied together. (Upper class/Middle Class/ Lower Class). As I remember there was not much discrimination. Nowadays the gap is bigger than ever before, gap between people, even in families.

She continues:

Maa: I started my education in a municipal school (Gyan Bharti inter college) it was ok In 9th I took science and started with English medium, that was a big achievement for me because I studied “A, B, C” in 6 standard for the first time. I got good marks in class 12th so I got admitted to Christ Church College, it was considered to be one of the best at that time. I had good circle of friends. They belonged to every class (economic & social), but I never felt complexed, as children of today.

Me: What was your family status?

Maa: You could call us middle class. We ate good food. We dint spend much on clothing. Even as kids we were not very concerned about our clothing. We just studied. My Mother was very concerned for our studies. As my father was a freedom fighter, so he was not very involved in the family, but my mother was also very committed for nationalist vision. She wore khadi throughout her life. Both my parents were not money minded. My father died when I was in class X.

Me: As your father was freedom fighter do you remember any political happening at that point?

Maa: No! No! By the time I was born we were an independent nation

Me: Even then city would have been politically active.

Maa: at that time ‘politicians were politicians’ we did not had any problems. Me: City’s politics had a big role of mill workers. it all started after independence, “mill baji” started. Power was misused after independence, unions were a big problem, and even then ethos was not polluted.

Maa: Marriage: After knowing each other for several years your father and I got married in 1979.

Me: So it was Love Marriage

Maa: ya you could call it so, but both our families agreed.Maa: Your grandfather had died 2 years before our marriage, so Papa (my father) had to join the family business.Me: So he joined family business because of crisisMaa: Yes it was not something he wanted to do, one of the reasons for joining the business was because his academic qualification was not that great, and so under the circumstances he was bound to do that.

Me: What do you know about family business, this cloth shop?

Maa: I knew your father’s family even before marriage. They were rich bunch. Cloth trade was at its boom and Papa’s family made most of it. Your grandfather was very academic but he was not very involved in social causes like my father but he was religious. Otherwise most of Papa’s family was loyal to British, they were awarded with titles like Rai Bahadur etc.

Me: Ya! I know my grandfather was rich, I have heard those stories about his horses and bungalow.

Maa: yes he was definitely rich. He earned a lot of money and he lived a lavish life. At that point he was very successful and he moved with the Top people of the city. But had sincerely earned that status and money. Your grandfather was only 14 when his father died. They lost a lot of money in business due to your great grandfather’s death.

Me: This means my great grandfather was also very rich!

Maa: Actually they came to the city from “Unnao” (an outskirting village of Kanpur) due to some rivalry with the local people. They bought a lot of money along with them. They started trading cloth. At that point very few people were involved in the cloth trade. With time they established a good name in the market. But due to consistent early deaths in the family, each generation had to start from ground zero. With every death in the family things went back to square one. Your grandfather lost everything when his father died, similarly Papa had to start all over again after his father’s death. He changed the trend, started dealing with Private Mills. Mills here had already collapsed, so he had to change.

Me: Was this the reason Papa switched to Private Mills?

Maa: Look; earlier buyers/ purchasers came to us —-to Cawnpore—because of the mills, (Manufacturing sectors are assumed to be cheaper) they traded with mills & the local market. Now when the mills collapsed they turned to big cities and private mills. Slowly trend changed, more and more people started trading with private mills, we also had to do it. When Papa took agencies of Private Mills, now he and others like him had to go to buyers to sell his product. When they started going out they, their changed lifestyle City started losing its flavor, comparison from bigger cities started bothering. “Bahar ye hai…. Bahar who hai”…suddenly city started looking small. The number of unemployed workers kept rising in the city. This helped the small-scale industries to grow. But with this development city had to pay its price, all sorts of problems started…electricity, pollution, exploitation of labor and resources, corruption and red tapism flourished. Today’s politicians don’t work, the political scene changed so rapidly that, and no eyebrows were raised when government switched from committed to selfish. Now a day’s patriotism is a joke, nobody cares anymore. Places like ‘phoolbagh’ (old meeting ground for politicians) where people use to meet for debates and there was a very rich library. Suddenly things changed… students use to go there May be it’s because of the computer age, but the computer change was also not that swift in Uttar Pradesh. We left what we had but we failed to adapt to the new system.

Me: When papa started this Private dealership, was it intentional that he wanted to expand his business, did he ever had any plans?

Maa: when mills collapsed people from outside came to us and said “Ab ye kapda bechiye” (now sell this cloth), and it was obvious and practical thing to do. But due to that we now had to go to door to door and sell our products. Buyers just stopped coming to the city. A major factor that changed the way business was conducted was change in payment pattern. Earlier when buyers came to us they brought money (cash), now we were going to their door to sell, so we had to offer them discounts, schemes and worse we had to give them credit. Trade, which was prestigious, was now short of credibility. Earlier when they came they said you are doing a great favor to us by selling goods to us, now they said if I buy from u what will I get. The newly established credit system worsens the working conditions.

Me: When did papa started dealing with Private Mills?

Maa: around 1980 just after our marriageMe: Before marriage did he had plans to switch the trend.Maa: No! No! When his father was handling the business, he purchased cloth from local mills and sold it. Production had stopped when I was in class 12th but there was stock. At one point there was ‘Rationing of cloth’, cloth came from outside. Then mills started manufacturing cloth in the city and Cawnpore became a big business center. At a point I think there were 36 big mills so during that period your grandfather made a lot of money. Your father had never thought of career, so after his father’s death he had no option, and once he joined he changed the trend.

End of Part I.

*this conversion has been filmed in 2007

Maitrey Bajpai

They don’t come anymore...

2010-08-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Image by d ha rm e sh via Flickr

"I came with my father when I was a small kid. He got a job in the mill." is all you will hear when you go around asking people as to when they came to the city? Even my family is also one of them. They came way back 1907 due to some business options. Families from Rajasthan, Gujarat, surrounding villages of Cawnpore came to the city in search of better economic opportunity. Peasants and workers from nearing villages came to the city due to uncertain harvest that still depends on the rains.

After the establishment of Textile Mills in the city in 1864, there has been enormous rise in the population of the city. Cawnpore was one of the largest employment generator in the state due to opportunities provided by the mills & other allied industries. This population primarily comprised of business families and working peasants, who came to the city in search of better economic avenues & to lift themselves from the circle of poverty. Getting a job in the mills was easy or there were other options like traders, wholesalers and retailers who use to employ them for work.

Closure of textile mills in the state has left a section of population nowhere to go. Now they have no choice but to return to their native place where income levels are not sufficient or try their luck in bigger cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Lack of growth in other economic sectors has also added to the problem. No new Business establishment can be expected in the near future due to lack of infrastructure in the city, which has almost wiped off if there was a chance for revival.

With the poor economic situation of the U.P and worst agriculture scenario in villages People from near by villages still come to the city in search of work though the number has dropped considerably over the years. Now they come to the city either to work in unorganized sector, or suffer from problems like job insecurity, low wage structure & denied all the other benefits which they would have enjoyed in organized sector. Due to low wage structure they are trapped in vicious circle of poverty.

Studies of Jan Breman in Ahemadabad have shown that people there move from one line of the poverty to the other line. They also suffer from working in unorganized sector where low level of social security, minimum wages levels, health and medical benefits all are not available. They form a large chunk of urban poor. City also gets affected, as due to their low income line they reside in diplitated colonies or by the side of railway tracks and slums. The number of slums and these colonies are huge in the city. Besides being unauthorized they suffer from lack of basic civic amenities like toilets, pure water and electricity. This has led to city's administration on double responsibilities of these people, in case of demolishing illegal buildings and slums.

Either they can go of to far places like Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta etc. to work, which makes it difficult for them to be in touch with their families and loved ones. Cost of living is also higher in these cities, which hampers their savings.

Conversation with a Mill Worker (Pramod Mishra)

2010-08-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

When met him on a sunny afternoon he was sitting in his tobacco shop, dirty grayish blue trouser, almost same colored vest which had holes allover it, he seemed just like any other worker, who had lost his job.

Born in the city where his father came to in his early days and learned the art of tailoring, soon he picked grew up to be a brat in the colony. He completed his graduation from DAV College, and did his diploma in footwear technology. Soon he joined TEFCO. during his TEFCO days he says were very good times, “we had a famous saying that give your foot size at the gate and you wont be able to complete a round of the mill and your shoe will be ready”.

Also there were good canteen systems allover, we use to get enough food at very reasonable price, ” every canteen ELGIN, RESERVE BANK etc had food that even officers ate food there. “Elgin mill canteen served puris and bhaji at 20 paisa. We at sales department often visited canteen. Plays and other events were also organized in the mills campuses. Elgin Mill even had our own library and schools. Post Office and Banks are still part of mill campus.

Almost soaked in nostalgia he says “you can’t even imagine how beautiful the environment was when the mills were run.” After leaving TEFCO he remained unemployed for a year, and from reference of his ‘Nana ji’ (who was labor director at that time), he got a job in Elgin Mill No.1. He joined the mill on 4th may 1987 as a “Management Trainee” and kept working till 1989 until he was suspended from the mill along with many. All those who were suspended, collectively wrote a letter to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Some trainees were called for interviews and only a few resumed their post after a year. Pramod was amongst the lucky ones.

“Working in the mill were very good times”, he says, “problems were there but we were at least able to survive and had some kind of job security”. I had a good post, my rank and carder were ok, I had the opportunity of going to places like Delhi, Bombay, Jaipur and other towns of UP because I was working in the Sales Department. Our job was to supply and collect payments. I can remember when we had this bad phase we visited for advance payments from parties just for paying wages to our labor. We did not have adequate cash. We had a large no. of working staff around 15000 people, when the mill was running at its full capacity, 5000 people were working in every shift.

One more thing that has happened in the city is that films don’t run anymore. Earlier we had money so we could go out and watch a lot of films, now films are just of our reach. Small kids use to sell anything out of cinema halls and use to make a handsome amount at the end of the day, it was a good source of earning for a lot of people. People use to watch films regularly and cinema halls remained houseful through out. Amitabh is his favorite “HERO” he says.

When the shifts ended workers in thousands bicycled towards their colony, the rush was so huge that mills had to change timings of shifts with a half an hour difference, there was no other solution to traffic jams. At a time 30000 people use to travel on their bicycle. Elgin, TEFCO, Victoria, Muir, Powerhouse and all other small n big enterprise employees all had bicycles.

He remembers one night we were working till around 2 in the night and we felt hungry so we just went to the canteen and the person there was sleeping we woke him up and asked him to give us some food, he very kindly made tea and served us pakora’s and other stuff. Very proudly he expresses “this was the level of commitment of the people working in the mills, we were not entitled to get overtime, but not only me, we all use to work for extra hours if it was required by the mill.

“We should not have continued to strike after independence, we did it to the British but we should have not continued that after independence, the better option would have been, we should have worked extra and asked for our desired benefits, it happens in the foreign countries but here it did not happen like this. This policy of strike by the unions hurt the mill worst. When government had decided that it will pay sitting wages, workers should have protested. They thought that we will receive payments without any work and lost their jobs instead”

“Now I do not have enough money. Whatever little I had, I purchased land of it, because that’s the safest investment. I also tried my hand at a “chappal” workshop with two other partner but failed, big fishes don’t allow us to work.” He expresses his concern over his daughter’s education, “both my daughter’s are good at studies but I do not have finances to fund their higher education. My elder daughter wants to pursue MBA as a career but I have to look for bread and butter first I also wanted to get them into BNSD “sikhsha niketan” (good school) but the fees is just out of my reach, they are studying in ordinary Govt. school. I have asked them to study well and do the required hard work, hopefully it will pay. Sometimes I am really frustrated, I cannot even meet their small demands like good clothes and shoes. I have keen interest in painting and writing. But a painting cost over Rs.300, even if I have such spare money someday I will love to buy something for my children.

At 46 he is still running the tobacco shop that caters to the local people but he feels he will soon shift to rural area like Unnao as there is a little less competition. Now he earns 1200-1300 a month as compared to around 3000 in the mill.

Maitrey Bajpai

Conversation with “Lallu Uncle” ( Sudhir Kumar Jain)

2010-08-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Dark brown pants and light yellowish striped shirt, which had many orange stains especially near the collar which were result of pan masala. Weird smell of Pan Masala always surrounded him, his mouth was always stuffed with it, so much so that when he spoke his chin was facing the ceiling to avoid more stains on the shirt. Sitting at the center of the shop Chidda Guru & Co. in General Ganj Market his eyes always strained through the ‘bahis and khatas’ (Indian Books of Accounts generally RED in color). Well this pretty much sums up “Lallu” Uncle for me.

He was my father’s partner in business and his father was my grand father’s partners. Our relations were two generations old, but the legacy could not be continued. Partnership between his two sons Sameer and Saurabh and my brother Karan and me was not even expected. “Sudhir Kumar Jain” is a reserved man of very few words and little skills. He was elder to my father, I could never figure out the actual difference but surely it wasn’t much. I don’t remember anyone calling him by his real name…generally people referred him as “Lallu” Bhaiya.

We had a bitter phase of relationship as my mother still believes and everybody around her confirms that he was the one who manipulated all accounts while my father was ill.

Its true that he maintained accounts and my father looked after the practical business activities, what I get of the situation is that while my father was ill, the practical business was not happening and firm started suffering losses, he started withdrawing his capital, and all the losses were paid off from our share of capital. It’s complicated; I know but can assure you it’s even more complicated than it might sound.

My mother was not comfortable with the fact that I am suppose to meet him for my film. I had a stiffing feeling as I have not met him for the past 5 year’s. I went to his place one day in afternoon, sun was blazing full cylinders. He was not at the place I waited for him for 30 minutes, his wife started giving me all sorts of things to eat, he came and he was as surprised by my presence as his wife was …“What are you making? A film about Kanpur! What inspired you to do that?” These were his first reactions when I approached him. After a few hiccups he gets going.

“After dealership of private mills in the 90’s, business grew leaps and bound, our turn over was just shy of a crore. But soon the load was too much. As business was carried on credit basis and we had limited amount of capital, our huge turnover led to burdening of interest due to which level of income started falling. We did not cut down on our expenses as a result we started biting into our capital , once that started happening the end was near.” He continues with a pause “by 1994 your father got ill as he was the man who looking after dealings and the practical side of the business, our money got stuck in the market and recovery was just not possible.”

After his demise we some how unwrapped our firm and a lot of money got stuck in the market. We had to pay the mills and the remaining sum was consumed in the process. One thing we could have done in the new marketing strategy, that is two people meet in a deal through me, both can negotiate a deal on your own and just assure me my share of commission. Our firm was just too prestigious to do that, but that’s where the business standards are today. People with no virtually no working capital carry on this kind of business deals and hurt the overall business scenario in the process.

My involvement with the shop started at the age of 14/15, in the year 1962. Your Grandfather lost a lot of money in the business in early 1950’s, later he and my father started a new business firm in May 1953 as “Nirmal Kr. Komal Kr.”. The capital was put in by my father and shop was of your grand father. Not much later I took control of the shop. Your father was never interested in the business and I was the one who convinced him to join the business. He picked up tricks of trade very fast, soon we took over the business established by our fathers.

The way business was done has also undergone tremendous change, now there is no place for ethics and morals. Earlier times when use to ask for payments, if the person is not having it he would have taken a loan and then send the money. Now for your own payments you keep begging but he will not even shake his eyelid. Earlier producer was more important but now consumer is, that’s why retailer has a stronger say in the deals, as for before we were the ones who were commanding the authority. Now things have changed, it’s more difficult to run mid-level establishments.

“After your father’s death I never ever thought of getting into cloth trade again.” exclaims ‘Lallu’ Uncle. “It takes a lot out of you, you guys should also look for other better avenues, better get out of this city” he suggests.

* This document is based on random conversations.

Maitrey Bajpai

The Bajpai Story (my family)

2010-08-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Bajpai Family

My family is originally from “PURVA” a village in Unnao (a nearing town of Kanpur), Mr. Kampta Prasad Bajpai was land lord there. But due to some kind of a dispute with the local people the family suffered death threats and my Great great grand father Mr. Hiralal Bajpai came to Kanpur in 1905. First when Mr. Hiralal came he stayed in “Sabzi Mandi” with someone. Then he started trading in cloth on a small level in 1907. After making some money he bought a land from Rastogi’s in “Panchkucha (5 lanes of cloth market)” in ‘General Ganj’, later on which he build a house. “Ajjo Bua” (grand father’s sister) say’s the house is of her age, 80 years old. This is the place where all the later generations established the cloth trade. Each of them had his own style of functioning and the Trade kept changing according to market situations.

It’s difficult to know about the trade of my great grand father Mr. Dwarika Prasad Bajpai but one can say all he dealt with was cotton cloth manufactured by the local mills of Cawnpore. After his demise in 1944 my Grand Father Mr. Bhagwati Prasad Bajpai took charge of the family and shop. He mainly dealt in mill cloth but as it was mainly rough cotton so he also visited Bombay for the fine cotton cloth. In 1949 Rationing scheme was implemented and he was a licensed mill Cloth Seller. This meant only a limited count of cloth could to be sold to an individual; this system was popularly known as “RATIONING OR LICENCING OF CLOTH”. During this period he made a lot of money as there was no requirement of any publicity and consumer was already in need of the product he sold. Bhagwati Prasad Bajpai my grand father was learned man with double MA in English & economics which he did from Christ Church College (the college from which my father, mother and I have graduated), he was a wrestler, read a lot, I have over 500 books on varied topics belonging to him. At that point of time he was so successful that he owned a bungalow with swimming pool in Jajmau & he rode an “ikka” (an open horse cart). His horse was famous for drinking tea at mall road & he spent a lot of money on it, details of which can be found in his bank passbooks.

My father often use to tell me that when my grand father was a kid he had this fascination of throwing silver coins in the well, which still exists in our shop at general Ganj. He liked the ‘sound’ of metal displacing water. Ashutosh Bajpai tells he often use to come to our home with his father & once my Bua demanded a T.V from my grandfather turned to him, and asked “should I bring the TV? I thoughtfully at the age of 5 said yes. Two day’s later when I visited the house it was filled with children allover, who had flocked around the new TV set.”

In the year 1974 when my father “Brajesh Chandra Bajpai” was pursuing his MA (History & Economics) from Christ Church College, my grandfather suffered heart attack and died. This was a shock that pushed my father to take reigns of the Family Business.

At that time our shop was a trader shop (aarath) and we had a percentage of profit in every sale. Everyone was skeptical whether he will be able to care of the business, but he adapted to the situations very well. Reading the new market phenomena, soon after his marriage in 1979, he started collaborating with the private mills. Later he took dealership of Brands like Mayur, Grasim & Bhilwara. Brands like Century, Arvind etc were also sold in our shop.

On the other hand my Grand father’s younger brother Bhagwati Sewak Bajpai (Bade Baba) took his share from the shop and started dealing in cotton waste and supplying to police and government departments etc. He was a successful entrepreneur of the modern times. His elder son, my ‘Chacha’ “Rajesh Chandra Bajpai” put a lot of stakes in the stock exchange, and lost a lot of money. Unwilling to face the failure he committed to suicide. His two daughters are doing well to support the family. Elder daughter “Neha Bajpai (Chipsy didi) has completed her CA and is working with a big CA firm in Delhi.

Baba’s younger son ‘Kapil chachu’ got him involved in a lot of things and suffered, now he is a married man, father of two sons. After the demise of ‘Bade Baba’ in 2001 he is trying to figure out what are the opportunities left for him. On my last visit he said he was willing to shift to Delhi for better business propositions.

The other side of the story is that things were not as smooth within the family as they appear. The very place that was once the pivot for social and financial needs of the family is now in the line of fire. Our shop in General Ganj is a three storey building; ground floor has always been used for the shop and other floors for residential purposes. The mutual division was that my father who is running the shop so he keeps the ground floor and others share the two floors.

Immediately after my father’s death my mother was served a notice for division of the building. Old property disputes are very common in Uttar Pradesh and often they bring out the worst in everyone. Maa suggested that we sell the complete plot and equally distribute the sale. This was agreed to my grand father’s youngest brother “Chote Baba” who still lives in the top floor of the building.

Bade Baba’s family was also not in favor of my mother for unknown reasons. But at that time it seemed like a workable solution as all the three families were in big financial mess. We dint communicate for 5 years till I broke the ice. It might sound a bit mean but I for my film started visiting Bade Baba’s family. Now are relations are quiet good.

As of now the shop remains closed and my mother has opened a PCO there which is run by an operator, she very rarely visits the shop.

*this document is based on conversations with various members of my family.

Maitrey Bajpai

The Purpose

2010-08-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

In a city where machines roared day in and day out, chimneys never went cold, cycles filled the roads like anything, today there is calm. There is something uneasy about this calm. Nobody talks about the mills anymore. On the foot hold of changing times, probably, it’s time to talk about the mills.

Families like mine along with mill workers failed the test of time, it was our lack of ability to switch gears when it was required the most. On the path of development, when an Economy shifts gears like ‘Production oriented to Service sector’ there is a large chunk of population that is unable to change itself. I wish to study the effect of such change on the city of ‘Kanpur’.

The economic and infrastructural growth of cities like Mumbai and Ahemdabad, force a need for deeper study into the topic. They were more or less functioning as Kanpur, but they survived the test of time and maintained their economic growth in the changing economic scenario. On the other hand closure of textile mills led Kanpur to a state of stagnation. Comparative study of these cities will enable us to understand the reasons for failure of Kanpur and other cities like it.

It is also my interest to try and link the events of Kanpur city with the national textile scene. I want to figure out what are the implications of a city’s economy in the national context and how has textile as an industry evolved over the years.

The current dilapidated condition of the city and no hope for future has forced the youngsters, like my brothers and sisters, to opt for better avenues, like Metro’s Delhi and Mumbai. One of them is me myself as I now reside in Mumbai, trying to make a career in films which will forcibly want me to reside in Mumbai.

I will try to document personal narratives and individual history of Mill workers, Business Families (Mine in particular) and other sections of affected population. I plan to use photographs, transcripts of interviews, recordings, printed matter and visual material to substantiate my research.

Brief History: Population

2010-08-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

The city of Cawnpore came into existence from merging of several villages, each village had a small population and limited commercial movement. But since the time it came under British influence (1773), commercial activities in the area increased, rise in population was evident. East India Co. established an agency here in 1776, and British businessman started coming to the area. Later in 1778 forces from Bilgram were shifted here to protect their lives and business, and after that people from all classes started pouring in, Businessman came because it was safe and the city guaranteed easy connections to other business places, artisans, traders and labor started coming to sell their products to the army (eatables, shoes, clothing etc…) and in search of employment.

The trade & population kept growing, a city started being born out of village and in 1803 Cawnpore was declared a district. No formal account of population exists till 1846, but first data regarding population of Cawnpore is found in Robert Montgomery’s “Statical Report of Cawnpore” in 1847. According to the report population of Civilian area was 58821 and Cantonment was 49975 (excluding Europeans and soilders). As per UN Demographical year book Cawnpore was amongst the 300 hundred cities of the world having population more than 1 Lakh.

An interesting point is that such a massive increase in population was not supported by the high “Birth rate”. Infact as per a Government report dated 31st March 1944 number of children born was ‘11691’ and number of people died was ‘14379’, which shows Death rate was more than Birth rate, so Growth rate of the city was negative. But the population kept exploding an alarming rate.

This was major due to coming of large number of workers and peasants from nearby places and neboring states, after the beginning of industrial development in 1860, American civil war and the two World Wars, opened new doors for development and city saw opening of one mill after another. Incoming Laborers were cheap and proved to be a boon to the industry.

An estimate made in 1912, (done for water, power and other municipal reasons), shows that after 50 years (till 1962) Kanpur’s population will be 2.5 lakh. But till 1947 it was 8, 79,419.

Average rise in percentage increase of population in 1931-41 was almost 100% in the city. When compared to other cities of UP, this was huge, in Lucknow it was 41%, Agra 23.6%, Allahabad 41.4%, Banaras 28%. The data in the table shows that population doubled in 10 years (1931-41) and it took just five more years to double itself again (1941-47).

Population density per sq mile in 1931 was 24754 i.e. 39 person/ acre and in 1958 it was 71360 i.e. 111.5 person/acre.

Population: 1991 Census-24.18 Lakh’s and as per 2001 Census: 27.72 Lakh’s (Male: 14.83 Lakh’s, Female: 12.89 Lakh’s)

Brief History: The Mills

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1861 Kanpur cotton committee was formed

1862 Elgin Mill 1874 Muir mill

1876 Cawnpore woolen mills

1882 Cawnpore cotton mills (Cooperganj)

1886 New Victoria.

1911 Swadeshi cotton mills Juhi

1912 Kanpur Cotton Mills co. KAKOMI (Juhi)

1921 JK cotton spinning n weaving mills co.ltd (Kalpi road)

1921 Atherton west n co. ltd (GT road)

1933 JK cotton manufacturing ltd (Kalpi road)

1934 Laxmiratan cotton mills co. ltd (Kalpi road)

Kanpur textile ltd (Cooperganj)

Brief History: The Freedom Struggle

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In 1942 Quit India Movement started, Government policies were exploitive and political leaders of all ideologies were being sent to jail, except the Communist who was against the movement. As a result Unions and workers were taken over by Communist. This move hampered the unity amongst the workers as they got divided. Soon fragmentations on the basis of cast, creed, and region started forming and number of Unions started rising. Workers also participated in the freedom struggle.

Congress’s Swadeshi aandolan also gave boost to the cotton industry and local consumer started depending on the mills for cotton “Dhoti’s and Saris”.

The events of Second World War also gave the much required thrust to cotton industry of Cawnpore. During the war period demand for a lot of war products had increased, and entrepreneurs of the city cashed in on the opportunity. They earned huge profits by supplying the demands of war, and Mills were never more profitable. In 1943 city had 17 mills, 534500 spindles & 10000 looms with 44480 permanent workers working daily. These mills consumed 176982 ‘kandi’s’ of cotton everyday.

1947: 4TH ALL INDIA COTTON SUMMIT was held in Kanpur, all 3 previous events were hosted by Bombay. Many aspects related to the growth of textile industry were discussed & delegates from all over the nation came here. The mills kept working but by now mainly Indians owned the industries built by British. With getting Independence on 15th august 1947 the mill developed further.

The people coming in the city (refugees) played a vital role, the original concept of Quality was changed and business like transport was taken up by them. Practices like Black marketing, fraud, duplication of products, and exploitation for maximum benefits, all started in this period. On one hand it led to creation of an environment against commercialization & British in particular on the other it boosted thoughts like Socialism and Communism.

1948 Within a period of 7 months (September 1 to march 31) cotton Mills in Cawnpore consumed 131651 bales of cotton, which was only after Bombay and Ahemdabad, and no city in north India even came closer. In the whole country 1978995 bales were consumed (weight of each bale was 400 Pd). Total 585179 pound of foreign cotton was consumed in the country out of which 37806 was consumed by Kanpur.

According to a book “kanpur kaa itihaas” written by Narain prasad Arora & Laxmikant Tripathi in 1958: city has 17 mills out of which 15 were in the main city, and Kanpur was a major center of cotton production in India. They wrote “The city has grown at a tremendous pace in the last 10 years; consumption of cotton has increased by 62% since 1935 and 50% workers have increased by then. Most of the workers of cotton mills mainly come from the farming belt of nearer places, with permanent residents only accounting for 20% of total working population. 98.74% of these workers were males as females were mainly engaged in picking up “goodar”. Out of the total population 70-80% of workers were Hindu. Labor colonies like macrobertganj colony made by Cawnpore woolen mills & Allen ganj another colony hold most of these workers. Government was also planning to construct more colonies by 1954.”

Writers of the book predicted a healthy future for the Textile Industry of the city, whose backbone were its Mills. They wrote “the future of textile industry looks good & so dose the future of the city”. According to the book India at that moment was one of the largest Cotton manufacturers of the world. It was ranked 5th in number of cotton spindles and 3rd in consumption and labor. Out of the total cloth produced in the country, 16% was made in Kanpur.

Brief History: 1925 End of an Era

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The Social thing

During this era labor problems brought new angle to the industrialization. Affects of Russian revolution (1917) were clearly evident on the city. Wave of Socialism and Communism had hit the city strongly. Until now labor struggle was not recognized and activities likewise were considered as unpatriotic. But laborer’s had serious problems, which deserved attention. The Second phase of Industrial developments began from 1925, on one hand entrepreneur were finding way’s to maximize profits and on the other, thoughts like Humanity, Socialism and Independence were gaining ground.

On 17th July 1920 after numerous requests’ “Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha” was registered but the Government of State in “Upper India Chamber of Commerce” required certain conditions to be fulfilled before recognition. Mr. Gavin Jones blamed that “unions are being led by people who are not workers themselves (e.g. Ganesh shanker vidyarthi, Ganga sahai chaubey)” he said that “they are using this platform for achieving their political goals”.

This was true to an extent, infact it had become mandatory for the them to talk about the workers because of their sheer numbers. On 15 July 1920 Vidyaar Khan said “The number of Mazdoor’s is so huge that if they leave the city, the city will be veeran (empty)”. Circumstances also forced them to follow in footsteps of Gandhi, who was mobilizing masses of Ahemdabad in the same fashion. The whole uprising aandolan was presented by these leaders on two levels’…………….. Britisher’s v/s Indians………. & …………….Owner’s v/s Workers.

Numerous strikes on demands of good working conditions, increment in wages and independence were staged. Due to these strikes Cawnpore started losing its industrial charm & British lost their interest in the city. Some of them started pulling back their share of capital and sniffing the Indian independence, the remaining also started extracting as much profit as they could. They drained the mills, and left the business to the disposal of Indian Businessman, who supported them for maximum benefits in minimum time. As a result in 1924-38 many Indians took control of the business & started rising. People like Sir J.P.Srivastava, Japuria Group & JK group overtook the existing mills and established new one’s like JK Cotton Manufacturing Ltd (1933) & Laxmiratan Cotton Mill (1934). But all this process left the mills with virtually no money for technical up gradation. By 1935: 14 Cotton mills were in the city, with 455136 spindles & 8019 looms. On an average 30118 workers were working here. 19030 bales of Raw Cotton weighing 784 pounds were consumed everyday.

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.

Brief History: The Second phase of Industrialization

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During this era labor problems brought new angle to the industrialization. The Russian revolution (1917) had brought new light, affects of which were clearly evident on the city. Wave of Socialism and Communism were gaining ground. Until now labor struggle was not recognized and activities likewise were considered as unpatriotic. But laborer’s had serious problems, which deserved attention. The Second phase of Industrial developments began from 1925, on one hand entrepreneur were finding way’s to maximize profits and on the other, thoughts like Humanity, Socialism and Independence were gaining ground.

On 17th July 1920 after numerous requests’ “Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha” was registered. The Government of State in “Upper India Chamber of Commerce” required certain conditions to be fulfilled before recognition. Mr. Gavin Jones blamed that “unions are being led by people who are not workers themselves (e.g. Ganesh shanker vidyarthi, Ganga sahai chaubey)” he said that “they are using this platform for achievement of their political purpose”. 15 July 1920 Vidyaar Khan said “Mazdoor are so much in numbers that if they leave the city, the city will b veeran (empty)”.

It became mandatory for the political leaders to talk about the workers because of their sheer numbers. The period and circumstances also forced them to follow in footsteps of Gandhi who was mobilizing the masses in the same fashion. The whole uprising aandolan was based on two issues. One was Britisher’s v/s Indians & the other was Owner’s v/s Workers.

This lead to numerous strikes on demands of good working conditions and increment in wages. Due to these strikes British lost their interest in Cawnpore, they started extracting profit as much as they could, which left no finance for modernization. They left the business to the disposal of Indian Businessman, who supported them for maximum benefits in minimum time. As a result in 1924-38 many Indians took control of the business & started rising. JK OIL, Cawnpore Chemicals, Swar Plastic, Heavy Chemicals & Machinery part factories were est. JK Hosiery, JK Jute, P Sugar Mills, Singh Engg, JK Cotton , Laxmiratan Cotton, JK Iron & Maheshwari Jute mill were established.

The Freedom Struggle

In 1942 Quit India Movement started, Government policies were exploitive and political leaders of all ideologies were being sent to jail, except the Communist’s who were against the movement. As a result Unions and workers were taken over by Communist. This move hampered the unity amongst the workers as they got divided. Soon fragmentations on the basis of cast, creed, and region started forming and number of Unions started rising. The people coming in the city (refugees) played a vital role, the original concept of Quality was changed and business like transport was taken up by them. Practices like Black marketing, fraud, duplication of products, and exploitation for maximum benefits, all started in this period. On one hand it led to creation of an environment against commercialization & British in particular on the other it boosted thoughts like Socialism and Communism.

On 15th August 1947 India got its independence and so did the city of “Cawnpore”, which was nurtured by the colonial rulers, came to its end and died only to reborn as “Kanpur”.

Brief History: INDUSTRIALIZATION

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The events of 1857 left the city in diaplated condition and hampered the progress of economic development. British lost their lives & business and moved out of the city, Indians also suffered from the events. But this setback could not contain the growth for long. With the support of infrastrural facilities like Postage, Roads, Canals and Railways the city got the required thrust and it just started growing. There was establishment of Mills, Work Houses and Factories. Large numbers of people and families from the neighboring states started pouring in, trade and population kept growing hand in hand at rapid pace. It brought prosperity to the city along with new challenges. To facilitate population and trade, proper market places and new roads etc. were constructed by the authorities. The Kanpur of today is an outcome of this era, which is remembered as the Golden Era of Cawnpore.

1857-1880

After 1857 the development of Cawnpore was even more phenomenal. Due to the events of 1857 Cawnpore became very important to the British & the British Empire took the control from the East India Company. Inclusion of Awadh in the Empire (1856) was a major step towards growth, as Entrepreneurs, Merchants, Craftsmen, and Workers along with their families came to the city from Lucknow, and other neighboring places, for business opportunities. Infrastructure development’s before 1857 and city’s location boosted the process of Industrial growth.

Trade of various goods was carried in this region from ages and with the establishment of a Distillery (1786) for the Army and Indigo Factory (1803) by the British near the city, early signs of economic growth were evident. Though there was an increase in commercial activities, development of this level had its limitations. The city was waiting for one big reason which would change it all and it did 1859, when the first steam engine of East Indian Railway shuttled between Allahabad and Cawnpore. This was a real BIG STEP towards Cawnpore’s industrial development.

Railway gave a whole new dimension to the development process. It connected Cawnpore with the top industrial cities like Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Ahemdabad, Karachi, Nagpur, Tatanagar and many of the Ports as well. Cotton from neighboring places like Bundelkhand and Awadh was send to Calcutta for exports during the American Civil War. It also assured easy import of Raw material into the city and export of final produce from here. It also gave rise to Wholesale markets of the city which dealt in variety of goods. Soon new Warehouse, Godown and station building was constructed to facilitate the growth. Trade transport was never so easy and importance of Cawnpore never so high.

Waves of industrialization reached the city in 1859, just after it was linked by railway. Government Harness and Saddalery factory was established in 1860 to supply leather material to the army. Elgin Mill was the first cotton mill of the city established in 1864. Muir mill (cotton) being established in1876, followed by Cawnpore Woolen mill (1876) and Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880.

1880 to 1900

Boosted by the American Civil War, city witnessed a flood of mills especially in the Cotton industry. With the establishment of Cawnpore Cotton mills (Elgin No.2)1882, New Victoria Mill1883 the city had 5 mills in all. Apart from cotton, Leather industry was also finding its ground with Cooper Allen & Co 1880, Northwest Tanning Co, Cawnpore Tanning Co and Tanning Leather Works etc being established around this period. British Government established Ordnance Factory & Parachute Factory 1886, to supplement their defense requirements.

Mr. Gavin Sibald Jones is known as Father of Industrial Cawnpore for his contribution to the industrial scene of the city. He established two cotton mill, 1 woolen mill & 2 leather tanneries along with establishing a cycle company. Jones gave Kanpur’s production an international edge. He along with Mr. Hugh Maxwell was one of the pillars of Cawnpore’s Industrial development. Names like Sir John Burney Allen’s, Mr. William Cooper, Sir Alexander Mac Robert, (JK) Singhania Family, Japuria Family and Sir J.P.Srivastava are also worth mentioning. Contribution of Indian worker’s and laborer’s who adapted to the new technology and worked hard during the testing times is inevitable in the development process. All these people along with the traditional business & trading families were responsible for the industrialization of Cawnpore.

Infrastructure was also established to complement the growth. Post and Telegram Offices were opened, GT road and Ancient Mugal road was renovated. By 1879 district of Cawnpore had 29 post offices, in 1884 Cawnpore municipality came into existence and in the year 1891 Post Office, on request from the business class, had to open a small Magneto Exchange.

1900 to 1925

The process of Economic growth continued after 1900 as well. With Industrial & Infrastructural developments soon Cawnpore became one of the main centers of industrial revolution in India. In 1906 on the eve of Christmas city saw electricity for the First time. Swadeshi Cotton Mill 1911, Cocomy mills 1912. Hundreds of business units producing Soap, Flour, and Hosiery & Chemicals were also established. 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 raising in the international markets the Business man cashed on the opportunity. After the First World War, Lala Kamlapat established a group of companies such as; J.K.Cotton Mills and J.K. Iron etc. under the banner of J.K. In the year 1920 British India Corporation (BIC) was formed with five companies. Cawnpore Textile Mills (1922) and Atherton west Mills (1923), the first re-rolling mill of India was established in 1928 by the Singh Engineering Work. Lakshami Ratan Cotton Mills were established in 1934.

The Second World War gave fresh impetus to industrial complex. This was the time when Cawnpore was known as the Manchester of India. In 1925 an era in which British businessman established mills ended.

Brief History: Railways

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Cawnpore’s economic growth was hampered by the events of 1857 but after that is development was phenomenal and it was mainly due to Railways. In 1859 first steam engine of East Indian Railway shuttled between Allahabad and Cawnpore. This was the real BIG leap towards Cawnpore’s industrial development.

The Railway’s which established their connection with the city were:

East Indian Railway: In 1845 Mr. R.M.Stephenson proposed to build a railway line from Calcutta to Delhi via Kanpur. Mr. Stephenson had ample faith that a railway line running parallel to Ganga and Yamuna would be very useful to trade and commerce of the Region, but authorities declined it. After repetitive requests in 1850 the Authorities agreed on construction of railway line from Raniganj to Calcutta on an experimental basis. In 1850 R.M.Stephenson started work on his ambitious project, 1854 First railway engine came to India, and on 15th august rail ran from Howra to Hoogli. By 1855 line was prepared till Raniganj & coal was sent to Calcutta from there. It was a success and Mr. Stephenson was granted permission to build the complete project. Upper part of the project began from Allahabad, but events of 1857 made the railway construction sufferer losses of more than 40 laky pound. Despite all this First engine steamed from Allahabad to Cawnpore on 3rd March 1859 and the whole project was completed in 1864. But due to no bridge on Yamuna of Allahabad, direct connection was not possible from Delhi to Calcutta. The bridge was constructed in 1866.

Awadh Rohailkhand Railways came to the city in 1867, but due to no bridge on Ganga line ended on the left side of the Ganga. After the construction of the bridge in 1875, direct connection was possible. Great Indian Peninsula Railway came to Juhi in 1886; this established our connection with industrial capital of India….Bombay. Bombay Baroda and Central Railways opened its line in 1892. Awadh & Tihiruth Railways (Old name: Bengal & North Western Railways) connected the city to upper Bihar.

By establishment of Railways import and export the goods could be easily done. The area was also known as Cotton producing belt, cotton was exported from here but by river route it took a lot of time. During American Civil War demand of Indian cotton grew in the international markets, cotton produced by neighboring areas like (Bundelkhand) was sent to Calcutta for exports via Cawnpore railways. During this period lanes of the city were filled with cotton bales, and officers had to make special arrangements for the purpose. In the year 1907 the Ganga canal was flattened to make a huge godwon from Collecterganj to Juhi. But till this time each Railway had a different station, in 1930 on 27march a new station building was built and a new ware house was created at Juhi.

Development of Railway gave a new dimension to the whole development process. It was only after this that the real Industrialization kicked off. It connected Cawnpore with the top industrial cities like Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Ahemdabad, Karachi, Nagpur, Tatanagar and many of the Ports as well. East Indian Railways had its line into the mills also. Still it’s a big junction and many trains pass through it daily, without the establishment of Railway’s it wouldn’t have been possible for Kanpur to get industrialized.

Brief History: Development

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The city of Cawnpore lies on the southern banks of Ganga, as trade in the early times was carried on through rivers its significance emerged to British as they acquired it. Crowds were drawn towards the region from ancient times due to religious significance of Bithoor and from the period when Kannauj was the capital of northern India, before the Mugal invasion, Jajmau was a busy little area, as it was an important crossing point while traveling from Kannauj to Prayag. During the Mugal period, when capital base shifted to Agra it lost its glory for a short span of time, as trade and travel was carried through Yamuna. But it din’t took long for the Mugal’s to realize that it was also a major crossing point between Bundelkhand and Awadh and soon it became an important port of that era with a center for constructing and repairing boats.

With the development of Awadh our region also gradually started developing. By coming in touch with the British in 1773, establishment of Co. agency in 1776 and establishment of military camp in 1778, Trade, which was carried on in the region from ages, got the much required boost. People from nearby places started coming here to sell their products (Galla, kirana, clothes, shoes, and Neel) to the army or for employment. It was a major military station by now and became a district in 1803. Trade in the region benefited from this as it became a safe proposition for the Entrepreneur’s.

With the growth in population and increase in volume of trade, responsibility for establishing a fair and effective administration and building sound infrastructure also grew. British developed these facilities with great attention. They created mechanism for collection of taxes and settling disputes. For this purpose Courts, Offices and Jails were constructed. Collector, judge and magistrates along with other officers were appointed. Schools College’s and technical institutes were built to preparing the future generation.

For facilitating commercial activities Banks, Post & telegram offices and telephone exchange was established along with creating new markets from time to time. No region can grow economically until it has to have a good transportation network. Bridges and Canal’s were building, new roads like GT road were constructed, and ancient Mugal road was renovated for the purpose. And in 1859 Railways gave the city a new dimension altogether.

This infrastructure development laid the foundation of Cawnpore’s industrial growth and transformed small pieces of land into a city and then into a metropolitan.

Brief History: British Invasion

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Till the half of 18th century Kanpur remained a simple insignificant village. But, when, in 1765 British forces defeated Nawab "Suraj-u-Daula" near Jajmau........its fate changed.

In the year 1773 Nawab of Awadh gave land of 12 villages (Patkapur, Kursawan, Sisamau, Juhi, Nawabganj, Jajmau & Rawatpur) nearing Kanhpur village (kohna) to East India Co. for establishment of Army camps. A small troop of army stayed here and with the treaty of Fayzabad (1775), British started establishing connections with the area. In 1776 Company opened its agency in the area. This was a calculated move by the British as they realized the strategic importance of Cawnpore's location. Situated in the region of Doab, between Ganga and Yamuna, Cawnpore was a major crossing point while traveling between Awadh and Bundelkhand or from Kannauj to Prayag.

Trade could be easily carried on, from here, because of its location.

European businessmen had by this time gradually started establishing themselves in Cawnpore. In order to ensure protection, to their lives and property, the `Awadh local forces’ were shifted to Kanpur from Bilgram in 1778, this move also made it easy to keep an eye over the developments of Awadh and regions of upper Doab.

Army camped on the banks of Ganges. Villagers started connoting this area between Bithoor and Jajmau as "Campoo" as did Pratap Narain Mishr (1856-93) renowned Hindi poet. The area of Kanhpur village was called "Kohna" which was 2 miles from Campoo. In 1783 William Haj wrote that cantonment of a thousands of soilders is so big that soilders live in huts instead of tents. Cawnpore passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh. This forms a turning point in the history of Cawnpore. Soon Cawnpore became an important center of military for British India and on........... 24 March 1803 "Cawnpore" (Kanpur) was declared a District.

Brief History: Existence

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Existence of Kanpur is a matter of controversy and will remain one for the future to solve. It’s interesting that no reference of Kanpur is found in the history, its two suburbs Bithoor and Jajmau can be found in history as far back as mythological periods. The foundation of today’s Kanpur was laid in 1773, when Nawab of Awadh gave land of 12 villages (Patkapur, Kursawan, Sisamau, Juhi, Nawabganj, Jajmau & Rawatpur) surrounding Old Kanpur (Kohna) to the East India Company for keeping the Army. All these villages have history of their own ….

BITHOOR: it’s believed that, just after creating the universe, Lord Brahma performed the Ashvamedh Yajna (Horse Sacrifice) at Bithoor. Another mythological site at Bithoor is the Valmiki Ashram, where the famous sage Valmiki is supposed to have written the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. According to this epic, queen Seeta, on being exiled by King Ramachandra of Ayodhya, spent her days in seclusion at the ashram bringing up her twin sons Lava and Kush.

JAJMAU: It’s located on the eastern end of the city, considered to be the most ancient cities of the region. Excavations tend to prove that the site is very ancient indeed, Popular legends has it that the remains of an ancient fort belong to King Yayati of the Vedic age. It also houses temples of Buddhist period and Mosques of Mugal era.

SISAMAU: history suggests that in 1120, Raja of Annual 'Govind Chandra' donated a village to a Brahmin names Sahul Sharma which came to be known as SASAIMAU and later changed to SISAMAU.

PATKAPUR: Sisamau was divided, and out of which PATKAPUR got created ... ("Patka" means division), it can be traced back to 1650.

OLD KANPUR (the village): A strong belief is that Kanpur is related to Mahabharat era and there are two interesting tales supporting this belief, some believe that the name is derived from KARNAPUR and is associated with Karna, one of the characters of the Mahabharata. Other's claim that ear piercing of lord Krishna was done here.

Experts like Dr Munishwar Nigam feel that it’s too far fetched to be true.

In 1207 AD Raja Kanti Deo of Prayag who was attached to the throne of Kannauj established the village Kohna, which later came to be known as Kanpur.

Books, Writers and Travel Historians of Mugal period ranging from 1024 to 1659 explain a great deal about region of Doab, its scenic beauty, about military operations carried out in the region and neighboring places like Jajmau and Bithoor, also places of Oudh province but remain silent on Kanpur.

One of popular beliefs is, about the Sikhs guru "GURU TEGBHADUR (9th)". It’s said that in 1666 while going to Amritsar from Patna, on a request by a rich man he spent a night in his garden, this site is the famous gurudwara of chowk. Argument is, if it wasn’t a village or a place with population then why was the Rich man and his Garden there.

Reference of "Kanpur" is in Abbas Sarwani's TARIKH-E-SHERSAHI about 1695, is doubted by the experts. They say this place was different place (KHANPUR) as the geographical and social description dose not match to our city. Mistake was made by "Prof Dawson" and "Henry Mires Elliot" while translating Sarwani's book from Persian to English because they were unaware of geographical locations of India. Another legend explains King of Sachendi "HINDU SINGH CHANDEL" (1668-1734), while going on NARWAL-JAJMAU route saw a beautiful piece of land, lay foundation of a village. This day was lord KRISHNA'S birthday (kanahiya aashthami), so the village got its name "Kanahiyapur". Lot of people preferred calling it Kanhapur, which later got abbreviated to Kanhpur. Legend relates to last decade of 17th century...i.e. from 1691 to 1699, exacted by experts as 1698. "CHATURESH" (1730) a poet from the court of Asothar’s king “Bhagwan Singh”, mentioned Gazipur and Kanhpur are distant at 30 Kos(60 miles) ...........it’s true even today. The village of Kanhpur was shown in the first map of Doab 1770 as Cawnpour by a small dot. History of which village should we consider as the existence of Kanpur, story of Lord Krishna or Karna’s tale, Sisamau’s development or Jajmau’s links with King Yayati, the story of Hindu Singh is also impressive. We don’t have enough proof to believe or disbelieve these tales, all these tales hold true in their own right. Mahabir Prasad Diwedi, Hindi literature laureate, about 1900 remarked "kanpur is yesterday's child", may be he was right, but it’s difficult to arrive on any conclusion, and the debate continues..... "We all want to push the date of our existent city as far back into history as we can", says Manoj Kapoor (Kanporium), "but since every piece of land is as old as the mother earth itself, the existence of individual pieces of land cannot form the date of existence of a city. That’s the only problem logic has", further he explains, "Individual history of Punjab and Sind must be very old but Pakistan's age is counted from the date of its inception.........i.e. 14 august 1947. In that sense Kanpur's age should not be counted from its villages, but from the date it was declared a district i.e. 24 March 1803.

My family and the Textile Mills Closure

2010-08-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

My mother tells me “your grand father made a lot of money in rationing of cloth”. Ahmed Raza Khan (professor IGNOU) one of my fathers childhood friend, says, “Brijesh always complained that ‘when ever I ask money from my father, he throws currency notes on me, he dose not hand over the money properly to me’. My father did not have any money to throw at me”. ‘Papa’ was a rich man’s son and he was not alone, there were many others like him of his generation whose fathers had made lot of money in the cloth trade. They were a generation who did not know what to do and they fell prey to circumstances.

My mother “He was not suppose to get into business, but after his fathers sudden demise he had to get into it” she continues “your grand father brought and sold cloth of local mills, but foreseeing the collapse of the mills, your Papa started dealing with private mills”.

Just like his father my Papa’s success story was also a short one too. “After you went to school, Papa expanded the business way too much, it was just beyond his capacity. By 1993 profits started lowering.”

‘Lallu’ Uncle my father’s business partner explains further “after dealership of private mills in the 90's, business grew leaps and bound, our turn over was just shy of a crore. But soon the load was too much. As business was carried on credit basis and we had limited amount of capital, our huge turnover led to burdening of interest due to which level of income started falling. We did not cut down on our expenses as a result we started biting into our capital , once that started happening the end was near.” He continues with a pause “by 1994 your father got ill as he was the man who looking after dealings and the practical side of the business, our money got stuck in the market and recovery was just not possible.”

My Mother “Buyers came to the city just because of the mills, now when there are no mills business was difficult to carry on as we had to go to the buyer, and when that happens, buyer is the one who dictates the terms. It was quiet embarrassing to go and ask your money from someone else, that to again and again, the vicious credit cycle kept on going”

“After your father’s death I never ever thought of getting into cloth trade again.” exclaims ‘Lallu’ Uncle. “It takes a lot out of you, you guys should also look for other better avenues, better get out of this city” he suggests.

My younger brother, who is studying his engineering from Pune University completely, agrees, “I don’t want to come back, and why should I, all my friends have left the city. There is not even a good place to hangout in this city”

The Mill Closure

2006-08-03T01:39:00.000-07:00

The Mill

Machines that stopped working, cobwebbed doors of factories, depressing tales of unemployment and hunger and faces which forgot how to smile long ago. Once hailed by India's British colonial rulers as "Manchester of the East", this dilapidated city is nothing but shadow of its former industrial glory.

Sitting in his tobacco shop in a pair of dirty greyish pants and torn vest, Pramod Mishra seemed just like any other worker, who had lost his job. “In 1992, Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narsimha Rao announced at ‘Phool Bagh’, ‘if government pays you sitting wages its losses will be less as compared to running the mill” he says He now earns Rs.1200 to 1500 from his tobacco shop in “Khalasi Line” (Elgin mill colony) as compared to Rs.3000 in the mill. . “There were not enough options, there are already many shops of consumer items in this colony, as everyone is unemployed there no buyers anymore”.

Signs of decay were clear as early as in the '70s. In 1975, J.K. Manufacturers, a Singhania group company, was closed down. One of the reasons cited was the over involvement of trade unions. But as many as 1,500 workers lost their jobs. Increasing number of strikes and lowering profit margins gave an opportunity to the Mill owners to shift to other sectors, which had better returns.

After their closure, Government nationalized these sick units under National Textile Corporation (NTC) and British India Corporation (BIC) to save the poor from unemployment. In the days of socialist planning (before 1991), the mills were kept on costly life support machines by the government. But no money was invested to modernize them. Decrepit and hopelessly uncompetitive, the mills were killed off by the market forces unleashed by 90’s liberalization drive.

“Workers zest for working hard died as soon as the mills were nationalized and Trade unions added fuel to fire” exclaims Mr. Lal. (Floor Incharge in ‘Lal Imli Woolen Mills’, a BIC undertaking.) Mr. A.N.Bajpai an officer with NTC (UP) says “In my entire career I have not seen a single technically qualified officer at the managerial position. Government and officers are primarily responsible for the closure of the mills, as they were the one’s who could not handle the situation properly”

Deeper study needs to be undertaken, to determine as to what led to closure of Textile mills in Kanpur. But the affect of closure of the mills is across all layers of society. Closure of textile mills not only left the working class of the city jobless, but also ruled out any possibility of emergence of lower middle class in the city.

Mohd. Hanif an ex- worker of the Elgin Mill says “we celebrated all festivals together, mill was almost like a family, we had plays and football matches in the mill. All our activities were related to the mills, even our watches were set as per mill timings. Everything was going on fine and one day they stopped giving us work, our salary was held for 11 months, we were asked to take VRS, or otherwise we will not get our salary, we had no option, shopkeeper who gave us food on credit said pay the credit later but make fresh purchases only on cash”.

More than 30 labour colonies which were built to accommodate a large number of industrial workers are now in a dilapidated condition. Malnourished children walk around choked sewersand mounds of garbage while their parents go out into the big bad world to earn a day's work.

“This closure has affected the city in number of ways, markets like “Gwal Toli” have finished due to lack of purchasing power. There was a time when mill timings had to be changed due rush in the lunch hours. Unemployment in the city has given rise to crime rate. Nothing’s left they (politicians) have turned the city into an ‘industrial graveyard’.” Rajendra Trivedi an officer with NTC (UP) expresses his aggression.

“We hear that Government is planning to run one of these mills. It’s good if mills run once again, but by the time idea will be implemented, people like me will cross 55 years of age. Will I be in a position where I can work as hard as I can work now? ask’s Pramod.

peace,

maitrey bajpai, 2007

Kanhpur-Cawnpore-Kanpur

2006-07-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

“Kanhpur” a simple insignificant village, passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab of ‘Oudh’. Soon ‘Kanhpur’ became an important military center for ‘East India Co.’. On March 24th 1803 ‘Kanhpur’ along with its neighboring villages was declared a District. They pronounced it “Cawnpore”.

With the establishment of Railways in 1859, city developed into an economic center with textile mills at its center. “Elgin Mills” established in 1864 was city’s first mill. The process of development continued, by 1920’s city had seven big mills. Due to this industrial development Cawnpore was termed as “Manchester of the East”.

On 15th August 1947 India got its independence and so did the city of "Cawnpore". The city which was nurtured by the colonial rulers came to its end and died only to reborn as "Kanpur".

my journey back home...

2006-07-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Once again it’s 6:30 AM. Curled in a blanket I peep out of the train window. There is fog allover. Nothing else can be seen. It’s cold, ‘damm’ cold. As train whistles, nearing the destination, I take a breath of fresh air. Same old early morning serene chaos can be heard. I step onto the platform. It’s familiar. My family and I took this platform everytime we went out on a holiday. I left this cocoon for studies and later in search of work. This is my city ‘Kanpur’. I was coming back ‘Home’.

As I call for a rickshaw to reach home, my eyes wander greedily to see if the city has changed. Multistory concrete structures. Red and yellow shopping malls and multiplexes. Wide roads, luxurious cars. It certainly has changed. But ‘parrots’ still chirp on the tree next to my house. My Mother who was born and has lived all her life in Kanpur says “when I was a kid, my mother woke me up by saying ‘parrots have already left the trees and men have left for mills on their bicycle’.

She rarely used this phrase with us, and even if she did, there was nothing about “men on their bicycle and mills”. I was born in an era, when the mills were shutting down fast and we were experiencing the burnt of its lived reality at home. Everything was changing. It was confusing. I was sent away to a boarding school. Now the skeleton bare red bricked mill walls scream of the life they had once had. Today there is silence in the mills and at home.

After a meal at home, I leave to walk around the city. At the gate of Muir Mills, several tractor trolleys loaded with ‘red’ bricks are waiting for contractors signal to leave. The gate keeper “Arjun” tells me “orders to demolish mill structures have been passed, 80% of this mill has been demolished, now they are selling the scrap. Once this process is over, mill land will be sold.” I ask him about his job? With a faint smile on his face he replies “I have been working here for the past 27 years, I don’t know any other place. This place is like home to me. As long as they want me, I will serve, but once the land is sold I don’t think they will allow me to work here. Let’s see!”

‘Arjun’ is not alone, there are thousands like him in this city. It has been months now; I have been researching, trying to comprehend history of Kanpur city and its mills through the stories that its people have to tell.

The Premise

2006-07-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

My fore fathers came to the city in 1907 and established cloth trade. My father was the fourth generation to carry on the cloth trade. My great grand father, grand father and my father, all of them ran the business with fair share of ups and downs. The business models kept changing with each generation. My mother about my father “He was not suppose to get into business, but after his fathers sudden demise he had to get into it” she continues “your grand father brought and sold cloth of local mills, but foreseeing the collapse of the mills, your Papa started dealing with private mills”.

The central premise of the film will be closure of textile mills and its affects as reflected by a business family. Families like mine along with mill workers failed the test of time, it was our lack of ability to switch gears when it was required the most. On the path of development, when an Economy shifts gears like ‘Production oriented to Service sector’ there is a large chunk of population that is unable to change itself. Project will archive the effect of such change on the city of ‘Kanpur’.

Ahmed Raza Khan (professor IGNOU) one of my fathers childhood friend, says, “Brijesh always complained that ‘when ever I ask money from my father, he throws currency notes on me, he dose not hand over the money properly to me’. My father did not have any money to throw at me”. ‘Papa’ was a rich man’s son and he was not alone, there were many others like him of his generation whose fathers had made lot of money in the cloth trade. They were a generation who did not know what to do and they fell prey to circumstances.

“After your father’s death I never ever thought of getting into cloth trade again.”exclaims ‘Lallu’ Uncle (my father’s business partner). “It takes a lot out of you, you guys should also look for other better avenues, better get out of this city” he suggests.

My younger brother Karan, who is studying his engineering from Pune University completely, agrees, “I don’t want to come back, and why should I, all my friends have left the city. There is not even a good place to hangout in this city”

*this document was written in 2007

The Idea

2006-07-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

"Cawnpore" (Kanpur) once hailed by India's British colonial rulers as "Manchester of the East", this dilapidated city in which I was born is nothing but shadow of its former industrial glory. Machines that stopped working cobwebbed doors of factories, depressing tales of unemployment and hunger and faces which forgot how to smile long ago. Now they call it an "Industrial Graveyard".

This project will explore the various facets of closure of Textile mills in the city of Kanpur, a city that came into existence during the Colonial period in India and was soon developed as a major Industrial center with Textile mills as its backbone. In the days of socialist planning (before 1991), the mills were kept on costly life support machines by the government. But no money was invested to modernize them. Decrepit and hopelessly uncompetitive, the mills were killed off by the market forces unleashed by 90’s liberalization drive.

The affect of closure of the mills is across all layers of society. Closure of textile mills not only left the working class of the city jobless, but also ruled out any possibility of emergence of lower middle class in the city. My family which was involved in the cloth trade since 1907 has also suffered the burnt of the closure, and we are not alone, there are thousands like us.

peace,

maitrey bajpai

Cawnpore The Film

Clock Tower

Mutiny memorial church, Cawnpore

Bridge of boats across the river Ganges at Cawnpore, 1891

Cawnpore (Kanpur), 1810

Lal Imli

Conversations with my Mother

They don’t come anymore...

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Conversation with a Mill Worker (Pramod Mishra)

Conversation with “Lallu Uncle” ( Sudhir Kumar Jain)

The Bajpai Story (my family)

The Purpose

Brief History: Population

Brief History: The Mills

Brief History: The Freedom Struggle

Brief History: 1925 End of an Era

Brief History: Rise of Cotton Industry in Cawnpore

Brief History: The Second phase of Industrialization

Brief History: INDUSTRIALIZATION

Brief History: Railways

Brief History: Development

Brief History: British Invasion

Brief History: Existence

My family and the Textile Mills Closure

The Mill Closure

Kanhpur-Cawnpore-Kanpur

my journey back home...

The Premise

The Idea