Weaving Histories

This book examines the transformation of the handloom industry in south India between 1800 and 1960 and its wider implications for the Indian economy. It employs a unusual array of sources, including paintings and textile samples as well as archival records, to excavate the links between cotton growing, spinning and weaving before the nineteenth century. The rupture of these connections produced a sea-change in the lives of ordinary weavers. New technologies reshaped production systems and markets for cotton and cloth were transformed under the pressure of global trade. The book uncovers these global connections and their human impact, especially on makers of coarse cloth and women workers. After the First World War, the handloom industry became a key battleground for struggles over workers' rights. This emerging regulatory framework, in turn, exerted a strong influence on the economic trajectory of India after independence.