Bihar Darpan

Tag: industries in bihar in colonial times wikipedia

  • STATE OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN BIHAR POST THE 1980s

    STATE OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN BIHAR POST THE 1980s

    More than 30 years into Independence, how did industries shape with further advancement in Bihar? How was Bihar making its way to stand with Developing India? This piece will trace the state of Industrial Growth in Bihar in the 1980s.

    “An area developing should stand strong on the roots of Industries”  

    It was nearly thirty years of India being independent, which in turn meant thirty years of owning up the industries and technologies. This was the time when India stepped up into being one of the Developing Nations, taking planned and strategic steps, trying to make a global space. 
    While the country was putting together it’s 30 years’ of growth, the state of Bihar was tiring hard to start over.

    Industrial growth in bihar

    Primarily fed on the Coal and Steel industry, Bihar saw a decline in other possibly flourishing industries. However, stats suggest that there was significant growth in the Bihar’s GDP rate, and it is said that the economy was one of the fastest-growing in the country. 

    The then 5-Year plan called for a huge amount of investment in Bihar, nearly $4 billion. Now, this translates to $12 per person if the investment is to be mapped with the then population of Bihar. Though the investments were huge, they failed to reach out to the larger mass. Economists alleged that a huge budget deficiency drove inflation, decaying the already low standard of living of the people’s poorest sections from the state.

    STATE OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN BIHAR POST THE 1980s

    This can pretty much be confirmed from the scenario in agriculture. Agriculture was supposed to be the largest sector. Around the early 1980s, the government sank to invest in the production of agriculture and preferably opted to import food grains from other parts of India. This decision helped increase problems faced by agricultural workers in the late 1980s.

    Apart from the strong Agriculture base, Bihar is also known to be rich in mineral resources and forests. More than 40% of India’s coal, 32% of its bauxite, 59% of its copper, 17% of its iron ore, about 80% of its silver, and 60% of its mica comes from Bihar. Bihar and UP are also rich in mineral resources and forests.

    Economy of bihar

    More than 40% of India’s coal, 32% of its bauxite, 59% of its copper, 17% of its iron ore, about 80% of its silver, and 60% of its mica comes from Bihar. Such an extensive rich resource center would point to one to expect that Bihar would be analogously well-off as compared with other mighty states of India. Regrettably, Bihar remains to be trapped in the nets of underdevelopment.

    There have been many efforts made to reduce poverty and expediting economic growth has been the key focus in development. But these efforts were nowhere to be visible. This was primarily the result of the failed attempt at understanding and judging the causes of economic growth. Bihar stood to be different from other states in India.

    Therefore, the growth pattern in other states did not apply to Bihar. It needed some alterations and modifications simply because of the demographical diversity that exists in Bihar. 

    There was a prolonged hindrance in the path of development in Bihar. Not only the industries but the economy as a whole was decreasing instead of growing. Many would point out the corruption that was instilled in the political front, but none of us can deny the fact that true potential of Bihar’s industries and agriculture has been kept under the eye of ignorance.

    There was a false lens of pride which made people and politicians brag with dignity about their state Bihar without actually giving it a chance to grow on its roots.

    Bihar had the potential to grow like a lotus in the mud, but the negligence that our state faced right from the start managed only to reduce it to Mud. Consequently, a potential high yielder bagged the tag of underdeveloped state. 

  • INDUSTRIES IN BIHAR IN COLONIAL TIMES

    INDUSTRIES IN BIHAR IN COLONIAL TIMES

    The onset of Industries has been brought in the time when India was a colony. This piece explores the unheard saga of the Industries in Bihar in the colonial times.

    ‘Industry is the Soul of Business and the Keystone of prosperity’

    -Charles Dickens

    India as a country began assembling under the English Colonial Umbrella from the mid 19th Century. How could Bihar- a state from North/East be exempted from colonization? Though the British Raj is remembered for its oppressive behaviour, we sure can give credits for the setup and development of Industries that was done by them. 

    Talking of Bihar, did the setting up of Industries benefit the state? Did it ever go down as it was planned? 

    Major industries in bihar

    Industries in Bihar in Colonial times was just on papers. A part of the Bengal Presidency (along with parts of Orissa) till as late as 1911 and Bihar was excluded from even the passing goods of colonisation. Since all development was focussed around Calcutta, Bihar remained as rural as it had been for centuries. The land of the Mauryas, the land of the Golden age was thrown to the thick dark clouds of underdevelopment.  

    Other than setting up industries in parts of Bihar which had excellent trade routes, the Colonizers decided to re-orient Bihar’s agriculture to attend to foreign markets, paying very little interest to local affairs. New laws such as the Permanent Settlement not only leveraged centuries-old casteist-feudal structures but made them even more exploitative in nature. 

    Manufacturing industries in bihar

    Largely agriculture-based town and villages of Bihar were far from the league of Industry Set Up in the early 20th Century. Since the state already had a significant set of small scale industries which were entirely put by the locals, Bihar saw a rise in the same by a very meagre margin.

    Medieval history of bihar

    The Babu Sahabs who were fascinated with the small scale industry products like Bangles, handmade fans contributed to the business growth in the region. These small-scale enterprises were directly contributing to the self-sustainability of the villages and towns.

    The famous cities of Bihar such as Magadh (Gaya), Patliputra, Sitamarhi, Purnea, Bhagalpur, Chhapra, Ara acted as prime areas for the development of the state economy on a whole.

    Although with the arrival of the external trading forces and successive invasions as well as the internal weaknesses, the village economy began to debase. The so-called elite started replicating the better and original goods produced in the state. The cheaply available British finished products such as clothes made the rural economy to deteriorate.

     The regional market of various towns of Bihar had a well-acquired name throughout the country until all the goods were started off being made with the help of big machines and in the newly set up factories. The cheap price of those goods brought down on the beautifully crafted products and the reason why even the small scale industries had to face a downfall.

    Not able to bear this downfall financially, the people started moving towards the last resort that would help them earn their bread and butter- Agriculture. 

    Industrial growth in bihar

     Twenty years into the new century, Bihar failed to rise as an Industry settlement in India and was merely known as a wheat-producing state. The people of Bihar thus were deprived of the massive employment opportunity these industries and factories would make flow. 

     This very foundation of setting up of new technology was not offered to Bihar, making the state a crippled economy for the adversities to come in future.