Apedia Logo Apedia
Join

Choose Language

Select your preferred reading language
🇬🇧
English
✔
🇮🇳
हिन्दी
✔
✕
Full View
History
Modern History
EN हिंदी
✕
UPSC Prelims 2020 Paper-1 📅 04 Oct, 2020

Indigo cultivation in India declined by the beginning of the 20th century because of

A
peasant resistance to the oppressive conduct of planters
B
its unprofitability in the world market because of new inventions
C
national leaders' opposition to the cultivation of indigo
D
Government control over the planters
Result Summary
Logo

APEDIA

UPSC Prelims
2020 • 04 Oct, 2020 • Paper-1
Indigo cultivation in India declined by the beginning of the 20th century because of
Correct Answer
its unprofitability in the world market because of new inventions
Historical Context: Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, India was a massive exporter of natural indigo, primarily driven by oppressive European planters.Tec......
Ref/Book : UPSC Prelims 2020
Ref. Subject History
Chapter -
Ref. Topic Modern History
Pg. No -
💡 Analysis & Explanation
Historical Context ▼
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, India was a massive exporter of natural indigo, primarily driven by oppressive European planters.
Technological Shift ▼
The fatal blow to natural indigo cultivation did not come from rebellions alone, but from scientific advancement. In the late 19th century (1897), German chemists successfully commercialized the mass production of synthetic indigo dye.
Market Economics ▼
Synthetic indigo was significantly cheaper, more uniform in color, and easier to produce than natural plant-derived indigo. Consequently, natural Indian indigo rapidly lost its global market demand, making its cultivation highly unprofitable for both planters and peasants by the early 20th century.
Conclusion ▼
The fundamental driver of the total decline was the economic unprofitability brought on by the invention of synthetic dyes.
← Prev
33 / 100
Next →