The Gomastha and the System of Advances

After the East India Company established political power in Bengal and Carnatic in the 1760s and 1770s, it developed a system to eliminate competition, control costs and ensure regular supplies:

  • First, it tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers and establish direct control over the weaver by appointing a paid servant called the gomastha to supervise weavers, collect supplies and check quality.
  • Second, through the system of advances: once an order was placed, weavers were given loans to buy raw material, but those who took loans had to hand over the cloth to the gomastha and could not sell to any other trader.

As loans flowed in, weavers leased out their land and devoted all their time to weaving, needing the labour of the whole family.

Clashes and the Plight of Weavers

Soon there were clashes between weavers and gomasthas. Earlier supply merchants had lived in the villages and had a close relationship with the weavers; the new gomasthas were outsiders who acted arrogantly, marched in with sepoys and peons, and punished weavers for delays — often beating and flogging them. Weavers lost the space to bargain: the price they got was miserably low, and the loans tied them to the Company.

In many places weavers deserted villages and migrated, or revolted with village traders; over time many refused loans, closed their workshops and took to agricultural labour.

Manchester Comes to India

In 1772, the official Henry Patullo claimed the demand for Indian textiles could never decline. Yet from the early nineteenth century a long decline of textile exports began: piece-goods fell from 33 per cent of India's exports (1811–12) to just 3 per cent (1850–51).

As cotton industries developed in England, industrialists pressed the government to impose import duties so that Manchester goods faced no competition, and persuaded the Company to sell British cloth in India. Cotton piece-goods rose from almost nothing to over 31 per cent of Indian imports by 1850 and over 50 per cent by the 1870s. Indian weavers thus faced two problems: their export market collapsed and the local market shrank, glutted with cheap Manchester imports. In the 1860s came a further blow: when the American Civil War cut off US cotton, Britain turned to India, raw cotton prices shot up, and weavers were starved of supplies — so weaving 'could not pay'.

Questions and Answers

Q1. Why did the East India Company appoint gomasthas to supervise weavers in India? Ans. To establish direct control over the weavers and eliminate the traders and brokers. The gomastha was a paid servant who supervised weavers, collected supplies and checked the quality of the cloth, ensuring a regular supply at low cost.

Q2. How did the system of advances tie the weavers to the Company? Ans. Under the system of advances, weavers were given loans to buy raw material; in return they had to hand over all their cloth to the gomastha and could not sell to any other buyer. The loans and low prices tied them to the Company.

Questions and Answers (continued)

Q3. Why did clashes arise between weavers and gomasthas? Ans. The old supply merchants had lived in the villages and helped the weavers; the new gomasthas were outsiders with no social link to the village. They were arrogant, marched in with sepoys and peons, and punished, beat and flogged weavers for delays — so clashes broke out.

Q4. What two problems did Indian weavers face as Manchester cloth came in? Ans. Their export market collapsed (piece-goods exports fell from 33 to 3 per cent), and their local market shrank, being glutted with cheap machine-made Manchester imports that they could not compete with.

Questions and Answers (continued)

Q5. How did the American Civil War affect Indian weavers? Ans. When the American Civil War cut off US raw cotton, Britain turned to India for cotton. As raw cotton exports rose, its price shot up, so Indian weavers were starved of raw cotton and had to buy it at exorbitant prices — making weaving unprofitable.