Government of IndiaHistory
ANCIENT PERIOD
The story of textiles in India is one of the oldest in the world and goes back to prehistoric times. Examples have been found depicting waist garments in the cave paintings of the Mesolithic era but concrete evidence of textile production and use starts appearing from the proto-historic times i.e. 3rd Millennium BCE. The evidence of wild indigenous silk moth species from Harappa and Chanhudaro suggests the use of silk in the mid 3rd millennium BCE…….Read the full essay here
2000 BC
Minute dyed fragments of cotton recovered from the site of Mehrgarh (present day Pakistan).
2600-1900 BCE
Wild indigenous silk moth species found at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, suggesting the use of silk during Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the world's earliest civilizations.
C.2600 to 1900 BCE
Excavations at the site of Mohenjo-Daro revealed the presence of dye vats together with woven and madder-dyed cotton fragments wrapped around a silver pot, reflecting an advanced understanding of the process of colour fixing on the cloth.
2600- 1900 BCE
Cotton fragments excavated from the site of Mohenjo-Daro.
2600-1900 BCE
Spindle whorls of stone, clay, metal, terracotta and wood found from various Harappan sites.
2600-1900 BCE
Needles found from Harappan sites indicates the practice of sewing during this time.
2500-1900 BCE
Priest King figurine from the site of Mohenjo-Daro wearing a robe with trefoil designs suggests that the art of fabric decoration was in practice during the Indus Valley Civilisation.
2500-1900 BCE
Depiction of boats on seals, tablets and amulets indicate maritime trade activities during Indus Valley Civilisation.
2500-1900 BCE
A dockyard at Lothal site gives evidence of trade during the Indus Valley Civilisation.
2500-1900 BCE
References to clothes regularly sent to Mesopotamia from Meluhha (Sumerian name for Indus Valley Civilization), found in the Mesopotamian writings.
1500-500 BCE
References to weaving found in the Rig Veda which describes a weaver as a vasovaya.
1500-500 BCE
References to embroidery found in Vedic texts which mentions pesas or an embroidered garment probably worn by female dancers.
1500-500 BCE
Apastamba Srauta Sutra, a text from the Vedic age, refers to printed fabric or chitranta.
1500-500 BCE
Vedic Samhitas frequently mention woollen threads made up of goat’s hair and sheep’s wool.
8th-6th centuryBCE
Satapatha Brahmana mentions the use of silk and wool in sacrificial garments.
7th century BCE- 3rd century CE
Ramayana mentions Sita’s trousseau which includes woolen clothing, furs, fine silk vestments of diverse colours among others.
6th-5th century BCE
Panini in his Ashtadhyayi, Sanskrit treatise on grammar, mentions cotton yarn as being one of the prominent yarns.
5th century BCE
Greek physician Ctesian’s writing mentions the popularity of brightly coloured Indian textiles among Persians indicating that Indian fabrics were exported to Persia.
4th century BCE- 5th century CE
Mahabharata mentions silk fabrics among the presents brought to Yudhisthira by feudatory princes from the Himalayan regions.
4th century BCE- 5th century CE
Mahabharata mentions printed cloth or chitra vastra suggesting the art of printing had developed by this time.
C. 350-290 BCE
Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, in his book Indica mentions that Indian robes are worked in gold and ornamented with precious stones and they wear flowered garments made of the finest muslins. This is a reference to brocade, embroidery and printing.
3rd century BCE- 2nd century CE
Kautilya’s Arthashashtra mentions spinners and weavers who were either a part of guilds or worked privately.
3rd century BCE- 2nd century CE
Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentions Haimavatamarga or the route from Balkh to India via Hindukush which was used to trade horses, wool, hides and furs among other goods.
2500-1900 BCE
Arthashastra, written by Kautilya mentions use of fabrics such as linen from Banaras and cotton from south India.
3rd century BCE- 2nd century CE
In Arthashastra, written by Kautilya, cotton is mentioned as a source of the King’s revenue.
1st century BCE- first century CE
Buddhist literature mentions fabric of Banaras known as ‘kaseyyaka’ or silk of Benaras and woolen blankets of Gandhara (present day parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan).
1st century BCE- first century CE
Buddhist literature refers to different types of textiles and fabrics like linen (Khoman), cotton (kappasikam), silk (kosseyam) etc. Also, there are mentions of weavers (tantuvaya), the place of weaving (tantavitatatthanam), weaving appliances (tantabhanda) and the loom (tantaka).
3rd century BCE- 5th century CE
Buddhist Jataka texts refer to tools for spinning and weaving.
3rd century BCE- 6th century CE
Jain texts mention cotton thread (Kappasikasuttam) and cotton cloth (kappasi kadusam).
1st century CE
The Periplus of the Erythrean sea, a Greek text mentions ancient trade routes and refers to trading of fabrics including muslin from India.
1st century CE
References are found to Chinese silk imported to Kanchipuram and exported from there to Malaya (Malaysia) as found in Chinese works.
C.1st-3rd century CE
Uttarapath (northern land routes) and Dakshinapath (southern land routes) constituted the grand trade route of India during the Kushana period.
5th-6th century CE
During Gupta period, cotton preparation is evident from Ajanta paintings.
5th-6th century CE
During Gupta period, the text Jambudvipa Prajnapati mentions about 18 traditional guilds including silk weavers (pattaila), sellers of napkins (ganchhi), calico-printers (chhimpa) and tailors (sivaga).
7th Century CE
Bana’s Harshacharita mentions tie and dye fabric or bandhyamana.
7th Century CE
Hieun Tsiang, a Chinese monk in his eye witness account mentions Kiau-shi-ye (product of silkworm) and Cotton.
10th century CE
Emergence of a specialized trading group for weavers known as Saliya Nagaram in South India.
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
The history of textiles and fabrics in India has deep roots which can be traced back to the ancient period. While the ancient period offers us substantial evidence to show the production, use and trade of textiles, it was in the medieval period that significant shifts started taking shape in this sector. Court patronage to textile craft intensified to an unprecedented level which led to increased production and trade of these items...….Read the full essay here
11th century CE
References found to very early use of bow-string devices in India for cotton carding.
12th century CE
References to spinning wheels start appearing in the works of Persian poets.
1295- 96 CE
Zai Barani, a medieval historian, includes pattolaya (patola) among important items of booty obtained by Allauddin Khalji from his Devagiri expedition. Patola is the technique of pre-dyeing yarn before weaving to create colorful patterns on fabric.
1301 CE
Amir Khusrau, Indian poet and musician identifies women with needle and spindle (duk), as being women’s spear and arrow, perhaps suggesting that spinning wheels still had not reached India.
1351 CE
Indian poet Isami notes that Raziyya Sultana, first and the only woman ruler of Delhi Sultanate should have occupied herself with the spinning wheel, rather than the throne, suggesting that the spinning wheel had arrived
1357 CE
Zia Barani mentions zarbaft or gold woven in his work, Tarikh-i-Firozshahi, indicating that gold brocade was a practiced craft during this time.
14th century CE
Words chippa (block printer) and chappa (printing) found in a 14th century text, suggesting that block printing was a practiced craft during this time.
14th-15th century CE
Remnants of printed fabric from Gujarat found in Fostat, Egypt, suggesting lucrative textile trade from Western India to Africa, West Asia and Europe.
14th-15th century CE
Vertical looms started being used in Kashmir for carpet weaving.
1403-1573 CE
Cambay developed as an important port in Gujarat for the textile trade.
1420-70 CE
King Zain-al-Abidin brought Persian craftsmen in Kashmir to teach them the twill tapestry technique of weaving.
1469 CE
Clear mention and illustration of the spinning wheel found in Miftah-ul-Fuzala, a 15th century dictionary.
1469 CE
Evidence of treadles in horizontal looms found for the first time in India, from an illustration of Miftah-ul-Fuzala, a 15th century dictionary.
1526-1556 CE
Court costumes of Mughal Emperors Babur and Humayun were of Turkish and Mongolian origin. They were made of very thick fabric.
1540 CE
Reference to Chippa sari found in Jayasi’s Padmavat, a 16th century masnavi text. In all likelihood, cloth printing had become an established craft in India by the 14th century.
1556-1605 CE
Emperor Akbar discards the costumes of his successors and chooses light fabric like muslin and silk for imperial clothing which suits the sub-tropical Indian climate.
1556-1605 CE
Akbar introduces chakdar jama in his court which was worn by Rajputs, though with some changes. Dupattas, ghagras and bodice of rajput women were completely taken over in the Mughal Harem. Fusion of Persian and Rajput sartorial sense achieved by this time
1580-85 CE
First mention and illustration of a pit loom found in the Tuti-Nama of Zia-al-Din Nakshabi. In this loom, the pair of treadles are placed in a pit in the ground.
1590 CE
Akbar’s noble, Abdur Rahman Khan-i-Khanan encouraged craftsmen who created chintz patterns with stamping blocks at Sironj, Madhya Pradesh.
16th- 17th century CE
Textile industry became the largest industry of India under the Mughals. Gujarat, Cambay, Ahmedabad, Patan, Bengal, Kashmir, Agra, Lahore, Dhaka and Delhi were the leading centres of production.
16th-17th century CE
Dacca (Dhaka) became the prominent centre for muslin weaving. Muslin achieved the status of most preferred fabric. Earned names like abrawan (running water), baft hawa (woven air) and shabnam (evening dew).
16th- 17th century CE
Paisley motif on textiles becomes the predominant motif during the Mughals. Appears most in Kashmiri shawls of this time.
16th-17th century CE
Muslin, Silk, Velvet became favoured fabrics of the royalty.
16th- 17th century CE
Golconda became a centre of Chintz, Masulipatnam of Kalamkari and Gujarat of block print techniques for decorating textiles.
16th-17th century CE
Kashmir became a centre of shawl weaving under the Mughals. Kashmiri needle work embroidery developed during this time.
16th-17th century CE
Carpet weaving became an evolved craft under the Mughals.Kashmir and Lahore were prominent centres.
1600-1602 CE
The British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company (VoC) entered into Asiatic trade of which Indian textiles was a major part.
1605 CE
Establishment of the first Dutch trading station at Masulipatnam.
1605- 1627 CE
Textiles with floral motif in vogue during Emperor Jahangir’s reign including damask rose, poppy flower, iris and lily.
1613-1617 CE
The British and the Dutch traders established permanent factories at Surat for trade.
1617 CE
In a letter, Jan Pietersz Coen, the Director-General of the VOC, emphasized that people of Java were particular about good quality and would pay a very high price for Indian textiles.
1621 CE
Indian patola fabrics from Gujarat became very popular in the Southeast Asian markets. Patola is the technique of pre-dyeing yarn before weaving to create colorful patterns on fabric.
1623-1624 CE
Velvet costumes became a symbol of pomp and show under the Mughals. Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle refers to a Mughal noble wearing a brocaded velvet coat.
1628-1641 CE
Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a French traveller in Mughal India, states that the ambassador of the Shah of Persia on his return from India, presented his master with a coconut shell, set with jewels, containing a muslin turban thirty yards in length, so exquisitely fine that it could scarcely be felt by the touch.
1628-1658 CE
Floral motifs became more intricate and detailed during Emperor Shah Jahan’s reign.
1630 CE
Crank handle found on a spinning wheel first time in a Mughal Miniature painting, suggesting advancement in spinning technology.
1630 CE
The East India Company reached Bengal after establishing itself in Gujarat and Coromandel. It mainly was in quest of goods for its intra-Asian trade. The commodity chosen for this was raw silk and silk textiles.
1656-1668 CE
Francois Bernier, the French traveller visited India and described the imperial workshops or karkhanahs as a combination of large halls where different craftsmen worked under a superintendent.
1658 CE
The Dutch took over Nagapattinam in the Coromandel Coast and started trading in coarse cotton.
17th century CE
Bengal became the main center for the production of both raw silk and finished silk goods. French Traveller Tavernier recognised Kasimbazar in Bengal as the main silk producing region.
1700s CE
Coromandel coast became the largest supplier of cotton textile to the European market, especially Holland.
1700s CE
Bengal became a major exporting region of India, with silk as an important item of export.
COLONIAL PERIOD
Textiles and Fabrics from the Indian Subcontinent were known in Europe well before the Industrial era. The extraordinary quality of the dyed and painted fabrics of Masulipatnam was described by John Fryer, an English physicist and travel writer. More such accounts of merchants and travellers are found from the 18th century, describing the types of clothes, materials used and production techniques that were prevalent in the Subcontinent. The popularity of Indian textiles and fabrics in the European markets led to attempts at emulating the production of these items locally in Europe especially in the 19th century after......Read the full essay here
20th May, 1498
Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut. He discovered a new sea route to India from Europe via the Cape of Good Hope. This led to enhanced trade relations between India and Europe. Indian textiles were a major item of this trade.
1502
Vasco da Gama establishes the first Portuguese trading station at Cochin.
31st December, 1600
English East India Company established through a Royal Charter issued by Queen Elizabeth I.
1605
Establishment of the first Dutch trading station at Masulipatnam.
24th August, 1608
Traders of the English East India Company arrived at the port of Surat.
1612
First Headquarters of the EIC established in Surat.
1668
Establishment of the first French trading station at Surat.
1680-1700
Printed cotton textiles from India become immensely popular in England and other European countries.
Early 1700s
Emergence of a protest against the popularity of Indian cotton textiles by the local wool and silk makers in England.
1721
The British government introduces the Calico Act to ban the use of printed cotton textiles (chintz) in England.
1730
Establishment of the first textile industry in England.
1733
Flying Shuttle is invented by John Kay marking a major innovation of Industrialization in Europe. It is an important step in the direction of automatic weaving, increasing the production of fabric.
1700- 1749
The gross value of trade passing through the port of Surat falls from Rs 16 million to Rs 3 million.
1757
The East India Company starts intervening in Indian politics following the Battle of Plassey.
1760 onwards
The emergence of the Industrial Revolution in England makes it difficult for Indian textiles to compete with the machine made products.
1770
Hand powered Spinning Jenny is patented by James Hargreaves. The invention of the Spinning Jenny is an important development in the textile industry, immensely boosting textile production and meeting the ever growing demand.
1774
The Calico Act is abolished in England. This is done only after the Industrial developments in Europe that now enable them to compete with the textiles and fabrics produced in the Indian Subcontinent.
1779
Samuel Crompton invents the Spinning Mule allowing the manufacture of high quality thread in large scales. The Mule is a multiple-spindle spinning machine that makes it possible for one operator to operate multiple spindles simultaneously.
1800-1830
India loses its rich textile market and becomes only a supplier of raw cotton for England. This period is represented by the drain of wealth from India to England.
1812
Cotton piece goods account for 33 percent of India’s export.
1818
First Cotton Mill established in India at Fort Gloster near Calcutta by a British merchant named Henry Gourger. About 700,000lb of yarn was spun here annually.
1850
Cotton piece-goods account for not more than 3 percent of India’s exports.
1851
The real development of the modern cotton industry in India began with the establishment of the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company in Bombay by Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar.
1854
The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company begins production.
1855
First Jute Spinning machinery was installed at Rishra in Bengal under the initiative of George Acland and Babu Bysumber Sen.
1858
The Oriental Spinning and Weaving Company, established by Maneckji Petit begins production. This is designed as a composite mill.
1858
Georgel Acland floats the Ischera Yarn Mill meant for the production of jute yarn. This mill continued till 1862.
1858
Borneo Company starts a spinning and weaving mill for Jute at Baranagar, along the Hooghly River. This mill was driven by power looms.
1875
Tariff Act is passed by the British Government, abolishing export duties on all cotton products exported from India. A 5% duty on raw cotton imported to India is introduced herein to discourage the Indian cotton mills from importing American and Egyptian raw cotton.
1876
Messers & Co. promotes the first successful cotton mill in Madras - Buckingham Mill.
1876
First woolen mills in India start at Kanpur and Dhariwal.
1877
Production begins in Empress Mill, established by Jamsetji Tata in Nagpur. This is the biggest cotton mill in India.
1882
Abolishment of import duties of cotton goods into India under the Viceroyalty of Lord Ripon. This measure leads to loss of revenue for the government and attracts severe criticisms from the Indian producers. It is seen as a deliberate move to disrupt the growth of the Indian Industries.
1894
Tariff and Cotton Duties Act is passed, wherein a 5% import duty is imposed on the import of cotton fabrics and yarn. A countervailing excise duty is introduced for all fine quality yarns of more than 20 bundles and of a certain length and weight produced in India.
1900
India reports the presence of 193 textile mills with 4,845,783 spindles and 40,124 looms.
1906
Beginning of the Swadeshi Movement.
1906-1911
The leaders of the Swadeshi Movement appeal to all Indians to boycott foreign clothes. It leads the Indian industrialists to produce cloth in their mills on a large scale.
1912
Production of cotton piece goods doubled between 1900 and 1912.
1914-1919
Indian textile mills attain a great domestic market during the First World War. They also supply a number of war requirements. India develops trade links with Persia, Turkey, Africa and Ceylon.
1920 onwards
Mahatma Gandhi promotes the use of Khadi, a hand-woven fabric made of hand-spun thread. This is a part of his call for self-rule or Swaraj. Khadi and spinning wheel, thus, become symbols of the Indian Nationalist Movement.
1931
The saffron, white and green tricolour flag is adopted as the National Flag of India. The spinning wheel was placed at the centre, symbolizing swaraj.
1939-1945
Indian mills supply a huge number of war requirements throughout the Second World War. The total value of orders placed by the Supply Department during 1939-1941 amounts to Rs. 50.4 crores.
1947
India becomes an independent nation.
1963
The Textile Committee Act is passed. The Textile Committee is hereby set up to control the quality and standard of the textile products and machinery.
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