Question

UPSC Prelims 2020 Question:

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

1. peasant resistance to the oppressive conduct of planters
2. its unprofitability in the world market because of new inventions
3. national leaders' opposition to the cultivation of indigo
4. Government control over the planters

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2: its unprofitability in the world market because of new inventions

Detailed Solution

Explanation:

The Indigo plant was being used by cloth manufacturers in Europe to dye clothes.
By the end of the eighteenth century, with the existing supplies from the West Indies and America collapsed, there was a rise in demand for Indian indigo. The British East India Company started its early indigo production in Bengal and Bihar.
Indigo supplied by British traders was highly priced. To overcome the high cost of Indian indigo, German chemists formulated a synthetic dye which was much cheaper than the naturally produced Indian indigo. This new invention led to the unprofitability of Indian indigo traders in the world market. Thus, by the beginning of the twentieth century, Indigo cultivation in India declined.

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Subject: History | Miscellaneous(hist)

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