What gave a major impetus to the cotton textile industry in India after Independence?

Correct — C. The key follows the standard textbook account of the cotton mill industry: growth was slow through the early decades.

The Swadeshi movement then gave the industry its major impetus, turning a boycott of imported Manchester cloth into demand for Indian mill cloth.

Swadeshi began in 1905, against the partition of Bengal. The boycott of foreign cloth outlived the agitation itself, carrying on through the non-cooperation years and into the khadi programme.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Export of raw cotton to England — That was the colonial pattern the movement fought, not a boost — raw cotton out, machine-made cloth back in. It held Indian mills down rather than building them up.
• (b)
  Partition of India in 1947 — Partition redrew borders and markets in 1947, but no standard account credits it with giving the cotton mill industry its impetus. The phrase 'major impetus' belongs to Swadeshi.
• (d)
  Development of railway network — The railway network carried raw cotton to the ports and mill cloth inland, and it mattered to industry generally. But it was laid to serve colonial trade, and the impetus named here is the Swadeshi call to buy Indian.

Cotton textiles is the oldest large-scale modern industry in India. The first successful mill was set up at Bombay in 1854, and Ahmedabad grew into the second great centre.

Growth was slow at first, because Indian mills competed against Lancashire cloth entering on favourable terms.

The Swadeshi call after 1905 changed the demand side: buying Indian cloth became a political act, and the mills had a home market they could count on.

The industry's advantages were local and remain so — raw cotton from the black-soil tracts of Maharashtra and Gujarat, a port at hand, capital in Indian hands and a very large domestic market.

Key facts

• The first successful cotton textile mill in India was set up in Bombay in 1854.
• The Swadeshi movement began in 1905 against the partition of Bengal and made the boycott of foreign cloth a political programme.
• Cotton textile mills clustered in Maharashtra and Gujarat, near the black-soil cotton tracts and the ports.

Common traps

• Choosing the railways because they obviously helped industry, when the stem asks for the major impetus.
• Letting 'after Independence' rule out a pre-1947 movement before you read the other options.

No directly related past PYQ was found.