Read the passage and answer the following questions.
Factory production began in India in the early part of the 1860s. The general pattern of trade set up by the colonial regime was one under which raw materials were procured from India and goods manufactured in the United Kingdom were marketed in the colony. The factories were established in the port town of Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) and later in Madras (Chennai) also. Tea plantations in Assam were established as early as 1839. Labour was cheap as the colonial government did not regulate either wages or working conditions. Though trade unions were established later, workers did protest for increase in wages. For example, jute workers in Calcutta and textile workers in Ahmedabad. The first trade union was established in April 1918 in Madras by B. P. Wadia, a social worker and member of Theosophical Society.
During the same year Mahatma Gandhi founded the Textile Labour Association (TLA). In 1920 the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was formed in Bombay with people from diverse ideologies. The main ideological groups were the communists led by S. A. Dange and M. N. Roy, the moderates lead by M. Joshi and V. V. Giri and the nationalists which involved Lala Lajpat Rai and J. L. Nehru. The colonial government became cautious in dealing with labour and passed the fourth Factories Act in 1922. And in 1926, the Trade Unions Act was passed which provided for registration of trade unions and proposed some regulations. In 1966-67 the economy suffered a major recession which lead to a decrease in production and consequently employment. The confrontation between the state and trade unions become active. During emergency in 1975- 77 the Government curbed all trade union activities. The worker's movement was very much part of the wider struggle for civil liberties.
The recession in the economy led to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Decrease in production
Option (3) Decrease in production — Correct. In 1966-67 the economy suffered a major recession which led to a decrease in production and consequently employment. The fall in output came first, and the loss of jobs followed from it.
Option (4) Decrease in unemployment — Incorrect. A fall in unemployment would mean more people at work. The recession did the opposite: employment fell, so unemployment rose.
NCERT (2025-26): “Workers’ Movements … During the last few years of British rule the communists gained considerable control over the AITUC. The Indian National Congress chose to form another union called the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) in May 1947. The split in the AITUC in 1947 paved the way for further splits on the line of political parties. Apart from the working class movement being divided on the lines of political parties at the national level, regional parties too started to form their own unions from the late 1960s. In 1966–67, the economy suffered a major recession which led to a decrease in production and consequently employment. There was a general unrest. In 1974 there was a major railway workers’ strike. The confrontation between the state and trade unions became acute. The worker’s moment was very much part of the wide struggle for civil liberties.” |