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Assertion (A) : The cotton industry India suffered a major resession soon after the independence. Reason (R) : Most of the cotton mills has gone to western Pakistan, India retained the cotton growing area only.
Explanation
The cotton industry in India did suffer a significant setback immediately after independence in 1947. This was primarily due to the partition of the country, which created a severe imbalance in the textile supply chain. While India retained approximately 95% of the cotton textile mills, it lost about 40% of the prime cotton-growing areas to Pakistan, particularly the fertile lands of West Punjab and Sindh that produced high-quality long-staple cotton [1]. Consequently, Indian mills faced an acute shortage of raw material and were forced to import cotton from African nations to sustain production. Therefore, Assertion (A) is true as the industry faced a recessionary setback, but Reason (R) is false because it incorrectly claims most mills went to Pakistan; in reality, India retained the vast majority of the mills while losing the raw material base.
Sources
- [1] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 11: Industries > COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY > p. 8