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The Food Industries of British India
by K. T. Achaya
Available from Amazon
$50.00
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Book Description
Once the British had consolidated their hold over India, they set up a variety of food industries all over the country. This book provides, tor the first rime, a detailed survey of the major food industries on which the empire subsisted. It starts with the salt industry of Bengal, which was a source of revenue that had been under Zamindari control. Fluctuations in policy designed to bring about a measure of control and improve salt quality make for fascinating reading, ending, ironically enough in the termination of salt production in Bengal as uneconomic compared to its recovery form sources elsewhere in the country. Sugar production again represented a very ancient activity in India, and early british intervention along the Gangetic valley lay the direction of upgrading indigenous products into white crystal sugar. Other chapters discuss alcoholic products, such as spirits and beer; dairy products; fish curing; meat and egg production; cereal processing; oilseed industries; and, finally, industries which had no indigenous history like tea, coffee, bread, biscuits, and soft drinks. The final chapter reviews transport, managing agencies, tariffs and the two World Wars, and controversial issues like the drain of wealth, capital formation, and state participation in industry.
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