[Reader-list] "Cawnpore" Second Posting

Mon Mar 6 14:13:25 IST 2006

Hi! all, 
I have been issued permanent membership to the "late postings club". I will try to deny alligations in the next posting. A few clarifications first, this Maitrey Bajpai is "HE", and he is again extreamly sorry for being late on second posting. As for this post is concerned i have tried to dig into History of city of "Cawnpore". this exersise has helped me understand the relation of Mills with its city. 

1. Existence

Existence of Kanpur is a matter of controversy and will remain one for the future to solve. Its interesting that no reference of 

Kanpur is found in the history, its two suburbs Bithoor and Jajmau can be found in history as far back as mythological periods. 

The foundation of todays Kanpur was laid in 1773, when Nawab of Awadh gave land of 12 villages (Patkapur, Kursawan, Sisamau, 

Juhi, Nawabganj, Jajmau & Rawatpur) surrounding Old Kanpur (Kohna) to the East India Company for keeping the Army. All these 

villages have history of their own 
.

BITHOOR:  its believed that, just after creating the universe, Lord Brahma performed the Ashvamedh Yajna (Horse Sacrifice) at 

Bithoor. Another mythological site at Bithoor is the Valmiki Ashram, where the famous sage Valmiki is supposed to have written the 

Sanskrit epic Ramayana. According to this epic, queen Seeta, on being exiled by King Ramachandra of Ayodhya, spent her days in 

seclusion at the ashram bringing up her twin sons Lava and Kush.

JAJMAU: Its located on the eastern end of the city, considered to be the most ancient cities of the region. Excavations tend to 

prove that the site is very ancient indeed, Popular legends has it that the remains of an ancient fort belong to King Yayati of the 

Vedic age. It also houses temples of Buddhist period and Mosques of Mugal era.

SISAMAU: history suggests that in 1120, Raja of Annual 'Govind Chandra' donated a village to a Brahmin names Sahul Sharma 

which came to be known as SASAIMAU and later changed to SISAMAU.

PATKAPUR: Sisamau was divided, and out of which PATKAPUR got created ...("Patka" means division), it can be traced back to 

1650.

OLD KANPUR (the village): A strong belief is that Kanpur is related to Mahabharat era and there are two interesting tales 

supporting this belief, some believe that the name is derived from KARNAPUR and is associated with Karna, one of the characters 

of the Mahabharata. Other's claim that ear piercing of lord Krishna was done here. 
             Experts like Dr Munishwar Nigam feel that its too far fetched to be true.  

In 1207 AD Raja Kanti Deo of Prayag who was attached to the throne of Kannauj established the village Kohna, which later came to 

be known as Kanpur. 

Books, Writers and Travel Historians of Mugal period ranging from 1024 to 1659 explain a great deal about region of Doab,  its 

scenic beauty, about military operations carried out in the region and neighboring places like Jajmau and Bithoor, also places of 

Oudh province but remain silent on Kanpur. 

One of popular beliefs is, about the Sikhs guru "GURU TEGBHADUR (9th)". Its said that in 1666 while going to Amritsar from Patna, 

on a request by a rich man he spent a night in his garden, this site is the famous gurudwara of chowk. Argument is, if it wasnt a 

village or a place with population then why was the Rich man and his Garden there.    

Reference of "Kanpur" is in Abbas Sarwani's TARIKH-E-SHERSAHI about 1695, is doubted by the experts. They say this place was 

different place (KHANPUR) as the geographical and social description dose not match to our city. Mistake was made by "Prof 

Dawson" and "Henry Mires Elliot" while translating Sarwani's book from Persian to English because they were unaware of 

geographical locations of India.

Another legend explains King of Sachendi "HINDU SINGH CHANDEL" (1668-1734), while going on NARWAL-JAJMAU route saw a 

beautiful piece of land, lay foundation of a village. This day was lord KRISHNA'S birthday (kanahiya aashthami), so the village got 

its name "Kanahiyapur". Lot of people preferred calling it Kanhapur, which later got abbreviated to Kanhpur. Legend relates to last 

decade of 17th century...i.e. from 1691 to 1699, exacted by experts as 1698.

"CHATURESH" (1730) a poet from the court of Asothars king Bhagwan Singh,  mentioned Gazipur and Kanhpur are distant at 30 

Kos(60 miles) ...........its true even today.

The village of Kanhpur was shown in the first map of Doab 1770 as Cawnpour by a small dot.

History of which village should we consider as the existence of Kanpur, story of Lord Krishna or Karnas tale, Sisamaus 

development or Jajmaus links with King Yayati, the story of Hindu Singh is also impressive. We dont have enough proof to believe 

or disbelieve these tales, all these tales hold true in their own right. Mahabir Prasad Diwedi, Hindi literature laureate, about 1900 

remarked "kanpur is yesterday's child", may be he was right, but its difficult to arrive on any conclusion, and the debate 

continues..... 

"We all want to push the date of our existent city as far back into history as we can", says Manoj Kapoor (Kanporium), "but since 

every piece of land is as old as the mother earth itself, the existence of individual pieces of land cannot form the date of existence 

of a city. Thats the only problem logic has", further he explains, "Individual history of Punjab and Sind must be very old but 

Pakistan's age is counted from the date of its inception.........i.e. 14 august 1947. 

In that sense Kanpur's age should not be counted from its villages, but from the date it was declared a district i.e. 24 March 1803.

2. The British Invasion

Till the half of 18th century Kanpur remained a simple insignificant village. But, when, in 1765 British forces defeated Nawab 

"Suraj-u-Daula" near Jajmau........its fate changed. 

 In the year 1773 Nawab of Awadh gave land of 12 villages (Patkapur, Kursawan, Sisamau, Juhi, Nawabganj, Jajmau & Rawatpur) 

nearing Kanhpur village (kohna) to East India Co. for establishment of Army camps. A small troop of army stayed here and with the 

treaty of Fayzabad (1775), British started establishing connections with the area. In 1776 Company opened its agency in the area. 

This was a calculated move by the British as they realized the strategic importance of Cawnpore's location. Situated in the region 

of Doab, between Ganga and Yamuna, Cawnpore was a major crossing point while traveling between Awadh and Bundelkhand or 

from Kannauj to Prayag. Trade could be easily carried on, from here, because of its location.  

European businessmen had by this time gradually started establishing themselves in Cawnpore. In order to ensure protection, to 

their lives and property, the `Awadh local forces were shifted to Kanpur from Bilgram in 1778, this move also made it easy to keep 

an eye over the developments of Awadh and regions of upper Doab.

 Army camped on the banks of Ganges. Villagers started connoting this area between Bithoor and Jajmau as "Campoo" as did 

Pratap Narain Mishr (1856-93) renowned Hindi poet. The area of Kanhpur village was called "Kohna" which was 2 miles from 

Campoo. In 1783 William Haj wrote that cantonment of a thousands of soilders is so big that soilders live in huts instead of tents. 

Cawnpore passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh. This forms a turning point in 

the history of Cawnpore. Soon Cawnpore became an important center of military for British India and on........... 24 March 1803 

"Cawnpore" (Kanpur) was declared a District.

3. Development 

The city of Cawnpore lies on the southern banks of Ganga, as trade in the early times was carrried on through rivers its 

significance emerged to British as they aquired it. Crowds were drawn towards the region from ancient times due to religious 

significance of Bithoor and from the period when Kannauj was the capital of northern india, before the Mugal invasion, Jajmau was 

a busy little area, as it was an important crossing point while travelling from Kannauj to Prayag. During the Mugal period, when 

capital base shifted to Agra it lost its glory for a short span of time, as trade and travel was carried through Yamuna. But it din't took 

long for the Mugal's to realise that it was also a major crossing point between Bundelkhand and Awadh and soon it became an 

important port of that era with a center for constructing and repairing boats. 

With the development of Awadh our region also gradually started developing. By coming in touch with the British in 1773, 

establishment of Co. agency in 1776 and establishment of military camp in 1778, Trade, which was carried on in the region from 

ages, got the much required boost. People from nearby places started coming here to sell their products (galla, kirana, clothes, 

shoes, and neel) to the army or for employment. It was a major military station by now and became a district in 1803. Trade in the 

region benifitted from this as it became a safe proposition for the Entreprenure's.

With the growth in population and increase in volume of trade, responsibility for establishing a fair and effective administration and 

building sound infrastructure also grew. British developed these facilities with great attention. They created mechanisim for 

collection of taxes and settling disputes. For this purpose Courts, Offices and Jails were constructed. Collector, judge and 

magistrates along with other officers were appointed. Schools college's and technical institutes were built to preparing the future 

generation.

For facilitating commercial activities Banks, Post & telegram offices and telephone exchange was established along with creating 

new markets from time to time. No region can grow economically untill it has to have a good transportation network. Bridges and 

Canal's were build, new roads like GT road were constructed, ancient Mugal road was renovated for the purpose. And in 1859 

Railways gave the city a new dimension altogather. 

This infrastructure development laid the foundation of Cawnpore's industrial growth and transformed small peices of land into a 

city and then into a metropolitan. 

4. Railway's

Cawnpore's economic growth was hampered by the events of 1857 but after that is development was phenomenal and it was 

mainly due to Railways. In 1859 first steam engine of East Indian Railway shuttled between Allahabad and Cawnpore. This was the 

real BIG leap towards Cawnpore's industrial development. 

The Railway's which established their connection with the city were:

East Indian Railway : In 1845 Mr R.M.Stephenson proposed to build a railway line from Calcutta to Delhi via Kanpur. Mr Stephenon 

had ample faith that a railwayline running parellel to Ganga and Yamuna would be very useful to trade and commerce of the 

Region, but authorities declined it. After repetitive request's in 1850 the Authorities agreed on construction of railwayline from 

Raniganj to Calcutta on a experimental basis. In in 1850 R.M.Stephenson started work on his ambitious project, 1854 First railway 

engine came to india, and on 15th august  rail ran from Howra to Hoogli. By 1855 line was prepared till Raniganj & coal was sent to 

calcutta from there. It was a sucsess and Mr Stephenson was granted permission to build the complete project. Upper part of the 

project began from allahabad, but events of 1857 made the railway construction suffere losses of more than 40 lakh pound. Despite 

all this First engine steamed from Allahabd to Cawnpore on 3rd March 1859 and the whole project was completed in 1864. But due 

to no bridge on Yamuna of allahabad, direct connection was not possible from Delhi to Calcutta. The bridge was constructed in 

1866. 

Awadh Rohailkhand Railways came to the city in 1867, but due to no bridge on Ganga line ended on the left side of the ganga. Ater 

the construction of the bridge in 1875, direct connection was possible.

Great Indian Peninisulan Railway came to Juhi in 1886 , this establised our connection with industrial capital of india....Bombay.

Bombay Baroda And Central Railways opned its line in 1892.

Awadh & Tihiruth Railways (Old name: Bengal & North Western Railways) connected the city to upper Bihar.

By establishment of Railways import and export the goods could be easily done. The area was also known as Cotton producing 

belt, cotton was exported from here but by river route it took a lot of time. During American Civil War demand of Indian cotton grew 

in the international markets, cotton produced by neighboring area's like (Bundelkhand) was sent to Calcutta for exports via 

Cawnpore railways. During this period lanes of the city were filled with cotton bales, and officers had to make special arangements 

for the purpose. In the year 1907 the Ganga canal was flatened to make a huge godwon from Collecterganj to Juhi. But till this time 

each Railway had a different station, in 1930 on 27march a new station building was built and a new ware house was created at 

juhi. 

Development of Railway gave a new dimension to the whole development process. It was only after this that the real 

Industrialisation kicked off. It connected Cawnpore with the top industrial cities like Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Ahemdabad, Karachi, 

Nagpur, Tatanagar and many of the Ports as well. East Indian Railways had its line into the mills also. Still its a big junction and 

many trains pass through it daily, without the establishment of Railway's it wouldnt have been possible for Kanpur to get 

Industrialised. 

5. Industrialisation.      

The events of 1857 left the city in diplated condition and hammpered the progress of economic development. British lost their lives 

& business and moved out of the city, Indians also suffered from the events. But this setback could not contain the growth for long. 

With the support of infrastrural facilities like Postage, Roads, Canals and Railways the city got the required thrust, and it just started 

growing. There was establishment of Mills, Work Houses and Factories. Large numbers of people and families from the 

neighbouring states started pouring in, trade and population kept growing hand in hand at rapid pace. It brought prosperity to the 

city along with new challenges. To facilitate population and trade, proper market places and new roads etc. were constructed by 

the authorities. The Kanpur of today is a outcome of this era, which is remembered as the Golden Era of Cawnpore. 

1857-1880
After 1857 the development of Cawnpore was even more phenomenal. Due to the events of 1857 Cawnpore became very important 

to the British & The Brithish Empire took the control from the East India Company. Inclusion of Awadh in the Empire (1856) was a 

major step towards growth, as Enterprenures, Merchants, Craftsmen, and Workers along with their families came to the city from 

Lucknow, and other neighbouring places, for business oppourtunities. Infrastructure development's before 1857 and city's 

location boosted the process of Industrial growth.  

Trade of various goods was carried in this region from ages and with the establishment of a Distillery(1786)for the Army and Indigo 

Factory(1803) by the British near the city, early signs of economic growth were evident. Though there was a increase in commercial 

activities, development of this level had it's limitations. The city was waiting for one big reason which would change it all and it did 

1859, when the first steam engine of East Indian Railway shuttled between Allahabad and Cawnpore. This was a real BIG STEP 

towards Cawnpore's industrial development. 

Railway gave a whole new dimension to the development process. It connected Cawnpore with the top industrial cities like 

Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Ahemdabad, Karachi, Nagpur, Tatanagar and many of the Ports as well.  Cotton from neighbouring places 

like Bundelkhand and Awadh was send to Calcutta for exports during the American Civil War. It also assured easy import of Raw 

material into the city and export of final produce from here. It also gave rise to Wholesale markets of the city which dealt in variety of 

goods. Soon new Warehouse, Godown and station building was constructed to facilitate the growth. Trade transport was never so 

easy and importance of Cawnpore never so high.

Waves of industrilisation reached the city in 1859, just after it was linked by railway. Government Harness and Saddalery factory 

was estabilished in 1860 to supply leather material to the army. Elgin Mill was the first cotton mill of the city established in 1864.  

Muir mill (cotton) being established in1876, follwed by Cawnpore Woolen mill(1876) and Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880. 

1880 to 1900
Boosted by the American Civil War, city witnessed a flood of mills especially in the Cotton industry. With the establishment of 

Cawnpore Cotton mills (Elgin No.2)1882, New Victoria Mill1883 the city had 5 mills in all. Apart from cotton, Leather industry was 

also finding its ground with Cooper Allen & Co 1880, Northwest Tanning Co,  Cawnpore Tanning Co and Tanning Leather Works 

etc being established around this period. British Government established Ordnance Factory & Parachute Factory 1886, to  

supplement their defence requirements. 

Mr Gavin Sibald Jones is known as Father of Industrial Cawnpore for his contribution to the industrial scene of the city. He 

established two cotton mill, 1 woolen mill & 2 leather tannaries along with establishing a cycle company. Jones gave Kanpur's 

production an international edge. He along with Mr Hugh Maxwell, was one of the pillars of Cawnpore's Industrial development. 

Names like Sir John Burney Allens, Mr William Cooper, Sir Alexander MacRobert, (JK) Singhania Family, Japuria Family and Sir 

J.P.Srivastava are also worth mentioning. Contribution of Indian worker's and labourer's who adapted to the new technology and 

worked hard during the testing times is inevitable in the development process. All these people along with the traditional business 

& trading families were responsible for the industrialisation of Cawnpore. 

Infrastucture was also established to complment the growth. Post and Telegram Offices were opened, GT road and Ancient Mugal 

road was renovated. By 1879 district of Cawnpore had 29 post offices, in 1884 Cawnpore municipality came into existence and in 

the year 1891 Post Office, on request from the business class, had to open a small Magneto Exchange. 

1900 to 1925
The process of Economic growth continued after 1900 as well. With Industrial & Infrastructural developments soon Cawnpore 

became one of the main centers of industrial revolution in India. In 1906 on the eve of Christmas city saw electricity for the First 

time. Swadeshi Cotton Mill 1911, Cocomy mills 1912. Hundreds of business units producing Soap, Flour, Hosiery & Chemicals 

were also established. The Period of First World War(1914-16) witnessed phenomenal growth. The War had opned new doors for 

development, with the demands of various products rising in the international markets the Business man cashed on the 

oppourtunity. After the First World War, Lala Kamlapat established a group of companies such as; J.K.Cotton Mills and J.K. Iron 

etc. under the banner of J.K. In the year 1920 British India Corporation (BIC) was formed with five companies. Cawnpore Textile 

Mills(1922) and Atherton west Mills (1923), The first re-rolling mill of India was established in 1928 by the Singh Enginnering Work. 

Lakshmi Ratan Cotton Mills were established in 1934. 

The Second World War gave fresh impetus to industrial complex. This was the time when Cawnpore was known as the Manchester 

of India. In 1925 an era in which British businessman established mills ended.

The Second phase of industrialization
During this era labour problems brought new angle to the industrialization. The Russian revolution(1917) had brought new light, 

affects of which were clearly evident on the city. Wave of Socialism and Communism were gaining ground. Uptill now labour 

struggle was not recognized and activities likewise were considered as unpatriotic. But labourer's had serious problems, which 

deserved attention. The Second phase of Industrial developments began from 1925, on one hand entreprenure were finding way's 

to maximise profits and on the other,  thoughts like Humanity, Socialism and Independence were gaining ground. 

On 17th July 1920 after numereous request's "Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha" was registered. The Government of State in "Upper India 

Chamber of Commerce" required certain conditions to be fulfilled before recognition. Mr. Gavin Jones blamed that "unions are 

being led by people who are not workers themselves (eg. Ganesh shanler vidyarthi, Ganga sahai chaubey)"  he said that "they are 

using this platform for achivement of their political purpose". 15 July 1920 Vidyaar Khan said "Mazdoor are so much in numbers 

that if they leave the city, the city will b veeran (empty)".

It became mandatory for the political leaders to talk about the workers because of their sheer numbers. The period and 

circumstances also forced them to follow in footsteps of Gandhi who was mobilising the masses in the same fashion. The whole 

uprising aandolan was based on two issues. One was Britisher's v/s Indians & the other was Owners v/s Workers. 

This lead to numereous stikes on demands of good working conditions and increment in wages. Due to these strikes British lost 

their interest in Cawnpore, they started extracting profit as much as they could, which left no finace for mordernisation. They left 

the business to the disposal of Indian Businessman, who supported them for maximum benefits in minimun time. As a result in 

1924-38 many Indians took control of the business & started rising. JK OIL, Cawnpore Chemicals, Swar Plastic, Heavy Chemicals & 

Machinery part factories were est. JK Hosiery, JK Jute, P Sugar Mills, Singh Engg, JK Cotton , Laxmiratan Cotton, JK Iron & 

Maheshwari Jute mill were established.

The Freedom Struggle
In 1942 Quit India Movement started, Govenment policies were exploitive and political leaders of all ideologies were being send to 

jail, except the Communist who were against the movement.  As a result Unions and workers were taken over by Communist. This 

move hampered the unity amongst the workers as they got divided. Soon fragmentations on the basis of cast, creed, and region 

started forming and number of Unions started rising. The people coming in the city (refugees) played a vital role, the original 

concept of Quality was changed and business like transport was taken up by them. Practices like Black marketing, fraud, 

duplication of products, and exploitation for maximum benifts, all started in this period. On one hand it led to creation of an 

enviornment against commercialisation & British in particular on the other it boosted thoughts like Socialism and Communism.

On 15th August 1947 India got its independence and so did the city of "Cawnpore", which was nurtured by the colonial rulers, 

came to its end and died only to reborn as "Kanpur". 

6. Rise of Cotton Industry In Cawnpore 

Cotton was grown and spun in this region of northern India, since times imemorial. With Humid wheather, Long summers, Heavy 

seasonal rains and fertile tract of Doab, irrigated by rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, farmers of the region produced some of the 

finest cotton in the country. This cotton was spun by hundred's of "charkha's" in villages. Soon trade of cotton began flourishing 

in the area of Cawnpore (village Kanhpur) as it was situated on the banks of Ganga, which made  movement of goods and people 

easily possible. Religious significance of Ganga & Bithoor also helped in growth of trade, as they had attracted people from far off 

places since ages.  

In those times every family had a spinning wheel and people engaged in the occupation of spinning cotton were grouped under a 

special cast known as "dhuniyian" or "bahena's". This spun cotton was used for making clothes and farming of Indigo developed 

parellel occupation of dyeing the cotton cloth. Significantly large portion of population was engaged in growing, spinning, dyeing 

and trading Cotton. 

>From the time it came under British influence the growth of cotton trade had stagnated, but the volume of trade was still big. Infact 

this was one of the reasons, amongst many others, which promted British to develope Cawnpore and by 1803  it was declared a 

district. As per records old cloth market of Generalganj was existent even before 1840. According to "Statical Report of District of 

Cawnpore" published in 1848 by District Magistrate Mr. Robert Montegomry, "main economic activities in the city were cotton trade 

and money lending, by this time city had almost 50 private banks". From 1801 to 1857 development of infrastructure was 

undertaken by the British and a social setup like collection of taxes etc was also established, due to which a city started being born 

out of villages. This development laid foundation for Cawnpore's bright industrial future which kicked off with the development of 

Railways in 1859. 

During American Civil War there was acute shortage of raw cotton in the international markets which resulted in increasing 

demand of Indian cotton. In this period cotton produced by neighbouring area's like (Bundelkhand etc.) was sent to Calcutta for 

exports via Cawnpore through railways. People say "lanes of the city were filled with cotton bales, and officers had to make special 

arangements for the purpose". British business man soon realised the economic advantage of the city. Factor's like Land, Labour, 

Capital, Raw material were easily available and British entreprenures were quick to combine them into production houses. 

Realising the oppourchunity a group of people came togather and formed Cawnpore Cotton Commitee in 1960, this organisation 

gave the city it's first ever cotton mill. It the year 1862 it began construction Elgin Mills, which was completed in 1864. This was a 

gigantic step towards industrial growth, which changed fortune of Cawnpore forever. Volume of trade in the city started increasing 

and by 1866 new market places like "Cooperganj" were established, which dealt in wholesale trade of cotton. Soon other British 

businessman started coming to the city. In 1869 a farmer from England Mr. Hugh Maxwell came to Cawnpore. He purchased Elgin 

Mill in 1771 and appointed Mr. Gavin Sibald Jones as its Manager.

Under the control of Gavin Jones, Elgin Mill grew leaps and bounds. He left Elgin Mill in 1874 only to establish Muir Cotton Mills in 

the same year and Cawnpore Cotton Mills in 1876. He gave the city an industrial edge by improving quality of production & taking it 

to the international markets. Jones took great care of his workers, provided them with healty working conditions and constructed 

labour colonies for them. In the later years he also established leather and cycle companies.  Regarded as one of pillars of 

industrial growth & for his contribution towards the city he is also known as "Father of Industrial Cawnpore".

As per Governments records & statical reports, growth in trade between 1847-77 was several hundered percents. In the year 1875 

goods worth 50 lakh pounds was exported from here and goods worth 34lakh pounds was imported into the city. With openinng of 

Cawnpore Cotton mills & New Victoria mills in 1882 & 1886 the total number of mills in the city reached 5. Cawnpore became one of 

the main centers of industrial revolution in the country. This growth countinued its momentum after twentith century (1900) as well. 

Mr. Harmison established Swadeshi Cotton Mills in 1911, at that time this was the biggest mill in India. The Period of First World 

War(1914-16) witnessed phenomenal growth. The War had opned new doors for development, with the demands of various 

products rising in the international markets the mills of Cawnpore started working round the clock. Cashing on the oppourtunity, 

Businessman of Cawnpore earned huge profits. After the First World War, Lala Kamlapat established J.K.Cotton Mills. In the year 

1920 British India Corporation (BIC) was formed with five companies. Cawnpore Textile Mills(1922) and Atherton west Mills (1923) 

were also established. 

7. In 1925 an era in which British businessman made mills ended

The Social thing
During this era labour problems brought new angle to the industrialization. Affects of Russian revolution(1917) were clearly evident 

on the city. Wave of Socialism and Communism had hit the city strongly. Untill now labour struggle was not recognized and 

activities likewise were considered as unpatriotic. But labourer's had serious problems, which deserved attention. The Second 

phase of Industrial developments began from 1925, on one hand entreprenure were finding way's to maximise profits and on the 

other,  thoughts like Humanity, Socialism and Independence were gaining ground. 

On 17th July 1920 after numereous request's "Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha" was registered but the Government of State in "Upper India 

Chamber of Commerce" required certain conditions to be fulfilled before recognition. Mr. Gavin Jones blamed that "unions are 

being led by people who are not workers themselves (eg. Ganesh shanler vidyarthi, Ganga sahai chaubey)"  he said that "they are 

using this platform for achiving their political goals".  

This was true to a extent, infact it had become mandatory for the them to talk about the workers because of their sheer numbers. 

On 15 July 1920 Vidyaar Khan said "The number of Mazdoor's is so huge that if they leave the city, the city will be veeran (empty)". 

Circumstances also forced them to follow in footsteps of Gandhi, who was mobilising masses of Ahemdabad in the same fashion. 

The whole uprising aandolan was presented by these leaders on two level's................. Britisher's v/s Indians.......... & 

................Owners v/s Workers. 

Numereous stikes on demands of good working conditions, increment in wages and independence were staged. Due to these 

strikes Cawnpore started losing it's industrial charm & British lost their interest in the city. Some of them started pulling back their 

share of capital and sniffing the indian independence, the remaining also started extracting as much profit as they could. They 

drained the mills, and left the business to the disposal of Indian Businessman, who supported them for maximum benefits in 

minimun time. As a result in 1924-38 many Indians took control of the business & started rising. People like Sir J.P.srivastava, 

Japuria Group & JK group overtook the existing mills and established new one's like JK Cotton Manufacturing Ltd (1933) & 

Laxmiratan Cotton Mill (1934). But all this process left the mills with virtually no money for technical upgradation. By 1935 : 14 

Cotton mills were in the city, with 455136 spindles & 8019 looms. On an average 30118 workers were working here. 19030 bales of 

Raw Cotton weighing 784 pounds were consumed everyday. 

8. The Freedom Struggle
In 1942 Quit India Movement started, Govenment policies were exploitive and political leaders of all ideologies were being send to 

jail, except the Communist who were against the movement.  As a result Unions and workers were taken over by Communist. This 

move hampered the unity amongst the workers as they got divided. Soon fragmentations on the basis of cast, creed, and region 

started forming and number of Unions started rising. Workers also participated in the freedom struggle. 

Congress's swadeshi andolan also gave boost to the cotton industry and local consumer started depending on the mills for cotton 

"Dhoti's and Sarees". 

The events of Second World War also gave, the much required thrust to cotton industry of Cawnpore. During the war period 

demand for a lot of war products had increased, and entreprenures of the city cashed in on the oppourtunity.  They earned huge 

profits by supplying the demands of war, and Mills were never more profitable. In 1943 city had 17 mills, 534500 spindles & 10000 

looms with 44480 permanent workers working daily. These mills consumed 176982 'kandi's' of cotton everyday.  

1947: 4TH ALL INDIA COTTON SUMMIT was held in kanpur, all 3 previous events were hosted by Bombay. Many aspects related to 

the growth of twxtile industry were discussed & delegates from all over the nation came here. The mills kept working but by now 

mainly indians owned the industries built by British. With getting Independence on 15th august 1947 
the mill developed further. 

The people coming in the city (refugees) played a vital role, the original concept of Quality was changed and business like transport 

was taken up by them. Practices like Black marketing, fraud, duplication of products, and exploitation for maximum benifts, all 

started in this period. On one hand it led to creation of an enviornment against commercialisation & British in particular on the other 

it boosted thoughts like Socialism and Communism.

1948 Within a period of 7 months (september 1 to march 31) cotton Mills in Cawnpore consumed 131651 bales of cotton, which was 

only after Bombay and Ahemdabad, and no city in north india even came closer. In the whole country 1978995 bales were 

consumed (wheight of each bale was 400 pd). Total  585179 pound of foreign cotton was consumed in the country out of which 

37806 was consumed by kanpur. 

According to a book "kanpur kaa itihaas" written by Narain prasad Arora & Laxmikant Tripathi in 1958 : city has 17 mills out of 

which 15 were in the main city, and Kanpur was a major center of cotton production in india.  They wrote "The city has grown at a 

tremendeous pace in the last 10 years, consumption of cotton has increased by 62% since 1935 and 50% workers have increased 

by then. Most of the workers of cotton mills mainly come from the farming belt of nearer places, with permanent residents only 

accounting for 20% of total working population. 98.74% of these workers were males as females were mainly engaged in picking 

up "goodar". Out of the total population 70-80% of workers were Hindu. Labour colonies like macrobertganj colony made by 

cawnpore woolen mills & allen ganj another colony hold most of these workers. Government was also planning to construct more 

colonies by 1954."

Writer's of the book predicted a healthy future for the Textile Industrry of the city, whose backbone were its Mills. They wrote "the 

future of textile industry looks good & so dose the future of the city". According to the book India at that moment was one of the 

largest Cotton manufactureres of the world. It was ranked 5th in number of cotton spindles and 3rd in consumption and labour. Out 

of the total cloth produced in the country, 16% was made in Kanpur. 

9. The Mills:

1861 Kanpur cotton committee was formed 
1862 Elgin Mill 
1874 Muir mill
1876 Cawnpore woolen mills 
1882 Cawnpore cotton mills (cooperganj) 
1886 New Victoria.  
1911 Swadesi cotton mills juhi 
1912 Kanpur Cotton Mills co. KAKOMI (juhi)
1921 JK cotton spinning n weaving mills co.ltd (kalpi road )
1921 Atherton west n co. ltd (gt road) 
1933 JK cotton manufacturing ltd (kalpi road) 
1934 Laxmiratan cotton mills co. ltd (kalpi road )
         Kanpur textile ltd (cooperganj)

10. Population

The city of Cawnpore came into existence from merging of several villages, each village had a small population and limited 

commercial movement. But since the time it came under British influence (1773), commercial activities in the area increased, rise in 

population was evident. East India Co. established a agency here in 1776,and british businessman started coming to the area. Later 

in 1778 forces from Bilgram were shifted here to protect their lives and business, and after that people from all classes started 

pouring in, Businessman came because it was safe and the city gauranteed easy connections to other business places , artisans, 

traders and labour started coming to sell their products to the army (eatables, shoes,clothing etc...) and in search of employment.
The trade & population kept growing, a city started being born out of village and in 1803 Cawnpore was declared a district.

No formal account of population exist till 1846, but first data regarding population of Cawnpore is found in Robert Montegomory's 

"Statical Report of Cawnpore" in 1847. According to the report population of Civilian area was 58821 and  Cantonment was 49975 ( 

excluding europeans and soilders).

As per UN Demographical year book Cawnpore was amongst the 300 hundered cities of the world having population more than 1 

Lakh. 

			Population Chart Of Cawnpore City				

Year	Area	population	difference in decade 	percentage difference		

1847		108796					
1853		1,18,000					
1865		113,601			(it was lower due to massive bloodshed of 1857)		
1872		122770					
1881		151444					
1891		194048		23.00			
1901	22.37	202797		4.5			
1911	22.37	178557	24240	11.95	(many people died and left the city due to plauge)		
1921	22.37	216436	37879	21.21			
1931	36.68	243755	27319	12.62			
1941	36.86	487324	243569	99.92			
1947		879419					
1951	92.34	705383	218059	44.75		
1961	296.66	971062	265679	37.66		
1971	298.98	1275242	304180	31.32		
1981	298.98	1639064	363822	28.53		
1991	298.98	2029889	390825	23.84		
1991		2418447				
2001		2772000				

An interesting point is that such a massive increase in population was not supported by the high "Birth rate". Infact as per a 

Government report dated 31st March 1944 number of children born was '11691' and  number of people died was '14379', which 

shows Death rate was more than Birth rate, so Growth rate of the city was negative. But the population kept exploding a alarming 

rate.

This was majorly due to coming of large number of workers and pesants from nearby places and nehibouring states, after the 

begenning of industrial development in 1860, American civil war and the two World Wars, opened new doors for development and 

city saw opening of one mill after another. Incoming Labourers were cheap and proved to be a boon to the industry. 

An estimate made in 1912, (done for water, power and other municipal reasons), shows that after 50 years(till 1962) Kanpur's 

population will be 2.5 lakhs. But till 1947 it was 8,79,419 .  

Average rise in percentage increase of population in 1931-41 was almost 100% in the city. 
When compared to other cities of UP, this was huge, in Lucknow it was 41%, Agra 23.6%, Allahabad 41.4%, Banaras 28%. The data 

in the table shows that population doubled in 10 years (1931-41) and it took just five more years to double itself again (1941-47).  

Population density per sq mile in 1931 was 24754 i.e 39 person/ acre and in 1958 it was 71360 i.e 111.5 person/acre.

Population : 1991 Census-24.18 Lakhs and as per  2001 Census:27.72 Lakhs (Male : 14.83 Lakhs,  Female : 12.89 Lakhs)

Queries, suggestions and comments are welcome.

peace,
Maitrey Bajpai
9820844311
9320844311
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