Indigenous Industries of Assam : 1870-1925

Contents: Preface. 1. Image of indigenous industries. 2. De-industrialisation in colonial Assam: a myth or reality. 3. Social formation of blacksmiths of Brahmaputra Valley of Assam (Late Medieval to Mid-colonial period). 4. Social mobility of an occupational group : the Sonwals of Assam (18 and 19 centuries). 5. Dynamics of change in mode of production and technology in 19 and early 20 century Assam. 6. Indigenous and Swadeshi enterprise in Surma Valley : a supplementary note. Conclusion. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.

"History of Assam has already been enriched by the writings of many eminent historians. But this volume has its own distinctive standpoint from which it has tried to study the socio economic history of the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam. Indigenous industries being the central theme, the present volume covers the socio-economic structure of pre colonial Assamese society and its co-relation with the artisanal population and production, the dynamics of change in mode of production and technology during the colonial era, the social impact of the opening of a closed economy to a limited market oriented one with a process of mobility in the traditional occupation group, caste tribe dichotomy and its relationship with the artisans. The volume represents the slow formation of a layer in the homogeneous national character of the Assamese bourgeoisie with Swadeshi Enterprise as a new mode of production." (jacket)