When Was the First Jute Mill Established in India?

The story of India’s industrial growth is woven with many threads, but few are as significant as the coarse, golden fiber of jute. While jute had been cultivated and used in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, its transformation from a local handicraft material into a global industrial powerhouse began with a single, pivotal event: the establishment of the first jute mill in India. This milestone marked the beginning of a new era, forever changing the economic landscape of the region and solidifying India’s place in global trade.

This article will explore the founding of India’s first jute mill, detailing the key figures, the location, and the historical context. We will also examine the profound impact this development had on the nation’s industry and its workers.

The Dawn of an Industrial Revolution: 1855

The first jute mill in India was established in 1855 at Rishra, on the banks of the Hooghly River near Serampore in Bengal. This event was not just a business venture; it was the spark that ignited the industrialization of jute processing in a country that grew nearly all of the world’s supply.

Before this, the jute trade was dominated by Dundee, Scotland. Raw jute was harvested in Bengal, baled, and shipped thousands of miles to Scottish mills where it was spun into yarn and woven into fabric. This arrangement was inefficient and costly. The logical next step was to process the jute where it was grown, and one man had the vision and expertise to make it happen.

The Founder: George Acland

The key figure behind this groundbreaking enterprise was George Acland, an English entrepreneur who had experience with the jute industry in Dundee. Acland saw the immense potential in setting up a mill right in the heart of jute country. He secured financing and, crucially, brought machinery and technical knowledge from Scotland to India.

Partnering with a Bengali visionary, Baboo Bysumber Sen, Acland founded the mill. The machinery for spinning jute yarn was imported, and the mill began its operations, initially focusing only on spinning. The first spinning machine, with an output of eight tons per day, whirred to life, signaling a monumental shift in the industry.

From Spinning Yarn to Weaving Fabric

Acland’s initial venture was a spinning mill. It produced yarn that was then sold to local handloom weavers. However, the true industrial revolution in jute required mechanized weaving. Recognizing this, Acland imported power looms from Dundee. In 1857, his mill successfully began weaving burlap (also known as gunny cloth), making it the first integrated jute mill in India capable of both spinning and weaving.

The location was strategic. Rishra’s position on the Hooghly River provided easy access to water transportation, allowing raw jute to be brought in from the surrounding countryside and finished goods to be shipped out from the nearby port of Calcutta (now Kolkata). This logistical advantage was crucial for the mill’s success and set a precedent for the many mills that would follow.

The Impact on India’s Jute Industry

The establishment of the Rishra mill had a swift and transformative effect. Its success demonstrated that jute could be processed more profitably in India than in Scotland. This realization triggered a wave of investment and industrialization along the Hooghly River.

The “Jute Rush” on the Hooghly

Within a few decades, the banks of the Hooghly were lined with towering jute mills, their chimneys puffing smoke into the Bengali sky. Entrepreneurs, both British and Indian, rushed to get a piece of the booming industry. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Calcutta had surpassed Dundee as the world’s premier center for jute manufacturing.

This rapid growth led to:

• Economic Boom: The jute industry became a massive source of revenue for Bengal and for British India. It created immense wealth for mill owners and provided employment for millions, from the farmers cultivating the crop to the workers in the mills.
• Urbanization and Migration: The demand for labor drew countless workers from neighboring states like Bihar, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh. This mass migration led to the growth of towns and settlements around the mills, fundamentally reshaping the region’s demographics.
• Dominance in Global Trade: Indian-made jute products, primarily gunny bags and burlap, became essential for global commerce. They were used to package and transport everything from cotton in America and wool in Australia to coffee in Brazil and rice across Asia. India’s mills clothed the world’s commodities.

The Human Cost of Industrialization

While the jute mills brought prosperity, they also introduced the harsh realities of industrial labor. Life for the mill workers was incredibly difficult. They worked long hours in dangerous conditions for very low wages. The mill environments were often hot, noisy, and filled with fine dust that caused respiratory problems.

Workers lived in crowded, unsanitary housing known as “coolie lines” or bustees. These conditions gave rise to labor movements and trade unions, which fought for better wages, safer workplaces, and improved living conditions. The social and political history of Bengal in the 20th century is deeply intertwined with the struggles and triumphs of its jute mill workers.

A Legacy Carved in Fiber

The establishment of the first jute mill in Rishra in 1855 was more than just the opening of a factory. It was the birth of an industry that would define a region for over a century. It shifted the center of the global jute trade from Scotland to India, fueled economic growth, and drove massive social change.

This single event laid the foundation for an industrial ecosystem that made “Made in India” jute products a global standard. While the industry has faced challenges in recent decades with the rise of synthetic alternatives, the legacy of that first mill endures. It stands as a powerful symbol of India’s industrial journey—a story of innovation, ambition, and the enduring power of the Golden Fibre.