The textile industry was the most developed in India before independence.
It was the largest industry, significantly contributing to India's GDP.
India has a rich history in textiles, with cotton being a major commodity traded from ancient times.
As Karl Marx noted in 1853, the textile industry was a major component of economic income in the pre-colonial Indian economy, writing that "The hand-loom and the spinning-wheel, producing their regular myriads of spinners and weavers, were the pivots of the structure of that society".