Modern History
2020
East India Company
Agriculture in India

Indigo cultivation in India declined by the beginning of the 20th century because of

C.national leaders' opposition to the cultivation of indigo
B.its unprofitability in the world market because of new inventions
D.Government control over the planters
A.peasant resistance to the oppressive conduct of planters

Correct Answer: Option B

Initially, the British East India Company (BEIC) encouraged indigo cultivation in Bengal and Bihar. By 1810, 95% of Britain's indigo imports came from India.

However, German chemists developed synthetic indigo starting with Adolf Baeyer in 1882, followed by further research by Johannes Pfleger and Karl Heumann in the first decade of the 20th century.

This synthetic indigo was much cheaper to produce than the naturally derived indigo. This made Indigo cultivation in India unprofitable in the world market.

Statement b is correct.

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