- US national Jemma Ferrer said India was a global textile leader before colonial trade policies harmed it
- British rule disadvantaged Indian producers and favoured British manufacturers, she said
- Social media users engaged with Ferrer's views on India's history and economy
India can feel very different when you see it through the eyes of someone experiencing it for the first time. For many foreigners, the country's colours, rituals, food and sheer sensory overload are becoming discoveries worth sharing with the world. The latest to join the bandwagon is Jema Ferrer, a tattoo artist based in New York, who is currently exploring India. Ferrer has been posting a series of videos on Instagram from places that she has visited and in one of them, she says India is not poor and talks about how the British colonial policies impacted Indian traders.
"India isn't poor. It was impoverished for centuries. India was one of world's greatest textile powers; its cotton, silk and muslin were among the finest and most sought after fabric on the planet," she says in the video.
"But with the rise of British rule, the rules of trade changed. Colonial trade policies disadvantaged Indian producers while favouring British manufacturers. The consequences were devastating. Millions of artisans and weavers lost their livelihoods," Ferrer further says.
The US national explained that India kept producing excellence, but someone else gained from it.
The clip is part of three-video series and has been gaining traction since the time it has been posted. And social media users seem to agree with her.
"If learn history we are great in everything like civilization, education, dance, singing, astrology etc," one user commented on Instagram.
"What you say is all the truth, but know that also in Europe textile making was a very important way of earning an income, long before Europeans started to colonize other countries. And also these 'pre-colonizing' countries sometimes met with devastating competition, wars, etc. that harmed their textile industry. Halfway the 20th centuries, Europe completely lost this important industry to 'low wage countries'. That is what happens and instead of complaining about the past, every economy has to look to the future and try to adapt, invent, develop," said another.
Ferrer ended her video by praising the non-violent path India took to take on the British empire. "India set an example to the world that even the greatest powers in history can be brought to their knees without bloodshed or weapons," she said.
