Why did the Indian iron smelting industry decline in the nineteenth century?

The Indian iron smelting industry declined in the nineteenth century for the following reasons-

• The Britishers implemented the forest laws that’s why people couldn’t move freely in the forests.

• An essential ingredient in the iron smelting process could not be obtained easily i.e; charcoal.

• In some areas where the government had given the right to enter in reserved forests, for that person had to pay a high amount of tax for every furnace.

• By the late 19^th century, iron and steel were imported from Britain. This reduced the demand for iron produced by local smelters.

• A series of famine devastated the dry tracts of India in the late 19^th century. Many people left their villages and migrated to other areas.