Describe the economic conditions of Britain after the ‘First World War’.

OR

Describe the role of ‘Jobbers’ at the beginning of the twentieth century in India.

OR

Describe any three major problems faced by migrants in Bombay (Mumbai) during the nineteenth century.

Britain was the world’s leading economy in the pre-war period. But this country faced a prolonged crisis after the end of the First World War.

a. The First World War ended up with Britain losing its earlier dominating position in the colonial market.

b. Britain had huge debts as it had borrowed funds from the U.S. to finance its war expenditures.

c. There were huge job losses. One in every five British workers was out of work.

Also, Britain was unable to compete with Japan internationally after the war.

OR

A jobber was a person who was employed by the industrialists to get workers for the industries.

The following were his main functions:

a. He got labourers from villages and ensured them jobs.

b. He also helped the industrialists by getting them abundant labour.

c. He helped the workers at the time of crisis by helping them financially.

Thus, jobbers played an important role by providing locals with jobs and industrialists with human labour.

OR

The industrial growth in Bombay attracted more migrants towards the city during the nineteenth century.

The following are the problems faced by them:

a. Bombay became overcrowded with the migrant population. Hence, the problem of housing emerged.

b. The landlords charged huge amounts as rents. Hence, the migrants were forced to share accommodation.

c. Due to the increase in population, the migrants had to face water scarcity.

Even though the industrialization paved way for job opportunities, it also gave rise to other problems.