When you think of India’s textile industry, you might picture handwoven saris, bustling bazaars, or modern factories pumping out fabric for global brands. But the real story starts much earlier-with a single mill built in the shadow of British colonial rule that changed everything. The oldest textile company in India isn’t just a name on a list. It’s the spark that lit the fire of industrialization in a country that had been making cloth for thousands of years, but never at scale.
The birth of the first modern textile mill
In 1854, a group of Indian entrepreneurs in Bombay (now Mumbai) did something bold. They built a steam-powered spinning mill to compete with British imports. Before this, India’s textile production was entirely manual. Families spun yarn on charkhas, wove cloth on looms in their homes, and traded locally. But British factories were flooding the market with cheap, machine-made cotton. Indian weavers were collapsing under the pressure. The founders of the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company was established in 1854 in Bombay, the first successful modern textile mill in India, founded by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar with support from local investors didn’t just want to survive-they wanted to reclaim India’s place in the global textile trade.
They raised ₹300,000 from 22 Indian shareholders, mostly Parsi merchants and traders. That’s roughly ₹45 crore today. They bought machinery from Manchester, hired British engineers to set it up, and started production on July 7, 1854. The mill had 1,200 spindles and 32 looms. By the end of the first year, it was turning out 1,200 pounds of yarn per day. That may sound small now, but back then, it was revolutionary.
Why this mill succeeded when others failed
There were earlier attempts. In 1818, a mill was set up in Calcutta by an Englishman, but it shut down after just a few years. Another in 1836 near Ahmedabad also failed. Why did the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company make it? Three reasons.
- Local capital: Unlike earlier ventures funded by British investors who didn’t understand the Indian market, this one was owned by Indians who knew the demand.
- Strategic location: Bombay had access to raw cotton from nearby Maharashtra and Gujarat, plus a deep-water port to import machinery and export finished goods.
- Timing: The American Civil War (1861-1865) cut off cotton supplies to Britain. Suddenly, Indian cotton became critical. Demand soared, and Bombay’s mill was ready to scale.
By 1860, just six years after opening, the company had expanded to three mills. By 1870, Bombay had over 20 textile mills. Within 20 years, India had more than 100. The mill didn’t just survive-it became the blueprint.
The human story behind the machinery
Behind every spindle was a worker. The first employees were mostly local men and women from nearby villages. They earned 15 to 25 annas a month-about ₹10 to ₹17 today. Conditions were harsh. Workdays lasted 12 to 14 hours. There were no safety regulations. Children as young as 10 worked in the mills. But for many, it was still better than farming. The mill offered regular pay, housing, and a sense of belonging.
By 1880, the workforce had grown to over 10,000 people. Women made up nearly half of it. This was one of the first times large numbers of Indian women entered formal wage labor. It changed family structures, gender roles, and even marriage patterns in working-class communities. The mill wasn’t just producing cloth-it was producing social change.
What happened to the original company?
The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company didn’t stay in the same hands forever. In the 1920s, it merged with other mills under the umbrella of the Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company a major Indian textile conglomerate formed through mergers of early mills including the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, now part of the Wadia Group. Today, that company still operates under the Wadia Group, with factories across Maharashtra. The original mill building still stands in the Parel neighborhood of Mumbai. It’s been converted into offices and retail spaces, but the brick walls and old smokestacks remain as monuments.
There’s no plaque that says "First Textile Mill in India"-but locals know. Workers’ descendants still live in the surrounding neighborhoods. The company’s archives, preserved by the Wadia family, show ledgers from 1855 listing daily cotton deliveries, worker attendance, and even the cost of tea rations.
Legacy: How this one mill changed India’s economy
Before 1854, India imported nearly all its machine-made textiles. Afterward, it became a net exporter of cotton yarn to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. By 1900, India was the third-largest textile producer in the world, after Britain and the United States.
The success of the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company triggered a chain reaction. It inspired other Indian entrepreneurs to build mills in Ahmedabad, Kanpur, and Madras. It gave rise to India’s first trade unions. It pushed the British to change their trade policies. And it planted the seed for India’s post-independence industrial policy, where textile manufacturing was seen as key to self-reliance.
Even today, the textile industry employs over 45 million people in India. It accounts for 12% of the country’s industrial output and 11% of its export earnings. That’s not just legacy-it’s living history.
Other early mills you might hear about
Some people mistakenly think the first mill was in Ahmedabad or Calcutta. Here’s the truth:
- Calcutta Mill (1818): Built by an Englishman, closed after three years due to poor management.
- Ahmedabad Mill (1836): Failed after a decade. No sustained operations.
- Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company (1854): First to operate continuously, scale up, and survive.
There’s also the Cotton Mill Company a short-lived mill established in 1851 near Bombay, but it never reached full production and is not recognized as the first operational mill, founded in 1851. It was supposed to be the first, but it never spun a single thread of yarn. Machinery arrived late, funds ran out, and it was abandoned.
The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company wasn’t just first by accident. It was first because it had the right mix of vision, capital, location, and timing.
Why it still matters today
When you buy a cotton shirt made in India, you’re holding a piece of history. That shirt’s roots go back to a dusty mill in Parel, where men and women worked under steam-powered machines for the first time. That mill proved Indians could build and run modern industry-not just as laborers, but as owners, managers, and innovators.
Today, India’s textile industry faces new challenges: automation, fast fashion, and global competition. But the same spirit that drove Cowasji Nanabhai Davar and his investors still lives on-in family-run units in Surat, in tech-driven dyeing plants in Tiruppur, in weavers’ cooperatives in Kanchipuram.
The oldest textile company in India didn’t just survive. It started a revolution. And that revolution is still spinning.
Who founded the first textile mill in India?
The first successful textile mill in India, the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, was founded by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar, a Parsi businessman from Bombay. He led a group of 22 Indian investors who raised funds to build the mill, which began operations in 1854.
Was the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company the only early mill?
No, there were earlier attempts, like the Calcutta Mill (1818) and a mill near Ahmedabad (1836), but both failed within a few years. The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company was the first to operate continuously, expand, and influence the growth of India’s textile industry.
Where was the first textile mill located?
The first successful textile mill in India was located in Parel, Bombay (now Mumbai). The site is still visible today, though the original building has been repurposed into commercial offices and retail spaces.
Did the mill use local or imported machinery?
The machinery was imported from Manchester, England, because India had no industrial capacity to produce textile machines at the time. The engineers who installed them were also British, but the workers, managers, and owners were Indian.
What happened to the original company?
The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company merged with other mills in the 1920s to form the Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company, which is now part of the Wadia Group. The original mill buildings still stand in Mumbai and are preserved as heritage structures.
How did this mill impact Indian society?
The mill created one of the first large-scale wage labor forces in India, especially for women. It led to the rise of worker unions, urban migration, and changes in family life. It also proved Indians could manage modern industry, challenging colonial assumptions and inspiring future industrialists.
