§ 79. Mr. WELLOCKasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can give any information as to the amount of unemployment in the various Provinces of India; and whether the Secretary of State will set up committees of inquiry on this matter on similar lines to the one set up by the Governor-in-Council in the Punjab?
§ Earl WINTERTONAs the reply is necessarily rather long, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ Industrial unemployment such as exists in Europe is not a normal feature of the Indian industrial system. Unemployment on a small scale is, perhaps, normal in a few industries, such as shipping, and necessarily occurs from 2199 time to time in others, but, generally speaking, the demand for industrial labour is greater than the supply, and when a falling off in the demand occurs the displaced workers readily return to agricultural work. Widespread unemployment in the ordinary sense of the word is commonly or invariably confined to seasons when the occurrence of scarcity or famine produces partial or complete stoppage of agricultural activity over considerable areas and thus throws out of work, not only agricultural labour, but labour employed in industries subsidiary to agriculture. When this occurs the carefully organised system of famine relief comes into operation. The really serious problem in India is that of unemployment among the educated classes. A number of the Provincial Governments have set up committees to inquire into this problem. The terms of reference in some cases, for instance in that of the Punjab, to which the hon. Member refers, are wide enough to cover the whole field of unemployment. The Government of India have considered and rejected a suggestion that a central committee should be appointed to co-ordinate local efforts, but they have addressed all the Provincial Governments asking them to give careful consideration to the problem. My Noble Friend does not doubt the wisdom of this decision of the, Government of India, and does not propose to intervene in the matter.