Heritage v/s Industrialization: A Look into the Past for an Exposition Ahead

Abstract

During the Japanese rule, Taiwan’s sugar industry had a lasting effect on society and the Taiwanese community. While Taiwan was a part of the Japanese colony, the Japanese developed their technology for the industries and the business operations thus, replacing the traditional methods and technologies in the sugar industry of Taiwan. With the growth of the sugar industries, the surrounding areas also improved giving rise to developments around the industrial area and urbanization. This led to the sugar industries being the cultural heritage of Taiwan. Currently many of these industries are being converted into recreational spaces and/or museums for the public through a method of adaptive re-use. On the other hand, the sugar industry in India has been the second largest industry in the agro-based industrial sector. Along with this it also contributes to the socio-economic development of the country by generating employment in the rural parts where most of these industries are located. Among all the states in India Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are the highest sugarcane and sugar producing states in the country. Lately, the production of sugar in the industries in Maharashtra has gone down. As in Taiwan, the sugar industries in Maharashtra do not account for the heritage of the state. The state of Maharashtra has been well known for its production of cotton and its cotton textile mills. Mumbai the financial capital of India has seen the rise and the downfall of these textile mills and their redevelopment too. Today these mills and mill lands are considered the heritage of the city. But the real question is will this heritage survive and be used as a recreational space or will their fate be written by the residents in want of affordable housing? This paper looks at changes from the perspective of Taiwan and India through their heritage sugar and cotton textile industries respectively. Along with this it also takes the Indian sugar industry into consideration which is responsible for the rural development in many parts of India.