Buckingham and Carnatic Mills
Buckingham and Carnatic Mills, popularly known as B & C Mills, were textile mills run by Binny and Co. in the city of Chennai, India. The mills were closed down in 1996 and the site is now used as a container freight station and is a popular venue for film shootings.[1]
History
Messrs Binny & Co, one of the biggest private enterprises in the then city of Madras, set up a textile mill of its own, the Buckingham Mills in the wedge between Perambur, Vepery and Basin Bridge.[2] The company was registered on 17 August 1876 and started functioning in January 1878.[3] The Carnatic Mills were founded on 30 June 1881.[3] The two companies were merged in 1920.[3] Binny also started the Bangalore Woollen, Cotton and Silk Mills in 1884.[4] The mills functioned successfully till the 1970s when rot set in.[4] Running on heavy losses, the mills were finally closed in 1996.[1][4]
India's first labour union, the Madras Labour Union (MLU) was formed at Buckingham and Carnatic Mills by B. P. Wadia and V. Kalyanasundaram Mudaliar on 27 April 1918.[5]
References
- ^ a b Umachandran, Shalini (12 March 2010). "Chequered history of a textile company". Times of India. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ Srinivasachari, C. S. (1939). "Introduction". History of the city of Madras written for the Tercentenary Celebration Committee. Madras: P. Varadachary & Co. pp. xxx.
- ^ a b c Srinivasachari, C. S. (1939). "Madras in the Present Century-Part I". History of the city of Madras written for the Tercentenary Celebration Committee. Madras: P. Varadachary & Co. pp. 314–315.
- ^ a b c Muthiah, S. (2004). Madras Rediscovered. East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd. p. 263. ISBN 81-88661-24-4.
- ^ Slater, Gilbert (1924). The Dravidian Element in Indian Culture. Ernest Benn. p. 168.