RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE
Even after becoming Diwan, the Company still
considered itself basically a trader. It required a
large revenue income, but did not set up a regular
system of assessment and collection. Efforts were
made to increase the revenue as much as possible
to buy fine cotton and silk cloth at cheap rates.
The value of goods bought by the Company
doubled in five years. The Company no longer
needed gold and silver. It could now finance the
purchase of goods for export.
Gradually, however a slide took place in the
economy of Bengal leading to a deep financial
The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam, in 1765, crisis. Artisans left village being forced to sell
appointed the East India Company as the Diwan their goods to the Company at low prices.
of Bengal. The event which happened in Robert Peasants were unable to pay high revenue asked
Clive's tent, was witnessed by some Englishmen by the Company. Both agriculture and artisanal
and Indians. It was a majestic occasion. For the work showed signs of decline. In 1770, a havoc of
British it was a wonderful event. terrible famine killed ten million people in
Bengal. It wiped out one-third of Bengal's
Diwani made Company the chief financial population.
administrator of the territory where it ruled. It
even had to administer the land and organise its
revenue administration, to meet the growing
The Need to Improve Agriculture
expenses of the company. As traders, the
Company had to ensure products it needed to buy
The Company officials now introduced the
and sell. It moved with a lot of caution. They had
Permanent Settlement in 1793. Under it, the rajas
to reorganise the revenue resources and clarify the
and taluqdars were recognised as zamindars and
rights of the people living there and produce the
were asked to collect rent from the peasants. In
crops which the company required.
return they were supposed to pay the revenue to
the Company. The paid amount was permanently
How did the Company get its Revenue ?
fixed. It solved the double purpose of the
Company, as they got revenue and it was for
zamindars to invest and improve the land. The Evolution of a New System
revenue demand of the Company did not increase
but the production of the land rose benefiting the The beginning of nineteenth century convinced
zamindars the Company officials that the system of revenue
had to be altered. Thus, in the north-western
provinces of the Bengal Presidency, a British
named Holt Mackenzie, devised a new strategy in
1882. Under his supervision and orders, collectors
went from village to village to inspect the land,
The Problem measure the field and record the customs of
different groups.
The Permanent Settlement soon led to many
The roughly estimated revenue of each plot within
problems for the Company. Company officials
a village was added up to calculate the revenue
realised the real intentions of the zamindars. It
that each village (mahal) had to pay. This
was known that zamindars were least interested in
calculation was to be revised periodically and was
the improvement of the land. The revenue fixed
not fixed permanently. The task of revenue
earlier was so high that the zamindars could not
collection and payments to the company was
pay it. Thus, they did not improve the conditions
entrusted to the village headmen, rather than the
of the land and made only profits out of it.
zamindar. This system was called the Mahalwari
Company had made a rule that anyone who failed
settlement.
to pay the revenue will lose his zamindari. Several
zamindaris were auctioned off by the Company.
The Munro System
But by the beginning of 19th century, the prices in
the market rose, leading to the expansion of In South India, the British territories adopted a
cultivation. It led to an increase in the income of similar system. The new system which was
the zamindars, but no gain for the Company. adopted was known as the ryotwar (or ryotwari).
Initially it was tried on a smaller scale by Captain
The zamindars still did not show any interest in Alexander Read. Later on it was evolved and
improving the land. Most of them had lost their developed by Thomas Munro all over South India
lands earlier; and rest of them realised the
possibility of earning without any investment in Both Read and Munro believed that in the south,
the land. there were no traditional zamindars. Thus, the
settlement could be made directly with the
Further, in the villages the cultivators were cultivators (ryots). They took great care of their
unhappy with the development. The system was fields. Munro believed that the British could act
called 'oppressive'. The rent to be given to as a paternal father figure giving protection to
zamindars was too high and their hold on the land ryots under them
was insecure. For paying rent to the zamindars,
they had to borrow loan from the money- lender Land Revenue System : Loopholes
and if they failed to pay the rent, they were Existed
divested of the land, which they had cultivated for
generations
Within a few years of the evolution of new India. India was the biggest supplier of indigo in
system, it became clear that they were not totally the world at that time.
successful. The greed to have more projects and
the will to increase the income from land was Why was there a Demand for Indian
there. But the demand of revenue officials was too Indigo
high. Unable to pay, ryots fled the countryside
deserting the villages. The officials had thought
The indigo plant mainly grew in the tropics. By
that with the new system, the misery of peasants the thirteenth century, Indian indigo was in use
would improve and make them rich peasants, but by cloth manufacturers in Italy, France and
this did not take place. Britain to dye clothes.
But very small amount of Indian indigo was
able to go to the European market, due to its
high demand and less supply making it
expensive. Finding no alternative, the
Europeans depended on another plant called
woad which was used in place of indigo to dye
cloth, to make violet and blue dyes. Woad was
more easily available in Europe and was grown
in northern Italy, southern France and parts of
Germany and Britain. The producers of woad
The British soon thought that the countryside
got worried and forced their government to ban
should even grow the desired crops besides the import of indigo in their country
yielding revenue. So by late eighteenth century,
the Company tried its best to expand the But cloth dyers gave preference to indigo as a
cultivation of its desired crops, i.e., opium and dye due to its rich blue colour whereas the dye
indigo. In the next 50 years, the British united the from woad was pale and dull. By 17th century,
cultivators to produce crops like jute in Bengal, European producers forced their governments,
tea in Assam, sugar cane in the United Provinces to remove the ban on indigo import. The
(now Uttar Pradesh), wheat in Punjab, cotton in French started cultivation of indigo in St.
Maharashtra and Punjab, and rice in Madras. Domingue in the Caribbean Islands, the
Portuguese in Brazil, the English in Jamaica
Does colour have a history and the Spanish in Venezuela.
Kalamkari print was created by weavers of Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the
Andhra Pradesh in India. A floral cotton print was demand for Indian indigo grew. Britain also
designed and produced by artists of nineteenth- began its cotton industry and needed dye for its
century Britain. cloth. The demand for indigo increased, but its
supply from the West Indies and America
There was one common thing in the two prints, reduced. Between 1783 and 1789, the
both used a rich blue colour – commonly called production of indigo in the world fell
indigo. It is likely that the blue dye used in the dramatically by half. Cloth dyers in Britain
floral cotton print in nineteenth-century Britain now looked for new sources of indigo supply
was manufactured from indigo plants cultivated in and the option was India
Britain Turns to India Further, large plantations required a huge
manpower. At this time, peasants were busy with
their cultivation of rice and thus hiring of labour,
In the last decade of the eighteenth century,
indigo cultivation in Bengal, thus expanded was an arduous task.
rapidly and Bengal indigo started dominating
the world market. By 1788, about 30 per cent Likewise, nij cultivation on a large scale needed
of the indigo imported to Britain, was from
many ploughs and bullocks. One bigha of indigo
India and by 1810, it rose to 95 per cent.
Commercial agents and officials of the cropping needed two ploughs. It required a
Company started investing in indigo number of ploughs and bullocks, but peasants
production. were unable to supply their ploughs and bullocks
for nij cultivations, since they were busy with rice
Many Company officials, Scotsmen and cultivation at this juncture.
Englishmen were fascinated by the high profits
and they turned into planters. Those falling
short of money, could take loans from Planters thus till the end of 19th century, were
Company and the banks which were set up at reluctant to increase the area under nij
that time. cultivation. Thus, about 25 per cent or even less
than that land producing indigo, was covered
under nij cultivation in this system. The rest
How was Indigo Cultivated ? was covered under an alternate system called
ryoti.
Indigo cultivation was of two types - nij and
ryoti. The planter in Nij cultivation system,
Indigo on the Land of Ryots
produces indigo in lands, controlled directly by
In the ryoti system, the planters forced the ryots
him. He purchased the land or took it on rent
to sign a contract or an agreement (satta).
from other zamindars and manufactured indigo
Several times, they forced the village headman
by hiring. to sign the contract on the behalf of the ryots.
All those who signed the contract got cash
The Problem with Nij Cultivation advances from the planters at low rates of
interest to manufacture indigo. However, the
loan forced the ryot to grow indigo on at least
Planters found it very difficult to increase the
25 per cent of their land area. The planters gave
area under nij cultivation. Indigo was cultivated
the seed and the drill, while the cultivators tilled
only on fertile lands, and all these areas had the soil, sowed seeds and harvested the crop.
huge population. Only small plots scattered
over the landscape, were acquired. Planters After the delivery of crop to the planter, this
required large areas to grow indigo in whole cycle began all over again. Peasants who
plantations. They tried to get on lease the land were initially attracted by the loans, soon
around the indigo factory, and evacuate the realised how harsh the system was. The price
peasants from the area. But it led to tension and they received for the indigo they produced, was
conflict among planters and peasants. minimal leading to a chain of cycle of loans.
The planters forced cultivators to grow indigo
on the best soils, which peasants used for rice.
But if indigo grows on the best soil, the soil
gets eroded and could not be utilised for rice appoint the Indigo Commission. The Commission
cultivation, once indigo was harvested held the planters guilty and took them to task for
cruel methods they used with indigo cultivators. It
reported that indigo production was not profitable
for ryots. The Commission told the ryots to fulfil
their existing contracts and not to take up new
Ryots of Bengal in March 1859 refused to grow
contracts
indigo and pay rent. They attacked indigo
factories fully armed with swords, spears, bows
After the revolt, indigo production collapsed in
and arrows. Women also came up equipped
Bengal. The discovery of synthetic dyes in the
with pans and kitchen wares. Anyone working
late nineteenth century jolted indigo business. On
for the planter was boycotted socially and the
Gandhi's return from South Africa, a peasant from
gomasthas or planter agents were beaten up
Bihar persuaded him to come to Champaran and
when they came to take revenue. Ryots openly
witness the plight of the indigo cultivators. This
declared that they could not be bullied by the
tour in 1917, led to the beginning of the
planters or lathiyals - the lathi-wielding
Champaran movement against the indigo planters
strongmen of planters
The indigo ryots believed that they had the
support of local zamindars and village headmen
In their revolt against the planters. Village
headmen, forced to sign indigo contracts,
gathered the indigo peasants to fight pitched
battles with those lathi-wielding strongmen.
Even zamindars went around villages urging
the ryots to resist planters as they were unhappy
with growing power of planters.
The indigo peasants even sought the support of
British government in their rebellion against the
planters. When the news of a similar revolt like
the Revolt of 1857, came in the indigo districts,
the Lieutenant Governor, visited the region in
the winter of 1859. The ryots thought of this as a
sympathy for their trouble. Queen Victoria now
declared that indigo was not to be sown.
Magistrate Eden tried to placate the peasants and
control an explosive situation. Gradually even
intellectuals from Calcutta joined the revolt and
wrote about the miseries of the ryots. The worry
of another rebellion led the British government to
EXERCISE
Agrarian : Pertaining to agriculture Q.1 This system ensured regular income to
Britishers
Mahals : Group of villages (A) Permanent settlement
(B) Ryotwari system
Ryotwari system : A system of land revenue
(C) Mahalwari system
collection in which the revenue was collected
directly from farmers (D) None of these
Mahalwari System : In which revenue was
collected from a group of villages Q.2 This system started in 1793
(A) Mahalwari system
(B) Ryotwari system
(C) Permanent settlement
(D) None of these
Q.1 Warren Hastings gave the land to the highest
bidder. Q.3 The permanent settlement system in 1793 was
introduced by
Q.2 Lord Dalhousie introduced the permanent
(A) Lord Cornwallis
settlement system.
(B) British Parliament
Q.3 Under the Mahalwari system the government (C) Warren Hastings
could not increase land revenue periodically. (D) None of these
Q.4 Indigo cultivators were forced to grow this Q.4 A region where mahalwari system was
crop.
introduced
(A) Eastern Punjab
(B) Karnataka
(C) Western Uttar Pradesh
Q.1 ................ started the permanent settlement (D) None of these
Q.2 ................ is a blue dye used for colouring the
cloth Q.5 When the Mughal emperor appointed the East
Q.3 ................ and ................ were the cash crops India Company as the Diwan of Bengal ?
(A) 12 August 1735 (B) 12 August 1745
Q.4 The Wahabi revolt was started by ................ (C) 12 August 1755 (D) 12 August 1765
Q.5 The Ryotwari system started in ................
Q.6 Though the Company had become the Diwan,
it still saw itself primarily as
(A) Rular (B) Trader (C) Stitching of cloth
(C) Soldier (D) None of these (D) None
Q.7 Munro introduced ryotwari system in Q.16 Under which system land remained with the
(A) North India (B) South India cultivators
(C) Western India (D) Eastern India (A) Ryotwari
(B) Permanent
Q.8 In which year a terrible femine occurred in
(C) Mahalwari
Bengal, which killed 10 million people ?
(D) all of the above
(A) 1769 (B) 1770
(C) 1772 (D) 1773
Q.17 Captain Read was related with
Q.9 In which year Permanent Settlement was (A) Ryotwari
introduced ? (B) Mahalwari
(A) 1793 (B) 1783 (C) Permanent settlement
(C) 1773 (D) 1763 (D) Revenue
Q.18 What was common between Kamalkari print
Q.10 Who were asked to collect rent under the
and floral cotton print?
permanent settlement ?
(A) Both were British print
(A) Zamindars (B) Talukedar
(B) Both were Indian print
(C) Subedar (D) District Collector
(C) Use of Indigo
Q.11 Under which system the amount to be paid (D) The design was common
was fixed permanently
(A) Permanent Settlement Q.19 The European cloth manufacturers depended
on ................ plant to make violet and blue
(B) Munro System
dyes?
(C) Mahalwari Settlement
(A) Indigo (B) Woad
(D) All of the above
(C) Cotton (D) None of these
Q.12 In which provinces the Mahalwari settlement
was introduced ?
(A) North Western Q.1 What was Mahal ?
(B) Central
Q.2 When the Company became Diwan, what
(C) Madras Presidency
impact it had on Bengal economy?
(D) N.W.F. Province
Q.3 Who was Munro?
Q.13 Who introduced the Mahalwari Settlement ?
(A) Cornwallis (B) Thomas Munro Q.4 Who were ryots ?
(C) Holt Mackanzie (D) Alexander Read
Q.5 What was the motive behind introduction of
Q.14 Mahal means Permanent Settlement?
(A) Cultivator (B) Land patch Q.6 Which state had the Kalamkari print in India?
(C) Tenant (D) Village
Q.7 Why Mackenzie wanted the land to be kept
Q.15 Indigo was demanded for
with the village?
(A) Weaving the cloths
(B) Dying of Cloths
Q.8 Why numerous Scotsmen and Englishmen
came to India and became planters? Q.5 Which system was adopted by the British to
force the ryots to grow indigo on their land?
Q.6 Write in detail about the 'Blue Rebellion'
Q.1 What was the Munro system ?
Q.2 Explain Mahalwari system of Revenue
Q.3 What was Diwani system?
Q.4 What was Nij cultivation?
Q.5 Why the woad producer in Europe
pressurised their government to ban the
import of indigo?
Q.6 What problems were faced by nij cultivators?
Q.7 What was permanent settlement?
Q.8 Why there was a great demand for Indigo in
Europe ?
Q.1 "The Company had become the Diwan, but it
still saw itself primarily as a trader." How we
can say that ?
Q.2 Write in brief the land tenure system of
British.
Q.3 What were the problems faced by the British
after the enactment of Permanent Settlement?
Q.4 Why the British persuaded or forced
cultivators in various parts of India to
produce other crops?