Ruling the Country Side

The ryots were reluctant to grow indigo in their land due to the following reasons:
1. Indigo had deep roots and it exhausted the soil rapidly. After an indigo harvest, the land could not be reused for rice cultivation.
2. The indigo cultivators got meagre price for the indigo they produced. Moreover, the planters mercilessly pursued the cultivators to plant indigo instead of food crops.

The indigo ryots were supported by the local zamindars and village headmen in their rebellion against the planters. The village headman fought pitched battles with the lathiyals. The zamindars urged the ryots to resist the planters.

According to the Indigo Commission:

1. Planters were considered guilty.
2. The Commission criticised the planters for the forceful methods they used with indigo cultivators.
3. Indigo cultivation was declared to be non profitable for ryots.
4. The ryots were asked to complete their existing contracts but also told them that they were free to turn down the demand to produce indigo in future.

After returning from South Africa, on the persuasion of a peasant from Bihar, Mahatma Gandhi visited Champaran to see the plight of the indigo cultivators there. Moved by the plight of the indigo cultivators, he started the Champaran movement in 1917 against the indigo planters.

The peasants consider the ryot system of indigo cultivation as harsh because
They got very low price for the indigo they produced.
The cycle of loan was never ending.

Colour produced from indigo is rich blue colour, whereas the dye from woad was pale and dull. Indigo cultivation began in Caribbean islands, Brazil, Jamaica and Venezuela. Indigo plantations also came up in many parts of North America.

The company officials felt that their control over Indian coutryside woud not only provide revenue to them but could also help them to produce those crops which were in demand in the Europe. Hence, they forced the peasants to grow these crops to further their commercial interest at the cost of food crops. This also led to the emergence of Indian textile industry in Maharashtra

The planters faced the following problems with nij cultivation: Large areas in compact blocks were required by the planters to cultivate indigo in plantations. While, the planters could acquire only small plots scattered over the landscape. Large number of labour was required in large plantation. Moreover, they required labour precisely at a time when peasants were usually busy with their rice cultivation.

By the late nineteenth century, the Company forced cultivators in various parts of India to produce cash crops such as: jute in Bengal, tea in Assam, sugarcane in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), wheat in Punjab, cotton in Maharashtra and Punjab, rice in Madras.

The types of indigo plantation were as follow:
1. Nij: In this category of plantation, the planters produced indigo in the land they directly controlled.
2. Ryoti: In this category of plantation, the planters forced the ryots to sign contracts in lieu of providing them loans at low interest rates.

The two persons involved in expansion of the system were Alexander Read and Thomas Munro.This system is also known as the Munro System.

The Rebellion that broke out in March 1859, when thousands of ryots refused to grow indigois called the Blue rebellion. Those who worked for the planters were socially boycotted and planters were attacked by the cultivators.

Increase in market prices resulted in the extension of cultivation. This led to an increase in the income of zamindars because in permanent settlement, the land revenue demand of the company was fixed permanently. Thus, the company was not able to claim its share in the increased revenue.

The persons who are deprived of personal freedom and are compelled to work day & night are known as slaves.
b) In the French colony of St Domingue situated in the Caribbean islands, the African slaves who worked in plantations rebelled in 1791.

The European cloth manufacturers used indigo to dye the clothes. It used to give a rich blue colour unlike any other plant used as a dye for this purpose therefore cloth dyers preferred indigo as a dye. Indigo plant grows only in the tropical regions and it was impossible to grow indigo in temperate climate of Europe.

In 1793, the rajas and Taluqdars were recognised as zamindars. They were asked to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company. The amount to be paid was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be increased ever in future. It was felt that this would ensure a regular flow of revenue into the Company’s coffers and at the same time encourage the zamindars to invest in improving the land.

The Mahal was a revenue estate comprising of a village or a group of villages and it had to pay the revenue to British government

A Plantation is a large farm managed by a planter (generally British before independence) utilizing different forms of forced labour. Plantations were related with the production of coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, tea and cotton. Land procured was cheap and the produce could be exported to rich nations and sold at higher prices.

The Mahalwari System introduced by Holt Mackenzie was the settlement of revenue with a village or group of villages (Mahal). The revenue was fixed after survey of Mahal and was periodically revised by the Company.

The Ryotwari system was introduced to collect revenues from the cultivators of agricultural land the ryots. These revenues included undifferentiated land taxes and rents, collected from the landed farmers .

Champaran Movement took place because farmers were forced by the British agents to grow indigo instead of food grains. The British enforced the teen-kathia system for this purpose.

The two effects of the Permanent Settlement Act on agriculture were:
1. The increase in rural indebtness due to pressure of submitting the revenue.
2. The expansion of agriculture due to approach of people who wanted to earn without trouble and risk of investment.

1. The Kalamkari print by the weavers of Andhra Pradesh was one print.
2. While a floral design was another one produced by William Morris of Britain.
3. In both the prints, a rich blue colour was used as dye- indigo.

Within a few years, driven by the desire to increase the income from land revenue, officials fixed very high land revenues. Peasants were unable to pay the high revenue; at last ryots fled away to the countryside due to high debts. The British officials had anticipated that the new system would convert the peasants into rich enterprising farmers, but this did not happen.

1. By 18th century, the demand for Indigo grew further with industrialization of cotton textiles.
2. As the demand increased, the existing supplies from West Indies and America collapsed due to a variety of reasons.
3. Between 1783 and 1789, the production of indigo in the world fell by half and Britain looked forward to Indian cultivators for indigo plantation and supplies.

The two main types of systems associated with indigo cultivation were Nij and Ryotwari. In the Nij Cultivation the planter produced indigo in lands that he directly controlled. He either bought the land or rented it from other zamindars and produced indigo by directly employing hired labourers. The planters found it difficult to expand the area under nij cultivation. Indigo could be cultivated only on fertile lands, and these were all already densely populated. Planters needed large areas in compact blocks to cultivate indigo in plantations. Labour was not easy to mobilise. A large plantation required a vast number of hands to operate. And labour was needed precisely at a time when peasants were usually busy with their rice cultivation.

1. The Permanent Settlement was introduced in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and Banaras. While the Mahalwari System was introduced in western parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi.
2. Under Mahalwari System, a group of villages was considered as an important social institution and so it was preserved.
3. The collection of land revenue was fixed in the Permanent Settlement but under the Mahalwari System, the collection of land revenue was revised periodically.
4. The Zamindars were responsible for collecting the land revenue from the cultivator in the Permanent Settlement Act. Whereas, in Mahalwari System, the right to collect the land revenues was given to the village head.

In the south India, the British introduced a new system of land revenues. The system was little different from the Permanent Settlement in the North and was called the Ryotwari System. Captain Alexander Read introduced this system and tried it in Southern India, as there were no traditional Zamindars in the South Alexander Read along with Munroa decided that land revenues would be collected directly from the cultivators (ryots). The cultivable land of the ryots was carefully assessed and separately surveyed before making the revenue assessment.

The permanent settlement of Bengal was introduced for the company officials to ensure a regular flow of income to the company’s treasury. It was also assumed that the zamindars would invest in the improvement of the land. However, the zamindars did not invest any money in the improvement of the land even after benefitting from the increased production of the land. The revenue fixed was very high and some zamindars found it difficult to pay the revenue and lost their zamindari rights. Zamindaris were either sold or auctioned off by the company officials. Zamindars gave out land to tenants and extracted rent from them at any cost. Tenants were undoubtedly, at the receiving end of the settlement.