Ruling the Countryside Class 8 Notes

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The Company Becomes the Diwan

• On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal.
• The actual appointment likely occurred in Robert Clive’s tent, with a few witnesses present. However, artworks depict this event as a grand ceremony.
• This event was significant in British perception and marked in paintings commissioned by Robert Clive, who wanted to document important events of his life.

Role and Responsibilities as Diwan

• Upon becoming Diwan, the Company took over as the main financial administrator of Bengal.
• It was tasked with managing the land and organising its revenue systems to ensure sufficient income to cover the company’s growing expenses.
• The Company needed to balance its original role as a trader with its new responsibilities, ensuring it could buy necessary products and sell its goods effectively.

Governance and Control

• As an external ruling power, the Company had to navigate its authority carefully.
• It needed to manage the local leaders who had historical control and influence over the countryside without completely removing them to maintain stability and order.

Economic Strategies and Impacts

• The Company aimed to maximise its revenue without setting up a structured system for regular assessment and collection.
• It focused on purchasing fine cotton and silk at the lowest prices possible to maximise profits.
• Within five years of becoming the Diwan, the value of goods the Company purchased in Bengal had doubled.

Also Check – Chapter 3 – Ruling the Countryside Class 8- History- Questions and Answers

Crisis in Bengal

• The pressure to increase revenue led to severe economic distress.
• Artisans and peasants were forced to sell their goods at low prices and were unable to meet the high revenue demands, leading many to abandon their villages.
• This economic pressure led to a decline in artisanal production and agricultural collapse.
• In 1770, a catastrophic famine struck, killing ten million people, about one-third of Bengal’s population, further illustrating the dire conditions under the Company’s rule.

Local Markets and Economy

• Rural artisans and peasants depended on weekly markets (haats) in places like Murshidabad to sell their products and buy necessities.
• These markets suffered greatly during the economic crises, impacting the livelihoods of many local traders and farmers.

The Need to Improve Agriculture

• With the economy in ruins, Company officials realised the need to secure revenue by improving agriculture.
• After two decades of debate, the Permanent Settlement was introduced in 1793 to stabilise revenue through land investments.

Permanent Settlement of 1793

• The Permanent Settlement recognized rajas and taluqdars as zamindars, responsible for collecting rent from peasants and paying revenue to the Company.
• The revenue amount was fixed permanently, meaning it would never increase in the future.
• This setup was expected to motivate zamindars to enhance agricultural productivity on their lands, benefiting from any increase in production without facing higher state revenue demands.

Problems with the Permanent Settlement

• The fixed revenue rates were often too high, making it difficult for zamindars to comply.
• Failure to meet revenue obligations led to the loss of zamindari rights, with numerous estates being auctioned off by the Company.
• Despite the potential benefits, many zamindars did not invest in land improvement. They preferred renting out their lands and collecting rent without taking on the risks associated with agricultural investment.

Charles Cornwallis and the Settlement

• Charles Cornwallis was the Governor-General of Bengal when the Permanent Settlement was introduced, playing a crucial role in its implementation.

Impact on Under-Tenants and Ryots

• H.T. Colebrook in 1806 highlighted the plight of under-tenants in Bengal, who were overburdened with high rents and usurious rates for essential supplies like cattle and seed.
• These conditions left under-tenants in a state of perpetual debt and despair, unable to improve their economic situation.
• The oppressive rent system left little hope for betterment, trapping tenants in a cycle of poverty and insecurity.

The Cultivators’ Experience

• For village cultivators, the system was extremely oppressive. High rents and insecure land rights forced many to take loans from moneylenders.
• Failure to pay rent often resulted in eviction from land that had been cultivated by their families for generations, further exacerbating the rural crisis.

A New System is Devised

• By the early nineteenth century, the need for more flexible revenue systems became apparent, as the Permanent Settlement was no longer sufficient to meet the Company’s growing financial needs.

Mahalwari Settlement (1822)

• Introduced by Holt Mackenzie in the North Western Provinces of the Bengal Presidency (now mostly in Uttar Pradesh).
• Mackenzie emphasised the importance of preserving the village as a social institution in North Indian society.
• Revenue officers, under his direction, conducted detailed surveys of villages, assessing land and recording the customs and rights of the inhabitants.
• The total revenue for each village, or mahal, was calculated and was subject to periodic revision, allowing adjustments based on economic conditions or changes in production.
• The responsibility for collecting and delivering the revenue to the Company shifted from zamindars to village headmen, reflecting a decentralised approach in revenue collection.

Munro System

• Simultaneously, a different system called the Ryotwari system was implemented in the South, particularly after encounters with Tipu Sultan.
• Developed by Thomas Munro, this system involved direct dealings with the cultivators or ryots, bypassing the zamindar intermediaries who were prevalent in the north.
• Each cultivator’s land was individually surveyed to determine the revenue assessment accurately.
• Munro’s vision was for the British to act as paternal figures to the ryots, protecting them and ensuring their welfare, a significant shift from the exploitative practices of the past.

Key Differences and Innovations

• Mahalwari System: Focused on community assessment and collective responsibility within villages.
• Ryotwari System: Focused on individual cultivators and direct assessment, which was a more direct approach than the Mahalwari system, reflecting regional differences in land ownership and cultivation practices.

Challenges with New Revenue Systems

• Shortly after introducing the Mahalwari and Ryotwari systems, significant problems emerged.
• Revenue officials set very high demands for land income, which many peasants could not meet.
• As a result, ryots fled their homes, leading to the desertion of numerous villages.
• The optimistic expectation that these new systems would transform peasants into wealthy, entrepreneurial farmers was not realised.

Agricultural Production for European Markets

• By the late eighteenth century, the British recognized the potential of the Indian countryside not only for revenue but also for producing crops needed in Europe.
• They expanded the cultivation of crops like opium and indigo initially and later included jute, tea, sugarcane, wheat, cotton, and rice in different regions of India.

Methods of Crop Expansion

• The British employed various methods to boost crop cultivation across India to meet European demands.
• These methods often involved persuading or coercing Indian farmers to grow specific crops that were highly valued in Europe.

Cultural Impact and the History of Color

• The chapter references two types of cotton prints: the Kalamkari print from Andhra Pradesh and a floral print by William Morris from Britain.
• Both prints feature a rich blue colour derived from indigo, highlighting the global influence of Indian dyeing techniques.
• India was a major supplier of indigo, a plant used to produce blue dye, which was a significant export to Britain and other parts of Europe.

Why the Demand for Indian Indigo?

• Indian indigo has been used since the thirteenth century by cloth manufacturers in Italy, France, and Britain for its deep blue dye.
• Initially, only small amounts reached Europe due to high prices, making European manufacturers rely on woad, a similar plant grown locally in Europe.
• Indigo produced a richer colour compared to the paler dye from woad, making it preferred by cloth dyers.
• Pressure from wood producers led to bans on indigo imports in Europe, but these were relaxed in the seventeenth century as demand for the richer indigo dye grew.

Expansion of Indigo Cultivation

• In response to increased demand and the industrial revolution in Britain, the need for indigo surged as cotton production expanded.
• The collapse of indigo supplies from the West Indies and America in the late eighteenth century led Britain to turn to India for indigo cultivation.
• By 1788, India supplied 30% of Britain’s indigo, which increased dramatically to 95% by 1810.

Indigo Plantations in India

• The rapid expansion of indigo cultivation in Bengal positioned it as a dominant player in the global market.
• British commercial agents and Company officials heavily invested in indigo production, attracting Scotsmen and Englishmen to India as planters.
• Financial support for indigo cultivation was available through loans from the Company and new banks.

Indigo Cultivation Methods

• There were two main systems of indigo cultivation:
  • Nij System: Planters directly controlled the land, either owning or renting it. They employed labourers to cultivate indigo.
  • Ryoti System (not detailed here but typically involves contracting local ryots to grow indigo on their own land under terms dictated by the planters).

Problems with Nij Cultivation

• Land Availability: Nij cultivation was limited because it required fertile land, which was scarce and usually populated. Planters could only acquire small, scattered plots.
• Land Consolidation Issues: Planters needed large, consolidated areas for indigo plantations, often trying to lease land around factories and evicting peasants, leading to conflicts.
• Labour Challenges: Mobilising labour was difficult as the cultivation period for indigo often clashed with the peak times for rice cultivation, which engaged most peasants.
• Resource Intensive: Nij cultivation required significant resources, such as ploughs and bullocks. A planter with 1,000 bighas of land needed 2,000 ploughs, and sourcing these was problematic due to competing agricultural demands.
• Reluctance to Expand: Due to these difficulties, planters were hesitant to expand nij cultivation areas. Less than 25% of indigo-producing land operated under this system by the late nineteenth century.

The Ryoti System

• Contractual Farming: In contrast to nij, the ryoti system involved contracts with ryots, who were often coerced into growing indigo. Planters offered loans at low interest to encourage cultivation.
• Cultivation Terms: Ryots were obligated to plant indigo on at least 25% of their land. They received seeds and equipment from planters but bore the responsibility for preparing and maintaining the crop.
• Economic Strain: The loans initially attracted peasants but soon proved burdensome. The prices paid for the indigo were low, trapping ryots in a cycle of debt.

Indigo Production Process

• Harvesting and Processing: Post-harvest, indigo plants were processed in factories near the fields. The production involved several stages:
  • Fermenting Vat: Indigo plants were soaked in warm water to ferment.
  • Beater Vat: The fermented liquid was stirred and beaten to change colour from green to blue.
  • Settling Vat: After adding lime water, indigo flakes were allowed to settle, separated, and then dried for sale.
• Labour Intensive: The process required extensive labour, with workers enduring long hours in challenging conditions to stir and beat the indigo mixture.

Environmental and Social Impact

• Soil Depletion: Indigo cultivation depleted the soil, making it unsuitable for rice cultivation post-harvest.
• Cultural and Social Tensions: The imposition of indigo cultivation disrupted traditional farming practices and strained community resources, leading to social unrest.

The “Blue Rebellion” and After

Outbreak of Rebellion

• In March 1859, a significant rebellion, known as the “Blue Rebellion,” erupted in Bengal with thousands of ryots refusing to cultivate indigo.
• The ryots not only stopped paying rents but also actively attacked indigo factories with weapons. Women and other village members joined the revolt, using household items as weapons. Agents of the planters, known as gomasthas, were socially boycotted and physically attacked.

Support for the Rebellion

• Local zamindars and village headmen, often coerced into signing unfavourable contracts with the planters, supported the ryots. Their support was crucial, providing a backbone to the widespread resistance against the planters.

Causes and Support

• Economic and Social Oppression: The oppressive nature of indigo cultivation under the planters led to this uprising. The ryots were tired of the exploitative conditions and inspired by recent support from local leaders.
• Perceived Government Support: Post the Revolt of 1857, ryots believed that the British government might sympathise with their cause against the planters to avoid another large-scale rebellion.

Government Response

• Official Reaction: The Lieutenant Governor’s tour and subsequent actions by the magistrate in Barasat, who issued notices that ryots were not compelled to accept indigo contracts, were interpreted as signs of government support.
• Intellectual and Public Advocacy: Intellectuals from Calcutta documented and disseminated the harsh realities of the ryots under the indigo cultivation system, further fueling the rebellion.
• Indigo Commission: In response to the escalating situation, the government established the Indigo Commission to investigate the conditions of indigo cultivation. The commission blamed the planters for their coercive practices and acknowledged that indigo cultivation was economically unviable for ryots.

Testimonies and Outcomes

• Personal Testimonies: During the Indigo Commission hearings, individuals like Hadji Mulla expressed their unwillingness to continue growing indigo, stating they would rather beg than be subjected to the harsh terms set by planters.
• Commission’s Recommendations: The commission advised ryots to fulfil their current contracts but affirmed their right to refuse indigo cultivation in the future.

Cultural Impact

• Songs of Rebellion: Songs sung during the rebellion by the ryots reflected their spirit and unity, serving as a medium to express their resistance and inspire others.