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Chapter 10. Colonialism And The Countryside Exploring Official Archives
This chapter examines the impact of colonial rule on the countryside in different regions of India during the 18th and 19th centuries. It explores how the English East India Company (E.I.C.) established its authority, implemented revenue policies, and the consequences these had for various segments of the rural population, ultimately changing everyday lives.
State-introduced laws have significant effects on people's lives, influencing wealth distribution, land ownership, and economic activities. However, people also resisted these laws based on their sense of justice, thereby influencing how the laws operated and modifying their outcomes.
Sources used to study these histories include revenue records, surveys, journals of surveyors/travelers, and reports from enquiry commissions. These sources offer insights but also pose challenges for historical interpretation.
Bengal And The Zamindars
Colonial rule was first established in Bengal. This region became the testing ground for early attempts to restructure rural society, establish new land rights, and implement new revenue systems by the East India Company (E.I.C.).
An Auction In Burdwan
In 1797, a public auction in Burdwan highlighted the consequences of the new revenue system. Estates (mahals) belonging to the Raja of Burdwan were being sold to recover unpaid revenue arrears, following the introduction of the Permanent Settlement in 1793.
Under the Permanent Settlement, the E.I.C. fixed the revenue demand that each zamindar had to pay. Failure to pay resulted in the auction of their estates. Despite numerous purchasers and bids at the auction, the Collector discovered that most sales (over 95%) were fictitious; the estates were bought by the raja's servants and agents, allowing the raja to retain control of his zamindari despite the public sale.
This event raises questions about why the raja defaulted on payments, who the real purchasers were, and what it signifies about the rural situation in eastern India.
A Raja was a term often used for powerful zamindars.
The Problem Of Unpaid Revenue
The auction in Burdwan was not an isolated incident. The Permanent Settlement led to a significant change in land ownership, with over 75% of zamindaris changing hands in the closing years of the 18th century.
British officials introduced the Permanent Settlement to address problems since the conquest of Bengal, including a rural economic crisis in the 1770s (famines, declining output). They hoped to revive the economy and increase state revenue by encouraging investment in agriculture through secure property rights and a permanently fixed revenue demand. This was intended to create a class of loyal landowners (zamindars) who would improve agriculture, ensuring a stable revenue flow for the Company and profits for themselves.
After debate, the Permanent Settlement was finalized with the rajas and taluqdars of Bengal, classifying them as zamindars and fixing the revenue demand in perpetuity. Under this system, the zamindar was seen as a revenue collector for the state, not a landowner. Zamindars controlled multiple villages forming a revenue estate. They collected rent from villages, paid the fixed revenue to the Company, and kept the difference.
Taluqdar: Literally "one who holds a taluq" (connection), a term for a territorial unit. Under the Permanent Settlement, taluqdars were often grouped with rajas as zamindars.
Why Zamindars Defaulted On Payments
Despite hoping the Permanent Settlement would provide security and encourage improvement, Company officials faced a problem: zamindars consistently failed to pay the fixed revenue, leading to accumulated arrears.
Reasons for default were varied:
- High Initial Demand: The revenue demand was set very high. Officials wanted to minimize potential future loss of revenue if prices rose and cultivation expanded under a permanent system. They argued the burden would decrease over time with agricultural growth.
- Depressed Agricultural Prices: The high demand was imposed in the 1790s when prices were low, making it hard for ryots (peasants) to pay rent to zamindars, who in turn struggled to pay the Company.
- Invariable Revenue: Revenue had to be paid punctually, regardless of harvest quality. The Sunset Law dictated that failure to pay by sunset on the specified date meant the zamindari was liable for auction.
- Limited Zamindar Power: The Permanent Settlement initially curtailed zamindars' power to collect rent and manage their estates. The Company disbanded zamindar troops, abolished customs duties collected by them, and brought their courts (cutcheries) under British Collector supervision. Zamindars lost control over local justice and police, weakening their authority over ryots. The Collectorate became a rival power center.
Ryot: Term used in British records for raiyat (peasant). In Bengal, ryots sometimes leased land to under-ryots.
Rent collection remained challenging for zamindars (via their amlah official). Bad harvests or low prices made payments difficult for ryots. Wealthier ryots and village headmen (jotedars, mandals) sometimes deliberately delayed payments to cause trouble for zamindars, over whom zamindars had limited power. Prosecuting defaulters through the judicial system was slow; thousands of suits were pending in Burdwan alone in 1798.
The Rise Of The Jotedars
While many zamindars struggled, a class of rich peasants, known as jotedars, consolidated their power in villages, particularly in North Bengal (documented by Francis Buchanan in Dinajpur).
By the early 19th century, jotedars held extensive land (sometimes thousands of acres), controlled local trade and moneylending, and wielded significant influence over poorer cultivators. They cultivated large areas through sharecroppers (adhiyars or bargadars) who provided labor and half the produce.
Jotedars were powerful within villages because they lived locally, unlike many urban-dwelling zamindars, giving them direct control over poor villagers dependent on them. They actively resisted zamindars' attempts to increase village revenue demand, obstructed zamindari officials, mobilized dependent ryots, and deliberately delayed revenue payments to zamindars. They were often purchasers at auctions when zamindaris were sold for arrears.
Source 1: Buchanan's description of jotedars in Dinajpur resisting zamindars.
Buchanan notes landlords dislike jotedars but are necessary unless landlords advance money. Jotedars (cultivating large lands) are refractory, know zamindars lack power over them. Pay few rupees revenue, fall in balance every installment. Hold more lands than entitled by deeds. If zamindar officers summon them, detain them, they complain to police (imprisonment), lower court (dishonored). While cases unsettled, instigate petty ryots not to pay revenue.
Answer:
Based on Buchanan's account, jotedars resisted zamindars in several ways: they deliberately paid only a small portion of their revenue initially and allowed arrears to accumulate; they held more land than permitted by their contracts; they used legal avenues (complaining to police/courts for harassment) to counter zamindar officials; and they leveraged their influence over poorer ryots (their tenants/debtors) to instigate them to withhold revenue payments to the zamindar, undermining the zamindar's revenue collection efforts and authority. This demonstrates the jotedars' growing economic power (controlling land and credit), their understanding and manipulation of the new legal system introduced by the British, and their ability to mobilize dependent villagers against the zamindar.
Jotedars were most powerful in North Bengal, but rich peasants and village headmen (haoladars, gantidars, mandals) were also gaining influence in other parts of Bengal. Their rise weakened zamindari authority.
Fig.10.5: Diagram illustrating power relationships in rural Bengal under Permanent Settlement. Arrows indicate flow of goods, services, payments. Need to label arrows with: rent, revenue, interest, loan, produce.
Answer:
Labels for the arrows in Fig. 10.5:
- Arrow from UNDER-RYOT to RYOT/JOTEDAR: Rent
- Arrow from RYOT to ZAMINDAR: Rent
- Arrow from JOTEDAR to RYOT: Loan (to poorer ryots) and flow of Produce (from sharecroppers)
- Arrow from RYOT/JOTEDAR to COMPANY: (Indirectly through Zamindar) - represents flow of resources contributing to Revenue.
- Arrow from ZAMINDAR to COMPANY: Revenue (fixed payment)
- Arrow from JOTEDAR to RYOT: (Indirectly through credit) - represents flow of control/dependence via Interest on loans.
- Arrows representing goods/services flow (implied): Produce from Ryots/Under-ryots to Jotedar; Produce from Jotedar sold in market; Loan/Produce/Interest/Rent flowing up hierarchy; potentially services/labor from lower groups upwards.
The Zamindars Resist
Despite the pressures, zamindari authority did not completely collapse. Facing high revenue demands and potential auctions, they developed strategies to survive. Fictitious sales were one such strategy.
The Raja of Burdwan used maneuvers like transferring property to his mother (whose property wasn't seized by the Company) and manipulating auctions. His agents deliberately withheld revenue, allowing arrears. When part of the estate was auctioned, agents bought it, deliberately defaulted on payment, forcing resale, and repeated the process endlessly until the estate was finally resold to the raja at a low price. This exhausted the state and other bidders, allowing the zamindar to retain control without paying the full revenue.
Benami purchases were common. Large zamindaris used this on a grand scale (e.g., Burdwan and three others with Rs 30 lakh collective benami purchases, over 15% fictitious sales).
Zamindars also resisted displacement by outsiders buying estates. Former zamindar's strongmen (lathyals) attacked agents of new buyers. Ryots sometimes resisted entry of outsiders due to loyalty to their zamindar, viewing themselves as his proja (subjects).
By the early 19th century, agricultural prices rose, benefiting surviving zamindars. Revenue payment rules became more flexible, strengthening zamindar power. Zamindari authority declined only during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when jotedars finally consolidated their power in the countryside.
Benami: Term for anonymous transactions, used for purchases made in someone else's name for the real beneficiary who remains unnamed.
Lathyal: Strongman or enforcer employed by zamindars, wielding a stick.
The Fifth Report
Many of the changes in rural Bengal were documented in the Fifth Report, submitted to the British Parliament in 1813. It was one of a series of reports on E.I.C. administration in India, spanning 1002 pages with extensive appendices of petitions, reports, statistics, and official notes.
E.I.C.'s activities in Bengal were debated in England from the 1760s. Opposition groups questioned the Company's trade monopoly and territorial rule, advocating for free trade for private traders and British manufacturers. Reports of Company misrule, corruption, and maladministration were publicized. Parliament regulated Company rule, requiring reports and appointing enquiry committees. The Fifth Report by a Select Committee fueled parliamentary debates on Company rule.
The Fifth Report influenced views on rural Bengal for over a century. It is valuable but must be read critically, considering the authors and their purpose. Recent research shows the Report, aiming to criticize Company maladministration, exaggerated the collapse of zamindari power and land loss, often overlooking ingenious survival methods. Historians use zamindar archives and local records alongside official reports for a more complete picture.
Source 2: Excerpt from the Fifth Report referring to zamindar condition and land auctions (1796-97 and 1797-98 figures).
Revenue not realised punctually, lands exposed to auction. Native year 1203 (1796-97): land advertised for sale (jumma 28.7 lakh Rs), extent sold (jumma 14.18 lakh Rs), purchase money (17.9 lakh Rs). 1204 (1797-98): land advertised (jumma 26.66 lakh Rs), quantity sold (jumma 22.74 lakh Rs), purchase money (21.47 lakh Rs). Defaulters include oldest families (Nuddea, Rajeshaye, Bishenpore), whose estates dismemberment threatened poverty/ruin, made revenue officers' efforts difficult.
Answer:
The tone in which the evidence is recorded in Source 2 is largely formal and administrative, characteristic of an official report. However, terms like "threatened them with poverty and ruin" and "difficulties to the revenue officers" suggest an underlying concern, though presented within the context of administrative challenges. The Report is trying to say that the Permanent Settlement led to significant defaults and land sales, impacting even old, established zamindar families and complicating revenue collection for the Company. The figures highlight the large scale of land exposed for sale and the actual amount sold, indicating widespread financial distress among zamindars. A problem in making long-term generalisations from these figures of just two years is that they might not represent the entire trend over a longer period. The scale of defaults and sales might have fluctuated in other years, or the strategies used by zamindars to manipulate sales (as discussed in the chapter) might not be fully captured by these figures alone. These two years show significant distress, but need to be seen within the broader history of the Settlement and the evolving strategies of both the state and zamindars.
The Hoe And The Plough
This section shifts focus from the wetlands of Bengal to the drier, hilly regions of Rajmahal, exploring changes brought by expanding peasant economy into areas of shifting cultivation (Paharias) and subsequent settlement by Santhals.
In The Hills Of Rajmahal
Early 19th-century accounts (like Buchanan's) depict the Rajmahal hills as impenetrable and dangerous, with hostile, apprehensive inhabitants who often fled officials. These were the Paharias, known from late 18th-century records.
Paharia livelihood: subsisted on forest produce, practiced shifting cultivation (clearing patches by cutting/burning, hoeing lightly, growing pulses/millets, leaving land fallow, moving to new areas). Collected forest produce (mahua), silk cocoons, resin for sale, wood for charcoal. Forests/fallow lands provided pasture.
Their life was intimately connected to the forest (hunting, cultivation, gathering, charcoal production). They viewed the region as their land, resisting outsiders. Chiefs maintained unity, settled disputes, led in battles/raids on plainspeople (settled agriculturists) for survival (scarcity), power assertion, political negotiation (zamindars/traders paid tribute/toll for peace/passage).
This negotiated peace broke down in late 18th century with aggressive expansion of settled agriculture by British, zamindars, jotedars. British encouraged clearance for revenue, export crops, settled society. Viewed forests/forest people as wild, savage, unruly, needing taming and conversion to plough agriculture. Settled agriculture expansion reduced forests/pastures, increasing conflict; Paharias raided villages more. British efforts to control Paharias (brutal extermination in 1770s) were difficult. Augustus Cleveland's pacification policy (1780s): give chiefs allowance for maintaining order. Many chiefs refused; those accepting lost authority, seen as employees/stipendiary chiefs.
Pacification pushed Paharias deep into mountains, insulating them but continuing war. Buchanan's 1810-11 visit met suspicion; white men seen as destroying their way of life/control. New danger: Santhals pouring into area, clearing forests, ploughing, growing rice/cotton, displacing Paharias into deeper hills. If Paharia life was symbolized by the hoe (shifting cultivation), Santhals represented the plough (settled agriculture). This battle was long.
Who was Buchanan?: Francis Buchanan (1794-1815) was a physician in Bengal Medical Service, surveyed E.I.C. jurisdiction. Later inherited property, became Buchanan-Hamilton. Extraordinary observer of geology, botany, local practices, how landscapes could be made productive. Critical of forest dwellers' lifestyles, favored turning forests into agriculture. Priorities shaped by Company commercial concerns and Western notions of progress.
The Santhals: Pioneer Settlers
Buchanan observed areas transformed by "proper application of human labour" by Santhals (e.g., Ganjuria Pahar). Santhals, skilled clearers/ploughers, were hired by zamindars/invited by British (having failed with Paharias) from 1780s to reclaim land in Bengal and Jangal Mahals. They appeared ideal settlers for expanding cultivation vigorously.
Santhals were given land in Rajmahal foothills. By 1832, large area demarcated as Damin-i-Koh ("land of the Santhals"). Stipulated 1/10th cleared/cultivated in 10 yrs. Surveyed, mapped, enclosed with pillars, separating them from plains agriculturists and hill Paharias. Santhal settlements/population expanded rapidly (40 to 1473 villages, 3,000 to 82,000 population by 1851), increasing revenue for Company.
Santhal myths/songs (19th century) recount history of mobility, searching for settlement. Damin-i-Koh seen as end of journey. Paharias resisted but forced deeper into hills, confined to less fertile areas, impoverished. Shifting agriculture suffered from loss of access to fertile Damin land. Hunters faced problems from forest clearance. Santhals gave up mobility, settled, cultivated commercial crops, dealt with traders/moneylenders.
Santhals soon lost control of land: state levied heavy taxes, moneylenders (dikus) charged high interest, took land for unpaid debts, zamindars asserted control over Damin. By 1850s, Santhals rebelled against zamindars, moneylenders, colonial state (Santhal Revolt 1855-56) for an ideal world under their rule. After revolt crushed, Santhal Pargana created (carving 5,500 sq miles) with special laws to conciliate Santhals.
The Accounts Of Buchanan
Buchanan's reports (paid by E.I.C.) are important sources, but influenced by his position. His surveys aimed to collect information (natural resources, revenue sources) for Company's control and exploitation. He had specific instructions on what to look for. Seen as agent of sarkar by villagers.
Source 4: Buchanan’s journal excerpt describing rocks near Kaduya (small-grained granite with reddish feldspar, quartz, black mica; fine-grained granite with yellowish feldspar, whitish quartz, black mica).
Answer:
This excerpt exemplifies Buchanan's keen observational skills and his focus on commercially valuable geological resources. He meticulously documented the composition and characteristics of rocks and minerals ("small grained granite," "reddish feldspar," "quartz and black mica," "fine-grained granite," "yellowish feldspar"). This level of detail reflects his background as a medical man trained in scientific observation, applied here to geological survey. It reveals his intent to systematically assess the natural resources of the areas he visited, looking for materials that could be potentially exploited by the East India Company, such as minerals (iron ore, mica) or building stones.
He obsessively observed geology and local practices (salt-making, iron-ore mining), searched for commercially valuable minerals. Described landscapes not just as they were, but how they could be transformed for greater productivity (crops, timber). His vision differed from locals, shaped by Company's commercial concerns and Western progress notions. Critical of forest dwellers, favored converting forests to agriculture.
Source 3: Buchanan on the Santhals' settlement practices.
Buchanan writes: Santhals clever in clearing new lands, but live meanly. Huts no fence, walls small sticks upright/plastered clay. Small, slovenly, flat-roofed, little arch.
Answer:
This description highlights Buchanan's assessment of the Santhal way of life through the lens of his own cultural background and priorities. He praises their efficiency in land clearance ("very clever in clearing new lands") because this aligns with his view of making land productive for agriculture and revenue. However, his description of their living conditions ("live meanly," "huts have no fence," "small and slovenly," "flat-roofed, with very little arch") reflects a critical and judgmental attitude based on Western standards of housing and living. He seems to find their simple, traditional housing inferior or lacking in certain architectural qualities. This illustrates his perspective that efficiency in labor (clearing land) is valuable, but their domestic life and simple architecture fall short of his ideal of "proper" living or progress. It reveals his bias towards evaluating aspects of indigenous life based on external, possibly Eurocentric, criteria rather than understanding them within their own cultural and environmental context.
Source 5: Buchanan on clearance and settled cultivation in lower Rajmahal hills.
Buchanan wrote: View exceedingly fine: cultivation, rice valleys, cleared lands w/scattered trees, rocky hills in perfection. All wanted: appearance of progress, vastly extended/improved cultivation (country highly susceptible). Plantations of Asan/Palas (Tessar/Lac) should occupy woods where demand allows. Remainder cleared/cultivated. Unfit land rear Plamira/Mowa.
Answer:
Buchanan's description here tells us that his ideas of development were centered on maximizing land productivity and resource extraction according to commercial demands, guided by notions of "improvement" and "progress" aligned with Western models. He sees potential beauty ("exceedingly fine") in the existing landscape but immediately frames it in terms of what is "wanted": a "vastly extended and improved cultivation." He views forests primarily as land to be cleared for agriculture or replaced by commercially valuable plantations (Asan/Palas for Tessar/Lac, Palmyra/Mowa). His ideal landscape is one optimized for agricultural and commercial yield. This contrasts sharply with the Paharias' view of the forest as their home, basis of identity, source of subsistence through gathering/hunting/shifting cultivation, and a place to be protected. While the Paharias utilized forest resources, their approach was based on mobility and cyclical use integrated with the natural environment. Buchanan's vision is one of permanent settlement, intensive cultivation, and commercial production driven by external demand, prioritizing economic gain and reshaping the landscape according to external commercial interests rather than indigenous subsistence practices and ecological balance.
A Revolt In The Countryside The Bombay Deccan
This section moves to Western India (Bombay Deccan) in the later 19th century, exploring changes in rural life through the lens of a peasant revolt.
Peasant revolts (like in 1875 Deccan) highlight rebels' anger against injustice and suffering. Studying revolts reveals hidden aspects of peasant life and experiences. State inquiries into revolts provide evidence for historians, produced to restore order and inform policy.
Throughout the 19th century, peasants across India revolted against moneylenders and grain dealers.
Account Books Are Burnt
The 1875 revolt began at Supa (Poona district), a market village with shopkeepers/moneylenders. Ryots from surrounding areas attacked shopkeepers, demanding and burning account books (bahi khatas) and debt bonds. They also looted grain shops and burned sahukars' houses. Sahukar is a term for moneylender/trader.
The revolt spread across 6,500 sq km, affecting over 30 villages with the same pattern. Terrified sahukars fled. British officials, fearing another 1857 revolt, quickly sent troops, established police posts, arrested hundreds, and convicted many. It took months to control the countryside.
Source 6: Newspaper report from Native Opinion (1876) on the ryot and moneylender, quoting Report of Native Newspapers of Bombay, describing tactics used by ryots in the Deccan revolt.
Report says ryots place spies on village boundaries for government officer intimation. Assemble, go to creditors' houses, demand bond surrender, threaten assault/plunder if refused. If officer nears, spies alert, offenders disperse.
Answer:
This report provides insights into the organized nature of the ryots' actions during the revolt. It suggests that the ryots were not acting randomly but were employing tactics to achieve their goals (destroying debt records) while evading state authorities. The emphasis on spies and dispersal indicates awareness of and attempts to counter the state's efforts to suppress the rebellion. The phrases "offenders," "assault and plunder" reflect the official/state perspective, labelling the ryots' actions as criminal and violent. A ryot of the area might have described the same situation very differently, perhaps using terms like "seeking justice," "reclaiming our rights," "fighting against oppression," or "demanding freedom from unbearable debt," highlighting the grievances and motivations behind their actions rather than simply focusing on the illegal aspects as defined by the state. Their account would likely emphasize the desperation driving their actions and the perceived injustice of the moneylenders' practices.
A New Revenue System
As British rule expanded, new revenue systems replaced the Permanent Settlement, which was rarely extended beyond Bengal. One reason: Bengal prices rose after 1810, increasing zamindars' income (fixed revenue meant E.I.C. didn't share growth). E.I.C. needed to maximize revenue in new territories, so implemented temporary settlements.
Another reason: by 1820s, British officials influenced by economist David Ricardo. Ricardian ideas: landowner claims "average rent"; state taxes surplus beyond average; otherwise cultivators become rentiers (live on rent), won't invest in land. Officials felt Bengal zamindars became rentiers, justifying a different system.
The ryotwari settlement was introduced in Bombay Deccan. Revenue directly settled with ryot, not zamindar. Based on estimated average income/revenue-paying capacity, fixed proportion as state share. Lands resurveyed every 30 years, rates increased. Revenue demand not permanent.
Rentier: One who lives on income from property rent.
Revenue Demand And Peasant Debt
The first ryotwari settlement in Bombay Deccan (1820s) imposed extremely high revenue demands. Peasants deserted villages in many places. Problem acute in areas with poor soil/fluctuating rainfall. Failure to pay revenue during poor harvests led to crop seizure and village fines. Problem worsened in 1830s with sharp price fall after 1832 and devastating famine (1832-34) killing people/cattle. Unpaid revenue mounted.
To survive, pay revenue, meet needs, buy tools, marry children, cultivators borrowed from moneylenders. Loans became necessary, but difficult to repay. Mounting debt increased dependence; loans needed for basic needs/production. By 1840s, alarming peasant indebtedness levels found everywhere.
By mid-1840s, economy recovered slightly. Officials realised 1820s settlements were harsh; demands exorbitant, system rigid, economy near collapse. Revenue demand moderated; expansion encouraged. After 1845, agricultural prices rose steadily. Cultivators expanded acreage, turning pasture into fields, needing more ploughs/cattle, requiring loans from moneylenders.
Then Came The Cotton Boom
Before 1860s, most raw cotton to Britain from America. British manufacturers worried about dependence, sought alternative sources. Cotton Supply Association (1857), Manchester Cotton Company (1859) formed to encourage cotton production worldwide. India seen as supplier (suitable soil, climate, cheap labor).
American Civil War (1861) cut off US cotton. Imports from America plummeted. Frantic calls to India to increase exports. Bombay merchants gave advances to urban sahukars, who credited rural moneylenders for securing cotton. Credit flowed easily during boom (Fig 10.15).
Developments greatly impacted Deccan countryside. Ryots gained access to significant credit. Advances given (Rs 100/acre for cotton). Sahukars willing to give long-term loans. Cotton production in Bombay Deccan doubled (1860-64). By 1862, >90% British cotton imports from India.
Boom did not bring widespread prosperity. Some rich peasants benefited, but most faced heavier debt. The Civil War's end (1865) revived US cotton; Indian exports/prices declined. Export merchants/sahukars restricted advances, demanded debt repayment. Credit dried up.
Revenue demand increased with new settlement (50-100% rise), coinciding with falling prices/cotton decline. Ryots needed loans, but moneylenders refused, lacking confidence in repayment capacity.
The Experience Of Injustice
Moneylenders' loan refusal enraged ryots. Anger stemmed not just from debt/dependence, but perceived violation of customary norms. Moneylending existed pre-colonialism, but customary norms regulated it (e.g., interest not exceeding principal). Colonial rule eroded these norms.
Deccan Riots Commission case: moneylender charged >Rs 2,000 interest on Rs 100 loan, seen as unjust violation of custom. 1859 Limitation Law: loan bonds valid for 3 yrs. Intended to check interest accumulation, but moneylenders made ryots sign new bond every 3 yrs, adding unpaid balance/accumulated interest to new principal.
Source 8: Petition from a ryot of Mirajgaon to the Collector, Ahmednagar, complaining about sahukars' oppression.
Ryot complains sowkars oppress them. Cannot earn enough, forced to beg for money/clothes/grain, get with difficulty/hard conditions in bond. Clothes/grain not sold at cash rates, 25-50% more than cash customers. Field produce taken by sowkars, promise credited to account, but don't mention in accounts, refuse receipts for produce removed.
Answer:
The ryot is complaining about several unjust practices by the sahukars: they are difficult to get necessities (money, clothes, grain) from, charging high prices (25-50% more than cash rate), forcing harsh conditions in bonds, taking the produce from fields (as loan repayment or towards debt) but not crediting it properly to the account, and refusing to provide receipts for the produce taken. This suggests a system of manipulation and exploitation where the debt keeps mounting, the value of peasant produce is undervalued, and there is a lack of transparency and proper accounting, making it impossible for peasants to track their debt and escape it. If I were a moneylender, I would give reasons for these practices primarily driven by maximizing profit and minimizing risk within the available legal and economic system under colonial rule. Reasons might include: charging high prices for goods supplied on credit to compensate for the risk of non-payment; not crediting produce properly or giving receipts to maintain leverage over the debtor, potentially allowing for higher future claims or easier land acquisition; using harsh conditions in bonds to ensure legal enforceability and deter default; and exploiting the peasants' desperation and lack of literacy/access to legal recourse. These practices reflect a shift away from traditional, sometimes more flexible, customary norms towards practices designed to secure debt and extract maximum value within the colonial legal framework, where written bonds held more weight than oral agreements or customary understandings.
Ryots saw moneylenders as deceitful, manipulating laws, forging accounts. Deeds/bonds symbolized oppressive system. Rare in past, but British insistence on written contracts (legally enforceable) made them central. Peasants put thumb impressions on documents without understanding clauses, fearing the written word but needing loans (Fig 10.20). Debt mounted (Source 10).
Source 10: Petition to Deccan Riots Commission from a ryot explaining how loans mounted (Rs 100 loan at Rs 3-2 annas per cent per mensem, new bonds every 3 years adding interest to principal, resulting in Rs 2028-10 annas-3 paise interest on Rs 1000 over 12 years).
Answer:
The initial monthly interest rate was Rs 3 and 2 annas on Rs 100, which is 3.125%. Per annum, this is $3.125\% \times 12 = 37.5\%$. The calculation shows how, under the system of signing new bonds every three years, the accumulated interest was added to the principal. For example, if Rs 100 loan accrues interest for 3 years at 37.5% simple interest, the interest is $100 \times 0.375 \times 3 = Rs 112.5$. The new principal becomes $100 + 112.5 = Rs 212.5$. The interest for the next 3 years would be on this new principal, and so on. The final figure of Rs 2028 interest on Rs 1000 principal over 12 years is substantial, highlighting the devastating impact of compound interest accumulation and the manipulation of loan contracts. It indicates that the effective rate over time became exorbitant due to this practice of rolling over debt and adding interest to the principal repeatedly.
The Deccan Riots Commission
When the Deccan revolt spread, Bombay government initially minimized it. But Government of India (fearing 1857 memory) pushed for inquiry commission (report presented 1878 Parliament). The Deccan Riots Report provides sources: ryots'/sahukars'/eyewitness statements, data (revenue, prices, interest), collector reports.
Sources are official, reflecting concerns/interpretations. Commission asked if revenue demand caused revolt; concluded moneylenders were to blame. Common colonial record argument (persistent reluctance to admit government policy caused discontent).
Official reports are invaluable but need critical reading and juxtaposition with other sources (newspapers, unofficial accounts, legal records, oral sources).
ANSWER IN 100-150 WORDS
Questions requiring short essay answers based on key aspects of colonial rule's impact on rural Bengal and Deccan, drawing upon evidence and concepts discussed.
Write a short essay (250-300 words) on the following:
Questions requiring more detailed essay answers on why zamindaris were auctioned, differences between Paharia and Santhal livelihoods, impact of American Civil War on Indian ryots, and problems using official sources for peasant history.
Map work
Map-based activity related to areas discussed and different revenue systems prevalent.
Projects (choose one)
Suggestions for independent projects involving researching Buchanan's reports or comparing historical rural life with contemporary villages.
If you would like to know more, read:
Suggestions for further reading on the topic.
For more information, you could visit:
Suggestions for online resources.
Credits for Illustrations
List of sources for the images used in the chapter.