3.2.3. Britain turns to India

Faced with the rising demand for indigo in Europe, the Company in India looked for ways to expand the area under indigo cultivation. From the last decades of the eighteenth century, indigo cultivation in Bengal expanded rapidly and Bengal indigo came to dominate the world market. In 1788, only about 30 per cent of the indigo imported into Britain was from India. By 1810, the proportion had gone up to 95 per cent.

In the late 1700s, European countries had a growing demand for indigo, a blue dye used in textiles. To satisfy this, the British East India Company increased its focus on indigo cultivation in Bengal. As a result, the proportion of indigo imported from India skyrocketed from 30% in 1788 to 95% by 1810. This illustrates how British interests shifted to exploit the agricultural resources of India, particularly indigo, which was essential for their textiles industry.

Think of indigo as a popular new flavor of ice cream that everyone wants to try. The ice cream shop (the East India Company) quickly realizes that the only way to satisfy its customers is to make more of that flavor using all available ingredients from their suppliers (the Indian farmers). Over time, they start getting nearly all of their ice cream ingredients from one farm that specializes in that flavor.

As the indigo trade grew, commercial agents and officials of the Company began investing in indigo production. Over the years many Company officials left their jobs to look after their indigo business. Attracted by the prospect of high profits, numerous Scotsmen and Englishmen came to India and became planters. Those who had no money to produce indigo could get loans from the Company and the banks that were coming up at the time.

With the increased demand for indigo, many officials of the British East India Company saw a business opportunity. They began to invest money into indigo production, leading to a surge in planters migrating to India to manage their own farms. Individuals who could not afford to start farming indigo were able to borrow money from the Company or newly established banks, ensuring that more land would be used for indigo cultivation, which in turn would generate higher profits.

Imagine opening a popular food truck selling a special dish. As more customers come, you find a few of your friends who used to work at a restaurant decide to join you, bringing their recipes and cooking styles. Some of them lack the money to invest in this venture at first, but you offer them loans so they can get started, and together you generate excitement and higher sales. This is similar to how planters began to organize indigo production in India.

There were two main systems of indigo cultivation – nij and ryoti. Within the system of 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. Under the ryoti system, the planters forced the ryots to sign a contract, an agreement (satta).

Indigo was grown through two methods: nij cultivation, where the planter controlled the land directly, and ryoti cultivation, where the planter pressured local farmers (ryots) into contracts to grow indigo on their own lands. In nij, the planter personally managed the production and hired laborers. Conversely, the ryoti system was exploitative, as planters coerced ryots into contracts that bound them to cultivate indigo, often leaving them in debt.

It's like a friend lending you a bicycle to deliver newspapers. They have two options: they either give you the bike and say you can use it freely for your deliveries (nij system), or they tell you that you must use the bike for delivering newspapers for them, and if you don't, you must pay them money you don't have (ryoti system). The first is a fair deal; the second puts you in a tough position.

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. Only small plots scattered over the landscape could be acquired. Planters needed large areas in compact blocks to cultivate indigo in plantations.

As the demand for indigo grew, planters sought to increase their cultivation areas. However, indigo required rich soil, which was scarce because it had already been settled by local farmers. This meant planters often had to look for small and fragmented pieces of land, making large-scale production difficult and leading to potential conflicts with existing agricultural practices.

Consider a new restaurant trying to expand. The owner wants to open a big dining area but finds that good locations are already taken by other eateries. They can only rent small spaces in various neighborhoods that are too scattered to attract enough customers, creating a challenge similar to what indigo planters faced in expanding their farms.

When the crop was delivered to the planter after the harvest, a new loan was given to the ryot, and the cycle started all over again. Peasants who were initially tempted by the loans soon realized how harsh the system was. The price they got for the indigo they produced was very low and the cycle of loans never ended.

For many ryots, the initial allure of loans from the planters led them into a difficult situation where they were continuously in debt. Once they delivered their harvest, they would receive another loan to maintain their operation. This resulted in them receiving little compensation for their hard work, creating a cycle of poverty and dependency that made it difficult for them to escape.

Think of a student who borrows money to pay for school supplies with the promise of getting a part-time job that pays little. Each semester when the student earns a bit, they use that money to pay off the last loan while borrowing again for next term supplies. This creates an ongoing situation where they can never get ahead financially. This mirrors the experiences of the ryots under the indigo production system.

In March 1859, thousands of ryots in Bengal refused to grow indigo. As the rebellion spread, ryots refused to pay rents to the planters, and attacked indigo factories armed with swords and spears, bows and arrows. Women turned up to fight with pots, pans and kitchen implements.

The injustice of the indigo system ultimately led to widespread revolt among the ryots in March 1859. These farmers organized protests, stopped cultivating indigo, and even attacked the factories that processed their crops. The involvement of women in these protests demonstrated the depth of dissatisfaction and the desire for change within their communities.

This situation can be likened to a town where residents feel they are being unfairly treated by a local business. The residents come together, refusing to shop at that business and staging protests. They might even march with household items like pots and pans to demonstrate their frustration, similar to what the ryots did. Their collective action shows that even those who feel powerless can unite for their rights.

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