Colonial Agrarian Policies and Indigo Cultivation

Indigo Cultivation: Nij and Ryoti Systems

There were two main systems of indigo cultivation: Nij and Ryoti.

The Nij System of Cultivation

• In the Nij system of cultivation, the planter produced indigo on lands that he directly controlled.
• He either purchased the land or leased it from other zamindars, producing indigo by directly employing hired laborers.
• Planters found it difficult to expand the area under Nij cultivation, as they required large areas in compact blocks to cultivate indigo in plantations.
• The planters also found it very difficult to mobilize labor. Labor was needed precisely at a time when peasants were usually busy with their rice cultivation.

The Ryoti System of Cultivation

• Under the Ryoti system, the planters forced the ryots to sign a contract or an agreement known as a satta.
• Those who signed the contract received cash advances from the planters and were forced to produce indigo on at least 25% of the land that they held.
• 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.
• The planters usually insisted that indigo be cultivated on the best soils, in which peasants preferred to cultivate rice. Indigo, moreover, had deep roots and exhausted the soil rapidly. After an indigo harvest, the land could not be sown with rice.

The Economic Crisis That Gripped Bengal

• The Company became the Diwan in 1765, but it still saw itself primarily as a trader.
• Before 1765, the Company had purchased goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain. Now, the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of goods for export.
• Soon, this resulted in an economic crisis in Bengal.
• Artisans began to leave villages since they were being forced to sell their goods to the Company at extremely low prices.
• Peasants were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them.
• Artisanal production declined, and agricultural cultivation showed signs of collapse.
• The most severe consequence occurred in 1770, when a terrible famine hit Bengal, killing ten million people. About one-third of the population was wiped out.

The Permanent Settlement and Zamindari System

The Permanent Settlement is also known as the Zamindari system because of the important role played by the zamindars.

• By the terms of the settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars and became the owners of the land.
• This ownership became hereditary and transferable.
• The peasants were turned into tenants.
• The revenue to be paid to the Company was fixed.
• However, the rent to be collected by the zamindars from the tenants was left unsettled and unspecified.