CAUSES FOR THE REVOLT OF 1857

          Revolt of 1857 is a very important event in the Indian history and in our freedom struggle. It has been termed as Sepoy Mutiny by the British however the incidents make it clear that although the mutiny was started by the sepoys it soon engulfed large sections of civilian population turning it into a full scale rebellion. Causes of the rebellion lay in the colonial administration which had impoverished peasants and artisans.    (Impact of colonialism on Indian economy).  There were social and political causes as well leading to widespread resentment against the colonial rule. In fact resentment against the colonial rulers had started building up since their advent and had earlier expressed itself in a number of uprisings that took place during 1757-1856. (Freedom Struggle:Uprisings between 1757 to 1856 ). However these earlier uprisings were local incidents. The revolt of 1857 was the first large scale effort by the Indians to get rid of the colonial rule. Some of the reasons which led to this revolt are as under:

1. Exploitation of peasantry-The revenue settlements made by the colonial administration had impoverished peasantry. The Permanent Settlement which was in force in Bengal and in most of North India did not recognise the rights of peasants on land. Instead the property rights were transferred to loyal zamindars and money lenders who raised the revenue exhorbitantly and extracted it coercively. In Rohilkhand alone there were as many as 2,37,388 coercive collections during 1848-56. Other revenue settlements were no better. Apart from land revenue peasant was also oppressed by petty officials. Litigation was complex, time consuming and expensive. The nexus between the law courts, lower officials and money lenders made the condition of the peasantry miserable.
2. Problems of Artisans-As a result of British policy Indian handicrafts were completely destroyed. As a result artisans were forced to look for alternative employment which did not exist. Many of them joined the already impoverished peasantry but this did not improve the condition much.
3. Landed gentry-Earlier zamindars and landed gentry lost their lands and position to the new zamindars and moneylenders. In Oudh alone there were about 21,000 taluqdars whose estates were confiscated. This section thus had a grudge against the colonial rule and seized the opportunity posed by sepoy rebellion. As regards the new zamindaars their positions was also not secure and was subject to their timely payment of land revenue. Out of the total amount of revenue settlement 10/11 was to be paid to the company. Any default in this could lead to selling off their estates to others.
4. Doctrine of Lapse and deposed rulers-Relationship between the company and the Indian states was not of equality but that of subsidiary alliance. Indian rulers were subordinate to the East India Company. Succession to the throne was also subject to the confirmation by the British rulers. Doctrine of Lapse enforced by Lord Dalhousie meant that the rulers who did not have a natural heir could not adopt one and their states would be annexed to the British territories. Many states including Satara, Nagpur, Jhansi and many others were annexed on basis of this doctrine. Awadh was annexed on the grounds of alleged maladministration. Even the rights of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah were curtailed and it was decided that after him no one would be given the title of Mughal emperor. This policy towards the rulers caused resentment not only among the rulers but also among the common people.
5. Reforming zeal of colonial rulers-Sepoys as well as the civilian population felt that the British rule posed a threat to the religion. A number of legislations like the Sati Abolition Act and Widow Remarriage Act though progressive in social terms were not taken in that spirit by the orthodox sections of Indian society. In 1850 Act XXI was passed which enabled Christian converts to retain ancestral property. This was interpreted as a concession to these coverts. Such legislations along with activities of Christian missionaries led the orthodox people to believe that the religion was under threat.
6. Problems of Sepoys-The sepoys in the army faced a number of problems. Their pay was abysmally low. A soldier in the infantry received seven rupees a month and a horseman in cavalry received twenty seven rupees a month out of which he had to pay for his uniform, his food and upkeep of his horse. This hardly left him anything. Discrimination was rule rather than exception. All the higher posts were occupied by the British and Indians were made to feel subordinate at each step. Another aspect was that the soldier was basically a farmer in uniform and his family was facing the difficulties as being faced by other farmers. There were about 75,000 soldiers from Awadh alone and its annexation hurt their feelings badly. Most of the sepoys were from upper castes of North India were very conscious about their religion and caste status. Like civilian population they also had apprehensions that the British would destroy their religion.
7. Immediate cause-As mentioned above sepoys like other sections of population had suspicions that British would try to harm their religion. This was increased by the rumour that the new Enfield Paper cartridges which were to be bitten before use were greased with beef and pig fat. Army authorities did not take any action to allay these fears or to properly communicate these troops. As a result the rumour grew strong and refusal of sepoys to use these cartridges became the immediate cause for revolt.
8. Planned Revolt-There is good deal of controversy on this point. One view says that the revolt was spontaneous while the others that this was a conspiracy. The rebel leaders formed a clandestine group and hence no record about their activities is available. However, there are stories about red lotuses and chapaatis being sent from village to village and from regiment to regiment as symbols of freedom. However nothing can be said with certainty in this regard.

Freedom Struggle:Uprisings between 1757 to 1856

       Revolt of 1857 was not an isolated incident. In fact it was the culmination of long list of revolts which took place during the first hundred years of colonial rule i.e. from Battle of Plassey in 1757 to the Revolt of 1857. During this period there was hardly a year when the colonial rule did not face a rebellion. The revolts were mostly led by traditional leaders of the society like deposed rulers, erstwhile zamindars and religious leaders while the heavily burdened peasantry and ruined artisans provided the mass base. Although most of these revolts were a localized affair many of these involved larger areas and populace. These uprisings took place all over the country and followed the trajectory of the colonial expansion. This shows that colonial rule in India did not had a smooth passage but was strongly contested by the Indian society. Some of these rebellions were as under:

• Sanyasi Rebellion led by sanyasis or ascetics took place in Bengal in 1763 and continued up to 1800. The revolt was made famous by the novel “Anandmath” written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in 1882.
• Chuar uprising in Midnapore district of Bengal which took place from 1766 to 1772 and again from 1795 to 1816. In its second phase it was led by Durjan Singh, ex-zamindar of Raipur.
• Peasants of Rangpur and Dinajpur distiricts in Bengal revolted in January-Februrary, 1783. Durjoy Narayan was an important leader of this revolt.
• Paiks, a military class in Orissa were annoyed due to taking away of their rent free lands. An earlier attempt to revolt failed in 1804. However, the revolt broke out in 1817 under the leadership of Bakshi Jagabandhu, the erstwhile commander of the forces of Raja of Khurda. The revolt also received support from common peasantry.
• Kols, a tribe of Chhotanagpur region also revolted against the British during 1831-32. Taking away of their autonomy and entry of Government officials and moneylenders in the system were the main causes of revolt.
• Raja of Vijaynagar revolted against the British in 1794 against the payment of dues.
• Poligars were landed gentry of South India who revolted against the British in 1799-1802. Their rebellions are also known as First Poligar War (1799) and Second Poligar War (1800-1802).
• Velu Thampi was Diwan of Travancore who organized a revolt against the British in 1809.
• Peasants of Mysore revolted in 1830-31 against exorbitant rent demands.
• Kutch rebellion led by the Chiefs of Suarashtra continued from 1816-1832 in some form or the other.
• Kolis of Gujarat also rose in revolt in 1824 which continued up to 1849.
• Bhils concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat revolted against the British during 1818-1831.
• In 1816 the people of Bareilly people revolted against imposition of a municipal tax to pay for the police force to protect the citizens.
• People of Benaras organised a hartal (strike) in 1810 over the issue of house tax. This received wide spread support and British were forced to withdraw it in 1811.

      These revolts failed to overthrow the British Rule in India but widespread nature of these revolts was an indication of the oppressive and destructive policies followed by the colonial rule. It also indicated the intention of the Indian society to counter these policies and the foreign rule.  These rebellions culminated in the great uprising of 1857 which had a much wider spread and involved multiple sections of the society. 

Socio-Religious Awakening in the 19th century (Part-II)

Important reformers of the 19^th century

            As discussed in the previous article on the subject, India underwent a socio-religious awakening in the 19^th century. These reform movements took place all over the country. Some facts about the important reformers/reform movements of the period are as under:

Raja Ram Mohun Roy and Brahmo Samaj

Raja Rammohan Roy was the first person who took up the issue of social reforms in the Indian society in the 19^th century. He has been called the “Father of Modern India” and “Father of Indian Renaissance”. Raja Rammohan Roy was born in 1772 in Bengal. He was a multilingual scholar with knowledge of Bengali, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit and English. Though proud of India’s cultural heritage he was opposed to various evil practices associated with the religion. He strongly opposed sati, enforced widowhood, child marriage and caste system. During course of his campaign he published a number of pamphlets, books and magazines. In 1818 and 1819 he published his famous pamphlets on sati. In 1821 he started a newspaper ‘Sambad Kaumudi’ in which he published a number of articles on various social issues.

Rammohan Roy was a strong believer in monotheism and an omnipresent God who is one and undivided. He established Atmiya Sabha in 1815 to facilitate discourses on these issues. Brahma Samaj was founded in 1828 which preached the worship of one God. In 1830 he was sent by the Mughal Emperor to England to petition for an increase in his allowances where after persistent lobbying he was able to persuade the British Government to increase the stipend of Mughal Emperor by 30,000 pounds a year. However, he fell ill and was buried in Bristol on 27^th September 1833.

Contribution of Rammohan Roy in the development of a modern Indian is immense. In the words of Tagore, ‘he inaugurated the modern age in India”. His most important campaign was against sati practice and his persistent efforts were one of the reasons for the sati practice being banned by Lord William Bentick by enacting Bengal Sati Regulation Act of 1829.

Devendra Nath Tagore and Keshub Chandra Sen were two other important leaders of Brahmo Samaj. Debendra Nath Tagore (l817-1905), established the Tatvaranjini Sabha in 1839 which was later known Tattvabodhini Sabha. It also had a printing press and started publishing Tatvabodhini Patrika. The Sabha was later on merged with Bahma Samaj and Debendranath Tagore managed Brahmo Samaj. Keshub Chandra Sen (l838-1884) was another important reformer associated with Brahmo Samaj. However, differences developed between Tagore and Sen as a result of which Sen formed the Brahmo Samaj of India in 1866.  

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and the “Derozions”, “Young Bengal”

            Henry Lui Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) was a poet and a teacher at Hindu College, Calcutta. He was appointed a teacher in the college in 1826 at the young age of 17 and his radical ideas had profound impact upon his students. He organized an association for debate and discussions on literature, philosophy, history and science. He inspired his followers and students to test everything on the basis of reason and logic and not to shy from questioning any authority.  His followers were known as the “Derozians” and Young Bengal. Derozio himself died of cholera at the young age of 22 but his ideas continued to inspire young people. The “Young Bengal” Movement continued even after Derozio’s death and members of this group continued preaching radical views through teaching, journalism and personal non-conformist behaviour.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

            Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891 A.D.) was another important reformer from Bengal. He dedicated himself to the cause of the emancipation of women particularly in the field of women education and widow remarriage. His efforts led to Hindu Widow Remarriage Act in 1856. He played a leading role in promoting education of girls and started and helped in setting up a number of schools for girls. Vidyasagar did not concern himself much with religious questions and stressed more on social work.

Swami Vivekananda and “Ramakrishna Mission”

Ramakrishna Paramhans (1836-1886) was a priest at Dakshineshwar Kali temple. Though he did not have much formal education, he had a deep understanding of religion. He believed in oneness of God and did not differentiate between various religions. One of his disciples was Narendra Nath Datta (l863-1902) later known as Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda laid stress on Ramakrishna’s teaching on the essential oneness of all religions. He laid stress on Vedantic philosophy of upnishads which he considered to be the most rational system. This he clearly mentioned in the World Congress at Chicago in 1893. However, despite his belief in superiority of Hinduism, he also believed in diversity of religions and the need for tolerance. He also stressed on social service and upliftment of the masses. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 for spreading the teachings of his master and for conducting social service. This organization has played an important role in providing social service and has also helped people in times of national distress like famine, floods, and epidemic. The mission is running a number of schools, hospitals and other programmes of social welfare.

Paramhans Sabha & Prarthna Samaj

            In western India, Dadoba Pandurang founded Manav Dharm Sabha in 1844. Later he founded Paramhans Sabha in 1849. Its followers had faith in one God and opposed caste system. At its meetings, members took food cooked by low-caste people. They favoured education of women and supported widow remarriage. Prarthana Samaj was founded by Dr.Atmaram Pandurang in 1867. R.G.Bhandarkar (1837-1925) and M.G.Ranade (1842-1901) were important reformers associated with it. Samaj took to work of social reforms. It opposed caste system, opposed child marriage, supported widow remarriage and the education of women. M.G. Ranade was also the founder of the Widow Remarriage Association and the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha. The latter was socio-political in nature and was formed in 1870 with a view to bring the aspirations of the people to the notice of the Government.   

Jyotiba Phule and Satyashodhak Samaj

 Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was born in 1827 in Poona in a family of mali caste (gardeners). His family had been supplying flowers to the court of Peshwas. He got his education in a school run by Scottish missionaries. His missionary education failed to convert him to Christianity but helped him to develop a critique of orthodox Hinduism. He was one of the most important reformers of the country and incessantly worked for the upliftment of lower castes and women. He started girl’s school in Poona in 1848 as well as a school for children of the depressed classes. In 1873, he founded the Satya-Shodhak  Samaj. He also wrote extensively. Gulamgiri (1873), Shetkaryacha Asud (The Cultivator’s Whipcord) (1883) and Sarvajanik Satya Dharm Pustak (1891) are some of his important works. He also submitted a memorandum to the Hunter Education Commission (1882).

Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokhitwadi)

            Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokahitwadi) was another reformer who attacked orthodox Hinduism. He criticized all the ills plaguing hindu society. From 1848 he started his famous series of essays called ‘shatpatre’ or hundred letters (actual number was 108). These present a sharp and penetrating analysis of the ills of Indian society.  

Swami Dayanand and “Arya Samaj”

            Swami Dayanand was a vedic scholar of the period. He believed in the superiority of Hinduism and infalliability of the Vedas and also that a number of belief and superstitions in the Hindu religion were later additions which need to be discarded. Hence he have the call “Back to the Vedas”. He opposed idolatry and caste system and tried to redefine varna system on the basis of virtue. On the social front he opposed child marriage and encouraged remarriage of widows. He founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 which soon made rapid progress in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Arya Samaj also supported modern education and a chain of Dayanand Anglo Vedic Schools and Colleges was established to impart modern education.  Arya Samaj also tried to inculcate a spirit of self respect among the Hindus. It also prescribed a purificatory ceremony called “shuddhi” for those Hindus who had been converted to other religions like Islam and Christianity. As compared to Brahmo Samaj, the Arya Samaj had more revivalist tendencies though its revivalism was not only religious but national as well.

Reform movements in South India

            In the southern parts of the country Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919) pioneered the movement in support of widow remarriage and girls education in Andhra. He was influenced by Brahmo Samaj and established a number of schools for girls as well as a widow home. He was also a prolific writer and wrote extensively in Telugu. Veda Samaj was founded in Madras in 1864 and advocated discarding of caste distinctions and promotion of widow remarriage and women’s education. It condemned the superstitions and rituals of orthodox Hinduism and propagated belief in one supreme God. Chembeti Sridharalu Naidu was the most popular leader of the Veda Samaj.

Reform Movements among Muslims

  Reforms also took place among Muslims. Muhammedan Literary Society was founded in Calcutta in 1863 by Nawab Abdul Latif (1828-1893). It promoted discussion of religious, social and political questions in the light of modern ideas and encouraged upper and middle class Muslims to adopt Western education. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had founded the Ahmediya Movement in 1889. The followers of this movement believed in revival of Islam and its peaceful propagation. However, the movement faced discrimination from fellow Muslims on account of certain beliefs.

Syed Ahmad Khan was the most important Muslim reformer. Born in 1817 in a Muslim elite family in Delhi, he took up a job with the East India Company. During the revolt of 1857 he supported his masters but he was deeply affected by the revolt and was concerned about the impact of revolt on the Muslim community. He realized that unless Muslims adapted themselves to the changed circumstances of the British rule and adapted modern education, they would be deprived of the new opportunities. In 1864 he started a Scientific Society in Aligarh which promoted discussions on history, science and political economy. In 1869, he travelled to England where he was impressed by the British Colleges. As a result of his efforts Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College was started in 1875 which later grew into Aligarh Muslim University.

Reforms among Parsis

            Parsi community was also affected by the wave of socio-religious reforms. The Rehnumai Mazdayasan Sabha or Religious Reform Association was founded in 1851by Nauroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji and others. Dadabhai Naroji also started a journal Rast Goftar (Herald of Truth) in 1851 and was also its first editor. This journal became an important tool of social reform among the Parsi community in India. The Rehnumai Mazdayasan Sabha campaigned against the entrenched orthodoxy in the religious field and initiated the modernization of Parsi social customs regarding the education of girls marriage and the social position of women in general. In course of time, the Parsis became socially the most westernized section of Indian society.

Socio-religious awakening in the 19th century (Part-I)

          In the 19^th century Indian society was plagued by various social problems. Religious superstitions were prevalent and the priests exercised excessive and unhealthy influence on the people. Women were subject to control and hardly had any rights. Practices like sati, child infanticide, child marriage and ban on remarriage of widows compounded their problems. Persons from the lower castes were another harassed lot facing untouchability and discrimination in all spheres of life. It was in these social conditions that the colonial rule introduced modern education and western culture to Indian people. Advent of an alien culture necessitated an introspection of Indian social conditions as well as a comparison of Indian and Western societies and cultures. This was facilitated by the emergence of an educated middle class which was different from the traditional landed aristocracy and comprised of merchants, traders, industrialists and professional groups like teachers, lawyers, journalists and doctors. This class had received modern education and in its mindset was progressive and not so much bound to tradition.

           Thus, various socio-religious reform movements which came up in the nineteenth century were the immediate response of the section of Indian society to western ideas and culture. Intellectuals of the period did carry out an introspection of Indian society. While comparing the Indian society with the West they perceived many of the beliefs to be decadent and regressive and wanted the Indian society to be cleansed of such beliefs and practices. This started the demand for reforms. As religion held the most important place in Indian society, the reforms were also concentrated on religion but the approach of the reformers was not entirely religious. The approach was rather humanist and objective was to improve the condition of the people. The reformers worked for improving the condition of women by raising their voices for abolition of sati practice, allowing widow remarriage and stopping female infanticide. Caste discrimination was another aspect of the society which attracted attention of the reformers particularly those coming from these castes.  Finally, all the social reformers laid great stress on spread of education.

          Rationalism and Universalism were two important ideas on which these reformers based their thinking.  The reformers tried to develop a rational view of all socio-religious issues. At certain times some reformers did refer to scriptures for seeking religious sanctions. Raja Ram Mohan Roy went to scriptures for demonstrating that sati had no religious sanction and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar invoked religious sanction for widow remarriage. However, in all such cases rationality was not compromised and religion was only invoked when it served the humanist purpose.  Some others like ‘Derozoins’ and ‘Young Bengal’ held a particularly highly rational attitude towards various issues. They rejected all authority and held the position that all things should be rationally analyzed. Akshay Kumar Dutt developed a rationalist critique of Indian philosophies and his influence resulted in Brahmo Samaj accepting the view that the Vedas are not infallible. Reformers from Maharashtra were less dependent on religion and Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokhitwadi) did not consider religious sanction necessary for social reforms. He held that if religion did not sanction reforms then religion has to be changed.

          Universalism was another aspect of the reform movements. Although reformers worked to bring social reforms in their particular sects or groups, their religious perspective was universalistic.  Brahmo Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy was intended to be a Universalist creed. Ram Mohan Roy was a strong believer in monotheism. Keshab Chandra Sen was clearer when he said, “Our position is not that truths are to be found in all religions, but all established religions of the world are true.” Shree Narayan Guru, the reformer from Kerala who did most of his work among the backward classes of Kerala said, “One Caste, One religion and One God for all”.

Methods of Reform

          These movements adopted various methods for bringing changes in the society. First was the creation of awareness among people by publishing articles, journals and books as well as organizing debates and discussions on various issues.  Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a pioneer in this field. In 1818 and 1819 he published his famous pamphlets on sati which received widespread public attention. Originally written in Bengali, these were later translated into English under the title, “A Conference Between An Advocate For and An Opponent of, The Practice Of Burning Widows Alive” and “A Second Conference Between An Advocate For and An Opponent Of, the Practice of Burning Widows Alive”. “Sambad Kaumudi” was one of his notable journal.  Similarly, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar also published pamphlets on widow remarriage which had profound impact on the Indian society.

           Second method was by seeking legislative intervention against prevalent social evils. Reformers like Keshab Chandra Sen in Bengal, Mahadev Govind Ranade in Maharashtra and Veersalingam in Andhra Pradesh believed that social reforms could be taken up only with the support of the state. These reformers appealed to the colonial rulers for enacting suitable legislations. Although they were successful in some cases and legislation banning sati and allowing widow remarriage were passed, these reformers failed to understand that primary intention of the British in India was not to reform or enlighten Indian society but to govern it for their own benefit and hence their support was likely to come only when it suited their own interests.

            Third method was that of representing themselves as symbols of change through non-conformist individual activity and an uncompromising attitude towards social evils. However, this group was limited only to ‘Derozions’ or ‘Young Bengal’. They were highly influenced by the West and stood for rejection of all tradition. One of them, Ram Gopal Ghose, while taking about rationality said, “He who will not reason is a bigot, he who cannot is a fool and he who does not is a slave.” However, their uncompromising attitude failed to impress people.   Last method adopted by some of the reformers was through social service.  Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was one such reformist who did not feel contended by writing pamphlets and creating awareness. He devoted his entire life for the cause of widow remarriage. Arya Samaj and Ramakrishna Mission also tried to propagate ideas of social reform through social service.

Significance

           These reformers made significant contribution in evolution of modern India. These were the people who took the first step towards the formation of a modern society. They championed the cause of equality, criticized the social divisions of castes, tried to improve the conditions of women, worked against superstitions and also worked for the development of a modern and rational outlook. Efforts from these people resulted in the colonial Government bringing in a number of legislations which helped social reforms. In case of women, these movements led to passing of Bengal Sati Regulation Act of 1829, Hindu Widows Remarriage Act of 1856 and increasing the age of marriage of girls from 10 to 12 years in the year 1891. Later, Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1929 in which the marriageable age was increased to 14 and by an amendment in 1940 to 15 years.  Another important subject of reforms was the caste system. All the reformers condemned caste system but biggest difference was made reformers coming from these communities like Jyotiba Phule in Maharashtra and Shree Narayan Guru in Kerala.  These movements made the lower classes conscious of their rights as human beings and citizens.  Reforms during the period are also important in the sense that these provided a platform on which the country could move forward for developing an egalitarian society in later years.

Limitations

           

           Despite significant contribution to the Indian society, these reformers suffered from some limitations. First and foremost was that the reformers failed to realise the true nature of colonial rule. They felt that colonial rule was beneficial for the country and new ideas from the West would regenerate Indian society. They failed to realise that British rule was essentially exploitative in nature and the colonial rule would support that social structure which it would consider beneficial for itself. Second limitation was that most of the reforms were essentially an educated urban middle class phenomenon.  Except movements of Jyotiba Phule and Shree Narayan Guru and to a certain extent Arya Samaj, the reform movements were limited to the upper class of the society. This restricted the effectiveness of these movements. 

Impact of colonialism on Indian economy

Colonial rule in India by its inherent nature worked for benefit of England and in turn impoverished India. Agriculture was the main source of livelihood for most of the people of India. However, agrarian relations i.e relations between the peasant and the state changed drastically under the British. Earlier system of Jagirdari prevalent under the Mughals was done away with. In this system, the King, the jagirdar and peasant had different rights on land and although there were some instances of land being sold or bought this was not the usual practice. The British introduced three types of land settlements, Permanent, Ryotwari and Mahalwari. In the first revenue settlement was made with the Zamindars, in the second directly with the peasants and in the third with the village communities. In the zamindari system, zamindar was recognized as the owner of the land and left free to extract maximum revenue from the cultivators leaving the peasantry impoverished and at the mercy of the zamindar. In other cases, the absence of zamindars did not bring any relief to the peasantry as revenue was fixed at exorbitant rates leaving the peasants in very deprived state.

Second impact of colonial policies was commercialization of agriculture in some areas where the peasants grew cash crops primarily cotton, jute, tobacco, sugarcane, indigo etc most of which served as raw material for British industries. However, commercialisation proved beneficial only for the rich peasants and the moneylenders. It paved the way for usury and the poorer peasants depended heavily on the local moneylender for advance of credit, marketing of crops, loans during the lean seasons and paying land revenue. The moneylender who was usually the village merchant also acted as the agent for buying the produce of the peasant and for introducing and selling western manufactured goods like Manchester cloth. Poorer peasants virtually hypothecated their produce in advance to the moneylender. A large number of them remained in debt throughout their lives and many of them lost their lands. This resulted in de-peasanting in which a number of peasants lost their lands and were forced to become landless labourers.

Commercialization of agriculture meant that some land which was used earlier for growing food grains was now being used to grow cash crops. This required that food grain production in remaining areas should have increased to meet the demands of the country. However, no attention was paid to this aspect. The production of food grains either declined or did not grow to keep pace with the growth of population. During the period 1891-1947 population increase was .67% per annum while food grain production was .11% per annum. Primary reason for this was that the Government did not make any effort to improve agriculture. This task was left to the peasantry, who being in an impoverished state was not able to do much. The normal rate of production was already at subsistence level and whenever an area was affected with droughts and crop failure, it resulted in famine. There were about thirty four famines during the period 1898 to 1908 in which total loss of life was about 1.5 crores.

If the condition of agriculture in the colonial rule was bad, the condition of industry was worse. The country suffered what has been termed as de-industrialization. When the British came to India, India was manufacturing all the goods it needed and Britain had almost nothing which it could export to India. On the other hand Indian goods were valuable items of commerce having a reasonable market in England. Hence India had a favourable balance of trade. At that time, the East India Company was facing competition from other trading companies of Europe particularly the French and the Dutch as well as the Indian merchants. This placed the craftsmen in a better bargaining position. However, the Company soon eliminated this competition and acquired a monopoly in trading of these goods. Now the artisans and craftsmen had no option but to sell their goods to the Company and its servants at lower rates. Apart from hardships to the artisans, this also reduced the possibility of capital accumulation and improvement in technology. On the other hand capital accumulation took place in England where it was used to power the Industrial Revolution.  Industrial revolution ended the British market for Indian products as it was not possible for artisans to compete with economic large scale factory production. Soon these industrial products found their way to India and the Indian market for artisans was destroyed as well.  

R.C.Dutt and Madan Mohan Malviya in their note of dissent to the Indian Industrial Commission pointed out that export of finished industrial products greatly increased in the British rule; for example value of import of Manchester cloth increased from 96 lakh sterling in 1860 to 27 crore sterling in 1900.This increase could have been possible only due to wiping out of indigenous weaver’s cloth. The census figures also pointed out to the decline in industrial activities. As per the census figures, the male work force in agriculture increased from 65% in 1881 to 72% in 1931 while the proportion in industry declined from 16% to 9%.

The theory of de-industrialization has got a mixed response from European authors. Some imperial apologists like Lord John Maynard Keynes have accepted that India was de-industrialized but have stated that this was in the interest of both Britain and India in which Britain focused on production of industrial goods while India focused on agricultural products. This view was in keeping with the international division of labour in which the metropolis was to produce industrial and high value goods while the colony was to produce agricultural and low value goods. Obviously this was discriminatory and unfavourable to the colony.

However some other writers have contested the fact the India suffered deindustrialization. For example Morris David Morris attributes the increase in import of Manchester cloth to the increase in population and changed consumption habits and also states that this increase did not displace indigenous weaver’s cloth. Similarly Daniel Thorner, after analyzing the data of census from 1881 to 1931 points out that the deindustrialization was nominal. According to him increase in agriculture and related activities for the said period was about 2% and decline in industry and trade was about 3%. However, even Thorner does not deny the fact that the Indian industry has already suffered substantial damage by 1881 when the first reliable all India census was conducted.

Despite all the odds Indian industry found ways to establish itself though in a very small way. The Indian trading class which had accumulated some capital made efforts to venture in the industrial field. Initial attempts were in cotton textiles and the first Indian textile mill “The Bombay Spinning Mill” was set up in Bombay in 1854 (a textile mill was set up earlier at Fort Gloster near Kolkata in 1818 but it was a failure). However since then up to the time of First World War, the growth of Indian industry was extremely slow. The Government relaxed some control during war period due to its war time requirements. The fledgling industry took advantage of the situation and made rapid progress during the two world wars and in the inter war period. However, despite all these efforts the growth was very slow even in the last years of the colonial rule. As per an estimate, ratio of industrial sector’s share to the net domestic product was 12.7% in 1900-04, 13.6% in 1915-19 and 16.7% in 1940-44. Thus India remained predominantly agrarian. During all this period Britain profited from this de-industrialization of India. This was evident in the per capita income of two countries. In 1860s Dadabhai Naroji calculated India’s per capita income to be Rs.20 per annum. In England in 1870, the per capita income was 24.4 sterling which was equivalent to Rs.568/-.

All over the world, Industrial revolution ended the role of individual artisans. However, in England and other European countries the loss of craftsmen was compensated by the growth of industry and factory system. In India, the colonial policies did not allow the industry to grow freely and hence India could not become a fully industrialized country. It did not remain pre-capitalist as its artisan based mode of industrial production shattered and neither could it become industrialised. It became something in between; subordinate and heavily dependent on the British economy. 

Colonialism: A Theoretical Perspective

         While studying the Indian National Movement, we often come across the term ‘colonialism’. It is often mentioned that the freedom struggle was directed against the colonial rule. Hence before we look into various events and aspects of the national movement it is important to understand the term ‘colonialism’ and various aspects of its nature.

             

              Colonialism is a system in which one country is subjugated by the other. The country which subjugates is referred to as the metropolis while the country which is subjugated is known as the colony. The subjugation is not only political but has economical and social dimensions.  Colonialism has been interpreted in different ways. One view is to see it as a traditional society which moves towards modernization under the colonial administrative structure. Sometimes it is seen as a transitional society; the transition being from a traditional pre-capitalist society to a modern capitalist society. These people believe that colonial societies would have graduated into modern capitalist societies had colonialism been given sufficient time. Still others believe that colonial society is a dualistic society in which the pre-modern and the modern exist side by side. Colonialism begins the task of modernization but leaves it midway leaving the process of modernization incomplete. Some writers do not prefer to go into these details and consider colonialism as nothing more than political subjugation of one country by the other.

Nature of Colonialism

            

             As can be figured from the above discussion, colonialism produces a society which is neither capitalist nor pre-capitalist. Feudal structures of the pre-colonial period under went a change but did not turn completely into capitalist. An example of this is the change in agrarian relations in India. Jagirdari system of the Mughal period gave way to the Permanent and Ryotwari settlements in the colonial period. Land became a private property and was freely brought and sold. Hence the agrarian system did not remain pre-colonial and acquired some traits of capitalism but it did not completely turn into a capitalist system.

         Colonialism was in fact a system in which two countries were involved in unequal relations. Traditional or pre-colonial structure was linked with the world economy but not independently. The link was through the metropolis as its subordinate. The colonies did not have the option of moving out of this unequal relationship which was forced through the political control of the colony by the metropolis. An important aspect of colonialism was that it had one face in the metropolis and another in colony. While it helped in development of the metropolis as a modern industrially developed country; it under developed the colony by destroying the indigenous structure and making it dependent on the metropolis. In the colony, colonialism uproots old society and economy but the change does not give way to modern industrial society and economy. The colonial structure prevents economic growth in the colony as the economic activities are undertaken not for the benefit of the colony but for that of the metropolis.

Stages of colonialism

            Colonialism and the institutions associated with it did not remain unchanged during the colonial rule. These changed with time to adjust themselves as per the needs of the metropolis. These changes can be summarized in three stages of colonialism. The first stage is known as Period of Monopoly Trade and Direct Appropriation. In India the period corresponded from 1757-1813. The British East India Company acquired a monopolistic charter from the King of England which kept other British competitors away. Competition from Indian merchants and other European companies was eliminated by way of wars and acquiring political control over the Indian states. These wars required large sums of money. Money was also needed to pay for the Indian products which were to be exported to England. In normal situation this could have been done through goods manufactured in Britain or through bullion i.e. gold and silver. However, during this period manufacturing activities in Britain had not increased to such level so as to produce goods for export to India. Export of bullion from England also did not find favour with the British. Hence, money required to buy Indian goods was obtained from direct appropriation of the revenue generated from Indian territories. Appropriation of revenue also increased the profits of the company and dividends of shareholders. This appropriation became possible when the Company acquired control, first over Bengal and then over the rest of the country. An important feature of this stage was that there no was no significant change in administration except those which facilitated appropriation of revenue like the land revenue settlements. In social fields also there were no changes. This was because colonialism of this stage could be superimposed upon the existing structures without making significant changes. There was no need to do so until revenue was successfully sucked out through traditional methods of revenue collection.

            Second stage of colonialism is the Stage of Free Trade. Britain was undergoing industrial revolution and newly emerging capitalists wanted cheap raw materials for their industries as well as a market for their ever increasing products. This group attacked the policies of East India Company and wanted the colony to serve their interests which were different from those of East India Company. This led the British Government to control the activities of the Company by enacting a number of Acts like Regulating Act of 1773 and Pit’s India Act of 1784. By 1813, when another Charter Act was passed, the Company had lost most of its political and economic power. During this stage, India was to become the subordinate trading partner of Britain by exporting agricultural products and raw materials and importing industrially manufactured goods. In this stage the colony could not be exploited under the existing socio-economic structures hence important changes were made in the administration. Policy of Laissez faire or free trade was adopted and import duties on all the goods were either removed or reduced to nominal rates. This gave the British products a free run in the country. Free entry was also given to the British capitalists to develop plantations, trade, transport, mining and other modern industry in India. Railway was also developed as a cheap mode of transport and by 1905 about 45000 kilometers of railways was laid. Legal procedures and administration also underwent a change to make it more comprehensive and elaborate. The administration now penetrated deeper into the villages and far flung areas. However legal changes were limited to criminal law, law of contract and legal procedures. Personal laws were left unchanged. Changes in Education were also introduced primarily to prepare a working force to man lower levels posts in the administration and to develop a sense of loyalty among the subjects. Earlier methods of revenue extraction also continued during this period. This coupled with costly administration and maintenance of large military establishment put severe financial constraints upon the country.

            The third stage of colonialism is known as the stage of Foreign Investments and International Competition. This stage commenced in India from about 1860s. Now other countries were being rapidly industrialized. This led to an intense search for raw materials and markets. Exploitation from colonies also accumulated large amounts of capital which was finding exclusive and safe locations to be reinvested. Hence there was a vigorous search and competition for exclusive areas for raw materials, markets and investment of capital. As the position of Britain was being constantly challenged at the international level it now made vigorous efforts to retain its hold over India. Continuation of domination over India was essential for the British to keep out rivals and for safety of British investments. Another interest was the Indian army which served the global interests of the British even when the interests of India were not affected. Due to these compulsions liberal imperialist ideology gave way to the reactionary imperialist ideology. Earlier talk of training Indians for democracy and self government were given a good bye and all efforts were made to stifle nationalist feelings.

            Thus, extraction of surplus from India continued during the entire period of British rule though its methods changed over the years. Another thing that must be kept in mind is that these stages were not strictly demarcated with respect to time i.e advent of the next stage did not mean end of the earlier stage in all spheres of administration. Two stages could exist simultaneously compounding the burden on India. The impact of British rule was disastrous for India. However, the subject will be discussed in detail in the next article.