2 British Rule in India (1757 AD to 1857 AD) After the battle of Plassey, the British removed Mir Jafar and made Mir Kasim, the Nawab, but during his rule, the British resisted him for conducting tax-free private trade in Bengal. So the British fought war against him. The British won the battle of] FE Buxar. After that, Clive made a treaty with the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal [mye sea emperor. According to the treaty, the Nawab of Awadh agreed to pay fifty lakh rupees] MW/61235 to the company and the company paid an annual amount of 26 lakhs to Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Inreturn, the Diwani power (Civil power) of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha had to be handed over. On August 12, 1765, the East India Company was given the Civil power of Bengal by the Mughal Emperor and the British began to gain political power in India, Know This In 1772 AD, anew system was introduced in Bengal to increase the company’s revenue. Contracts were made with ‘Izaredars’ to collect land revenue. The highest bidder was given the monopoly to collect revenue. In this system, the word ‘farmer* was used in the document for Izaredars, [lence this system was called “farming” system, The Izaredars’ only aim in this system ‘was to generate more income, so the peasants were exploited. When this practice became unbearable, some reforms were required. Comwallis was appointed as the Governor General of Cornwallis India to bring about some changes. (J) Permanent Settlement : In 1793 AD, when Comwallis was the Governor-General, a permanent settlement was introduced in India, in which (1) The landlord was given the right over land and land revenue. He had to act as an agent of the government. (2) The landlord had to deposit nine out of ten parts of the land revenue to the government and keep one tenth part as remuneration. This method exploited the farmers because they had to give the fixed revenue to the landlord. The Jandlord any how collected revenue and oppressed them, The landlord had to deposit fixed amount as per contract every year to the government, However the permanent settlement was in favour of the landlords. Initially, the landlords had to pay the fixed amount of revenue. Land of those who could not pay the revenue, ‘was confiscated but later the landlords started buying the land. The government was not interested in the progress of farmers. As a result, there were many revolts of farmers in Bengal. Bengal, which was once considered “Annabhandar’ (granary), became impoverished.(2) Ryotwari system : In the early 19th century, in 1820 AD, the ryotwari system was introduced in the provinces of Mumbai and Madras (Chennai), [twas introduced by Thomas Munro, At that time he was the Governor of Madras (Chennai). In this system the tiller of land was made the owner of the land. The farmer had to pay land revenue as per the condition of the government. This practice did not have any benefit in the land ownership because of these reasons : (1) Excessive land revenue (2) The government had the right to iner wanted. (3) Whether the crop failed or de land revenue, (3) Mahalwari system : Mahalwari system was implemented in North-Western Provinces and some regions of Central India, The British se land revenue whenever it ‘oyed, the ryot had to pay the Thomas Munro officer named Holt Mackenzie introduced the Mahalwari system in 1822 AD. The term mahal was used fora village ora group of villages in the British revenue records. According to this system, the unit for collecting revenue was nota farmer's farm but the entire village or its collective Jand. In this method, land revenue was determined by surveying the village and taking into account the income of the farm or farm produce etc. Hence this method was known as Mahalwari method. The responsibility of collecting land revenue was assigned to the village headman, The British made basic changes in the traditional land system. As aresult, the stability, autonomy and continuity of Indian villages were shattered. Know This After the acquisition of eivil power in Bengal in 1765 AD, the company collected information about the annual yield of Bengal from its employees. Because Bengal was a region that supplied agricultural products to Britain for exporting them to Europe. So they took hold of the farm produce. Discuss Which agriculture products do we import and export ? Why ? Condition of Agriculture ; After gaining Civil power in Bengal, the main objective of the East India ‘Company was to procure items from India which were in demand in Europe. They thus established their authority over the prosperous regions of that time like Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. The company wanted to establish a monopoly over India’s agricultural markets. Agriculture products ‘were among the essential items to be exported to England. So the company tried to commercialize agriculture in India as per their will. Products mainly consisted of indigo, cotton, raw silk, opium and pepper. Let us understand the situation of commercialization of these agricultural products under the company governance. A Scene of Village Market of Bengal 8(1) Raw sills: During 18" century, raw silk eame to ‘Activity England from Spain and Italy. Ifthe silk produced in Bengal Find the location of Caribbean ‘came under their control, Britain would not have todepend_ | countries with the help of world map. ‘on Spain and Italy. Thus, by the end of the 19" century, the company established its dominance over the export of s Ik from India sometimes even by oppressing the farmers, (2) Indigo : Indigo was a substance used in dyeing. Its plants are grown in warm regions. It was in great demand. The colour of India’s indigo used to shine brightly on the cloth, Such brightness was absent in other indigo. Indigo was used to dye cotton cloth. Until 1790 AD, European countries were importing indigo from Caribbean countries, Butas its production decreased, demand for Indian indigo increased. Therefore, the British settled the Europeans in the territories under their rule in India and started increasing the production of indigo. There were two systems of Indigo production in India: (1) ‘Nij’ and (2) ‘Raiyati*. In Nij system, producers Discuss used their own plough, oxen and implements for cultivation, Get information about any cash crop When the plants were ready, the raw material was harvested | (crop sold in the market) in your area. and delivered to the the farmer used to cultivate indigo on his land and when it | sale, use, export ete tory. Whereas inthe ‘Raiyati’practice, | Discussand make anote ofits cultivation, was ready, he would sell it to the manufacturer at a fixed A Scene of the Time when Indigo Plant wash Scene of a Factory near Indigo Farm being Taken to the Indigo Factory price. In this method the manufacturer gave loan to the farmer. Most of the production was based on this practice because it was more profitable to the indigo producers. The manufacturers fixed low prices and the farmers were forced to cultivate it. If any farmer refused, he was persecuted and his crop would be destroyed. In order to maintain the fear of the producers on the farmers, the company’s associates carried ‘out various malpractices. They kept fake accounts as well as forced farmers to grow crop beneficial to them, ‘The rulers of the company, its bureaucrats, the indigo growers were accomplice so the farmers! complaints were not heard. Due to this dissatisfaction, there were widespread indigo riots in 1859-60 AD. 9(3) Cotton : Indigo was an important cash erop of East India, similary cotton was an important cash. crop (commercial crop) of West India. In the 1780s, the East India Company and some of its favoured ‘merchants controlled the cotton producing regions of India and China. The company was forcing farmers to sell cotton below market prices. Farmers were ruined as they did not get a fair price for cotton, Apart from this, sugarcane, tea, opium, pepper and condiments were also important cash crops in India at that time. The British misused their political power to buy these crops at lower prices. Farmers were given, advance eredit for planting, After the farmers became debtors, cash crops were bought from them at lower prices, Asa result, traders made huge profit and farmers became poorer. Thus the company had big influence in buying and selling of cash crops in India. The industries of England prospered because of the raw materials of india, ‘Therefore, the company wanted to establish its authority over the cash crops in India. Consequently a large number of farmers became landless farm labourers. Condition of the Tribes : Due to the commercial exploitation policy of the British, peasants and tribal people revolted in many regions. Why did these revolts take place ? Letus study about the condition of these tribes. In the 19th century, there were different groups of tribes in India, These included Khonds, Santhals, Mundas, Koyas, Kols, Gonds, Bhils ete. There were groups of Santhal tribes around Hazaribagh in present Tharkhand, They reared silkworms, Silk traders used to buy raw silk from the Santhals, The Munda tribes lived around Chhota Nagpur. These communities were engaged in hunting and gathering. Tribal groups of the Khond community in Central India were also involved in hunting and gathering forest produce. Some tribal groups were associated with animal husbandry. Van guijar, living inthe hilly regions of Punjab and Lambadi community of Andhra Pradesh reared cows and buffaloes. Gaddis of Kullu and Bakarwal community of Kashmir reared sheep and goats, The tribals were not only forest dwellers but some of them were farmers. They were engaged in farming mostly in the hilly and forest areas of Northeastern and Central India, Let us learn about the activities of these tribes. Activities of the Tribes Some tribal groups were food gatherers. The tribal people were associated with animal husbandry. According to the season, they used to migrate in the forests of Odisha with their animals like flock of sheep-goats and cows or buffaloes. The people of the Khond community hunted in groups and gathered fruits, tuberous roots, medicines and herbs from the forests. Items obtained from the fores were equally divided among them and sold in the local markets. In addition to this, they sold Kusum and Palash flowers {o artisans for dyeing cloth and leather. During this time the tribal groups of the country were engaged in two types of farming: (1) Shifting agriculture and (2) Sustainable farming. Some tribal groups cleared the land by cutting some trees in the forests and removing grass from the 10‘ground so that the sunlight may ‘burned and the ashes were spread on the ground, so that the soil became fertile because of the potash in ily reach the ground. The trees and grasses that were cut down were the ashes. Once the erop was grown, they sifted from - pws > Know this there to another place. There they used to cultivate again. | ova Movement : During 1879-89AD, the in the same way, hence it was called shifting agriculture, | Koya uprising took place in East Godavari region of present day Andhra Pradesh. The revolt also affected Korpur and Malkangiri sustainable farming, Thus they gotrights over the land. | gistricts of Odisha. The leader of the Koya ‘These tribes included the Santhals and Gonds and Mundas | tribe was Konda Dora. This revolt was a movement for the traditional rights of the Adivasis over the forest. Like the Birsa The East India company feared the progress of the | Munda, the Koyas hailed Konda Dora as the ‘King of Malkangiri’. The movement was shattered because of his death during a communities. These chief’ had to abide by the rules of | clash with police. Before the nineteenth century, many tribal groups began of Chhota Nagpur. tribes so it curtailed the authority of the chiefs of the tribal the company and offer gifts. Thus their freedom was taken Adivasi revolts 1831-32 AD - TheKolAdivasirevolt away. The British wanted the tribes to reside at one place 1855AD _- TheSanthalRevolt and till the land and thus become a source of income for the 1910AD__- Arevolt broke outinBasir, " company. So they made new laws forthe tribal communities. 1940AD — - WarlirevoltinMaharashtra | It was collectively opposed by the tribal communities, ‘sa Munda : Birsa Munda was born on November 15, 1875. His father’s name was Sugana Munda and mother’s name was Karmi Mundaina, Birsa’s childhood was spent grazing sheep and goats, playing the flute, and playing inarena. Dueto the poverty inthe family, Birsa Munda spenthis childhood constantly migrating with his father. Birsa, however, took education in local missionary schools. He had heard about the struggle betweenthe Munda people and the Dikus (outsiders) inhis childhood. He wore “Janoi’, Healso worked with Vaishnav preachers. Atayoungage he engaged himselfin the work of upliftment ofthe tibal society. — M4 Ulgulan Movement and Birsa Munda : The exploitation of the tribals by the pro- British moneylenders, jagirdars and landlords reached toits extreme. Ithad a profound effect on Birsa Munda. Birsa Munda led the mass movement of *Ulgulan’ in 1895 AD. The movement had an impact on about 400 square miles in the Chhota Nagpur region of South Bihar. The Mundas jaimed that Chhota Nagpur belonged to them, The company had taken away their traditional rights and made them forced labourers. Birsa MundaInthe mass movement, Birsa Munda called on the tribes to stop drinking alcohol and keep the house and Bina Manda movement) lage clean and not to believe in witchcraft . He urged village clean and not to believe in witchcraft . He urge a Ss the Mundas to live accordi their gl IS id . . lindas to liveaccording fo their glorious pastane | some ideals, He wanted to liberate the people stay at one place and do cultivation. Every word of | se community from the explitersinside and Birsa Munda was very well followed by the Munda | +, Europe, He wanted to make the Mundas community. The British were afraid of the Birsa invincible against tyranny. There was active movement. The tribes wanted to establish Mundaraj | participation of women in this movement. under the leadership of Birsa Munda. When the | Although there was violence on some occasions, agitation spread, the British falsely accused Birsa | the movement had a low level of hatred and a Munda of obstructing the administration and arrested | high level of development. him in 1895 AD. Two years later Birsa Munda was released from prison in 1897 AD and rejoined the public awareness movement, He strengthened the white Birsa Munda died in 1900 AD. The Birsa Munda movement slowed down and the British found a favourable Write the answers of the following questions in one sentence : lagged Birsaraj and movement against Dikus and the Europeans, time to expand their empire, (1) Who was made the Nawab of Bengal by the British after removing Mir Jafar ? (2) During the time of which Governor was the permanent settlement introduced in India ? (3). The victory of which war gave the British the power to collect revenue in Bengal ? (4) Who introduced Ryotwari system ? 2. (A) Write a short note: (1) Birsa Munda (2) Ryotwari system (3) Mahalwari system (B) Write the answers of the following questions : (1) How were the farmers exploited in the permanent settlement system ? (2) What was the condition of agriculture in India in the eighteenth century ? (3) Why was the demand for Indian indigo increase in the European countries ? (4) Describe the activities of the tribes during the British rule. 2Find the correct option from the following options and write the answer : (1) How many practices were there for indigo production in India ? (A) One (B) Two (C) Three (D) Infinite 2) Inwhich two provinces was the ryotwari system introduced in 1820 AD ? (A) Calcutta (Kolkata) and Mumbai (B) Mumbai and Madras (Chennai) (©) Delhi \d Calcutta (Kolkata) (D) Calcutta (Kolkata) and Madras (Chennai) (3) Which tribe live around Hazaribagh in present Jharkhand ? (A) Munda (B) Kol (©) Santhal (D) Koya (4) Under whose leadership did the tribals want to e: iblish Mundaraj ? (A) BirsaMunda (B) Thakkarbapa (C) Jugatram Dave (D) None of these 13