EHI - 5

EHI-5
Block 5
7th Part 
Q   Explain the impact of the British rule on the Indian education system.                                          20
Q   What was the British thinking on education? How did it transform education in India?                                              20
Q   What was the British Policy on education in India?       12

A    The colonial rulers discarded the indigenous system and replaced it with an education system of their own. Immediately after the acquisition of political power in India, the company officials wanted to maintain, neutrality or non-intervention in the religious and cultural matters of the indigenous society. They feared the adverse reaction and opposition by the local people. However, constant pressure from different quarters, the Missionaries, the Liberals, the Orientalists, the Utilitarians compelled the company to give up its policy of neutrality and to take the responsibility of promotion of education. 

In the initial stage, the company officials patronized oriental learning. 'Calcutta Madrasa' by Warren Hastings (178I), the Benares Sanskrit College' by Jonathan Duncan (1791) and the 'Asiatic Society of Bengal by William Jones (1784) were established by Orientalists. However, Anglicists believed that Indians were in a backward stage and Western education given through the English language alone was the remedy and can transform the society. 

By the Charter Act of 1813, the Company acknowledged for the first time the responsibility of the state for the promotion of education in India. Some of the important points of the resolution that Bentinck announced in 1835 were as follows:

# Persian was abolished as the court language and was substituted by English.

# printing and publication of English books were made free and available at a comparatively low price.

# More fund was provided to support the English education, while there was curtailment in the fund for the promotion of oriental learning.

Auckland who came after Bentinck as the Governor-General also believed in the need for the promotion of English education in India. He recommended the opening of more English colleges in Dacca, Patna, Benares, Allahabad, Agra, Delhi, and Bareilly. The next major landmark in the development of English education during this period was the Wood's Despatch of 1854. Sir Charles Wood, the president of the Board of Control, in 1854 laid down the policy which became the guiding principle for the promotion of the education program of the government of India. 

The major recommendations of the Wood’s Despatch were as follows-

# the creation of a department of public instruction in each of the five provinces of

the company's territory,

# the establishment of a university at Calcutta, Bombay a& Madras,

# the establishment of a network of graded schools-high schools, middle schools

and the elementary schools,

# the establishment of teachers training institutions,

# the promotion of vernacular schools,

# the introduction of a system of providing financial aids to the schools, etc.

In 1847 three universities were established in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. The establishment of universities and the opening of education departments in the provinces provided a basic structure to modern education in India. 

       The government promoted the English education system while neglecting the indigenous system of education in the 19th century. The spread of English education in India was a slow and long process and before 1857 it is spread and depth was limited. The new education system promoted by the government broadened the horizon of knowledge. The establishment of the printing press and easy availability of books removed the traditional barriers and made education accessible to people. The ideas of the western thinkers influenced the younger generation of the indigenous society and they began to question the existing traditional values. A new spirit of rationalism thus developed. 

      The English education system had certain drawbacks, it totally ignored the importance of mass education. In the indigenous system, the elementary schools provided basic education to a wide section of society. But in the new education, the emphasis was to educate a selected few. The Anglicists idea of filtering down education from elites to masses did not work in practice. This system did not provide equal access to education to all sections of the society and this led to the backwardness of socially backward castes and communities. The existing divisions in society further widened.

Secondly, in spite of the advocacy of western science and technology, in the curriculum

of schools and colleges, the emphasis was on western literature, philosophy, and humanities. Technology and natural science were neglected and without such knowledge, intellectual advancement, as well as economic development of a country, was hampered.  

Q  What was the indigenous system of education in India? What were the changes introduced by the British?   20

A  There were 'Madrasas' for the Muslims and 'Patshalas' for the Hindus. These ranged from the centers of higher learning in Arabic and Sanskrit to lower levels of the institution for schooling people in Persian and Vernacular languages. Lack of scientific and secular learning was one of the major limitations of the indigenous education system in those days. However, many Hindus attended Persian schools because Persian was then the court language and there were also Hindu teachers in Persian schools. Whether it was a'Madrasa' or Pathshala there were certain common features in the indigenous system of education. Schools were generally run with the help of financial aid by Zamindars or from local rich men. In the curriculum, the main emphasis was on teaching classical languages like Sanskrit, Arabic or Persian and subjects of classical Hindu or Islamic traditions like Grammar, Logic, Law, Metaphysics, Medicines, etc. Though Sanskrit learning was the exclusive domain of the Brahmans, from the reports available of the early 19th century, the non-upper castes and the scheduled castes also had the representation or attended the lower-level schools. Women were generally debarred from the formal education system.

 In the absence of printing press till the 19th century, the oral tradition and memory of the teachers formed the basis of providing knowledge and information which was supported by handwritten manuscripts. The state had little or no role in the promotion of school education through kings would patronize people famous for their learning. Besides the centers for higher learning, there was a large number of elementary schools. Most of the villages in India had these kinds of elementary schools. These were each run by an individual teacher with the monetary help of the village Zamindars or the local elite. These schools used to teach the students elementary arithmetic and basic knowledge to meet the needs of day-to-day life. Students from different sections of society, except the very backward Dis-privileged castes, attended these schools. Thus the education system that existed in India in the early 19th century had its own merits and demerits. The elementary schools provided basic education to rural people and its curriculum was secular in approach. 

Q  What was the approach of the 'Wood's Despatch' towards universalizing education? Discuss.                12                           
                     A  Auckland who came after Bentinck as the Governor-General also believed in the need for the promotion of English education in India. He recommended the opening of more English colleges in Dacca, Patna, Benares, Allahabad, Agra, Delhi, and Bareilly. The next major landmark in the development of English education in this period was the Wood's Despatch of 1854. Sir Charles Wood, the president of the Board of Control, in 1854 laid down the policy which became the guiding principle of the education program of the government of India. The major recommendations of the Despatch were as follows-

# the creation of a department of public instruction in each of the five provinces of

the company's territory,

# the establishment of a university at Calcutta, Bombay a& Madras,

# the establishment of a network of graded schools-high schools, middle schools

and the elementary schools,

# the establishment of teachers training institutions,

# the promotion of vernacular schools,

# the introduction of a system of providing financial aids to the schools, etc.

In 1847 three universities were established in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. The establishment of universities & the opening of education departments in the provinces provided a basic structure to promote modern education in India. The Wood's Despatch provided the model for the further development of education in India. 

       The government promoted this system while neglecting the indigenous system of education in the 19th century. The spread of English education in India was a long process and before 1857 it is spread and depth were limited. The new education broadened the horizon of knowledge. The establishment of the printing press and easy availability of books removed the traditional barriers and made education accessible to more people. The ideas of the western thinkers influenced the younger generation of the indigenous society and they began to question the existing traditional values. A new spirit of rationalism thus developed.

EHI - 5

6th Part

Q  Write a note on the de-industrialisation in India.           20

A   De-industrialization refers to the process of a continued and marked industrial decline. The proportion of the national income generated by industries and the percentage of population dependent on it are used as measures to determine industrial growth or decline. An increase in these data suggests industrialization while a decrease indicates industrial decline or de-industrialization. The Indian Nationalists used the data on the destruction of Indian craft industries under early British rule to substantiate their point that de-industrialization took place under the British rule. 

Industries before British rule - 

         In India, Cotton textiles were produced virtually all over the country and were one of the important items for export. Dyestuffs (predominantly indigo) and sugar were the other important commercial industrial products. The other significant agro-based industries included oils, tobacco, opium, and alcoholic beverages. Although the mining industry was not fully developed yet India was self-sufficient in iron. Shipbuilding was another important and developing industry.

The Nature of Early Trade with Europe -

Early European trade with India was heavily balanced in India's favor. The seventeenth-century witnessed the Indian cotton textiles replacing pepper and other spices to become the most important item exported to the west. European trade with India up to the first decade of the nineteenth century was based upon the price differential between Asia and the rest of the world. That is European merchants bought goods at a low price in India and sold them for a much higher price in the European, African and New World markets. The profits were based on the difference between the purchase price and the selling price. Since there was no demand for British or European exports in India the purchases of Indian goods had to be financed in gold and silver. 

Monopoly

      Gradually this situation started changing once British EIC eliminated all the other rival companies. Now the Indian merchants and traders were also barred from dealing in certain communities and thus the monopoly of the company was established. Thereafter it started harassing weavers and artisans who were bullied to supply the goods below the market price. Thus the artisans were reduced step by step to the position of bonded labourers by the denial of free access to the market. They were forced to supply their produce to the Company at low prices arbitrarily fixed by the Company. 

Impact 

      The East India Company's objective was to buy the maximum quantity of Indian manufactured goods at the cheapest possible price so that substantial profits can be made by selling these goods in Britain and other foreign countries. The reckless and anarchic methods to increase their purchases while forcing down the price had an adverse impact on the traditional Indian export industry, especially the cotton textile industries.

Process of De-industrialization 

There were two ways by which Indian industries were severely impacted by British policies - 

#  Firstly the Company depressed the purchase price of cotton manufactured goods in India thereby virtually reducing the weavers to the status of bonded labourers. They were forced to take advances from the Company and sell their products below market prices. This severely affected the textile industry as well as the economy as a whole. Forcible reduction of purchase prices in India was resorted to by the East India Company to increase the difference between its buying and selling price and consequently increase its trading profits.

#   Apart from this exploitation of the Indian industries by the Company, during this period, British textile manufacturers at home launched an agitation to force the British Government to impose restrictive import tariffs and bans on the import of fine Indian textiles. Thus the import of Indian silks products and other goods were prohibited into Britain. The duty for home consumption of Indian goods was very heavy. The import restrictions on Indian textiles in England further weakens this industry. As a result, the income of weavers and spinners were drastically reduced, thereby ruling out any possibility of capital investment and technological upgradation in this traditional industrial sector. 

       The Company's exploitative policies and the import restrictions on Indian manufactured goods into Britain led to the decline of industries in India. 

      While India's traditional manufacturing sector was being steadily weekend under the Company, in the same period Britain was undergoing the Industrial Revolution. Britain rapidly expanding its industries by adopting new technology as well as the organization of production. The growing British textile industry had all the advantage which were denied to its Indian counterpart. It had the advantages of economies of scale and finally, it was carefully protected in its formative years from foreign competition.

Q  Write a note on the economic impact of the British rule.   12

Q  Critically examine the economic impact of the British rule on India.             20

A  The economic impact of the British rule on India was devastating, some of its impacts were - 

SUBORDINATION OF 'NATIVE' CAPITAL 

The early European traders required the help of the Indian 'native' traders for business. In the middle of the 18th century, there were flourishing native business communities in many parts of India that were engaged in various kinds of commercial activities. They were needed for the procurement of goods for export. But, as the English East India Company began to spread in India, some of these lines of the business began to close for Indian business communities. Due to political hegemony and a dominant position as the chief buyer of export goods, the local trader's position was reduced to that of dependent agents and, in some branches of trade, to the status of servants of the English. 

The decline of export industries in the early half of the 19th century further restricted the opportunities for Indian businessmen. In the new lines that were opening up (e.g. jute and opium), a role subordinate to the English business houses was assigned to Indian businessmen. Petty money lending, internal trade in agricultural and artisanal products, the sale of imported manufactured goods - these were the areas of activity of Indian businessmen in Bengal in the first half of the 19th century. 

Monopoly and ruining of Artisans - 

            Up to the middle of the 18th century, the weavers appear to have enjoyed Independence and freedom to sell their products to the English, the French or the Dutch or to Indian merchants. After the elimination of the French and the Dutch from the competition by military means, the British enjoyed monopoly of trade. 

            Factors of the company started harassing weavers and artisans who were bullied to supply the goods below the market price. Thus the artisans were reduced step by step to the position of bonded labourers by the denial of free access to the market. They were forced to supply their produce to the Company at low prices arbitrarily fixed by the Company. 

           

 The decline of the rural economy - 

           Land revenue system followed by the British destroyed the rural economy as the land rents were kept at the highest thus squeezing the maximum out of agriculture produce. With the onset of the industrial revolution in Britain commercialization of agriculture was stressed upon. In the ryoti system, the peasants was forced to cultivate and supply indigo at a low price by the English indigo planters. To a lesser degree, opium was also produced under the threat of coercion. The forced cultivation of commercial crops for export in place of food grains was one of the major factors for famine during this time period. 

De-industrialization - already discussed 

Q  What were the causes of famine in British-India?              12

A  Some of the causes of famine were- 

#  With the onset of the industrial revolution in Britain commercialization of agriculture was stressed upon. In the ryoti system, the peasant was forced to mark a part of their land by the English indigo planters for growing commercial crops while only a small portion was assigned to grow food grains for his family. To a lesser degree, opium was also produced under the threat of coercion. The forced cultivation of commercial crops for export in place of food grains was one of the major factors for famine during this time period. From the middle of the 18th century, a number of major famines occurred in India because of it.

#  In the 18th and early 19th centuries an important factor for the famine was the devastation caused by frequent warfare between the British and various regional powers. Warfare leads to loot and plunders in rural areas causing famine. 

#  In the part of the country which was ruled by the British there was a tendency in the early days of British administration, to push up land revenue demand to the highest level. Moreover, the British collected the revenue with greater rigour in comparison to the pre-British days. They also refused to reduce revenue as a concession to farmers in a bad season. This inflexibility of revenue policy was certainly a major cause of famine in Bengal in 1770, apart from the failure of the seasonal rains. Due to higher revenues even in mean seasons, farmers give up their land and migrate to neighboring areas thus leading to less production of food-grains. 

#  The activities of the English traders and their agents have also contributed to the intensity of famines in some cases. For ex. speculation in grain trade by the Company's servants in 1770 in Bengal was one of the reasons for famine.

#  The neglect shown by the British administration to maintain or expand the pre-British irrigation works in the territories that come under their rule led to the decline of agriculture. As the only focus of the government was to increase the revenue and extract it, the canals and other irrigation works were neglected leading to droughts during lean years.

Q  Drain of wealth                                                       6

A  Drain of wealth' means the unilateral (one-sided) transfer of funds. It was the portion of India's wealth and economy that was not available to Indians. After attaining complete control over Bengal, East India Company started collecting money in the form of taxes. However, the Company used the money collected to invest in its business (for purchasing Indian goods). As a result, the company was getting Indian goods for sale in Europe for nothing. The company was collecting a tribute from its territories in India in the form of goods. It can be called a 'political tribute' - a 'tribute' because for this India obtained nothing in return and thus it was not normal trade. It was 'political' because it was the Company's political power that enabled it to collect revenue to invest in its business. This system operated in full swing from 1765 till 181 3 when the Company's monopoly was abolished. The money transfer also included earnings of Englishmen from plunder and loot during wars, bribery obtained from regional principalities, and fraudulent dealings with Indian business partners.

Q  Subsidiary Alliance                                                     6

A  Subsidiary Alliance is a system of ruling a subjugated nation by British. The main principles of a subsidiary alliance were:

1. An Indian ruler entering into a subsidiary alliance with the British had to accept British forces in his territory and also agreed to pay for their maintenance.

2. The ruler would accept a British people in his state, such a ruler would not form an alliance with any other power, nor would he declare war against any power without the permission of the British.

3. The ruler would not employ any Europeans other than the British, and if he were already doing so, he would dismiss them.

4. In case of a conflict with any other state, the British would decide what to do, and he would accept their solution.

5. The ruler would acknowledge the East India Company as the power in India.

6. In return for the ruler accepting its conditions, the Company would undertake the protection of the state from external dangers and internal disorders.

7. If the Indian rulers failed to make the payments required by the alliance, then part of their territory was to be taken away as a penalty.

8. Under this doctrine, Indian rulers under British protection surrendered the control of their foreign affairs to the British. Most disbanded their native armies, instead, they started maintaining British troops in their states to protect them from attack. As British power grew, in most parts of India this became increasingly unlikely. 

9. The system also allowed the British to maintain a large army at the expenses of the local ruler. Due to this system the company was able to maintain a large army without much financial burden.

Q  How did the industrial revolution in England affect India? Explain.               12

A  Before the Industrial revolution the European trade with India was heavily balanced in India's favor. The seventeenth century saw Indian cotton textiles rapidly displacing pepper and other spices to become the most important Asian, import into the west. European trade with India up to the early years of the nineteenth century was based upon the price differential between Asia and the rest of the world. That is European merchants bought goods at a low price in India and sold them for a much higher price in the European, African and New World markets. The profits were based on the difference between the purchase price and the selling price. Since there was no demand for British or European exports in India the purchases of Indian goods had to be financed by bullion payments. India had developed agro-based industries including cotton textiles, Indigo, oils, tobacco, opium, and alcoholic beverages. 

      But after the Industrial Revolution took place in Britain, British textile manufacturers at home had begun to force the British Government to impose restrictive import tariffs and bans on the import of fine Indian textiles. The British manufacturing interests had successfully prohibited the import of Indian silks and other goods into Britain. The duty for home consumption of Indian goods was very heavy. The import restrictions on Indian textiles in England further weakens this industry. The income of weavers and spinners were drastically reduced, thereby restricting any possibility of capital accumulation and technological innovations in this traditional industrial sector.

      The Company's own shortsighted exploitation and the free trader inspired sanctions against Indian manufactured imports into Britain resulted in a progressive decline in the share of Indian manufactured goods. 

      While India's traditional manufacturing sector was being steadily weekend under the Company, in the same period Britain had begun its Industrial Revolution and was rapidly expanding its industries by revolutionizing its technology as well as an organization along with principles of capitalist production. The growing British textile industry had all the advantage which were dented to its Indian counterpart. The British industry had a rapidly developing technological base, it had the advantages of economies of scale and finally, it was carefully protected in its formative years from foreign competition. 

      Thus, the Industrial revolution had a cascading impact on the growth and development of industries in India.

EHI - 5

Block 4
5th Part

Q  Compare and contrast the Ryotwari and Mahalwari revenue settlements.         20

Q  Discuss important features of the Ryotwari settlement introduced by the British in India.  20

Q  Mahalwari settlement                                                  6

A  Ryotwari Settlement - 

The emergence of Ryotwari -  Munro, and Read were sent to administer a newly conquered region of Madras in 1792. Instead of collecting from the zamindars, they began to collect directly from the villages, fixing the amount that each village had to pay. After this, they proceeded to assess each cultivator or ryot separately - and thus evolved a system that came to be known as the 'Ryotwari' system. This early ryotwari system was based on field assessment methods. This means that the tax payable on each field was fixed by a government officer, and then the cultivator had the choice of cultivating that field and paying that amount, or not cultivating it. If no cultivator is interested in cultivating any particular piece of land then it would lie fallow.

Land assessment under Ryotwari

The govt official has to fix the tax on thousands of fields in a sub-division or district and to fix it in such a way that the burden on each such field is approximately equal. If the burden is not equally distributed, then the cultivators will not occupy the heavily assessed fields and cultivate only those with a light assessment. 

Now, in fixing the land revenue of a field, the revenue officer had to consider two things: o-n e was the quality of the soil - whether it was rocky or rich, irrigated or dry, etc.; the other was an area of the field. Thus one acre of first-class rice land should pay the same amount whether it was located in this village or that one.

The Adoption of Ryotwari in Madras

Since the Madras government was in dire need of funds, it adopted the ryotwari system. It resulted in larger revenue to the state than any other system could have produced. This was because there were no zamindars or other intermediaries who were co-sharers of the agricultural surplus. The government squeezed maximum from the cultivator went directly to the State.

Ryotwari Theory and Practice

In practice, the estimates done by officials were largely guesswork. The amounts demanded were so high that they could be collected with great difficulty, & sometimes could not be collected at all. The tax came to be fixed on an arbitrary basis, usually by looking at what he had paid in earlier years. This was known as a 'put cut' assessment.

Again, in theory, the ryotwari system allowed the ryot to give up any piece of land that he didn’t want to cultivate. But it soon became clear that if this was freely permitted the tax revenue of the State would fall substantially. So government officers began to compel the cultivators to hold on to (and of course, pay for) land that they did not really want to cultivate. The use of beating and torture was widespread to enforce payment. 

Effects of the Ryotwari System in Madras

There is hardly any doubt that the implementation of this system was extremely harmful to the rural economy. The peasants were impoverished and lacked the resources to cultivate new lands. Apart from this negative effect upon the rural economy, the heavy burden of taxation devastated the land market. Land in most districts of Madras had no value in the first half of the 19th century. No one would buy it, because buying it would mean that the new owner would have to pay the exorbitant land revenue. After paying for taxes, he would have no income from the land, and obviously, in such circumstances, no one would purchase land. 

Social Effects of the Ryotwari System

The social effects of the ryotwari settlements were less dramatic. In many areas, the actual cultivating peasants were recorded as the occupants or 'ryots' and secured the title to their holdings. However, the tax was so heavy that many peasants would have gladly abandoned at least some of their land, and had to be prevented from doing so. It was also possible for non-cultivating landlords to have their names entered as the occupants (or owners) of particular holdings, while the actual cultivation was carried on by their tenants, servants or even bonded laborers. This was particularly the case in irrigated districts like Thanjavur (in Tamil Nadu) where many of the 'ryots' held thousands of acres of land. There was no limit to the amount of land that a ryot could hold. This led to a great difference in wealth and status between one ryot and another. However, money-lenders and other non-cultivators were not much interested in acquiring lands because of the heavy taxes that came with them.

Mahalwari Settlement 

             In the Mahalwari system land revenues were collected from the village directly through its pradhan or muqaddam (headman). In the revenue records, the word used for a fiscal unit was a 'mahal', and the village-wise assessment, therefore, came to be called a mahalwari settlement. Revenue was not fixed, rather revised periodically in the system. The responsibility of collecting the revenue and paying it to the government was given to the village headman. It was however quite possible for one person to hold a number of villages so that many big zamindars continued to exist. Furthermore, as in Bengal, the confusion and coercion that accompanied the collection of the very heavy land tax created fine opportunities for the local officials, and large areas of land were illegally acquired by them in the early years. 

Mahalwari Theory and Practice

In theory, the revenues were to be collected after the survey by Government officials. It should be done after recording all the rights of cultivators, zamindars, and others, and also fixing the amount to be paid from every piece of land. In practice it was never followed, the estimates done by officials were largely guesswork. The guesses were always on the high side, increasing the amounts to be paid to the State.

Effects of the Mahalwari Settlement

        One of the early effects was that the areas under the control of the big taluqdars was reduced. The British officers made direct settlements with the village zamindars as far as possible and even supported them in the law courts when the taluqdars brought suits against them.

         As a result of it, large areas of land began to pass into the hands of money-lenders and merchants who ousted the old cultivators or reduced them to the position of tenants at will. This occurred frequently in the most commercialized districts, where the land revenue demand had been pushed to the highest level. Moreover, in these areas the landholders suffered immensely because of the business collapse and export depression after 1833. By the 1840s it became common that no buyers could be found to purchase land to settle arrears of land revenue. As in the Madras Presidency, the tax in these cases was so high that the buyer could not expect to make any profit from the purchase.

     Overall, therefore, the mahalwari settlement brought impoverishment and widespread poverty to the cultivating communities of North India in the 1830s ad 1840s. As a result, the resentment was expressed in the popular uprisings of 1857. In that year villagers and taluqdars all over North India drove off the government officials, destroyed court and burnt down the official records and papers. They also ejected the new auction purchasers from the villages. Though the Mahalwari system eliminated middlemen between the government and the village community and brought about an improvement in irrigation facilities, its benefit was largely enjoyed by the government. The implementation of this system only brought poverty and impoverishment to the rural economy. 

Q  Did the Permanent Settlement in Bengal meet its objectives? Discuss.                                              12

Q  What was the nature of the Permanent Settlement that was tried out in Bengal?                          12

A   Permanent Settlement - Main Features - 

In this method, the land tax to be paid to the government was permanently fixed. There was assurance from the government not to increase land tax in the future. The state would not demand anything extra even if the production increases as it was believed that landholders would invest money in improving the land.

Zamindars - The zamindars became the agents of govt who were assigned the duty to collect taxes (land revenue). The zamindar had to pay the tax which was fixed upon it, by collecting from the peasantry and if he did so then he was the proprietor, the owner of his zamindari. However, he had the right to sell, mortgage or transfer it. The members of his family would inherit the lands after him. If however, the zamindar failed to pay the tax due, then the Government would take the zamindari and sell it by auction and all the new owners would have all the rights. 

Peasantry - The actual cultivation of the land was carried on by the peasants who were reduced to the status of tenants of the zamindars. Now the peasants were wholly at the mercy of the zamindars who can evict them at will. 

             The permanent assessment demand was fixed as the largest sum that could be extracted out of the land by the government. It was a heavy and oppressive assessment. The tax demand was huge, it led to oppressive methods employed by zamindars to collect revenues. The zamindars could seize the tenant's property if the rent had not been paid. He did not need the permission of any court of law to do this. This greatly worsened the position of the actual cultivators of the soil, in order to benefit the zamindars and the British Government.

The objective of Permanent Settlement - The main objective of this system was to get maximum money out of land every year without variation. The zamindars were obliged to pay a fixed amount every year on fixed dates and any failure on their part meant the sale of the zamindari. Furthermore, the land revenue demand fixed by the government was so high that it left no margin for shortfalls due to flood, drought or another calamity. As a result, many zamindars had their zamindaris taken away and sold in the decades immediately after the permanent Settlement. The government benefited immensely which was the primary objective.     

Q  Discuss the effects of the Permanent Settlement on Bengal. 

A  Effects of Permanent Settlement on Bengal

Zamindars -  The zamindars became the agents of govt who were assigned the duty to collect taxes (land reverse). The zamindar had to pay the taxes which was fixed upon it by collecting from the peasantry and if he did so then he was the proprietor, the owner of his zamindari. They were obliged to pay a fixed amount by fixed dates every year, and any failure on their part meant the sale of the zamindari. Furthermore, the land revenue demand fixed by the government was so high that it left no margin for shortfalls due to flood, drought or another calamity. As a result, many zamindars had their zamindaris taken away and sold in the decades immediately after the permanent Settlement. In Bengal alone, it is estimated that 68 percent, of the zamindari land, was sold between 1794 and 1819. Merchants, government officials, and other zamindars bought these lands. The new buyers would then try to increase the rents to be paid by the tenants in order to make a profit from their purchases.

        Gradually the population of Bengal increased, waste and jungle land came under cultivation. Rents also increased. On the other hand, the tax payable to the government was fixed, so the position of the zamindars improved, and they were able to lead lives of indolence and luxury at the expense of their tenants. 

Peasantry -  The actual cultivation of the land was carried on by the peasants who were reduced to the status of tenants of the zamindars. Now the peasants were wholly at the mercy of the zamindars who can evict them at will. 

             The permanent assessment demand was the largest sum that could be extracted from the land by the government. It was a heavy and oppressive assessment. The tax demand was huge, it led to oppressive methods employed by zamindars to collect revenues. The zamindars could seize the tenant's property if the rent had not been paid. He did not need the permission of any court of law to do this. This greatly worsened the position of the actual cultivators of the soil, in order to benefit the zamindars and the British Government.

Q  Analyse the commercialization of agriculture under the British rule in India. What was its impact ?                                  20

Q  How did the commercialization of agriculture affect the Indian economy in the 19th century?                      12

Q  What was the impact of the commercialization of agriculture on the Indian economy?                                    12

Q  How did the commercialization of agriculture affect the Indian economy & society?                               20

Q  Analyse the commercialization of Indian agriculture under British rule.                                             20

A       After the Industrial Revolution in Britain started, these mills found it difficult to compete with the Indian products, and in the 1780s they launched an agitation, claiming that the East India Company was injuring them by its import of Indian fabrics. The company realized that it needed to promote other lines of export from India, agricultural products were a safe line. They could not compete with British products, and also serve as raw materials for British industry. This strategy had been followed in the case of silk from the 1790s and with the development of the British industry, this trend grew stronger. Furthermore, by the 1789s an indirect method of remitting the Indian tribute via China had begun to take shape. The British imported large quantities of tea from China and had to pay for it in silver, as the Chinese did not want Western goods. However, the Chinese bought Indian products like ivory, raw cotton, and (later on) opium. The Chinese products could be got in exchange for Indian products that the British acquired in India. This system became known as 'triangular trade', with the three points being Calcutta, Canton, and London. Wealth circulated through the first two but gathered in the Company's treasury in the third.

                      The Selection of Commercial Crops

              The crops on which the company concentrated were indigo, cotton, raw silk, opium, pepper, and, in the 19th century, also tea and sugar. Of these, raw silk was used by British weavers as it could not be produced in Britain. Silk remained an important export item til the last decades of the 19th century. The same was true for cotton, and it could also be sold to the Chinese. Opium was smuggled into China. The development of opium as a commercial crop served two objectives of the Company - it gave a large revenue in India and also helped in transferring Indian remittances to London via China. Indigo was a textile dye, extracted from a tropical plant and was in great demand in the West. Tea cultivation was introduced in Assam from the 1840s. Sugar and pepper were other crops that were commercialized during this period. None of these crops competed with or replaced any British product. Moreover cheap agricultural goods acted as raw materials to British industries.

Effects on Indian economy

Impoverishment - One of the major objectives of the exports of agriculture goods was to remit resources out of India. It was the method by which the Indian 'tribute' was transferred to Britain. India received no imports in return for these exports. Obviously such a transfer impoverished India. The cultivation and export of commercial crops thus served to impoverish rather than to enrich India. 

Instability - Agriculture in India was exposed to many hazards like drought, flood or other calamity but with commercial agriculture, another factor was added. The crops were now going to distant markets. Therefore if prices of a commodity drop in one region due to bumper crops, the same trend is repeated in other regions leading to less payment and maltreatment. For example, the Bundelkhand region began to grow a lot of cotton for the Chinese market after 1816. The British officials claimed the area became very prosperous and increased the land tax. However, exports and prices of cotton declined after the 1830’s but the taxes weren’t reduced leading to the impoverishment of the peasantry. Thus, the commercialization added a fresh element of instability to the rural economy.

The various markets

Commercialization developed in India led to the disappearance of the other markets. 

# Labor market - In the ryoti system, the peasants were coerced to cultivate crops and supply them at a very low price. They could survive because they and their families could grow food on the rest of their land - but a landless laborer could not do this, and would have had to be paid more. So the planters and businessmen did not like to employ wage labor, and the labor market did not develop.

# Input market - The peasant had to use his own implements like plough, bullocks, etc. to raise the commercial crop. But he was not paid extra for this - as that would reduce the planters' profits. He could bear the loss because these things were needed to grow his own food supply also, but as in the case with labour, no free market for these input goods could develop . 

# land market - The regime of the tax-collector, the zamindar, and the planter hindered the growth of the land market. Due to high taxes and unreasonable demands by planters, no outsiders were interested in buying land and thus the land market didn’t develop. 

# Free market - There was the credit market, to provide loans. The indigo cultivators were given loans by the planters as a way of tying them down. The interest charged was high while the product was purchased at the minimum possible price leading to a debt trap. On the other hand, the planter himself did not want the advance repaid, because then the peasant would escape from his control. Similarly, in the case of opium, the peasants took the advance to grow the crop at least in part because they feared that a refusal would anger the village headman and the Government. A free market, with the freedom for each individual to act in his own interest clearly did not exist. 

Social structure - The continual use of coercion and State power distorted the markets and prevented the appearance of a full labor market. Production continued to be carried on by the peasant and his family on (his little plot of land), but now the indigo planter or opium agent forced him to mark off a part of his land for a commercial crop, from which he earned little or nothing. The peasant was impoverished and the rural economy was ruined. There was widespread poverty, impoverishment of masses as a consequence famine became a regular feature wiping out the population. But neither the method nor the organization of production was altered. The European businessmen found it more profitable to exploit the small peasant household than to engage in large-scale production with hired labor.  

EHI - 5

Fourth Part

Q  Write a note on the expansion of British rule into South India.               12

A  The expansion of the British in South India was basically the outcome of the hostilities between the English and the French East India Companies. South India was the main arena for French activities. Not only was Pondicherry their capital, but in the neighboring princely states like Hyderabad and Mysore, they wielded great influence. In order to make maximum

profits, it was necessary for a trading company to eliminate all competition and establish its monopoly. Hence it had become very essential for the British to eliminate the hold of the French from this region. With the outbreak of the war in Europe, the stage was set for the First Carnatic War (1740-1748) in India between two rivals. The first war didn’t yield any decisive outcome and it ended after the conclusion of hostilities in Europe between the two rivals.  

   Unlike the first Carnatic war, there was no European war to provide a pretext for the outbreak of hostilities between the English and the French in the second instance. Rivalry in India provided the context, but it became a life and death struggle for the survival of the English and French EIC in India. It was an attempt by both the trading firms to consolidate and extend their respective influence in South India. In this war, the British were the clear winners who diplomatically and militarily outpaced the French and established firmly in South India. 

          By 1756, with the outbreak of the Seven Years' War between the English and the French in Europe the stage was set for the final showdown in India. In this war, the British were in commanding position and after overpowering Bengal were ready to take on the French. In the decisive battle of the third Carnatic War which was fought at Wandiwash on 22 January 1760, the French were defeated and after losing most of the territories were confined to Jinje and Pondicherry. Finally, in May 1760, the English laid siege to Pondicherry. 

        In the aftermath of the third Carnatic War, the English reign Supreme over South India as all the European Rivals had been eliminated and the only task left was subjugating Indian rulers in South India. The major power being the Mysore and Marathas. By the second decade of the 19th Century, the British had secured their position firmly in South India as both the Marathas and Mysore states were defeated by the British.

Q  Write a note on the process of British expansion in North India.                 20

A  There were two major powers in North India these were Awadh and Punjab.

Awadh - The Company's fortunes improved dramatically when Company in collaboration with the influential Indian merchants & nobels, defeated the nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daula in 1757 at Plassey. The massive land revenues generated from fertile agriculture areas were used by the British to enrich its servants and strengthen its army by recruiting more men in the army . The results were the defeat of combined forces of Mir Kasim, Shuja-ud-Daula (the nawab of Awadh), and the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II by the British. 

       Although Shuja-ud-Daula was restored the throne of Awadh, he was firmly bound to the Company by a treaty(Subsidiary alliance). It provided for mutual defence (paid for by the nawab), free trade agreement for the company in his territory, and payment of Rs.5,000,000 as war debts. The ramifications of this treaty proved enormous for the history of North India. The company through the resident stationed at the Awadh capital was able to encroach upon the powers of the rulers so much so that by the beginning of the 19th Century, many of the higher officials, courtiers and large landholders of the province repose their faith in the company and consider it as a real source of power. Even members of the Nawabi family relied on companies' intervention for securing the position of the Nawabi. 

        Besides slowly annexing territories from the Awadh rulers the Company was also successfully building an alternative base, a source of authority for itself inside Awadh. Through the right of providing extraterritorial protection, the successive Residents tried to build a substantial constituency for the Company which extended from bottom to the top. The sepoys from Awadh, enlisted in or retired from the Company's armies, represented the lowest rung of it. The Taluqdars who were displaced by the action of the Nawabs and who successfully appealed to the Company for the restoration of their lands formed the middle of the ladder. The friends and relatives of the deposed or unsuccessful members of the Nawabi family were the highest in order to whom the Company's extended protection.

       Thus by creating an alternative source of authority for itself in Awadh, the company undermined the legitimacy of the Awadh rulers. This way the Company kept on encroaching on the material and moral domains of the Awadh rulers so much so that the annexation of 1856 became a logical conclusion.

Punjab - After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in June 1839, Punjab was in the grip of political instability and rapid changes were taking place in the government. Kharak Singh, Nav Nihal Singh, Chand Kaur, Sher Singh & finally Dalip Singh were brought to the throne in quick succession. Conspiracy & intrigues were widespread and the army played a major role in all these changes that took place in the government. Prolonged and bloody battles were generally fought to bring the claimant to the throne or to dislodge the incumbent. 

           The British soon found their opportunity due to the repeated changes in the government of Punjab. The corruption among the officials, general indiscipline in the army and the disenchantment of the mercantile class were other factors that favored the British. An alliance was formed with the high ranking officials in government and army by British which proved beneficial to the British in the first war between Company and Sikh state. Due to the treachery of high officials, the formidable Punjab army was defeated in a series of encounters and was forced to sign the humiliating treaty of Lahore in 1846. Under the treaty, the British annexed the Jalandhar Doab region. The Punjab army was reduced to 20,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry and a strong British force were stationed at Lahore. The British Resident at Lahore was given extensive authority to intervene in all matters of the state department. The British stationed their troops in Punjab while the expenses were to be paid by the Lahore government. 

         All these, however, did not satisfy the British as their ultimate aim was direct rule over Punjab. Taking advantage of the revolt by the Diwan of Multan in 1848 against the Lahore Durbar, the British sensed the opportunity to annex Punjab. In the campaign of 1849, the Sikh forces were decisively defeated and Punjab was annexed. Thus the British swallowed the very kingdom they were supposed to protect.

Q  Briefly outline the main changes in the European economy during the 18th century. 12

A  During the 18th century the changes in agriculture and industry brought about by the use of technology were such that they revolutionized the European economy and the society in particular Britain. This period witnessed the transformation from a mercantile economy to an industrial economy in Europe. 

           Political stability, a growing demand for products and the society which has the will to industrialize brought England on the threshold of the Industrial revolution. The necessary combination of capital, entrepreneurship, and technology brought industrial revolution. Such was the pace of growth after the 1780s that it revolutionized production and laid the foundations of the modern society. The ability to exploit the opportunities and utilize new inventions for production helped in getting a competitive advantage both in the domestic and external market which was crucial for the economy. 

           By the eighteenth century, Britain had earned the reputation of being the shopkeeper of the world. In addition to cotton textiles, metallurgy especially copper and steel manufacture, glass & paper industries experienced tremendous growth. The invention of the steam engine and its application in modernizing the transport sector further boosted the European economy. 

         The Industrial Revolution brought about a series of changes in the organization of production. Based on the rapid usage of technology the factory system started replacing the putting-out system. In the putting out System the artisan owned his tools and produced finished goods at home for the merchant by taking advances. In the factory system, the labor was employed by the factory owner; the worker did not own tools and machines, he only received wages for rendering labour services. The Industrial Revolution meant a radical change in production as well as redistribution of Labour from agriculture to industry.

        Thus in the 18th century, along with the creation of a working-class, the capitalist class also emerged and matured. Capitalists came from the ranks of merchants, landlords and also better off artisans who invested capital in industries. They used wage Labor and technology to make profits in the market. The profits were re-invested and competitive advantage was sought by using better and efficient techniques of production. Thus the 18th century witnessed tremendous change in the European economy from a trading mercantile dependent economy to an industrial economy.

Q  Mercantilism                                                           6

A   In the 17th century the countries of Europe were under the influence of a set of economic ideas and practices known as mercantilism. These can be summarized as- 

1.  It was believed that the volume of world trade is more or less fixed. State policies should be framed in such a manner that the country should strive to get maximum share of this world trade.

2. Precious metals. i.e gold and silver denotes the wealth of the nation. If a nation did not possess a natural source of precious metal, it should get it through trade. 

3.  In order to accumulate precious metals, the government should frame a favorable balance of trade policy. It means the value of exports should always exceed the value of imports. In other words more gold and silver should come into the country than the amount going out.

4. To preserve and increase this balance, high tariffs should be imposed to reduce imports of manufactured goods. Lower tariffs to encourage the import of cheap raw Material and bounties on exports should be given.    

5. The state should take steps to promote exports, especially of manufactured goods by establishing state-run workshops and factories, by granting monopolies and regulating the guilds.

6.  Colonies should be used both as a market for exports and as sources of supply cheap raw material and if possible precious metals. If necessary, wars must be waged against rivals for the protection of the colonies.  

7.  It was believed that colonies should be feeders to the mother country. Manufacture of certain commodities was either forbidden or discouraged for fear of spoiling the market of the mother country and exhausting the supply of raw materials. All colonial trade should be a monopoly of the mother country.  

Q  Discuss the nature and pattern of European trade in Asia during the 17th century.  12

A   When European companies started trading with India in the seventeenth century their main problem was that they had few goods to offer in return for Indian commodities. For nearly three centuries the balance of trade was largely in favor of Asia and they had to struggle with the problem of financing an adverse balance of trade with Asia. Apart from wine and oil their ships brought little from Europe. Gold and silver brought into Europe from the mines of South America was used to finance trade with Asia and in particular India.

           The European companies were facing severe criticism at home for doing this and were under constant pressure to find other ways of paying for their trade-in Eastern goods. A partial solution to this problem was found by capturing the intra-Asian trade. The Europeans started making good profits by bringing Spice Islands cloves and Japanese copper to India and China, Indian cotton textiles to South East Asia and Persian carpets to India thereby paying for some of their imports from India. However, only in the later part of the eighteenth-century when the English started getting land revenues from Bengal and by exporting opium to China that a final solution to the problem of the deficit trade was found. 

            In the seventeenth century, the bulk of the profits of European companies came from the sale of commodities brought from Asia to the markets of Europe, Africa, the American continents and to the Middle East. A triangular trade had developed between Europe, the Americas and the West Coast of Africa. Trade with the East was an important part of it.

           Spices were very high on the list of commodities demanded by the Europeans. Among spices, it was pepper alone which dominated the trade in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. However, towards the end of the seventeenth century, there was a change in the commodity structure of the trade. Cotton textiles, silk, and saltpeter became very important in trade in place of spices. Indian textiles were regularly demanded by the English and the Dutch companies from the second decade of the 17th century.

Europeans were using Indian textiles in the trade with other parts of Asia where it was demanded as a barter commodity. Indian textiles are famous for their range, variety, and quality. Saltpeter required for the manufacture of gunpowder and indigo were other commodities which was also in much demand by the European companies in the 17th century.

Q  Discuss the structure and pattern of trade of the European companies with India during the 17th 18th centuries       12

A  Above answer and then industrial revolution and India becoming a source of raw material and market for finished goods.  

Q  Why did the British try to expand their control beyond Indian borders? Explain with reference to China and Afghanistan.   20     

A   English interest in expansion outside India was influenced by two major factors:-

Markets and supplies:  The British wanted to find new markets for the goods procured in India. They also required goods in exchange for trade with China. Apart from these, the British wanted to procure material like saltpeter for its military in South and South-East Asia;

Strategic: There was the need- to safeguard the Indian empire and the trade routes to China and India. 

With China - By the 1770s, Bengal had been milked dry due to policies adopted by the British and its economy was in shambles. Consequently, the profits of the East India Company declined and the Company started reporting massive losses. Such losses were doubly troublesome because not only did they hurt the dividends of the powerful shareholders of the Company in England but also jeopardized the extremely lucrative trade with China. Chinese tea, silks, and nankeens sold at a high profit in Europe and the Company had the English monopoly over this trade. However, the Chinese at this time sold their goods only in exchange for silver; and the silver had been provided mostly by Bengal. 

While the Company was establishing itself in India it had a growing trade with China. As in India, so in China-the Company had a monopoly over trade. But from the Company’s point of view, there were two key problems faced by them in trade -

#  that the Chinese government-controlled it closely and they were restricted to the port city 

#  they only traded mostly in exchange of silver

    Due to depletion of the wealth of Bengal the company sought to pay for the China trade by-

#  replacing silver by opium grown in the Malwa region of Central India and

# by obtaining-high-priced spices from South-East Asia for sale in China and Europe. 

The latter compelled the Company to expand itself into South-East Asia.

Q  Monopoly trade                                                         6

A  The English East India Company was granted a monopoly to trade in the East by the government of England through a charter. It means the East India Company was legally entitled and has exclusive control of trade with India and other countries in the East. All other British traders and Companies were barred from trading with India and East. There were some other countries left like Portuguese, French, etc along with Indian traders who were working along with East India Company in the market. The EIC used diplomacy and warfare to sideline other countries from trading with India. After gaining political control over territories in India, they debarred Indian trading firms and merchants from dealing in markets. Thus the Monopoly of EIC was established. Thereafter it started harassing weavers and artisans who were bullied to supply the goods below the market price. Thus the artisans were reduced step by step to the position of bonded laborers by the denial of free access to the market. They were forced to supply their produce to the Company at low prices arbitrarily fixed by the Company.