IGNOU BDP ESO-12 IMPACT OF COLONIALISM ON INDIAN ECONOMY

                     ESO-12 SOCIETY IN INDIA

IGNOU BDP ESO-12 IMPACT OF COLONIALISM ON INDIAN ECONOMY

QUESTION: Discuss the impact of Colonialism on rural economy in India with suitable examples.(20 marks)

ANSWER: The rural economy underwent some important changes during the colonial rule in India. De-industrialisation, new land revenue settlements, like the zamindari, ryotwari and mahalwari systems and commercialisation of agriculture were some of the important features of the rural economy during this period. The measures introduced by the British also caused a considerable strain on the jajmani system.

De-industrialisation

The British colonial rule in India shattered the traditional rural economy. It broke up the sustainable pattern of growth of rural economy. The healthy union between agriculture and village industries was destroyed. Indian economy was subordinated to the interests of British trade and industry.

Rural artisan industries were hard hit under the British rule. Domestic goods were made with primitive techniques on a small scale. They could not compete with mass-produced machine-made cheaper goods imported from Britain. The cotton spinning and weaving industries suffered the most. Silk and woolen textiles also were badly affected. Similarly, tanning, dyeing, oil-pressing and iron industries suffered due to the introduction of machines for these purposes. Moreover, the introduction of railways hastened the process of decline of the rural industries. Now, the British goods could reach the remotest corner of the rural areas. Increased export of agricultural raw materials from India for British industries injured Indian handicrafts.

The ruin of village arts and crafts led to de-industrialisation of the rural economy. There was a rapid decline in the percentage of the population dependent on industries from 18 percent to 8 percent. Cotton spinners and weavers in the villages were almost wiped out as a result of mill-made cloth from England. The other village artisans too were affected by imports from England.As a result, the dependence of people on agriculture increased. This strained the traditional jajmani system.

New Land Revenue Policy

In different parts of the country, the British introduced three types of land revenue settlements i.e the zamindari, the ryotwari, and the mahalwari systems. But they had similar consequences everywhere. A very oppressive class of landlords emerged and the peasantry got impoverished.

1. Permanent Settlement(Zamindari settlement)

Under the permanent settlement, the zamindars were given hereditary ownership, over very large tracts of land known as zamindaris. They had to pay a certain portion of the land revenue they derived from the peasantry to the colonial government keeping the rest for themselves. The share of the government was fixed in perpetuity. However, the landlords could raise the rate of land revenue collected from the peasants at their will for their own advantage. The result was disastrous for the tenants, as they grew impoverished. Further, the peasants had to pay land rent in time irrespective of good or bad harvest failing which they were dispossessed of their land by the landlords. This forced them to take loans from the money lenders or from the zamindars themselves. The peasants were even compelled to sell part of their land for paying the rent. Their indebtedness kept on mounting and added to their poverty.

2. Ryotwari Settlement

In the Ryotwari areas, the cultivator was recognised as the owner of his land, subject to the payment of land revenue directly collected by the state, which acted in practice as a zamindar. The rate of land revenue was periodically revised and raised compelling the peasants to get trapped in indebtedness to the money lenders or lose land in case of inability to pay the dues.

3. Mahalwari Settlement

The Mahalwari settlement of land revenue was made by the government with landlords or heads of families who collectively claimed to be the landlords of the village or the estate(mahal). In this case, also the peasants life under this system was characterised by poverty and famine.

4. Consequences of the New Policy

Other important consequences of the new land revenue policies were the ruin of most of the old zamindars and raise of new landlordism. The government was very rigid in collecting land revenue from the zamindars. These new zamindars generally lived in towns and were very ruthless in the collection of land revenue even in case of failure of crops. In addition, the process of subinfeudation grew up. Thus developed a chain of rent receiving intermediaries between the state and the actual cultivator. The burden of cultivators increased.

Commercialisation of Agriculture

Another impact of the British rule was commercialisation of agriculture. The rate of land revenue was high. It had to be paid in cash. The cultivators were forced to sell a significant portion of their produce in the market after harvest, at low prices. There was no improvement in the technique of agricultural production, which could enable cultivators to produce surplus grain for sale in the market. In fact, it was a forced entry of cultivators in the market economy.

Further, foreign capital was invested in the plantation of indigo, tea, and coffee in India. The produce was meant to be sold in the Europian market. Cotton was also exported from India to feed the British textile mills. This increased the plantation money economy in rural areas and inter-linked the Indian economy with the international market for serving the British interests. The Indian peasant was made to bear the burden of widely fluctuating market prices, which accentuated their misery.Production of commercial crops required higher inputs, which increased the dependence of the peasantry on money lenders for more loans. Thus they remain trapped in indebtedness.