The British rule had pronounced and profound economic impact on India.The various economic
policies followed by the British led to the rapid transformation of India's
economy into a colonial economy whose nature and structure were determined by
needs of the British economy. One important aspect of British economic policy
was commercialization of agriculture.
The commercialization
of agriculture means that the agricultural crops and goods are produced by the
peasants for sale in the market and not for their own consumption.
Commercialization of agriculture in India began during the British rule. The
commercialization of Indian Agriculture took place not to feed the industries
of India because India was far behind in industrial development as compared to
Britain, France, Belgium and many other European countries of eighteenth
century.
The commercialization
of Indian Agriculture was done primarily to feed the British industries that it
was taken up and achieved only in cases-of those agricultural products which
were either needed by the British industries or could fetch cash commercial
gain to the British in the European or American market.
For example, several
efforts were made to increase the production of cotton in India to provide raw
and good quality cotton to the cotton-textile industries of Britain which were
growing fast after the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Therefore, cotton
growing area increase in India and its production increased manifold with
gradual lapse of time. Indigo and more than that, tea and coffee plantation
were encouraged in India because these could get commercial market abroad.
Most of the
plantations for commercial crops were controlled by the English. Jute was another
product that received attention of the English company because the jute made
products got a ready market in America and Europe. The commercialization of
India agriculture was initiated in India by the British through their direct
and indirect policies and activities.
Firstly, the new land
tenure system introduced in form of permanent settlement and Ryotwari
Settlement had made agricultural land a freely exchangeable commodity.
The Permanent
settlement by giving ownership right to the zamindars created a class of
wealthy landlords; they could make use of this ownership right by sale or
purchase of land. Further, the agriculture which had been way of life rather
than a business enterprise now began to be practiced for sale in national and
international market.
Moreover, crops like
cotton, jute, sugarcane, ground nuts, tobacco etc. which had a high demand in
the market were increasingly cultivated. The beginning of the plantation crops
like Tea, coffee, rubber, indigo etc heralded a new era in agricultural
practices in India. These were essentially meant for markets and thus
commercialization of agriculture took to new heights with the expansion of the
British rule.
A large number of
factors encouraged and facilitated commercialization of Indian agriculture. The
political unity established by the British and the resultant rise of the
unified national market was an important factor. Further, the spread of money
economy replaced the barter and agricultural goods became market items.
Further, the
replacement of custom and tradition by competition and contract also led to the
commercialization of Indian agriculture was also aided by the expansion of
means of transportation and communication. The laying of railway lines and
expansion of rail and road transport enabled the transportation of agricultural
products from production centers to markets.
Another boosting
factor for commercialization of agriculture in India was the gaining of speed
of Industrial Revolution in England. This led to factor in commercialization as
more and more agricultural goods were produced to satisfy the demand for raw
materials by the British industries. The enlargement and expansion of
international trade and the entry of British finance capital also belted
commercialization of agriculture.
This was especially so
in cotton as the civil war disrupted the supplies of cotton from America and
thereby increased demand for Indian cotton. Further, the British policy of one
way free trade also acted as sufficient encouraging factor for commercialization
as the manufactured items in textile, jute etc could find free entry in Indian
markets, where as the manufactured goods did not have similar free access to
European markets.
The commercialization
of agriculture was a forced and artificial process for the majority of Indian
peasants. It was introduced under coercion of the British and not out of the
incentive of peasantry at large. The peasantry went for cultivation of
commercial crops under duress.
He had to pay the land
revenue due to the British government in time. Moreover, he had to grow
commercial crop on a specified tract of his land under the oppression of
planters. The peasants also went in for growing commercial crops to pay back
the interests due to money lenders in time.
The commercialization
of Indian agriculture started post 1813 when the industrial revolution in
England gained pace. The commercialization of agriculture had many results. It
was beneficial to the British planters, traders and manufacturers, who were provided
with opportunity to make huge profits by getting the commercialized
agricultural products at, throw away prices. The commercialization of Indian
agriculture also partly benefited Indian traders and money lenders who made
huge fortunes by working as middlemen for the British.
This regard they acted
as conduits delivering the products from peasants to the British company from
where it was taken abroad. Moreover, Indian money lenders advanced Cash
advances to the farmers to cultivate the commercial crops and if the peasants
failed to pay him back in time, the land of peasants came under ownership of
moneylenders.
However, most of the
Indian people suffered miserably due to the British policy of commercialization
of Indian agriculture. It resulted in reduced area under cultivation of food
crops. The net result of this change was that Indian failed to produce even
that much food crops which could provide even two square meals a day to its
population.
The misery was further
enhanced became the population of India was increasing every year,
fragmentation of land was taking place because of the increasing pressure on
land and modern techniques of agricultural production were not introduced in
India.
It affected adversely
the poor people of India; it became difficult for them to get even sufficient
food. This becomes ample from the fact that ill 1880 India had a surplus of
foodstuffs to the extent of five million tons and by 1945 it had a deficit of
10 million tons.
The consumption of
food was then estimated at one and a half lb per individual and in 1945 it was
1 lb. Nearly thirty percent of the Indian population was estimated to be
suffering from chronic malnutrition and under nutrition. Thus, the
commercialization of agriculture in India by the British was also one of the
important causes of the impoverishment of the Indian people.
The poor peasant was
forced to sell his produce just after harvest at whatever prices he could get
as he had to meet in time the demands of the government, the landlord, the
money lender and his family members' requirements. This placed him at the money
of the grain merchant, who was in a position to dictate terms and who purchased
his produced at much less than the market price. Thus, a large share of the
benefit of the growing trade in agricultural products was reaped by the
merchant, who was very often also the village money lender.
The net result of the
commercialization of Indian agriculture was that most of Indian farmers failed
to produce even that much food crops which could provide them even two square
meals a day. Most importantly the life of the Indian peasant was tied to the
highly fluctuating national and international market.
He was no longer a
deciding factor in agricultural practices. Further, by making agricultural land
a tradable commodity, the peasant lost his security feeling. High land revenue
demand forced him to take loan from the money lender at high interest rates.
Failure to pay debt in time meant loss of land to the money lender at high
interest rates. It led to land alienation and increase in the number of
agricultural labourers whose conditions especially in plantation industry was
pathetic.
The commercialization
of agriculture was a new phenomenon in Indian agriculture scene introduced by
the British. While the upper class and British industries benefited-from it,
the Indian peasants' life was tied to remote international market. The worst
effect of commercialization was the oppression of Indian peasants at hands of
European. This found expression in the famous Indigo revolt in 1859. Moreover,
commercialization of Indian agriculture got manifested in series of famines
which took a heavy toll of life.
