NCERT Textbook: Ruling the Countryside | Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Fig. 1 – Robert Clive 
accepting  the Diwani          
of Bengal, Bihar and 
Orissa from the Mughal 
ruler in 1765
The Company Becomes the Diwan
On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East 
India Company as the Diwan of Bengal. The actual event most 
probably took place in Robert Clive’s tent, with a few Englishmen 
and Indians as witnesses. But in the painting above, the event 
is shown as a majestic occasion, taking place in a grand setting. 
The painter was commissioned by Clive to record the memorable 
events in Clive’s life. The grant of Diwani clearly was one such 
event in British imagination.
As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial 
administrator of the territory under its control. Now it had to think 
of administering the land and organising its revenue resources. 
This had to be done in a way that could yield enough revenue to 
meet the growing expenses of the company. A trading company 
had also to ensure that it could buy the products it needed and 
sell what it wanted. 
Ruling the Countryside                   3
chap 1-4.indd   26 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2


Fig. 1 – Robert Clive 
accepting  the Diwani          
of Bengal, Bihar and 
Orissa from the Mughal 
ruler in 1765
The Company Becomes the Diwan
On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East 
India Company as the Diwan of Bengal. The actual event most 
probably took place in Robert Clive’s tent, with a few Englishmen 
and Indians as witnesses. But in the painting above, the event 
is shown as a majestic occasion, taking place in a grand setting. 
The painter was commissioned by Clive to record the memorable 
events in Clive’s life. The grant of Diwani clearly was one such 
event in British imagination.
As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial 
administrator of the territory under its control. Now it had to think 
of administering the land and organising its revenue resources. 
This had to be done in a way that could yield enough revenue to 
meet the growing expenses of the company. A trading company 
had also to ensure that it could buy the products it needed and 
sell what it wanted. 
Ruling the Countryside                   3
chap 1-4.indd   26 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
 RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE          27
Over the years, the Company also learnt that it had to 
move with some caution. Being an alien power, it needed 
to pacify those who in the past had ruled the countryside, 
and enjoyed authority and prestige. Those who had held 
local power had to be controlled but they could not be  
entirely eliminated.
How was this to be done? In this chapter we will see how the 
Company came to colonise the countryside, organise revenue 
resources, redefine the rights of people, and produce the crops 
it wanted.
Revenue for the Company
The Company had become the Diwan, but it still saw itself 
primarily as a trader. It wanted a large revenue income but 
was unwilling to set up any regular system of assessment and 
collection. The effort was to increase the revenue as much as it 
could and buy fine cotton and silk cloth as cheaply as possible. 
Within five years, the value of goods bought by the Company 
in Bengal doubled. Before 1765, the Company had purchased 
goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain. Now 
the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of 
goods for export. 
Soon it was clear that the Bengal economy was facing a deep 
crisis. Artisans were deserting villages since they were being 
forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices. Peasants 
were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them. 
Artisanal production was in decline, and agricultural cultivation 
showed signs of collapse. Then in 1770, a terrible famine killed 
ten million people in Bengal. About one-third of the population 
was wiped out.
Fig. 2 – A weekly market 
in Murshidabad in Bengal
Peasants and artisans 
from rural areas regularly 
came to these weekly 
markets (haats) to sell 
their goods and buy what 
they needed. These markets 
were badly affected during 
times of economic crisis.
chap 1-4.indd   27 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
Page 3


Fig. 1 – Robert Clive 
accepting  the Diwani          
of Bengal, Bihar and 
Orissa from the Mughal 
ruler in 1765
The Company Becomes the Diwan
On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East 
India Company as the Diwan of Bengal. The actual event most 
probably took place in Robert Clive’s tent, with a few Englishmen 
and Indians as witnesses. But in the painting above, the event 
is shown as a majestic occasion, taking place in a grand setting. 
The painter was commissioned by Clive to record the memorable 
events in Clive’s life. The grant of Diwani clearly was one such 
event in British imagination.
As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial 
administrator of the territory under its control. Now it had to think 
of administering the land and organising its revenue resources. 
This had to be done in a way that could yield enough revenue to 
meet the growing expenses of the company. A trading company 
had also to ensure that it could buy the products it needed and 
sell what it wanted. 
Ruling the Countryside                   3
chap 1-4.indd   26 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
 RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE          27
Over the years, the Company also learnt that it had to 
move with some caution. Being an alien power, it needed 
to pacify those who in the past had ruled the countryside, 
and enjoyed authority and prestige. Those who had held 
local power had to be controlled but they could not be  
entirely eliminated.
How was this to be done? In this chapter we will see how the 
Company came to colonise the countryside, organise revenue 
resources, redefine the rights of people, and produce the crops 
it wanted.
Revenue for the Company
The Company had become the Diwan, but it still saw itself 
primarily as a trader. It wanted a large revenue income but 
was unwilling to set up any regular system of assessment and 
collection. The effort was to increase the revenue as much as it 
could and buy fine cotton and silk cloth as cheaply as possible. 
Within five years, the value of goods bought by the Company 
in Bengal doubled. Before 1765, the Company had purchased 
goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain. Now 
the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of 
goods for export. 
Soon it was clear that the Bengal economy was facing a deep 
crisis. Artisans were deserting villages since they were being 
forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices. Peasants 
were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them. 
Artisanal production was in decline, and agricultural cultivation 
showed signs of collapse. Then in 1770, a terrible famine killed 
ten million people in Bengal. About one-third of the population 
was wiped out.
Fig. 2 – A weekly market 
in Murshidabad in Bengal
Peasants and artisans 
from rural areas regularly 
came to these weekly 
markets (haats) to sell 
their goods and buy what 
they needed. These markets 
were badly affected during 
times of economic crisis.
chap 1-4.indd   27 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
28 OUR PASTS – III
The need to improve agriculture
If the economy was in ruins, could the Company be certain 
of its revenue income? Most Company officials began to 
feel that investment in land had to be encouraged and 
agriculture had to be improved. 
How was this to be done? After two decades of debate 
on the question, the Company finally introduced the 
Permanent Settlement in 1793. By the terms of the 
settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised 
as zamindars. They were asked to collect rent from the 
peasants and pay revenue to the Company. The amount 
to be paid was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be 
increased ever in future. It was felt that this would ensure 
a regular flow of revenue into the Company’s coffers and 
at the same time encourage the zamindars to invest in 
improving the land. Since the revenue demand of the state 
would not be increased, the zamindar would benefit from 
increased production from the land. 
The problem
The Permanent Settlement, however, created problems. 
Company officials soon discovered that the zamindars 
were in fact not investing in the improvement of land. 
The revenue that had been fixed was so high that the 
zamindars found it difficult to pay. Anyone who failed 
to pay the revenue lost his zamindari. Numerous 
zamindaris were sold off at auctions organised by  
the Company.
By the first decade of the nineteenth century, the 
situation changed. The prices in the market rose and 
cultivation slowly expanded. This meant an increase in 
the income of the zamindars but no gain for the Company 
since it could not increase a revenue demand that had 
been fixed permanently.
Even then the zamindars did not have an interest 
in improving the land. Some had lost their lands in 
the earlier years of the settlement; others now saw the 
possibility of earning without the trouble and risk of 
investment. As long as the zamindars could give out the 
land to tenants and get rent, they were not interested in 
improving the land. 
Fig. 3 – Charles Cornwallis 
Cornwallis was the Governor-
General of Bengal when the 
Permanent Settlement was 
introduced.
Colebrook on 
Bengal ryots
In many villages of  
Bengal, some of the 
powerful ryots did not 
cultivate, but instead gave 
out their lands to others (the 
under-tenants), taking 
from them very high 
rents. In 1806, H. T. 
Colebrook described 
the conditions of these 
under-tenants in Bengal:
The under-tenants, 
depressed by an 
excessive rent in 
kind, and by usurious 
returns for the cattle, 
seed, and subsistence, 
advanced to them, 
can never extricate 
themselves from 
debt. In so abject a 
state, they cannot 
labour in spirit, while 
they earn a scanty 
subsistence without 
hope of bettering 
their situation. 
Activity
?
Why do you think Colebrook is concerned with the 
conditions of the under-ryots in Bengal? Read the 
preceding pages and suggest possible reasons. 
Source 1
chap 1-4.indd   28 6/14/2022   2:39:26 PM
Reprint 2024-25
Page 4


Fig. 1 – Robert Clive 
accepting  the Diwani          
of Bengal, Bihar and 
Orissa from the Mughal 
ruler in 1765
The Company Becomes the Diwan
On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East 
India Company as the Diwan of Bengal. The actual event most 
probably took place in Robert Clive’s tent, with a few Englishmen 
and Indians as witnesses. But in the painting above, the event 
is shown as a majestic occasion, taking place in a grand setting. 
The painter was commissioned by Clive to record the memorable 
events in Clive’s life. The grant of Diwani clearly was one such 
event in British imagination.
As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial 
administrator of the territory under its control. Now it had to think 
of administering the land and organising its revenue resources. 
This had to be done in a way that could yield enough revenue to 
meet the growing expenses of the company. A trading company 
had also to ensure that it could buy the products it needed and 
sell what it wanted. 
Ruling the Countryside                   3
chap 1-4.indd   26 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
 RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE          27
Over the years, the Company also learnt that it had to 
move with some caution. Being an alien power, it needed 
to pacify those who in the past had ruled the countryside, 
and enjoyed authority and prestige. Those who had held 
local power had to be controlled but they could not be  
entirely eliminated.
How was this to be done? In this chapter we will see how the 
Company came to colonise the countryside, organise revenue 
resources, redefine the rights of people, and produce the crops 
it wanted.
Revenue for the Company
The Company had become the Diwan, but it still saw itself 
primarily as a trader. It wanted a large revenue income but 
was unwilling to set up any regular system of assessment and 
collection. The effort was to increase the revenue as much as it 
could and buy fine cotton and silk cloth as cheaply as possible. 
Within five years, the value of goods bought by the Company 
in Bengal doubled. Before 1765, the Company had purchased 
goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain. Now 
the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of 
goods for export. 
Soon it was clear that the Bengal economy was facing a deep 
crisis. Artisans were deserting villages since they were being 
forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices. Peasants 
were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them. 
Artisanal production was in decline, and agricultural cultivation 
showed signs of collapse. Then in 1770, a terrible famine killed 
ten million people in Bengal. About one-third of the population 
was wiped out.
Fig. 2 – A weekly market 
in Murshidabad in Bengal
Peasants and artisans 
from rural areas regularly 
came to these weekly 
markets (haats) to sell 
their goods and buy what 
they needed. These markets 
were badly affected during 
times of economic crisis.
chap 1-4.indd   27 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
28 OUR PASTS – III
The need to improve agriculture
If the economy was in ruins, could the Company be certain 
of its revenue income? Most Company officials began to 
feel that investment in land had to be encouraged and 
agriculture had to be improved. 
How was this to be done? After two decades of debate 
on the question, the Company finally introduced the 
Permanent Settlement in 1793. By the terms of the 
settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised 
as zamindars. They were asked to collect rent from the 
peasants and pay revenue to the Company. The amount 
to be paid was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be 
increased ever in future. It was felt that this would ensure 
a regular flow of revenue into the Company’s coffers and 
at the same time encourage the zamindars to invest in 
improving the land. Since the revenue demand of the state 
would not be increased, the zamindar would benefit from 
increased production from the land. 
The problem
The Permanent Settlement, however, created problems. 
Company officials soon discovered that the zamindars 
were in fact not investing in the improvement of land. 
The revenue that had been fixed was so high that the 
zamindars found it difficult to pay. Anyone who failed 
to pay the revenue lost his zamindari. Numerous 
zamindaris were sold off at auctions organised by  
the Company.
By the first decade of the nineteenth century, the 
situation changed. The prices in the market rose and 
cultivation slowly expanded. This meant an increase in 
the income of the zamindars but no gain for the Company 
since it could not increase a revenue demand that had 
been fixed permanently.
Even then the zamindars did not have an interest 
in improving the land. Some had lost their lands in 
the earlier years of the settlement; others now saw the 
possibility of earning without the trouble and risk of 
investment. As long as the zamindars could give out the 
land to tenants and get rent, they were not interested in 
improving the land. 
Fig. 3 – Charles Cornwallis 
Cornwallis was the Governor-
General of Bengal when the 
Permanent Settlement was 
introduced.
Colebrook on 
Bengal ryots
In many villages of  
Bengal, some of the 
powerful ryots did not 
cultivate, but instead gave 
out their lands to others (the 
under-tenants), taking 
from them very high 
rents. In 1806, H. T. 
Colebrook described 
the conditions of these 
under-tenants in Bengal:
The under-tenants, 
depressed by an 
excessive rent in 
kind, and by usurious 
returns for the cattle, 
seed, and subsistence, 
advanced to them, 
can never extricate 
themselves from 
debt. In so abject a 
state, they cannot 
labour in spirit, while 
they earn a scanty 
subsistence without 
hope of bettering 
their situation. 
Activity
?
Why do you think Colebrook is concerned with the 
conditions of the under-ryots in Bengal? Read the 
preceding pages and suggest possible reasons. 
Source 1
chap 1-4.indd   28 6/14/2022   2:39:26 PM
Reprint 2024-25
 RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE          29
On the other hand, in the villages, the cultivator 
found the system extremely oppressive. The rent he paid 
to the zamindar was high and his right on the land was 
insecure. To pay the rent he had to often take a loan 
from the moneylender, and when he failed to pay the 
rent, he was evicted from the land he had cultivated 
for generations. 
A new system is devised
By the early nineteenth century, many of the Company 
officials were convinced that the system of revenue 
had to be changed again. How could revenues be fixed 
permanently at a time when the Company needed  
more money to meet its expenses of administration 
and trade? 
In the North Western Provinces of the Bengal 
Presidency (most of this area is now in Uttar Pradesh), 
an Englishman called Holt Mackenzie devised the 
new system which came into effect in 1822. He felt 
that the village was an important social institution 
in north Indian society and needed to be preserved. 
Under his directions, collectors went from village to 
village, inspecting the land, measuring the fields, 
and recording the customs and rights of different 
groups. The estimated revenue of each plot within a 
village was added up to calculate the revenue that 
each  village (mahal) had to pay. This demand  was 
to be revised periodically, not permanently fixed. The 
charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the 
Company was given to the village headman, rather 
than the zamindar. This system came to be known as 
the mahalwari settlement.
The Munro system
In the British territories in the South, there was a similar 
move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement. The 
new system that was devised came to be known as the 
ryotwar (or ryotwari). It was tried on a small scale by 
Captain Alexander Read in some of the areas that were 
taken over by the Company after the wars with Tipu Sultan. 
Subsequently developed by Thomas Munro, this system 
was gradually extended all over south India.
Read and Munro felt that in the south there were 
no traditional zamindars. The settlement, they argued, 
had to be made directly with the cultivators (ryots) who 
had tilled the land for generations. Their fields had to 
be carefully and separately surveyed before the revenue 
assessment was made. Munro thought that the British 
Mahal – In British 
revenue records, mahal 
is a revenue estate which 
may be a village or a 
group of villages.
Fig. 4 – Thomas Munro, Governor 
of Madras (1819–26) 
chap 1-4.indd   29 4/22/2022   2:49:49 PM
Reprint 2024-25
Page 5


Fig. 1 – Robert Clive 
accepting  the Diwani          
of Bengal, Bihar and 
Orissa from the Mughal 
ruler in 1765
The Company Becomes the Diwan
On 12 August 1765, the Mughal emperor appointed the East 
India Company as the Diwan of Bengal. The actual event most 
probably took place in Robert Clive’s tent, with a few Englishmen 
and Indians as witnesses. But in the painting above, the event 
is shown as a majestic occasion, taking place in a grand setting. 
The painter was commissioned by Clive to record the memorable 
events in Clive’s life. The grant of Diwani clearly was one such 
event in British imagination.
As Diwan, the Company became the chief financial 
administrator of the territory under its control. Now it had to think 
of administering the land and organising its revenue resources. 
This had to be done in a way that could yield enough revenue to 
meet the growing expenses of the company. A trading company 
had also to ensure that it could buy the products it needed and 
sell what it wanted. 
Ruling the Countryside                   3
chap 1-4.indd   26 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
 RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE          27
Over the years, the Company also learnt that it had to 
move with some caution. Being an alien power, it needed 
to pacify those who in the past had ruled the countryside, 
and enjoyed authority and prestige. Those who had held 
local power had to be controlled but they could not be  
entirely eliminated.
How was this to be done? In this chapter we will see how the 
Company came to colonise the countryside, organise revenue 
resources, redefine the rights of people, and produce the crops 
it wanted.
Revenue for the Company
The Company had become the Diwan, but it still saw itself 
primarily as a trader. It wanted a large revenue income but 
was unwilling to set up any regular system of assessment and 
collection. The effort was to increase the revenue as much as it 
could and buy fine cotton and silk cloth as cheaply as possible. 
Within five years, the value of goods bought by the Company 
in Bengal doubled. Before 1765, the Company had purchased 
goods in India by importing gold and silver from Britain. Now 
the revenue collected in Bengal could finance the purchase of 
goods for export. 
Soon it was clear that the Bengal economy was facing a deep 
crisis. Artisans were deserting villages since they were being 
forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices. Peasants 
were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them. 
Artisanal production was in decline, and agricultural cultivation 
showed signs of collapse. Then in 1770, a terrible famine killed 
ten million people in Bengal. About one-third of the population 
was wiped out.
Fig. 2 – A weekly market 
in Murshidabad in Bengal
Peasants and artisans 
from rural areas regularly 
came to these weekly 
markets (haats) to sell 
their goods and buy what 
they needed. These markets 
were badly affected during 
times of economic crisis.
chap 1-4.indd   27 4/22/2022   2:49:47 PM
Reprint 2024-25
28 OUR PASTS – III
The need to improve agriculture
If the economy was in ruins, could the Company be certain 
of its revenue income? Most Company officials began to 
feel that investment in land had to be encouraged and 
agriculture had to be improved. 
How was this to be done? After two decades of debate 
on the question, the Company finally introduced the 
Permanent Settlement in 1793. By the terms of the 
settlement, the rajas and taluqdars were recognised 
as zamindars. They were asked to collect rent from the 
peasants and pay revenue to the Company. The amount 
to be paid was fixed permanently, that is, it was not to be 
increased ever in future. It was felt that this would ensure 
a regular flow of revenue into the Company’s coffers and 
at the same time encourage the zamindars to invest in 
improving the land. Since the revenue demand of the state 
would not be increased, the zamindar would benefit from 
increased production from the land. 
The problem
The Permanent Settlement, however, created problems. 
Company officials soon discovered that the zamindars 
were in fact not investing in the improvement of land. 
The revenue that had been fixed was so high that the 
zamindars found it difficult to pay. Anyone who failed 
to pay the revenue lost his zamindari. Numerous 
zamindaris were sold off at auctions organised by  
the Company.
By the first decade of the nineteenth century, the 
situation changed. The prices in the market rose and 
cultivation slowly expanded. This meant an increase in 
the income of the zamindars but no gain for the Company 
since it could not increase a revenue demand that had 
been fixed permanently.
Even then the zamindars did not have an interest 
in improving the land. Some had lost their lands in 
the earlier years of the settlement; others now saw the 
possibility of earning without the trouble and risk of 
investment. As long as the zamindars could give out the 
land to tenants and get rent, they were not interested in 
improving the land. 
Fig. 3 – Charles Cornwallis 
Cornwallis was the Governor-
General of Bengal when the 
Permanent Settlement was 
introduced.
Colebrook on 
Bengal ryots
In many villages of  
Bengal, some of the 
powerful ryots did not 
cultivate, but instead gave 
out their lands to others (the 
under-tenants), taking 
from them very high 
rents. In 1806, H. T. 
Colebrook described 
the conditions of these 
under-tenants in Bengal:
The under-tenants, 
depressed by an 
excessive rent in 
kind, and by usurious 
returns for the cattle, 
seed, and subsistence, 
advanced to them, 
can never extricate 
themselves from 
debt. In so abject a 
state, they cannot 
labour in spirit, while 
they earn a scanty 
subsistence without 
hope of bettering 
their situation. 
Activity
?
Why do you think Colebrook is concerned with the 
conditions of the under-ryots in Bengal? Read the 
preceding pages and suggest possible reasons. 
Source 1
chap 1-4.indd   28 6/14/2022   2:39:26 PM
Reprint 2024-25
 RULING THE COUNTRYSIDE          29
On the other hand, in the villages, the cultivator 
found the system extremely oppressive. The rent he paid 
to the zamindar was high and his right on the land was 
insecure. To pay the rent he had to often take a loan 
from the moneylender, and when he failed to pay the 
rent, he was evicted from the land he had cultivated 
for generations. 
A new system is devised
By the early nineteenth century, many of the Company 
officials were convinced that the system of revenue 
had to be changed again. How could revenues be fixed 
permanently at a time when the Company needed  
more money to meet its expenses of administration 
and trade? 
In the North Western Provinces of the Bengal 
Presidency (most of this area is now in Uttar Pradesh), 
an Englishman called Holt Mackenzie devised the 
new system which came into effect in 1822. He felt 
that the village was an important social institution 
in north Indian society and needed to be preserved. 
Under his directions, collectors went from village to 
village, inspecting the land, measuring the fields, 
and recording the customs and rights of different 
groups. The estimated revenue of each plot within a 
village was added up to calculate the revenue that 
each  village (mahal) had to pay. This demand  was 
to be revised periodically, not permanently fixed. The 
charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the 
Company was given to the village headman, rather 
than the zamindar. This system came to be known as 
the mahalwari settlement.
The Munro system
In the British territories in the South, there was a similar 
move away from the idea of Permanent Settlement. The 
new system that was devised came to be known as the 
ryotwar (or ryotwari). It was tried on a small scale by 
Captain Alexander Read in some of the areas that were 
taken over by the Company after the wars with Tipu Sultan. 
Subsequently developed by Thomas Munro, this system 
was gradually extended all over south India.
Read and Munro felt that in the south there were 
no traditional zamindars. The settlement, they argued, 
had to be made directly with the cultivators (ryots) who 
had tilled the land for generations. Their fields had to 
be carefully and separately surveyed before the revenue 
assessment was made. Munro thought that the British 
Mahal – In British 
revenue records, mahal 
is a revenue estate which 
may be a village or a 
group of villages.
Fig. 4 – Thomas Munro, Governor 
of Madras (1819–26) 
chap 1-4.indd   29 4/22/2022   2:49:49 PM
Reprint 2024-25
30 OUR PASTS – III
should act as paternal father figures protecting the 
ryots under their charge.
All was not well
Within a few years after the new systems were imposed, 
it was clear that all was not well with them. Driven by 
the desire to increase the income from land, revenue 
officials fixed too high a revenue demand. Peasants were 
unable to pay, ryots fled the countryside, and villages 
became deserted in many regions. Optimistic officials 
had imagined that the new systems would transform 
the peasants into rich enterprising farmers. But this 
did not happen. 
Crops for Europe
The British also realised that the countryside could 
not only yield revenue, it could also grow the crops 
that Europe required. By the late eighteenth century, 
the Company was trying its best to expand the 
cultivation of opium and indigo. In the century and 
a half that followed, the British persuaded or forced 
cultivators in various parts of India to produce other 
crops: jute in Bengal, tea in Assam, sugarcane in 
the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), wheat 
in Punjab, cotton in Maharashtra and Punjab, rice  
in Madras.
How was this done? The British used a variety of methods 
to expand the cultivation of crops that they needed. Let us 
take a closer look at the story of one such crop, one such 
method of production.
Does colour have a 
history?
Figs. 5 and 6 are two 
images of cotton prints. 
The image on the left  
(Fig. 5) shows a kalamkari 
print created by weavers 
of Andhra Pradesh in 
India. On the right is 
a floral cotton print 
designed and produced 
by William Morris, a 
famous poet and artist 
of nineteenth-century 
Britain. There is one 
thing common in the 
Fig. 5 – A kalamkari print, 
twentieth-century India
Fig. 6 – A Morris cotton print, late- 
nineteenth-century England
Activity
?
Imagine that you are a 
Company representative 
sending a report back 
to England about the 
conditions in rural areas 
under Company rule. 
What would you write?
chap 1-4.indd   30 4/22/2022   2:49:53 PM
Reprint 2024-25