INDIGO REVOLT, 1859-60

Submitted by:

Rahul Tambi

(SM0119036)

1st Year, B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.)

(1st Semester)

History

Faculty In Charge

Ms. Upasana Devi

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY AND JUDICIAL ACADEMY, ASSAM

GUWAHATI
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 2

1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 3

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION .................................................................................................... 3

1.4 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE ................................................................................................. 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 4

CAUSES OF THE REVOLT..................................................................................................... 5

THE INDIGO CULTIVATION ................................................................................................ 7

IMAPCT OF THE REVOLT ..................................................................................................... 9

AFTERMATH OF THE REVOLT ......................................................................................... 11

Indigo cultivation and the rural crisis in northern Bihar .......................................................... 11

Aftermath in Bengal ................................................................................................................. 13

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 14

BIBILIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 15

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1 OVERVIEW

The Indigo revolt (Nil vidroha) was a peasant movement and subsequent uprising of indigo
farmers against the indigo planters that arose in Bengal in 1859. Historically, the Indigo
Rebellion can be termed the first form resistance of the countryside against the British in
economic and social terms. Unlike the spontaneous revolt of the soldiers in the Sepoy
Mutiny,this countryside revolt evolved over the years and, in the process, rallied different strata
ofsociety against the British – a thread of dissent that lasted many decades thereafter.

The revolt started from the villages of - Gobindapur and Chaugacha in Krishnanagar, Nadia
district, where Bishnucharan Biswas and Digambar Biswas first led the rebellion against the
planters. It spread rapidly in Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, Pabna, Khulna, and Narail.
Some indigo planters were given a public trial and executed. The indigo depots were burned
down. Many planters fled to avoid being caught. The zamindars were also targets of the
rebellious peasants.

The revolt was ruthlessly suppressed. Large forces of police and military, backed by the British
Government and the zamindars, mercilessly slaughtered a number of peasants. British police
mercilessly hanged great leader of indigo rebels Biswanath Sardar alias Bishe
Dakat in Assannagar, Nadia after a show trial. Some historians opined that he was the first
martyr of indigo revolt in undivided Bengal. In spite of this, the revolt was fairly popular,
involving almost the whole of Bengal. The Biswas brothers of Nadia, Kader Molla of Pabna,
and Rafique Mondal of Malda were popular leaders. Even some of the zamindars supported
the revolt, the most important of whom was Ramratan Mullick of Narail.

Indigo planting in Bengal dated back to 1777 when Louis Bonnard, a Frenchman introduced it
to the Indians. He was probably the first indigo planter of Bengal. He started cultivation at
Taldanga and Goalpara near Chandannagar (Hooghly). With the Nawabs of Bengal under
British power, indigo planting became more and more commercially profitable because of the
demand for blue dye in Europe.

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1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Akky Intish; The Blue Gold Indigo; Sage Pvt. Ltd.;2010

Indigo is a blue dye which comes from the indigo (neel) plant grown in India. For the East
India Company (and later the British Raj), it was one of the most profitable commodities that
it bought in India and sold in Europe. It was so valuable as a dye that it was called 'blue gold'.

A lot of Indigo was grown in Champaran district in Bihar. The conditions for the farmers were
cruel. They had no land of their own and leased land from zamindars. In return every farmer
had to grow indigo compulsorily on 3/20th of the land (for which he was not paid), or pay a
penalty of Rs. 100/- (called tawan). But they got nothing in return - the profits went entirely to
the zamindars and the British.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

Q.1 Explain the causes of the indigo revolt?

Q.2 Explain the impact of the revolt?

Q.3 Explain the aftermath of the revolt?

Q.4 Explain the process of the cultivation of indigo?

1.4 SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE

 Scope
The scope of the project is to analyse the concept of Indigo Revolt and its impact.
 Objective
1.To study the causes of the indigo revolt.
2.To study the the process of indigo cultivation.
3.To study the impact of the indigo revolt.
4.To study the aftermath of the indigo revolt.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 Approach to Research: In this project doctrinal research was involved. Doctrinal

Research is a research in which secondary sources are used and materials are collected
from libraries, archives, etc.

 Types of Research: Explanatory type of research was used in this project, because the
project topic was not relatively new and unheard of and also because various concepts
were needed to be explained.

 Sources of Data collection: Secondary source of data collection was used which
involves collection of data from books, articles, websites, etc. No surveys or case
studies were conducted.

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 CHAPTER 2

CAUSES OF THE REVOLT

Indigo revolt turned out to be a widespread event.

1839-1860 witnessed a widespread peasant uprising against the aggressive planters of indigo.
With growth in textile industry post Industrial Revolution, dyeing of clothes became an
important part of apparel manufacturing. As India emerged as the largest exporter of Indigo,
the planters started taking a keen interest in indigo.1

Forceful cultivation of Indigo

Cultivation of Indigo was introduced by British in Bengal in the late 18th century which
eventually spread to Bihar. Indigo was used in England for dyeing cloth and was of no use to
the farmers in India. Peasants from Bengal were compelled to reserve a part of their land to
grow indigo. No stone was left unturned in order to make money. The peasants were
mercilessly forced to cultivate indigo. They were offered small payments to be adjusted against
final payment at the time of delivery. Once the peasant accepted the offer, it was more like a
trap. The peasants were cheated with the weight of the produce and the value of the produce
was calculated at rates way below market price.

Plight of farmers- Excessive labor and unfavorable returns:

The planters of Indigo formed political association to establish their authority. This resulted in
the emergence of a new factor in the agrarian economy which scoured the privileges of the
Zamindars. An intense confrontation grew between landlords and planters on one hand, and
the planters and peasants on the other. There were a few planters who chose to have rotation
of crops, alternating indigo with rice and other crops. Although once a peasant had grown rice
on his land he was reluctant to change to indigo. Excessive labor and unfavorable returns from
the indigo produce were the main reasons for the reluctance.

Impact of the Indigo event- Indigo Commission:

When this reaction was seen almost in all places, the planters’ association in Calcutta
compelled the government to enact a law which made breach of contract on the part of the

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peasants a criminal offense. The planters took complete advantage of this law and their
oppression became severe in Nadia and Jessore districts of Bengal. The planters had the support
of the district officials but the peasants were firm with their decision of not cultivating indigo.

The peasants had the backing of the Indian press in Calcutta as well as some lawyers. Thus,
the movement entered the political scenario and had a far reaching impact in the later
movements of Bengal.

The Government thereby was forced to appoint a committee 'Indigo Commission' which was
to look into the corrupt practices related with this system. Even after this, the oppression of
landowners and the agitation of farmers against them continued. In 1866-68 Darbhanga and
Champaran in Bihar also witnessed rising by Indigo farmers.

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 CHAPTER 3

THE INDIGO CULTIVATION

There are two main methods of cultivation existed – Navjote and Raiyati. The first was carried
out by planters on owned or rented lands using hired labour. The second depended on the use
of advance payments and extra-economic sanctions to ensure that “independent” cultivators
devoted certain lands to indigo. Navjote cultivation took place only on lands adjacent to the
factory and chars, muddy flats formed by the changing course of the rivers. The greater part of
the land given to indigo cultivation was under Raiyati cultivation on partially inundated
highlands lying outside the factory grounds. Raiyati land might belong to an Indian Zamindars
(be-Alaska), or the planter himself might be the Zamindars (Alaska). It was cultivated by
‘Ryots’ who had certain tenancy rights in the land and sowed indigo along with other crops. It
was when cultivated on Raiyati land that indigo conflicted with the interests of ‘Ryots’ and
Indian Zamindars. Highland indigo was usually sown in April, watered by the spring rains, and
then harvested along with char indigo and this April-sown indigo was of the highest quality.
However, it was this spring sowing which most antagonised the cultivators who wanted to sow
their rice at the same time . Several other agronomical characteristics of the indigo cultivation
gave fuel to the conflicts between the ‘Ryots’ and the planters. To begin with, planters allowed
for croprotation of crops, alternating indigo with rice, tobacco and other crops. However, once
a peasant had grown rice on his plot he was reluctant to return the land to indigo since Indigo
had deep roots and it exhausted the soil rapidly. Moreover, after an indigo harvest, the land
could not be sown with rice. This obviously gave rise to a controversy over whether a given
plot was “indigo-land” or “rice-land.” Secondly, indigo required scrupulous attention to the
wedding. This required immense labour and constant prodding of the ‘Ryots’. Finally, indigo
cultivation called for meticulous timing. To understand why indigo was an unpopular crop
among the ‘Ryots’; it helps to analyse the cost to the Ryot of producing a big of indigo. In 1860
the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal calculated that the ‘Ryots’ lost 7 rupees per began when he
cultivated indigo in place of another crop. Besides incurring the cost of cultivation, the Ryots
also had to pay various bribes to every factory servant with whom he came in contact, to the
head Ryots who arranged with the planter for cultivation in his village, and later, contributions
for lawsuits and other expenses incurred extricating himself from the indigo contract. In spite
of these obstructions, the Ryots managed to maintain himself and his family because he sowed
rice and other crops in addition to indigo and because he was sometimes given his advance in
spite of debts to the factory incurred in previous poor years. The balances against him on the

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factory books continued to mount and eventually were written off as bad debts. The planter’s
object in maintaining this debt was to use it as a threat to force the ‘Ryots’ to cultivate indigo.
For the planter the only thing that mattered was obtaining as much indigo plant as was possible;
rest everything was secondary. “The story of the Indigo Industry is more interesting historically
and more pathetically instructive that that of almost any other Indian agricultural or industrial
substance.” Keeping the sentiments of the preceding words intact becomes seemingly
important when one seeks to understand and associate with the turbulent history of the blue
dye. The story of the incessant greed and atrocity of the indigo planters that roused thousands
of indigo peasants from meek submissiveness to the sternest defiance imaginable is indeed an
interesting one. By 1859 the peasants who for over half a century showed timid forbearance to
all the atrocities meted out to them, finally realised that it would take them nowhere. This story
of resistance by thousands of indigo plantation workers throughout Lower Bengal, finds its
prelude in the celebrated notice issued by Ashley Eden, a Barasat magistrate which clarified
the fact that the sowing of the indigo crop was not obligatory.

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 CHAPTER 4

IMAPCT OF THE REVOLT

The Bengali intelligentsia played a significant role by supporting the peasants’ cause through
newspaper campaigns, organisation of mass meetings, preparing memoranda on peasants’
grievances and supporting them in legal battles. Their role was to have an abiding impact on
the emerging nationalist intellectuals. In their very political childhood, they had given support
to a popular peasant movement against the foreign planters. This was to establish a tradition
The resisting raiyats received sympathetic support from the Christian missionaries who, from
humanitarian and proselytizing motives, exposed the forms of oppressions and exploitations of
the indigo planters. Encouraged by the Missionaries, the native press also made detailed reports
on the oppressive indigo production system. Rev James long of the Church Missionary Society
was the most articulate critic of the planters. Nawab Abdul Latif, a Deputy Magistrate in
Jessore district, gave a number of legal verdicts against the planters. A drama called Neel (1860,
mirror of indigo) by Dinabandhu Mitra, and some newspaper reports of Kishori Chand Mitra
and Harishchandra Mukherjee had helped mold public opinion in favour of the resisting raiyats.
All these factors persuaded the government to set up a commission in 1860 to look into the
problem. With the publication of the indigo commission Report an Act was passed prohibiting
coercion of raiyats for indigo cultivation and the measure led to the end of the movement.2

The Government appointed an indigo commission to inquire into the problem of indigo
cultivation. Based on its recommendations, the Government issued a notification in November
1860 that the raiyats could not be compelled to grow indigo and that it would ensure that all
disputes were settled by legal means. But, the planters were already closing down factories and
indigo cultivation was virtually wiped out from Bengal by the end of 1860.A major reason for
the success of the Indigo Revolt was the tremendous initiative, cooperation, organization and
discipline of the raiyats. Another was the complete unity among Hindu and Muslim peasants.
Leadership for the movement was provided by the more well-off raiyats, and in some cases by
petty zamindars, moneylenders and ex-employees of the planters. There was much in the
system of indigo cultivation that was an affront to the customary notions of legitimacy held by
the peasant. With respect to indigo cultivation, the peasants faced a constriction or denial of
choice. Whatever other restrictions were there on the peasant, s/he was free in the domain of
crop selection. Even sharecroppers held the right to choose the crop for cultivation (Chaudhuri

2
Indianenvironment.portal.org.in/indigomovement

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1982: 163). RIC (paragraph 40) recognised this traditionally held right of the peasant:
“Ordinarily he (i e, zamindar) does not exercise, and ought not to exercise, any interference
with the cultivation of the ryot, and provided he receives his due rents, it can matter little to
him what kind of produce is grown on the land”. Planters, on the contrary, forced them to
cultivate indigo. As Eden in his evidence before the Indigo Commission observed: “I never
heard of any zemindar (sic) insisting upon a ryot sowing a particular crop unless that zemindar
(sic) was also an indigo planter” (RIC: e 3621). The peasant, to all intent and purposes, became
an agricultural labourer, merely assisting the planter in the process of cultivation, in relation to
the part of land on which he grew indigo. This loss of status was irksome, as it caused a
deprivation relative to the past. It is with this sense of deprivation that Deenbandhu Mitra’s
Neel Darpan begins.6 Sadhu Charan, a peasant, suggests Golak, a petty landlord, to leave the
village as the intrusion of indigo planter has ruined it (Act 1, Sc 1, Rao and Rao Tr 1992: 185).
The denial or constriction of choice with regard to crop selection was inextricably linked to the
subsistence concerns of the peasantry. Indigo cultivation was perceived by the ryot as a threat
to his security of subsistence. Sadhu Charan, laments “…we better hang up our pots and pans”
(Act I, Sc I, Rao and Rao Tr 1992: 187). These words reveal that the fear of starvation was
looming large before the peasants. And, as Scott has argued, the primary concern of most
peasants is avoiding the risk of going hungry. “I shall have something to eat”, was the reason
offered by the peasant Chander Ghosh of Nadia’s Changuri village (RIC 1860: e3283) for his
preference to stay in jail. Similarly, Astul Mandol, another peasant, of Nischindipur, said, “I
have become a fakir” (RIC 1860: e3228). That the peasants were thinking in terms of
subsistence ethics can be seen in the following conversation between Golak, the landlord,
Nabinmadhab, his son, and the peasant Sadhu Charan.

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 CHAPTER 5

AFTERMATH OF THE REVOLT

Indigo cultivation and the rural crisis in northern Bihar

Indigo had a sound base in Bihar, particularly in Tirhut. In spite of discontent with regard to
indigo-planting, the indigo revolt of 1859-60 in Bengal was absent in Bihar due to the non-
existence of middle class. The disappointment over the sugar craze in Bihar led the frustrated
sugar entrepreneurs to transfer their capital from sugar to indigo. It was a decision considerably
influenced by the bright market prospects abroad for indigo at that time. It was about 1850 that
sugar was finally superseded by indigo as the industry of Europeans in Tirhut. The basis for
the Bihar indigo industry was further strengthened by the transfer of a considerable amount of
capital from Bengal to Bihar after the indigo revolt of 1860. Divided into three parts, this paper
deals with the system under which the cultivation of indigo operated, the land-tenure holdings
that existed and the conditions. It was estimated that Bihar alone produced 32,699 maunds of
indigo in the late 1850s. It was more than 30% of the whole crop.1 The indigo growing districts
in Bihar included Champaran, Saran Darbhanga, Patna, Shahabad, Munger and Tirhut. In the
northern districts of Tirhut, Champaran and Saran, the indigo was cultivated in villages let out
to the planters by the zamindars. Its cultivation was forced on the peasants who had to produce
the raw material for the foreign markets. It was one of the items which earned enormous profits
for the for the indigo planters. Satta was executed by the raiyat according to which an advance
was given to him. But it remained unpaid without interest till the end of the term. The sum paid
to the raiyat varied according to whether it included the rent of the land of not and also
according to the size of the beegha.3 The average rate in Tirhut where beegha was about 4,225
square yads, was from Rs. 8-8-0 to Rs. 9 inclusive of rent, and in Saran where the beegha is
the same as in Tirhut, it was from Rs. 7 to Rs. 9. In Champaran where the beegha averaged
7,225 square yards the usual rate was about Rs. 15, but in later years it was reduced to only Rs.
12. In all cases the lands for indigo were assessed much below the average rent paid for other
lands of similar quality without any agreement. In Champaran the rent was generally included
in the price paid to the raiyat. The same practice was pursued in Saran where lands were taken
from the raiyats. The majority of planters in Saran district cultivated their own lands and
therefore the arrangements made with the cultivators affected a comparatively small number.
In Tirhut the more useful practice was to write off the rent of the land in the factory books. The

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raiyats got Rs. 5 to Rs 6-8-0 per beegha. But one-fourth of the area under indigo was zeerat
land in Champaran district and owing to its careful cultivation it earned the best profit. Here
the factory acquired extensive tenure-holding rights after the indigo difficulties of 1867. The
planters therefore had better terms with their own raiyats. Most of the disputes that occurred
between the planters and the raiyats can be attributed to the oppression committed by the
servants of the factory who were the means of communication. Oppression and unlawful
violence practised upon the raiyats had no end. The European planters, who exercised the
zamindari rights, even claimed right to trees. The tenants contested the claims and argued that
trees, like any other crops, were grown over their holdings with their labour and zamindars
could not have any claim to them so long as tenants paid their rents regularly. The lands under
indigo cultivation by raiyats exclusive of those called niz- zeerat under the immediate
superintendence of the planters amounted to between 2,000 and 3,000 beeghas.4 The goodwill
of the raiyats was obtained through the influence of landed proprietors in the neighbourhood
who often had occasion to borrow money from the indigo planters. The landed proprietors
generally gave villages in favour of the planters who paid higher rent and surely more than the
native thikadars. The planter was glad to take them for the influence it gave him over the raiyats
in getting land for the cultivation of indigo. The villages were held in the name of the moonshee
or head servant of the factory who entered into a bond with the planters to ensure his good
faith. Nearly 600 to 700 raiyats were engaged in contracts to each indigo planter. The planters
wee backed by the government as they proved strong props to the Company during the rebellion
of 1857 which was widespread in, Bihar. The planters fought against the rebels, guarded
Muzaffarpur and helped the Company restore its rule. Consequently the attitude of the
government became more favourable to them. "The experiences of the mutiny and the motives
of imperial interest caused the expediency of creating pockets of European population intended
to support the empire in times of emergency". The hands of the planters were strengthened by
giving them magisterial powers and commissions in the army. In the disputes between the
planters and peasants the government generally sided with the planters. This created a
favourable condition for the planters to utilize the existing agrarian relations to get indigo
grown on the assamiwar system. The system under which the indigo was cultivated was not
only beneficial to the planters but also to the zamindars of Champaren; only the raiyats were
impoverished. By 1867 there were 30 factories cultivating 37, 183 beeghas of indigo and they

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paid the zamindars Rs. 20,000 in round number in excess of the rents received by them from
the raiyat.

Aftermath in Bengal

The Indigo Rebellion (Indigo Revolts) comprised widespread peasant uprisings in Bengal from
1839 to 1860 against rapacious planters of the indigo crop that are viewed by historians as
important events giving rise to the early Indian nationalist movement. With the growth of the
textile industry after the Industrial Revolution, dyeing of clothes became an important branch
of apparel manufacturing. From the time of the East India Company, British planters had been
settling in parts of India. The planters started taking a keen interest in indigo when the supply
of indigo from other sources dried up and India emerged as the largest exporter of the crop.
They established kuthis (large concerns) in different parts of Bengal. The biggest concern, the
India Indigo Company, was established in Nadia‐Jessore‐Khulna. The European planters
induced Bengali ryots (peasants) to reserve a part of their land to grow indigo by making small
payments as dadon (an advance) to be adjusted against final payment at the time of delivery.
Once the ryot took the advance, as happened extensively over several districts of Bengal, like
Jessore, Nadia, and Pabna, the ryot was in the clutches of the planter. When taking produce to
the planter's factory, people were cheated by dealers who used distorted scales. The value of
the produce was calculated at rates far below market price. After the deductions, including the
value of revenue stamps used in the agreement papers, the cost of seed supplied by the planter,
and transport charges, the ryot often ended up with no profits, or even a net debt to the planter
on account of the advances given. For all practical purposes a debt bondage developed in the
planter‐dominated areas, being handed down from father to son. Attempts to break away from
the tyranny of indigo planters were tackled by sending in armed lathiyals (retainers), who
would beat up the peasant and his family members and destroy his crops. The historian Jogesh
Chandra Bagal describes the revolt as a non-violent revolution and gives this as a reason why
the indigo revolt was a success compared to the Sepoy Revolt. R.C. Majumdar in "History of
Bengal"[4] goes so far as to call it a forerunner of the non-violent passive resistance later
successfully adopted by Gandhi. The revolt had a strong effect on the government, which
immediately appointed the "Indigo Commission" in 1860.[5] In the commission report, E. W.
L. Tower noted that "not a chest of Indigo reached England without being stained with human
blood peasants had no access to the legal system.

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 CONCLUSION
The revolt was largely non-violent and it acted as a precursor to Gandhiji’s non-violent
satyagraha in later years. Also, the revolt was not a spontaneous one. It was built up over years
of oppression and suffering of the farmers at the hands of the planters and the government. In
the revolt, Hindus and Muslims joined hands against their oppressors in this rebellion. It also
saw the coming together of many zamindars with the riots or farmers. The revolt was a success
despite its brutal quelling by the government.

In response to the revolt, the government appointed the Indigo Commission in 1860. In the
report, a statement read, ‘not a chest of Indigo reached England without being stained with
human blood.’ A notification was also issued which stated that farmers could not be forced to
grow indigo. By the end of 1860, indigo cultivation was literally washed away from Bengal
since the planters closed their factories and left for good.

The revolt was made immensely popular by its portrayal in the play Nil Darpan and also in
many other works of prose and poetry. This led to the revolt taking centre stage in the political
consciousness of Bengal and impacted many later movements in Bengal.

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 BIBILIOGRAPHY

Books:
 Akky Intish, The Blue Gold Indigo, Sage Pvt. Ltd.,2010
 Ananda Bhattacharyya, Indigo Rebellion, Dey’s Publishing, 2005

Articles:

 Moral economy and the indigo movement, Sanjay Ghildiyal economic and political
weekly Vol. 45 no. 8 February 2010.
 Indigo revolt 1859-1860 G.K. Today editors, October 2011.

Web source:

 Careerride.com/inviewindigo
 Jistor.org/stable/aftermath/indigorevolt
 Indianenvironment.portal.org.in/indigomovement
 byjus.com
 Kids.britanica.com

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