Indian Agriculture before Modernisation

The task of the historian who will search for elements of scientifc knowledge in
the
Today, most educated Indians would cite our traditional agriculture as an obvious
illustration for the centuries of stagnation and decay that are supposed to
characterise our traditional society. Almost everyday and everywhere, one hears
emphatic assertions that it is the age-old, unscientifc, backward and primitive
character of our agriculture which has been and remains the cause of
widespread hunger, malnutrition and poverty in our country. Most people accept
on faith the view that our salvation lies in calling upon modern science and
technology to perform their widely publicised miracles such as the so-called
reen !evolution.
The above view, however, is of rather recent origin" it began to take form in the
#$th century. %elow, we shall frst trace the evolution of this view on Indian
agriculture, and then go on to describe the state of Indian agriculture at the end
of the #$th century, as it was observed by the contemporary &uropean
agronomists and scientists.
Traditional Agricultural Practices:
Traditional agriculture represents the original method of farming that developed
through the interaction of social and environmental systems. This method
involves the intensive use of local knowledge and natural resources supporting
biological diversity by means of alternating practices 'various farming methods
and crop rotation(. Traditional farmers focus on methods that maintain soil
fertility, prevent the loss of topsoil, hold water in the soil and produce stable
harvests. )arming methods of this type are distinguished above all by a high
degree of biodiversity.
The modernisation of agriculture destroyed the bond between farming and
ecology mainly because of the emphasis on large-scale monoculture forms of
cultivation involving a single crop, which then has a di*cult time resisting
various diseases and pests. The result of this type of agriculture is highly
susceptible agro-ecosystems further decimated by the e+cessive use of
chemicals in the form of pesticides and herbicides.
,espite its highly productive and competitive nature, modern agriculture
produces many serious economic, environmental and social problems such as
the loss of biodiversity and soil fertility, the loss of -obs, mainly for small farmers
'today there are fewer but larger farms that use more machines and other
technology and are more specialised( and, last but not least, higher suicide rates
among farmers due to their inability to pay o. debts / their input costs for seeds,
pesticides, etc. are often much higher than their earnings.
Much of the know-how passed down by traditional farmers from generation to
generation is being lost. &.orts are therefore necessary to protect this valuable
information, and it is time to begin to combine traditional and modern forms of
farming so that the specifc conditions in a given area are taken into
consideration. 0urely modern farming that turns away from traditional ecological
methods is unsustainable and contributes to poverty in developing countries.
I. The Historical Context
Agriculture has always been accorded an important position in the Indian society.
There is endless evidence, including several %ritish and &uropean accounts, to
show the 1ourishing state of our agriculture in the pre-%ritish period.[1] As
regards the technical aspects of Indian agriculture, the %ritish or &uropean
observers of #2th and #3th centuries were in no position to appreciate or
evaluate them. 4everal of the indigenous practices which were perfected
centuries ago, such as the rotation of crops, the practice of drill husbandry etc.
were relatively unknown in the #2th century &urope, and are often cited as the
ma-or advances achieved during the #3th century 5agricultural revolution6 in
&urope.[2]
Thus, the sophistication of Indian agriculture was considerably beyond the
comprehension of the %ritish administrators of the #3th and early #$th centuries.
)or e+ample, 7aptain Thos 8alcott, who was one of the earliest to take note of
the practice of drill husbandry in India, in #2$9, frankly acknowledged that:
Although, it ;drill husbandry< has been practised under the eyes of everybody in
the untoor 7ircar, no one that I mentioned ;it< to ;had< ever observed it before,
nor did I observe it myself till lately.[]
The all round e+cellence of Indian agriculture was perhaps frst documented in
detail by Ale+ander =alker in a report written around #3>?.[!]
In #3@>, while testifying before a 7ommittee of the %ritish 8ouse of 7ommons,
,r. =allick, the 4uperintendent of the !oyal %otanical ardens in India, was
asked, 5=hether Indian agriculture was susceptible of any great improvementA6
8is reply was:
7ertainly, but not to so great an e+tent as is generally imagined" for instance, the
rice cultivation, I should think, if we were to live for another thousand years, we
should hardly see any improvement in that branch of cultivation.["<
4imilar views continued to be e+pressed by several authorities, even in the
second half of the #$th century.[#] 8owever, the state of a.airs was fast getting
transformed under the %ritish rule. %elow we mention some of the changes that
were brought about in Indian agriculture in the #3th and #$th centuries.
$estructuring of the agrarian societ%
%eginning from mid-eighteenth century, when the systematic assault on Indian
silk manufactures was launched, the policies of the &ast India 7ompany were
deliberately designed to wipe out the various indigenous manufactures of this
country, so as to provide a market for %ritish goods. 8owever, the colonial
overnment could not contemplate a similar policy regarding Indian agriculture.
)or the overnment to realise substantial land revenue, it was imperative that
Indian agriculture should continue to be productive. Therefore, the indigenous
agricultural technology largely escaped such direct assault in the #3th and #$th
century" but during this period the indigenous agrarian social order was
completely uprooted and transformed. =ith the introduction of the %ritish notion
of private property in land, the Indian cultivator lost his earlier rights in land.
=ith the introduction of highly centralised administrative and -udicial machinery,
with the taking away of the entire revenue by the central authority and with the
destruction of the unity between agriculture and manufacture that characterised
traditional Indian society, the villages lost their autonomy and self-su*ciency.
Barious village and other local institutions were rendered defunct. =ith the
e+traction of e+tremely high land revenue, which often even e+ceeded 9?C of
the produce, and the appropriation by the state of all local resources, such as
forests, graDing lands etc. the Indian peasants were reduced to a state of utmost
deprivation. 0erhaps, at no stage in history, Indian agriculture had been
sub-ected to such overwhelming constraints.
&'orts to (i)*ro+e, Indian agriculture
There were also e.orts made by the %ritish to 5improve6 Indian agriculture,
during the #3th and #$th centuries. Ender this heading come the setting up of
the !oyal %otanical ardens and the %otanical 4urvey of India to acclimatise
e+otic crops of commercial importance to Indian conditions"[-] the attempts to
e+tend the cultivation of e+isting commercial crops and the introduction of new
crops such as tea" the various abortive e.orts to grow the long-stapled American
variety of cotton here" and the setting up of various kinds of plantations run by
&uropeans, etc. The above list indicates the kind of improvement that was
envisaged by the %ritish administration.
In the second half of #$th century, there started the talk of e.ecting 5large-scale6
improvements in Indian agriculture. All this talk merely led to the establishment
of a few e+perimental farms and some agricultural schools.[.]The 7entral
,epartment of !evenue Agriculture and 7ommerce was set up in #32#, and was
followed by various provincial ,epartments in the #33?6s. 4ome idea of what was
achieved by all these e.orts can be had from the following observation of the
)inance 7ommission of #332:
Fuite apart from any indirect beneft that might have accrued to agriculture,
their ;i.e., the Agricultural ,epartments< establishment has been amply -ustifed
and has resulted in the addition of a considerable increase of revenue to the
state.
In all this, what is important to note is not merely that, during this period, the
modern &uropean science had hardly any direct in1uence on Indian agriculture,
but more signifcantly that little was done to systematically enGuire into and
understand, let alone 5improve6 upon, the traditional practice of agriculture. Hne
of the earliest such enGuiries was the one conducted by ,r. Iohn Augustus
Boelcker, 7onsulting 7hemist to the !oyal Agricultural 4ociety of &ngland, during
#33$-$#. In his report[/] Boelcker categorically declares that:
The 5agricultural analysis6... has, up to the present time, been confned to the
collection of Jand !evenue statistics, and of information regarding the liability of
districts to famine, and there has been no enGuiry into agricultural methods with
a view to agricultural improvement. ;!IA p. >$3<
I may also say, without fear of contradiction, that, as regards India,
comparatively little is known of its agricultural methods, and that they have only
been, so far, the sub-ect of casual and isolated enGuiry by individuals. ;!IA
p.>$2<
Thus, while hardly anything was known about Indian agriculture, %ritish
administrators from around the middle of #$th century started declaring that
Indian agriculture was unscientifc, backward, primitive, etc.[10] Hne of the
earliest e+pressions of the concern of the %ritish administration that Indian
agriculture had by and large continued along its traditional lines, and that large-
scale improvements were called for, is found in the famous despatch of the 7ourt
of ,irectors in #39K which declared that:
There is no single advantage that could be a.orded to the rural population of
India that would eGual the introduction of an improved system of agriculture.[11]
The same theme later recurs in the various reports of the )amine 7ommissions
that were set up after the outbreak of each famine.[12] )or instance, the )amine
7ommission of #3LL sought that large-scale 5improvements6 be carried out in
Indian agriculture. Jord Mayo echoed the same plea in his despatch of April $,
#32?, which led to the establishment of the ,epartment of !evenue, Agriculture
and 7ommerce:
Hf all the branches of Indian industry, agriculture, which constitutes the
occupation of the great mass of people, is by far the most important. =e believe
it to be susceptible of almost indefnite improvementM It cannot be denied that
Indian Agriculture is in a primitive and backward condition, and the overnment
has not done all it might have doneMIt is hardly too much to say that scientifc
knowledge of agriculture in India has at present no e+istenceM=e cannot doubt,
that, when the light of science has been properly brought to bear upon Indian
Agriculture, the results will be as great as they have been in &urope.[1]
&ver since, several eminent authorities echoed similar opinions and sentiments"
we here cite two of them who wrote in the same decade as Jord Mayo. &. 7.
4chottky, in his The 0rinciples of !ational Agriculture Applied to India ;#32L, p.3<,
declared:
In &astern countriesM we fnd that Agriculture, as an art, has been entirely
neglected, it being carried on very much in the same way now as it was two to
three thousand years ago" and the backward state of this most important of all
arts is prominently apparent in India. No advancement, no improvement, has
been e.ected during several ages" the implements of husbandry are the same as
before, and so is the mode of cultivation" thus reducing a land of once boundless
wealth to comparative poverty.
Hur other Guotation is by A. H. 8ume, the father of Indian National 7ongress, who
after retiring as the 4ecretary of the ,epartment of !evenue, Agriculture and
7ommerce wrote Agricultural !eform in India 'Jondon #32$(. =hile the book
does display considerable sympathy for the Indian cultivator, its broad view on
Indian agriculture is no di.erent from those cited above. 8ume says in his book:
Jooking to the conditions under which they ;the Indian cultivators< labour, their
ignorance of scientifc methodM the crops that they do produce are, on the
whole, surprising. 4o far as rule-of-thumb goes, the e+perience of @??? years has
not been wholly wastedM
Hn the other hand, we must not over-rate their knowledge" it is wholly empirical,
and is in many parts of the country, if not everywhere, greatly limited in its
application by tradition and superstition. Innumerable Guaint couplets, to which a
certain reverence is attached, deal with agricultural matters. These, in Epper
India at any rate, are true 5household words6 amongst all tillers of the soil. These
govern their actions to a great e+tent...
4o, then, it is not only e+ternal disadvantages against which the Indian cultivator
has to contend, it is not only that his knowledge is still in the primary e+perience
stage, but that even this knowledge is often rendered of no avail by the
traditions of an immemorial religion of agriculture.[1!<
It is to a description of this supposedly, 5unscientifc, backward and primitive
agriculture6, that this article is devoted. There appear to be very few sources
which present any details of the agricultural practices of this period. %ut such of
those studies, which do go into details of the indigenous agricultural practices,
present an entirely di.erent picture of it than what one would have imagined of
an unscientifc, backward and primitive system of agriculture.
The main source on which this article is based is the !eport on the Improvement
of Indian Agriculture, hereafter abbreviated as !IA, by ,r. Iohn Augustus
Boelcker, 7onsulting 7hemist to the !oyal Agricultural 4ociety of &ngland, who
was deputed by the %ritish overnment to make enGuiries on Indian agriculture.
Boelcker toured the country e+tensively during his stay here from ,ecember
#33$ to Ianuary #3$#, visited most of the provinces twice, once in winter and
once during the rains. Also specially taking one district, Oanpur in Ettar 0radesh,
he visited it repeatedly so as to follow systematically, in one locality, the
progress of the various feld crops at di.erent stages of growth. 8is report was
published in #3$@.
Another source on Indian agriculture in late #$th century is, India in #332,
hereafter abbreviated I&&, by !obert =allace, 0rofessor of Agriculture and !ural
&conomy in the Eniversity of &dinburgh, who also toured the country e+tensively,
but in a non-o*cial capacity, and recorded in detail his observations on Indian
agriculture.[1"] Apart from the above two sources, we shall also present e+tracts
from, A Te+t-%ook on Indian Agriculture, hereafter abbreviated TIA, which
happens to be another detailed account of Indian agriculture published in #$?#,
by I. Mollison of the %ombay Agricultural ,epartment, who later became the frst
Inspector eneral of Agriculture in India.[1#<
%efore going to the details of the indigenous practice of agriculture, we shall frst
present, in the ne+t section, the main conclusions drawn by Boelcker on the basis
of his detailed study of Indian agriculture.
II. 1u))ar% of 2oelc3er,s re*ort
Boelcker was deputed to enGuire and advise upon: #st: The improvement of
Indian Agriculture by scientifc means" >nd: The improvement of Indian
Agriculture generally. '!IA, p.9(.
It is signifcant that Boelcker was not asked to report on the economic and
political conditions a.ecting Indian agriculture. The reason, of course, was not
that the %ritish overnment was unaware of the tremendous hardships faced by
the Indian cultivator. Jater in #$>L, when the !oyal 7ommission on Agriculture
was formed 5to make recommendations for the improvement of agriculture and
to promote the welfare and prosperity of the rural population6, the following
warning clause was incorporated into the terms of reference of the 7ommission:
It will not be within the scope of the 7ommission6s duties to make
recommendations regarding the e+isting systems of land ownership and tenancy
or of assessment of land revenue and irrigation charges.[1-<
Hne cannot e+pect to fnd in Boelcker6s !eport an analysis of either the historical
circumstances or the various governmental policies that seriously a.ected Indian
agriculture. Boelcker, even when he takes up such Guestions, often comes up
with curious e+cuses for the policies pursued. 4till his analysis does provide us
with some insight into the nature of the %ritish policies, and into the way these
had forced the Indian peasantry into a state of e+treme deprivation.
=e shall, in this section, summarise the central points made by Boelcker in his
report. In the abstract of his report, Boelcker summarises his basic conclusions:
I e+plain that I do not share the opinions which have been e+pressed as to Indian
Agriculture being, as a whole, primitive and backward, but I believe that in many
parts there is little or nothing that can be improved, whilst where agriculture is
manifestly inferior, it is more generally the result of the absence of facilities
which e+ist in the better districts than from inherent bad systems of cultivation.
Nevertheless, that improvement is possible is shown, I think, by the di.erences
of agricultural conditions and practice that e+ist in di.erent parts of India. These
di.erences I proceed to divide into three classes as follows:
'#( ,i.erences inherent to the people themselves as cultivators, for instance,
5caste6 and 5race6 distinctions.
'>( ,i.erences arising from purely e+ternal surroundings, for instance, climate
and soil, varying facilities for water, manure, wood, graDing, etc.
'@( ,i.erences arising directly from want of knowledge, such as, diversities in
agricultural practice.
In treating of the above generally, I e+press my opinion that improvement of
agriculture will consist mainly in the modifcation of the di.erences which e+ist,
and that this will proceed in two directions" '#( by the transference of a better
indigenous method from one part where it is practised, to another where it is not"
'>( by the modifcation of the di.erences which result from physical causes
a.ecting agriculture. '!IA, p.vi(.
The same issues are dealt with in greater detail in the second chapter of the
report, where Boelcker starts with the Guestion, P=hether the agriculture of India
is capable of improvementAQ 8is answer is:
I must answer both 5Res6 and 5No6. If, for instance, I am taken to see the
cultivation of parts of u-arat '%ombay(, of Mahim in the Thana ,istrict of
%ombay, the garden culture of 7oimbatore in Madras, or that of Meerut in the
North-=est 0rovinces ;Ettar 0radesh<, and of u-rat and 8oshiarpur in the
0un-ab, I may be inclined to say, 5No" there is nothing or, at all events, very little,
that can be bettered here"6 but if, instead, I visit parts of %ehar, the ,acca
district of &astern %engal, the 7entral 0rovinces generally, Ohandesh in %ombay,
the Tan-ore district of Madras, the 7awnpore district of the North-=est, or 8issar
and Multan in the 0un-ab, it will not be long before I may be able to indicate a
feld for improvement... I make bold to say that it is a much easier task to
propose improvements in &nglish agriculture than to make really valuable
suggestions for that of IndiaM
Hn one point there can be no Guestion, viD., that the ideas generally entertained
in &ngland, and often given e+pression to even in India, that Indian agriculture is,
as a whole, primitive and backward, and that little has been done to try and
remedy it, are altogether erroneousM the conviction has forced itself upon me
that, taking everything together, and more especially considering the conditions
under which Indian crops are grown, they are wonderfully good. At his best the
Indian raiyat or cultivator is Guite as good as, and, in some respects, the superior
of, the average %ritish farmer, while at his worst it can only be said that this
state is brought about largely by an absence of facilities for improvement which
is probably uneGualled in any other country, and that raiyat will struggle on
patiently and uncomplainingly in the face of di*culties in a way that no one else
would.
Nor need our %ritish farmers be surprised at what I say, for it must be
remembered that the natives of India were cultivators of wheat centuries before
we in &ngland were. It is not likely, therefore, that their practice should be
capable of much improvement. =hat does, however, prevent them from growing
larger crops is the limited facilities to which they have access, such as the supply
of water and manure. %ut, to take the ordinary acts of husbandry, nowhere would
one fnd better instances of keeping land scrupulously clean from weeds, of
ingenuity in device of water-raising appliances, of knowledge of soils and their
capabilities, as well as of the e+act time to sow and to reap, as one would in
Indian agriculture, and this not at its best alone, but at its ordinary level. It is
wonderful, too, how much is known of rotation, the system of 5mi+ed crops6, and
of fallowing. 7ertain it is that I, at least, have never seen a more perfect picture
of careful cultivation, combined with hard labour, perseverance, and fertility of
resource, than I have seen at many of the halting places in my tour. 4uch are the
gardens of Mahim, the felds of Nadiad 'the centre of the 5garden6 of u-arat in
%ombay ;0residency<( and many others.
%ut, to return to the Guestion of improvement" while some have erred by calling
the agriculture primitive, and, forgetting that novelty is not necessarily
improvement, have thought that all that was needed was a better plough, a
reaper, a threshing machine, or else artifcial manures, to make the land yield as
&nglish soil does, others have eGually erred by going to the opposite e+treme,
and have condemned all attempts at improvement, asserting that the raiyat
knows his own business best, and that there is nothing to teach himM '!IA, p.#?-
##(.
That di.erences of conditions and practice do e+ist, constitutes, in my opinion, a
ground of belief in the possibility of improvement, and it will be by the
modifcation of these di.erences, and the transference of the indigenous
methods from one part of the country to another, rather than by the introduction
of =estern practice, that progress will be made and agriculture by bettered. '!IA,
p.#3(.
II. Indian Agriculture At The &nd 4f The 1/th Centur%
5&xtracts fro) 2arious 6ritish Accounts of the Period7
1. 14I81
The culti+ators, 3no9ledge of soils
Although the main geological types of soils are not so varied as in &ngland, there
are a large number of subdivisions, known by local names di.ering in each
district, but the respective Gualities of which are clearly understood by the
cultivators. '!IA, p.@9(.
In this conte+t the following Guotation from A. H. 8ume may be of interest:
Nothing, indeed, is more perple+ing than the enormous number of names applied
by native agriculturists to soils, the more so that probably almost every district
re-oices in at least a doDen purely local names which are unknown elsewhere.
There is no real confusion, however. Native cultivators as keenly appreciate the
smallest di.erences in the relative Gualities of di.erent soils as do the best
&uropean farmers, but the fact is that independent of names indicative of the
Guality of the soil 'and often to the entire e+clusion of these( they make use, in
describing their land, of names having reference to e+ternal conditions, the
freGuency or recency of cultivation therein, its situation as regards inhabited
sites, etc., its position as upland or recently formed alluvium, its occupation for
pasture, felds, or gardens, its e+ternal features, etc. Nothing is more common
than to hear soils referred to as such, by names which really only indicate
features or circumstances altogether e+ternal to the soil itself and independent
of its intrinsic Guality. This is no doubt inaccurate, but it is very natural since the
value to the agriculturist of any land will often depend far more on these e+ternal
circumstances than on the inherent Guality of the soil, which latter, moreover,
will, as time goes on, be often greatly modifed by the former, as where bhoor or
light sandy soil, becomes in course of time, by pro+imity to a village, constant
cultivation and manuring, a kind of do mut between garden mould and rich loam.
[1.<
:ertilit% of the soil 5fro) 2oelc3er,s su))ar%7:
The important Guestion is ne+t dealt with - whether or not the soil of India is
becoming e+hausted under the present systems of cultivation. It is admitted that
there is want of positive evidence in support of e+haustion, but instances are
given from 4ettlement !eports and from the )amine 7ommission6s !eport, of a
process of deterioration going on, and it is argued that under e+isting conditions
of e+port of grain, oil-seeds, and manures, and the burning of cattle-dung for
fuel, there must be a gradual deterioration of the soilM an increased
productiveness of the soil is reGuired, and that this can only be brought about by
increasing the manure supply.'!IA, p.viii-i+(.
;ata on 9heat %ields
=hen we compare the wheat yields of di.erent countries, we have, as nearly as
one can -udge, the following:
7ountry India'>( EO'@( )rance ermany !ussia 7anada E4A Australi
a
Rield'#( #? >3 #2 #3 $ #K #>.9 ##
'#( Average yield per acre in bushels. Taken from the Agricultural !eturns of the
%oard of Agriculture, #3$?.
'>( Average of the fve years ending #333-3$, as given in the overnment of
India6s statistics. The average yield in #33$-$? was $.K bushels only.
'@( Average of the last K? years. The average of the last eight years was @?
bushels.

The wheat-yield in India will vary, not only according to the season, but also with
the conditions under which the crop is grown...[1/<
Hn unmanured dry-crop land where
rainfall is precarious and often
insu*cient
- 2 bushels per acre
Hn manured land in tracts of better
rainfall
- #? bushels per acre
Hn manured and irrigated land - #9 to >9 bushels per
acre
In comparison with above, it may be mentioned that in the !othamsted
&+periments the produce of land continuously unmanured for K? years is #>S
bushels per acre, at L# lbs. per bushel. '!IA, p. K?-K#(.
These yields may be compared with the high yields reported in the region around
Allahabad '9L bushels of wheat per acre per crop( and in various regions of
4outh India, by %ritish observers in early nineteenth century.[20<
A.H.8ume compares the wheat yields at his time with those that prevailed during
Akbar6s time, as given in Ain-i-Akbari:
As the result of scores of careful personal e+periments carried out in the
Allyghur, Mynpooree and &tawah districts, the writer would state #K bushels an
acre of wheat to be a high average for good felds, i.e., felds with which their
cultivators are fairly satisfed" in other words, for the more successful felds, of
the best land, which alone is used for wheat. The Ain Akbari gives #$ bushels as
an average yield in those days.[21<
Thus the loss of fertility due to the neglect of irrigation and lack of manure during
the %ritish period was indeed considerable.
2. Irrigation
The +aried irrigation s%ste)s of India
The following is the summary of the discussion in Boelcker6s report as given by !.
7. ,utt:
&very province in India has its distinct irrigation reGuirements. In the alluvial
basins of the anges and the Indus the most suitable irrigation works are canals
from these rivers" while away from the rivers, wells are the most suitable. In
%engal with its copious rainfall, shallow ponds are the most suitable works, and
these were numerous in olden times, sometimes of very large dimensions. In
Madras and 4outhern India, where the soil is undulating, and the underlying rock
retains the water, the most suitable irrigation works are reservoirs made by
putting up large embankments, and thus impounding the water descending from
the hill slopes. 4uch were most of the old reservoirs of Madras.[22<
Inundation Canals
In the case of the Inundation 7analsM the silt-laden waters of rivers are carried
at 1ood time to the higher lands, and thus a.ord greater beneft to districts
where rainfall is defcient. As their name indicates, Inundation 7anals are of use
only in the rainy season, and they are taken o. from rivers the banks of which
are above the level of the surrounding country. 4uch canals are met with
principally in the 0un-ab and in 4ind. This system was in vogue before the time of
the &nglish occupation of India, and many of canals were constructed and
worked by the Natives themselves. '!IA, p. 2#(.
A very similar system of inundation canals was in e+istence during pre-%ritish
times in the angetic delta of %engal. 8ow these were destroyed during the
period of %ritish administration is described in the following e+tract from
ertrude &merson, Boiceless India 'New Rok#$@#, p.>K?-K#(:
4ir =illiam =ilcocks, the distinguished hydraulic engineer whose name is
associated with gigantic irrigation enterprises in &gypt and Mesopotamia, has
recently made an investigation of conditions in %engal.[2] 8e has discovered
that innumerable small destructive rivers of the delta region, constantly
changing their courses, were originally canals which, under the &nglish regime,
were allowed to escape from their proper channels and run wild. )ormerly these
canals distributed the 1ood waters of the anges and provided for proper
drainage of the land, undoubtedly accounting for that prosperity of %engal which
lured the rapacious &ast India merchants thither in the early days of the
eighteenth centuryM Not only was nothing done to utilise and improve the
original canal system, but railway embankments were subseGuently thrown up,
entirely destroying it. 4ome areas, cut o. from their supply of loam-bearing
anges 1ood water, have gradually become sterile and non-productive" others,
improperly drained, show an advanced degree of water-logging, with the
inevitable accompaniment of malaria. Nor has any attempt been made to
construct proper embankments for the anges in its low course, to prevent the
enormous erosion by which villages and groves and cultivated felds are
swallowed up each year. 4ir =illiam =ilcocks severely criticises the modern
administrators and o*cials, who, with every opportunity to call in e+pert
technical assistance, have hitherto done nothing to remedy this disastrous
situation, growing worse from decade to decade.
<ells and 9ater lifting de+ices
Irrigation by wells is at once the most widely-distributed system, and also the
one productive of the fnest e+amples of careful cultivationM )urther, as regards
wells, one cannot help being struck by the skill with which a supply of water is
frst found by the native cultivator" then by the construction of the wells, the
kinds of wells, and their suitability to the surroundings and means of the people"
also by the various devices for raising water, each of which has a distinct reason
for its adoption. All these are most interesting points with which I am not called
on to deal, for I see little to improve in them which the cultivator does not know
perfectly well. '!IA, p.2@-K(.
=allace e+pressed a very similar opinion:
In connection with well irrigation there are various native methods, which, for
suitability to the conditions, for cheapness, simplicity, and e*ciency, cannot be
eGualled, far less surpassed, by any mechanical contrivance from the &uropean
world. 'I&&, p.#$>(.
Mollison gives the following description:
=ater for irrigation may be raised from wells by the lifts in common use. The lifts
mostly used throughout the %ombay 0residency are varieties of the leather bag,
known in the ,eccan as a mot and in u-arat as kos.
In the coast districts of %ombay where the depth of water in the wells is small the
0ersian wheel is largely employed, and its use is general in 4ind. In the Oarnatak
a hand lever and bucket lift is used in wells. 'TIA, Bol. I, p.L#->(.
Tan3 irrigation
In the eighteenth century, the old Mysore state, with an area of around >$,9??
sGuare miles, had more than @3,??? tanks, known as Oere6s.[2!] The main
method employed was to construct a chain of tanks, by embanking hillside
streams etc. such that the out1ow from the one at the higher level supplied the
ne+t at the lower level, and so on all the way down the course of the stream.
!eferring to these, Ma-or 4ankey, one of the frst %ritish engineers of the
erstwhile Mysore state:
To such an e+tent has the principle of storage been followed that it would now
reGuire some ingenuity to discover a site within this great area suitable for a new
tank. =hile restorations are of course feasible, any absolutely new work of this
description would, within this area, be almost certainly found to cut o. the
supply of another lower down the same basin, and to interfere with vested
interests.[2"<
The same view was e+pressed by 4ir 7harles &lliot, the frst 7ensus
7ommissioner for India remarked in #32?:
The ingenious method in which each valley was made to contain a chain of
irrigation tanks, and each river to feed a series of irrigation channels, left the
%ritish o*cers who administered the 0rovince little to do but to put the old works
in thorough repair.[2#<
The attitude of the =o+ern)ent
Throughout the nineteenth century, several observers repeatedly castigated the
%ritish overnment for doing nothing even about the maintenance of older
irrigation works. . Thomson noted in, India and the 7olonies '#3@3(, that:
The roads and tanks and canals which 8indu or Mussulman overnment
constructed for the service of the nations and the good of the country have been
su.ered to fall into dilapidation" and now the want of the means of irrigation
causes famines.[2-]
Montgomery Martin e+pressed the same view in, The Indian &mpire '#393(:
;The &ast India 7ompany< omitted not only to initiate improvements, but even to
keep in repair the old works on which the revenue depended.
In fact, as Iohn %right remarked in the %ritish 8ouse of 7ommons on Iune >K,
#393:
The single city of Manchester, in the supply of its inhabitants with the single
article of water, has spent a larger sum of money than the &ast India 7ompany
has spent in the fourteen years from #3@K to #3K3 in public works of every kind
throughout the whole of its vast dominions.
It should be remembered that at the same time the %ritish overnment took
away the whole of the revenue leaving nothing for the various local village
institutions, which traditionally played an important role in the construction and
maintenance of irrigation works. Ep to #$??, while the total e+penditure, from
overnment revenues, on railways amounted to T>>9 million, that on canals etc.
was a meagre T>9 million. Moreover, while railways were a source of loss, year
after year, to the %ritish overnment, though not to the %ritish trading interests,
yet irrigation works were taken up only when a return of about >9C could be
realised annually on the outlay as enhanced revenue and charges. Hn this issue
Boelcker notes:
There is no doubt that a great deal can be done in improving the water supply in
precarious districts, if overnment are prepared to look on the measures taken
as those of a 5protective6 and not purely a 5remunerative6 nature. This is well
e+pressed in a note by 7olonel Mead, 7hief &ngineer for Irrigation, Madras. 8e
said in #332: 5Much can, no doubt, be done to improve the e+isting supply to
tanks if overnment are prepared to accept the beneft to the raiyat as a
su*cient return for outlay incurred, and to consider the works as entirely
protective in nature.6 '!IA, p.3@(.
Boelcker also gives the following instance of the way the %ritish bureaucracy
worked:
The cultivators ;in the Madura ,istrict< instanced the delay that takes place when
a tank wants repair" how that when the Tahasildar hears of it goes to the
divisional o*cer 'Assistant 7ollector(" the latter to the 7ollector" the 7ollector to
the &+ecutive &ngineer of the 0ublic =orks ,epartment" the &+ecutive &ngineer
writes to the 4uperintending &ngineer 'stationed, in this case, at Trichnopoly,
there being only one such o*cer for three districts(" he writes to the chief o*ce
at Madras, and says whether it is a matter of frst or second importance, and so
on. Altogether it is a long business, and in the end the year6s crop is generally
lost. '!IA, p.3K(.
4uch was the pitiable condition to which, a region historically well known for its
local village committees which had endowments '&ri Bariyam( for the repair of
tanks and reservoirs was reduced in the period of %ritish rule. =hile taking note
of this fact, Boelcker states:
It is true that in former times the people themselves made inundation canals,
and constructed large reservoirs which are still ob-ects of admiration, but the
people are not so likely now to construct fresh ones, but rather to rely on the
overnment. '!IA, p.3#(.
. Manure
The i)*ortance attached to )anuring
There are numerous proverbs current among the people as to the necessity and
value of manure, but the practice is often not as good as the precept. Mr.%enson
gives, along with others, these from Ournool:
5Turva 'a kind of soil( hungers after manure as a %rahman after ghi6" 5a feld
without manure is as useless as a cow without her calf.6 'Meaning that she will
not give milk unless the calf is before her(.
Mr.Nicholson Guotes these:
5Hld muck and lots of water6" 5Turn dry land into wet, pen your cattle 'in the
feld(, and feed straw to them6" 5Muck is better even than the plough6" 5If manure
is useless 'good( soil is useless6" or 5Manure is better than good soil.6 '!IA, p.$K(.
The Indian cultivator shows by the money which he is willing to pay for manure
when able to a.ord it, that he is by no means ignorant of its value. =hen he
burns the cow-dung which he collects, he does it, as a rule, rather from necessity
than from want of knowledge of its worth... Nor is it in the Guantity of manure
alone that the Native often displays great foresight. 8e also often knows when to
put it on, and for which crop to use it. 8e knows that he must not use it on 5dry6
land but on 5wet6 land, where it will decompose. 8e knows, too, the harm of using
fresh dung, and that it will attract the white-ants, and that they, in turn, will
destroy the crop. '!IA, p.$9-$L(.
The i)*ortance of cattle>)anure and the loss incurred in burning it as
fuel
The most general manure, alike in India and in &ngland, is cattle-manure, or, as
made in &ngland, farmyard manure. %ut, whilst in the latter country it has to be,
and can be, supplemented, and even in part replaced, by artifcial manures, this
is not the case in India, and cattle-manure is the universal fertiliser and often the
only one available. =hen, therefore, we fnd it the general practice, even in
villages, to burn a large proportion of the dung from cattle as fuel, and when, on
nearing any town, we may see troops of women carrying in baskets on their
heads, the cow-dung cakes or bratties, which they have made into cakes and
dried in the sun, we cannot but pause to ask ourselves whether the burning of
these cakes as fuel does not imply a great agricultural loss. 4ome have
maintained that it does not, for they say that the ashes are saved and used on
the felds, and assert that is practically the only thing of value in the dung"
others hold that, even if the nitrogen be lost in burning, the cattle are so poor,
and so poorly fed, that there is but little nitrogen to lose, for the dung is of very
low Guality, whilst even what is lost is recovered in the e+tra amount of nitrogen
which e+ists in the rainfall in IndiaM
I do not mean to say that I have been able to investigate the Guestion at all
thoroughly, but I have done so su*ciently, at least, to satisfy myself of the
incorrectness of many of the theories propounded, and to show that cattle-
manure in India is not the poor miserable stu. it has been represented to be, but
that it must, and does, lose a very great deal if it is burnt for fuel, this loss not
being recovered in the rainfall. '!IA, p.$L-2(.
<hat is forcing the culti+ators to burn cattle>)anure?
I have spoken of the practice of burning dung as being a general one, and so it
unfortunately, is" but it is very far from being a universal practice among
cultivatorsM a great ma-ority will not burn dung if they can help it. 0erhaps in all
my enGuiries there was none into which I looked more closely than this, as I had
heard and read such diverse opinions about it" conseGuently, wherever I went, I
did my best to inform myself upon it. As the result, I have no hesitation whatever
in saying that amongst cultivators the reason why they burn dung is that they
have no wood" and that if wood could be made cheap and accessible to them,
there would be an enormous increase in the amount of manure available for the
soil. I can instance place after place which I have visited and where no cultivator
burns a scrap of manure for fuel or where the least possible Guantity is so used -
generally only a little to boil milk. 7oimbatore, 4alem, Madura, u-arat '%ombay
;0residency<(, Nadiad, 8ospet, 8oshiarpur, and Multan are cases in point. It is
where, as in the North-=est 0rovinces ;Ettar 0radesh<, wood is dreadfully scarce,
that the practice of burning dung has grown into a habit. '!IA, p.#??-#?#(.
<hen are the ashes *referred to dung?
Ashes of dung have a distinct value on account of their mineral constituents, and
they may occasionally be used to greater advantage than the dung itself. =hen,
for e+ample, a forcing e.ect is not desirable, the ashes are preferredM
That the cultivator, when he does prefer ashes to dung, or else the whole dung
to the mere ashes, does so simply from fancy or from ignorance, I am by no
means ready to allow, but assert that Guite the contrary is the case. A cultivator
from Tinnevelly, whom I interviewed, described to me his practice thus: 5I would
use ashes for my nursery beds, and raw dung to get Pproduce6Q. 8e added that
for heavy land he would use the raw dung, and the ashes for his lighter land. This
use of dung for opening heavy land Guite agrees with &nglish e+perience. '!IA
p.#?@-K(.
1hee* and cattle>folding
)olding of sheep and cattle on land, for the purpose of manuring it, is another
practice understood in some parts, but neglected in others. It has one great
advantage in that the urine is not lost, as it generally is. )olding is practised
largely in 7oimbatore and other parts of Madras" in the North-=est 0rovinces
;Ettar 0radesh<" in 0alamau and !ungpore in %engal 'chie1y for sugar-cane and
tobacco crops(" at !awal 0indi '0un-ab(, and elsewhere. '!IA, p.#?K(.
4ilseed refuse
0erhaps ne+t to, but insignifcant as compared with, cattle-manure, is the use, as
a manurial agent, of the refuse obtained from various oil-seeds after the oil has
been e+pressed from them. The principal oil-seeds thus used are the following:
7astor-oil seed '!icinus 7ommunis(, ingelly, Til, or 4esame '4esamum Indicum("
&arth-nut or round-nut 'Arachis 8ypogea(" Oardai or 4aUower '7arthamus
Tinctorious(" !ape seed" Mustard seed" Niger seed 'uiDotia Abyssinica(" Jinseed"
7otton seed. The seeds of the fruits of several trees, such as 0ongamia labra,
%assia Jatifolia 'the Mahua tree( and Melia ADadirachta 'the Neem tree( are also
pressed, and the refuse is employed as manure, chie1y in the co.ee districts.
Most of these seeds, after e+pression of the oil, are also used primarily for
feeding cattle, and secondarily for manure.'!IA, p. #?K-9(.
The da)age caused b% the ex*ort of oil>seeds
These ;oil< seeds are for the greater part e+ported, ;and< their e+port must imply
the removal of a very considerable amount of the constituents of the soil. =ere
they 'with the e+ception of the castor-oil seed( to be consumed by cattle, after
e+pression of the oil, the manurial constituents would be returned to the soil
from which they were drawn, and the balance of fertility might be maintained.
The oil, having itself no manurial properties, and being derived from the
atmosphere and not from the soil, is a ftting ob-ect for e+port" but to send away
the entire seed, or the refuse after removal of the oil, is to send away the
valuable manurial constituents contained in the seed, including those taken out
of the soil itself" in brief, to e+port them is to e+port the soil6s fertilityM
=e in &ngland are not slow to avail ourselves of the advantages this e+port
system o.ers" and at the time of my leaving for India I was feeding bullocks at
the =oburn &+perimental )arm on linseed cake, and was also growing crops with
rape cake manure. %oth these materials, in all likelihood, were the produce of
Indian soil, and represented its transported fertility. '!IA, p.#?L(.
To get an idea of the amount of oilseeds e+ported from India, we may note that
after the construction of the 4ueD 7anal in #3L$, the e+port of seeds increased
from T> million to T9 million in a period of #$ years.
The oil>ca3e fro) the +illage (ghani, ser+es as better )anure
Around the turn of the last century, hydraulic oil presses were getting
established in %ombay. Apart from the e+port of oilseeds, the introduction of
mechanised oil presses in cities played a signifcant role in forcing the village
ghani into oblivion. Mollison has given the following description of the village
ghani and has also noted the greater suitability of the oil-cake from the village
ghani for manurial purposes:
The country ghani consists essentially of a pestle and mortar" the pestle grinds
the seed in the mortar. The cake is consolidated by the pestle into a thick layer
against the sides of the mortar and is generally removed by a short crowbar. The
oil sinks to the bottom of the mortar and is soaked up in a mop and collected in a
vessel, the mop being sGueeDed by hand. The method varies" sometimes the oil
1ows from the mortar as it is e+pressed.
=hen oil-cakes are used as manure they should be applied in the fnest possible
state of division. enerally in India the pounding is done with a stick. A cheaper
and eGually e.ective method is to crush the cake under the stone of any ordinary
chunam mill. In this way a ton can be crushed at a cost of !s.> to !s.@. The
powder got from country ghani cake in this way is much fner in consistence than
that from hydraulic-pressed cake, and on this account the former probably acts
the Guickest and is the most e.ective as manure. 'TIA, Bol.I, p.#>>-@(.
=reen>)anuring
Ne+t to be considered is green-manuring, a practice not unknown, but not nearly
as widely distributed as it might with advantage beM At 8ospet, which is served
by a canal, led by a weir or anicut from the river Tungabhadra, and where the
cultivation is e+ceptionally good, I saw this plan of green-manuring being carried
out. Trees are grown round every feld and along the banks of the water-
channels, and are defoliated once in three years" the twigs and leaves are spread
on the land where rice is to be sown" canal water is let on, and the twigs are
trodden into the soil with the foot. '!IA, p.#?L-2(.
$ab culti+ation
Associated with the use of twigs, leaves, etc., for manure is the system of seed-
bed cultivation termed rab. This system is employed mainly in the %ombay
0residency throughout the districts of heaviest rainfall, but it is not unknown in
parts of %engal. The crops for which it is chie1y used are rice and a millet called
Nagli '&leusine 7oracana(. The word rab literally means 5cultivation6. The process
consists in heaping on the spot selected for the seed-bed successive layers of
cow-dung, tree-loppings, shrubs, leaves, and grass, with earth on the top to keep
all down" the heap is made about three feet high, and then the whole is set fre
to.
As regards the advantage, still more the necessity, of rab, there have been
continuous contentions
between the cultivators and those who have supported them, on the one hand,
and the )orest ,epartment on the other, the latter maintaining that the practice
is a wasteful one, and that the lopping of trees in-ures the forest greatly. In #339,
a )orest 7ommission was appointed in %ombay to enGuire into the matter, and
Mr. HDanne, ,irector of Jand !ecords and Agriculture, %ombay 0residency,
conducted a number of e+periments, which though not absolutely conclusive nor
complete, went far to show that the raiyat in rab areas was adopting the only
ready means by which he could cultivate his rice crop with proft. '!IA, p.#?3(.
@se of silt
Bast areas in %engal are annually renewed naturally by the silt of rivers, and
there are in 0un-ab, for e+ample, near u-rat, stretches which are covered yearly
by the silt brought down by mountain streams. In the Ihelum and 4hahpur
districts, at the foot of the 4alt !ange, there are similar tracts" here the felds are
frst embanked, and then the 1ood water of hill torrents is turned into them
through an opening in the upper end of the embankment. The water is allowed to
1ow in until the feld is converted into a pond. =hen this dries up, a crop is sown,
and reGuires no further watering or rain. In this way the wheat-growing areas of
these districts are farmed and no manure is used or needed, the coming of the
silt supplying more fertilising matter than many manurings could...
It is found that wherever there is silt the raiyat does not value ordinary manure
or take trouble in preserving it" he looks for the silt to come insteadM reat
distinctions are drawn by the cultivators between the rivers and canals which
bring silt and those which do not. '!IA, p.##?(.
Mollison gives the following account of the techniGues employed in %ombay
0residency for artifcial warping:
Artifcial warping di.ers from the natural formation of alluvium only, in that the
water of a turbid stream may be diverted from its course, and held in a particular
area su*ciently long to deposit a layer of sediment, and if the process is often
repeated, a soil of considerable depth may be formed on rock or any other sterile
area. Many of the small rice felds on the hats have been formed by throwing
bandharas across the turbid hill streams and either diverting the water or
allowing a small lake to form above the weir. In this way the current is so
obstructed that suspended earthy matter is deposited, and in time the silt layer
becomes so deep that a rice crop can be raised thereon. The lower terraced rice
felds of the hats are annually warped and improved by the silt carried down by
the drainage water of the uplands. 'TIA, Bol. I, p.2>-@(.
1oil > )ixing
The rich soil dug out from tanks is widely appreciated, throughout Madras, and in
7oimbatore I have seen 5soil-mi+ing6 going on, a lighter and red soil being mi+ed
with a heavier and black one. At !ungpore in %engal this is also practised,
especially for -ute land, the better soil being mi+ed with the inferior, -ust as pond
mud might be mi+ed with a sandy soil.
At Nadiad '%ombay ;0residency<( I noticed another kind of 5soil-mi+ing6. 8ere the
felds are all surrounded by hedges growing on embankments. =hen it is
reGuired to turn a feld into a rice feld, the top soil thrown from the centre up
against the hedge, thus making an embankment" the level of the feld is lowered
thereby, so that the rain water, when it falls, is held up and soaks the soil
thoroughly. =hen, in turn, the feld reGuires to be manured, the soil is thrown
back from the hedge-side on to the feld and is spread over it. '!IA, p.##?-#(.
Mollison gi+es the follo9ing account of soil>)ixing:
Mi+ing is not unknown in India. 7lay is often carted from rice felds in su*cient
Guantity to add a layer one to two inches thick on sand land. The addition
changes the consistence of the sand, so that it becomes better suited for sugar-
cane and other garden crops raised under irrigation. The cultivator appreciates
the value of tank mud, and in those districts where these water reservoirs are
common, they are cleaned out with the utmost care and regularity each year.
The silt which has collected in these tanks being the washings of village sites and
cultivated felds, has some manurial value, and applied as it is at the rate of K?
cart loads or more per acre, adds considerably to the body of the soil. It takes
#@K cubic yards of earth to cover an acre one inch thick. 'TIA, Bol. I, p.2L(.
The issue of ex*ort of bones and cattle *rotection
%ones, as is known, are very e+tensively e+ported from India, and are but little
used in the country itself. The Guestion whether the e+port of bones should be
allowed to continue without a strong e.ort being made to retain this source of
manure in the country, has been prominently brought forward of late years, and
the overnment of India recently caused enGuiries to be made as to the trade in
and use of bones. The general reply received was, that the e+port was an
increasing one" that the trade was carried on entirely by &uropean capital, and
that the actual collection of bones was done by Muhammadans and low-caste
8indus" that it was principally confned to districts served by railways, and from
villages within an easy distance of the line" and, lastly, that bones were not used
by the native agriculturists.
It is estimated that that L? million cattle die or are slaughtered annually in India.
The e+port of hides and skins amounts to over @? million yearlyM=hether taken
from the number of hides or from the estimate of the cattle that perish, it is
evident that there must be a very large supply of bones available. 8indus,
however being largely a non-meat eating people, and regarding the bones of the
cattle as those of their ancestors, and hence sacred, are prevented by their caste
pre-udices from collecting or utilising the bones. Ninety percent of the 8indus
may be said to be non-meat-eating, and, of the remaining #? percent, 9 percent
cannot a.ord to get meatM
=ithin the past ffteen years a large trade has sprung up in the collection and
e+port of the bones" it has increased and is still increasing. Almost the whole
amount collected is sent to the Enited Oingdom, where the use of bones, either
raw or else manufactured into artifcial manures, is valued highly.
The e+ports of bones from India have been, in round numbers, as follows:
Rear Tons Rear Tons
#33K-39
#339-3L
#33L-32
#3,???
>>,???
#3,???
#332-33
#333-3$
#33$-$?
>L,???
@9,???
KK,???
...It is necessary to add one caution more - as the demand for bones for e+port
purposes increases, it will a.ord another inducement to the professional cattle-
stealer and the cattle-poisoner. Already the hide is an attraction, the 1esh is
rapidly becoming one also" if to these are superadded the bones, more care will
have to be taken in the future to protect the cattle of the country. '!IA, p.##@,
##K, ##2(.
@se of night>soil
It is undoubtedly the case that a very great improvement might be e.ected in
Indian agriculture if the system of utilising night-soil, sweepings, etc., were
universalM
0re-udice is the great bar to the proper utilisation of night-soil. It is not that its
value is not known, as the appearance of the felds nearest to any village will
testify, for the growing of a tall crop, such as arhar '7a-anus Indicus(, is
freGuently a direct indication that particular feld has come to its turn for
receiving manure. Hn these felds the crops are manifestly better than the rest"
what is wanted is, greater distribution of these felds. The hope for improvement
lies in the gradual breaking down of pre-udice. That there are signs of this going
on is evidenced by the fact that in certain towns such as )arukhabad, 7awnpore,
and Nagpur, the utilisation of night-soil has had an indigenous origin, and its
spread has been due to other cultivators following the e+ample set. '!IA, p.##3-
$(.
ArtiAcial )anures
Boelcker states that the sub-ect 5of imported manures, which in an account of
&nglish agriculture would fll a most important place, may, so far as India is
concerned, be very summarily dismissed. '!IA, p.##2(.
!. :orests
The 5recent6 denudation of Indian forests
4everal observers in late #$th century noted that the process of destruction of
Indian forests had already reached alarming proportions, even though about half
a century earlier the country abounded in forests. )or e+ample, A. H. 8ume
states:
Hnly 9? years ago, when -ungles and graDing grounds abounded, when cattle
were more numerous, when much wood was available as fuel, there was actually
a much greater amount of manure available.[2.]
=allace e+presses similar views. 8e also notes that this destruction of forests
was due to the demand for timber for railways and building purposes:
It is an undoubted fact that large areas of India have been shamefully and
wastefully denuded of valuable timber within comparatively recent years. The
large and increasing demand for wood for rail roads and for building purposes
encouraged itM It is Guite sad to look up the bare hills and barren plains where
e+tensive forests were recently in e+istence. I came across a number of such
places. 'I&&, p.>$L(.
Boelcker also notes how the destruction of forests during the %ritish rule had led
to deterioration in the climate of the country:
)rom old records and descriptions of India there is reason to believe that the
climate was not formerly what it now is, but that the spread of cultivation,
accompanied, as it has been, by the wholesale and reckless denudation of
forests and wooded tracts, without reservation of land to a.ord wood for graDing,
has done much to render the climate what it now is. 4ir =illiam ,enison states
that, when overnor of Madras, he was shown districts in which the rain had
retreated as the forests had been cleared back.[2/] '!IA, p.@?-@#(.
The tragic tale of the destruction of the Indian forests for %ritish commercial
interests began as early as #3?@, when the Malabar teak forests were declared to
be 5reserved6 for providing timber needed by the ship building industry. Boelcker
notes that, by the time of creation of the )orest ,epartment in #3LL,
considerable damage had been done. 8owever, the crucial fact was that, under
the aegis of this ,epartment, the same activities were continued with the only
di.erence that the local agriculturists were now completely deprived of any use
of the forest resources.
The anti>agriculture *olic% of the :orest ;e*art)ent
=hen it ;i.e., the )orest ,epartment< began its work its chief duties were the
preservation and development of large timber forests, such as the teak forests of
Jower %urma, the sal forests of Hudh, and the deodar forests of the 8imalayas,
or the forests of the =estern hats. Its ob-ects were in no sense agricultural, and
its success was gauged mainly by fscal considerations" the ,epartment was to
be a revenue-paying one. Indeed, we may go so far as to say that its interests
were opposed to agriculture, and its intent was rather to e+clude agriculture than
to admit it to participation in the beneftsM
The reGuirements of the agriculturist in respect of wood are, small timber for
house-building, wood for making implements, and frewood" the last-named
principally to take the place of the cow-dung which, though the most valuable
manure at the raiyats6 disposal, is, nevertheless, generally burnt as fuel in
default of woodM
I do not take to myself credit for more than emphasising what others have
already pointed out on this sub-ect. As much as #2 years ago, Mr.!. 8. &lliot,
writing in the 5Times6, urged the necessity of 5)uel !eserves6 for India, and much
that he then said has since proved to be true. The same views have been urged
by others, but there is call now for more defnite action than there has been in
the past. =hat has been done so far, whilst not without beneft to agriculture,
has, to my mind, taken mainly the form of supplying wood for the reGuirements
of large towns and railwaysM
It is, in short, impossible to have timber forests and agriculture on the same
areaM '!IA, p.#@9-@3, #K#(.
=allace e+pressed similar sentiments:
overnment have only recently awakened to the fact, that their duties as regards
the protection of forests have not been undertaken in the past. The danger now
confronting us is not that there is fear of forestry being neglected, but that in the
e+cessive Deal to make up lee way the other e+tremely important interest of
agriculture may be made to su.erM It has been established that large tracts of
land belong to no one, and conseGuently are naturally overnment property" but
to certain products of the natural growth - for e+ample, grass for thatching, food
for cattle, timber to make their implements, and poles to build their houses - the
native population of the ad-oining cultivated tracts have from time immemorial
had the undisturbed privilege of resorting to supply their wants. No one denies
that overnment has the undisputed right by law to discontinue these privileges"
but I appeal to the common sense of every practical farmer in &ngland who
knows the value of the products enumerated, if to e+ert such a right would not
be a policy worse than suicidal in a country which practically depends upon
agriculture for its wealth and prosperityM 'I&&, p.>$2(.
The native population, who feel the pinch of overnment resuming the rights
which had been by common consent granted to themM may well say, 5=hy
should overnment want to grow great forests of large timberA It is of little value
to the masses of the population, whose wants are supplied by sapling poles and
branches, and by the fruit and shade of such trees as they or their cattle can get
access toM6 'I&&, p.@?9(.
In travelling, as I did, over wide area, I, in my non-o*cial position, had very
e+ceptional opportunities of seeing how the forest regulations pressed
unnecessarily upon the people, and of hearing their bitter and oftentimes well-
founded complaints. 'I&&, p.>$2-3(.
<hat should be done?
The supply of wood to serve as fuel forms one of the most important factors in
maintaining the fertility of the soil, or, in other words, the prosperity of
agriculture. I can hardly put this too strongly, for it is the one practical measure
on which I place the most importance" it is that which calls for the most urgent
attention, and from which the greatest benefts may be e+pected to follow. I
make, in my !eport, other recommendations and suggestions, it is true, but I
consider them minor ones compared with thisM
It is not in the interests of the people alone that I would urge this, for, having
fully discussed all other ways of increasing the manure supply, it is clear that this
is the one way in which it can be e.ected, and, if not e.ected, sooner or later the
land must fall o. in productive power, and the revenue derived therefrom by the
4tate must decline too. Accordingly, I regard the provision of fuel as the most
potent means of maintaining prosperity, not alone to the cultivators, but to the
4tate itself, and as measure which the latter, in its own interests, should take up
immediately...
4uch an end is that which I have indicated, the provision, for the agricultural
community primarily, of facilities for obtaining what they reGuire, viD., small
timber, wood for implements, frewood, leaves, grass, or, where possible,
graDing. No action would, I am sure, do more to render the )orest ,epartment
popular and its work one of wide-spreading beneft, could it be instructed to
carry out such ob-ects as the above, and to bring these facilities to the
cultivators6 doors. 4uch a policy would be one of giving, and not what the people
have considered the past policy, one of taking away. The cultivators would then
feel that the forests were a real beneft to them, and possibly much unculturable
land would become clothed with trees and grass. '!IA, p.#@2, #K2(.
Ho9 can such a change in the forest utilisation be brought about?
After recounting in detail the havoc wrought by the )orest ,epartment, and
arguing that the very fundamental ob-ectives of the forest policy need to be
changed in favour of the local agriculturists, Boelcker ends up with the pious wish
that:
I am sure that when it is fully recognised that there are other ends which the
)orest ,epartment should serve besides that of growing timber and making a
large revenue out of the forests, the ,epartment will readily carry these out to its
best ability. '!IA, p.#K2(.
The only way of ensuring that the local agriculturists get their basic necessities
from the forest, viD., by leaving them under the management of the village or
community, was unacceptable to Boelcker. The argument that he provides in this
connection does give some insight into the nature of the system of
administration introduced by the %ritish in India:
The suggestion to form 5village forests6, which should include the village graDing
grounds and be protected and managed by the people themselves, was made by
4ir ,. %randis, but the e.orts to establish them have successively failed. In the
Indian )orest Act '#323(, a chapter '7hapter III( was inserted to provide for the
assigning of the rights of overnment to or over any land constituted a 5reserve
forest6 and for calling it a 5village forest6. This chapter has, however, been Guite
inoperative, owing, I am informed, to the impossibility of determining adverse
rights, and of separating the rights of the community from the private rights of
native proprietors 'Demindars( and others. Hften, for instance, there may be
several Demindars, and thus several people to settle with. Anyhow, no 5village
forests6 have been taken up or assigned under this chapter, which is accordingly
a dead letter. '!IA, p.#L#(.
&stablishment of Pvillage forestsQ not only went against the basic framework of
the %ritish legal system, giving any rights to the village communities was also
inconsistent with the modern system of administration and control:
It is a mistake, I think, to assign any rights to a village community, and to have
5village forests6 managed by the community uncontrolled. The tendency of our
system of overnment has, to a considerable e+tent, been to break up village
communities, and now for the most part they are heterogeneous bodies rather
than communities. =hat is wanted is, while retaining control over these forests,
to work them for the people6s interests. '!IA, p.#L>(.
". =raBing
:ro) 2oelc3er,s su))ar%
It is maintained in this chapter that the provision of graDing in forests is a
desirable and legitimate ob-ect, and one which will much beneft agriculture,
whilst in times of drought it may be invaluable in keeping the cattle of the
country aliveM I recommendM the creation of more 5)uel and )odder !eserves6
to supply grass and graDing. '!IA, p.+iii-+iv(.
=raBing areas in (distant, forests
The sub-ect of grass supply is closely connected with that of the foregoing
chapter ;on forests< in as much as the forests provide the principal graDing areas
andM certain amount of grass for cutting. Included among the more distant
forests are large pasturage areas, the value of which for this purpose has always
been recognised, and which, on this account, have never been broken up. To
these tracts professional graDiers and hereditary castes of cattle-breeders resort,
taking with them from the plains the most valuable of the raiyats6 cattle, for the
purpose of seeking shelter and pasture for them during the hot season. The
retaining of these areas for the purposes of cattle-breeding is very desirable" it
is, however, not the actual cultivators who directly make use of them, but
particular castes who make this their special business, and who often bring cattle
from a long distance. It is in these graDing areas that the bulk of the native butter
called ghi is produced. '!IA, p.#L$(.
The ne9 *olic% of C$eser+ed forestsD
In addition to the pasturage provided in the open and more distant forests, there
is another class, but still distinct from the village 5waste6 or common landM This
class comprise the graDing areas belonging, or which till recently did belong, to
villages or individuals, but which are now included in the 5reserved forests6. In
the %ombay presidencyM the land was known as gairan or 5graDing6, i.e., land set
apart for graDing cattle. It di.ers from the 5waste6 immediately around the
villages in being really useful for the purpose, whereas the latter, as a rule, is
little more than bare ground. The )orest ,epartment freGuently found it
necessary to take in these lands when forming their 5reserved forests6, and in
%ombay, according to the new graDing rules of #3$?, the term gairan is to cease,
and free graDing is to be provided in the open part of the forest for the
5agricultural cattle6 of villages which have contributed gairan to the formation of
a forest blockM The )orest ,epartment derives a considerable income from the
foregoing graDing landsM '!IA p.#L$(.
The conseEuences of the *olicies of the :orest ;e*art)ent
=allace warns the overnment of the disastrous conseGuences of the policies
pursued by the )orest ,epartment, even while agreeing that the overnment
was right in claiming revenue from graDing:
It would take a forest o*cer years of hard study to be even partially Gualifed to
-udge of the in-ury done to an agricultural population by the shutting up for
forestry purposes of the land on which cattle graDe. 'I&&, p.@?>(.
%y cultivating pasture, the )orestry ,epartment would reap a steadily increasing
and perfectly legitimate revenue from letting graDing rightsM 4erious in-ury
might be done under either of the two following circumstances: '#( If su*cient
pasture were not left available for the cultivators, not only for their work
bullocks, but also for their milk cattle, including bu.aloes" and '>( if the charges
were made too high for the poor in certain districts to pay. In-ury from both
causes has been brought to my notice, and it only reGuired to be carried a little
further to become a national calamity - Guite une+pectedly, of course, because
there is no one interested who can -udge of the facts or their bearingsM The
people in certain districts were, on account of their imperative necessity frst
providing for their work bullocks, unable to keep the milch cattle reGuired to
supply milk or its product, ghi - that practically indispensable ingredient in a
healthy native diet. 'I&&, p.@?K(.
Boelcker notes that even in those places where graDing was supposedly allowed
the forest o*cials would not oblige:
!estriction in graDing sometimes arises from the unwillingness of forest o*cers
to provide itM Hn the 4hahdara 'Jahore( plantation[0] the space for graDing is
confned to the portion which is about to be cut over in the then year, or year
following. &ven to this the forest o*cers ob-ect, saying that graDing makes the
soil hard, and prevents the shoots from coming up afterwards, whilst, if the cattle
were allowed among the medium-siDed trees, they would get at the boughs. I
fear that where wood-growing is the ob-ect, there will always be considerable
di*culty placed by the forest o*cials in the way of providing graDing facilities.
'!IA, p.#2#(.
Traditional agriculture in India : High %ields
and no 9aste

b% 6harat ;ogra
This article on traditional agricultural techniEues and indigenous high>
%ielding seeds a**eared in FThe &cologistF 9a% bac3 in 1/.. 1ince thenG
the argu)ent and HustiAcation to re+ert to traditional and non>che)ical
)ethods of far)ing ha+e onl% gro9n stronger and )ore i)*erati+e.
Today in India, as in many other developing countries with a rich agricultural
tradition of their own, the words 5improved agriculture6 and 5progressive
agriculture6 have become synonymous with the spread of 8RBs '8igh Rielding
Barieties of 7rops( grown with ever-increasing doses of 'often imported( chemical
fertilisers and pesticides. =herever the new crop varieties have spread, time-
honoured crop rotations, inter-cropping patterns and other important features of
traditional agriculture have been harshly uprooted 'this choice, however, has not
been made willingly by most farmers, rather it has been forced on them by a
package of government policies, subsidies and selective price incentives(.
At the back of this trend, and the o*cial policies which support it, is the belief
that traditional agriculture is 5backward6 and incapable of meeting the desired
ob-ectives of agricultural planning, i.e. making adeGuate food available for the
Indian messes and improving the living conditions of the peasants who constitute
the overwhelming proportion of the Indian population.
%ut is this belief, widespread as it is among several international 5e+perts6 and
IndiaVs own development planners and policy makers, supported by hard factsA
In #33$, ,r Iohn Augustus Boelcker, the 7onsulting 7hemist to the !oyal
Agricultural 4ociety of &ngland, was sent by the %ritish government to study
Indian agriculture. Boelcker toured the country e+tensively for over one year. 8is
report was published in #3$@, and since then has often been cited as an
authoritative work on Indian agriculture of this period. )or instance, the !eport of
the !oyal 7ommission on Agriculture '#$>3( said of the Boelcker !eport,
WAlthough thirty fve years have elapsed since this work was written, the ability
which ,r Boelcker displayed in his comprehensive survey of the agricultural
conditions of India, in his analysis of problems they present and in the
recommendations for their solution, still renders it a book of the utmost value to
all students of agriculture in India.W
8ow did ,r Boelcker view Indian agriculture as it e+isted nearly a hundred years
backA ,id he consider it backward and incapable of giving a good yieldA The
essence of what ,r Boelcker said can be summarised in the following e+tract
from his report : WI e+plain that I do not share the opinions which have been
e+pressed as to Indian Agriculture being, as a whole, primitive and backward, but
I believe that in may parts there is little or nothing than can be improved, whilst
where agriculture is manifestly inferior, it is more generally the result of the
absence of facilities which e+ist in the better districts than form inherent bad
systems of cultivation . . . I make bold to say that it is a much easier task to
propose improvements in &nglish agriculture than to make really valuable
suggestions for that of India . . . the conviction has forced itself upon me that,
taking everything together and more especially considering the conditions under
which Indian crops are grown, they are wonderfully good. At his best the Indian
raiyat or cultivator is Guite as good as, and in some respects, the superior of, the
average %ritish farmer, while at his worst it can only be said that this state is
brought about largely by an absence of facilities for improvement which is
probably uneGualled in any other country . . . I have remarked in earlier chapters
about the general e+cellence of the cultivation" the crops grown here are
numerous and varied, much more indeed than in &ngland. That the cultivation
should often be magnifcent is not to be wondered at when it is remembered that
many of the crops have been known to the raiyats for several centuries, rice is a
prominent instance in point.W
More especially he stated, WTo take the ordinary acts of husbandry, nowhere
would one fnd better instances of keeping land scrupulously clean from weeds,
of ingenuity in device of water-raising appliances, of knowledge of soils and their
capabilities as well as of the e+act time to sow and to reap, as one would in
Indian agriculture, and this not at its best along, but at its ordinary level. It is
wonderful, too, how much is known of rotation, the system of mi+ed crops and of
fallowing. 7ertain it is that I, at least, have never seen a more perfect picture of
careful cultivation, combined with hard labour, perseverance and fertility of
resource, than I have seen at many of the halting places in my tour. 4uch are the
gardens of Mahi, the felds of Nadiad and many others.W
Boelcker did not believe that the e+isting ploughs and other implements used by
the farmers were useless and ready to be replaced, WIt has been said that if the
native cultivator had 5improved6 ploughs he could dispense with he many
ploughings which he gives to the land, and that he would thus save himself the
cost of going over the feld again and again, crossing and recrossing. These
ploughings are always three or four in number for ordinary crops, and eight,
twelve and even as many as twenty, for sugar cane and other special crops. %ut
the answer is that the end is achieved in time, a fner and better tilth is obtained
and the moisture is not lost.W )urther, WIf for ploughs of new designs there be but
little room, still less is there for more e+pensive implements, such as seed-drills,
mowers, reapers, threshing machines etc. The native seed drill will strike
everyone who sees it at work as being wonderfully e*cient, and leaving little to
be desired . . . Anyone, who has watched the clever devices of the native
cultivators in the implements which they use, for harrowing, levelling, drilling,
raising water, etc., will see that if anything is to replace the e+isting implements
it must be simple, cheap and e.ective. 8e will indeed be a clever man who
introduces something really practical.W
An important agent of traditional Indian agriculture was the well-developed
irrigation system. WIrrigation by wells is at once the most widely distributed
system, and also the one productive of the fnest e+amples of careful cultivation .
. . )urther, as regards wells, one cannot help being struck by the skill with which
a supply of water is frst found by the native cultivators, then by the construction
of the wells, the kinds of wells and their suitability to the surroundings and
means of the people" also by the various devices for raising water, each of which
has a distinct reason for its adoption. All these are most interesting points with
which I am not called upon to deal, for I see little to improve in them which the
cultivator does not know perfectly well.W
Another aspect, less widely realised, was that of the scientifc rotation system.
Boelcker pointed out, WIt is Guite a mistake to suppose that rotation is not
understood or appreciated in India. )reGuently more than one crop at a time may
be seen occupying the same ground but one is very apt to forget that this is
really an instance of rotation being followed. It is not an infreGuent practice,
when drilling a cereal crop, such as jowar 'Sorghum vulgare( or some other
millet, to put in at intervals a few drills of some leguminous crop, such
as arhar (Cajanus cajan(.
WThere are many systems in ordinary use which are far more complicated than
the above. )or instance, not only may there be rows of crops, side by side, as
noticed above, but the alternating rows may themselves be made up of mi+tures
of di.erent crops, some of them Guick growing and reaped early, others of slower
growth and reGuiring both sun and air, and thus being reaped after the former
have been cleared o.. Again, some are deep-rooted plants, others are surface
feeders, some reGuire the shelter of other plants and some will thrive alone. The
whole system appears to be one designed to cover the bareness and conseGuent
loss to the soil, which would result from the soil beating down upon it, and from
the loss of moisture which it would incur.W
Boelcker, moreover, was not the only agricultural scientist to point out these
assets of traditional agriculture in India. There were several others, scientists and
e+pert scholars, who did so. 8ere we Guote from only two othersXI. Mollison and
A.H. 8ume.
I. Mollison, who later became the frst Inspector-eneral of Agriculture in India,
published in #$?# a volume 5Te+t %ook of Indian Agriculture6. Jike Boelcker,
Mollison stressed the suitability of the implements used traditionally in Indian
conditions. WI believe that the implements in ordinary use are entirely suitable for
the conditions of Indian agriculture. This statement may be ob-ected to by other
authorities, but if such is the case, I am afraid, I cannot change a deliberately
e+pressed opinion. To those who are skeptical I can show in parts of the %ombay
0residency cultivation by means of indigenous tillage implements only, which in
respect of neatness, thoroughness and proftableness cannot be e+celled by the
best gardeners or the best farmers in any part of the world. That statement I
deliberately make, and am Guite prepared to substantiate.W
Mollison gives the following account of the practice of artifcial warping in
%ombay 0residency, WArtifcial warping di.ers from the natural formation of
alluvium only, in that the water of a turbid stream may be diverted from its
course, and held in a particular area su*ciently long to deposit a large amount of
sediment, and if the process is often repeated, a soil of considerable depth may
be formed on rock or any other sterile area. Many of the small rice-felds on the
=estern hats have been formed by throwing bandheras across the turbid hill-
streams and either diverting the water or allowing a small lake to form above the
weir. In this way the current is so obstructed that suspended earthy matter is
deposited and in time the silt layer becomes so deep that a rice-crop can be
raised thereon. The lower terraced rice felds of the hats are annually warped
and improved by the silt carried down by the drainage water of the uplands.W
4peaking of the soil-mi+ing practices, Mollison writes, WMi+ing is not unknown in
India. 7lay is often carted from rice-felds in su*cient Guantity to add a layer one
to two inches thick on sand land. The addition changes the consistence of the
sand, so that it becomes better suited for sugar cane and other garden crops
raised under irrigation. The cultivator appreciates the value of tank silt and in
those districts where these water reservoirs are common they are cleaned out
with the utmost care and regularly each year. The silt which has collected in
these tanks being the washings of village sites and cultivated felds, has some
manurial value, and applied as it is at the rate of K? cart loads or more per acre,
adds considerably to the body of the soil.W
A.H. 8ume, in Agricultural !eform in India, '#323( wrote about weed-control by
Indian farmers at that time, WAs for weeds, their wheat felds would, in this
respect, shame ninety-nine hundredths of those in &urope. Rou may stand in
some high old barrow-like village site in Epper India, and look down on all sides
on one wide sea of waving wheat broken only by dark green islands of mango
grovesXmany sGuare miles of wheat and not a weed or blade of grass above si+
inches in height to be found amongst it. =hat is to be spied out creeping here
and there on the ground is only the growth of the last few weeks, since the corn
grew too high and thick to permit the women and children to continue weeding.W