Chapter - II ECONOMY . AND SOCIETY Of ANOHRA IN THE COLONIAL CONTEXT
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Chapter - II
ECONOMY . AND SOCIETY Of ANOHRA
IN THE COLONIAL CONTEXT
20
Th:! ~t a.Jt...."'tonding footurc o1. Indian history in t:Ddcrn tir.2s
has ~n tl~ advent of British In:pcrialie:n tmich developed on tho
basis of tho capitalist transformation of European economy. As a
cons~ncc of Britioh rule, India p;J.o~ into the orbit of 1
oorld cnpitalist economy in a 'subordinate•or colonial pooition.
Frco then on\:at'ds, there gre-.:~ up an irrcconcilobly nntagoniotic
and exploitative relationship bet~ the British and Indian 2
ccoru:xniez. Th9 'colonio.l cmploitntion' of India too.'t differ.e.11t
forms according to the stage reached by tho econa:nic ~nt 3
of tl1:9 oxploiting oountry. Hence, tho need for a
study of econa:ny of Andhra in
1. Bipnn Chandra, 11COlonialism and t~abrnisation", (Presid::mtial Address, Indinn History COngress, 1970) in N!ltionnliem and O>lonialism in Y.odarn India (Orient I.Dngrran, Pa~k Eiition, 1981) p.3.
2. Por discussion on different dimansion~ of this aspect see, R.P. OUtt, India Todny (Ollcutta, 1970h R.C. Dutt, Th'll a-oncxnic History of India, VOla. l & 2, <PUblications Division, Govarnm91\t of India, 1976 and 1977 h ll:!lc:k.bbai K:loroji, Poverty and On-British Rule in India (PubliCD.tions Division, 1969) 1 Ri:!r.ultrishno. MUkherjes, ~ Rise and Fall of t1'lc F..n!lt Indin catpany(Borlin, 1955): s. Bhuttllch~a, Financial Foundations of the British RUle (I.I.A.S., SUnla, l967h Bipan O'lvmdra, ~ Riaa and Gra.:lth of Eco::tamic Nationalism in ~India (P.P.H., 1977>; t~tionalioa1 and Coloninlie.tn in f«Jrbm India, op.cit.J lrf.em Flbib, "Colonialhation of the Indian a-onany, 1757-1900'=, in Social Scientist, Vol. 3, No.8, !Grch 1975. For more references ~, Select Bibliography.
3. Joan 82uc~, British ~ia.licm in India (London, 1934), p.ll. Sha explained thC'!lG st.agas as : t;ouring the ~nt.C"'....nth. and Eighteenth Centuries tho plunder of India t:ao t.h::! Chief sourc:J of ~tion t::hich made possible the ~vol~t at industrial capitalism in Britain, lll1d in tha nine~-nth, India provided tllG principal market for Brition mnufacturers, ~ilo at the sar::e tino the econanic <Srain of her resources wae ruthlcnsly continued. British capital in~tm2nt in Ind.in, togeth~r with inte:Je exploitntion of Indian labour, backed by all tre forc<:!s of th<a Ct'o':m, represents th~ third. and finn! at.age in the system of robb3ry, for it is a ~thod t~'hich carries within it the ~ of itn a.vn d.:!otruction". (Ibid).
21 coloniul content, roforo ~ go into 1;00 social and political
asp;cta. THESIS
322.42095484 M931 So
1111111111111111111111111
eroo.dly s~ing,
TH2113 ·
duo to tho i'Oatspoosaole·~~or i colooW.
govor~_nt, the llgrarian structure evolved during th3 nrit.ich
rule ~~ed the colonial goV3rnmsnt to llqprDpriate a large
sharo of the agricultural produco in w forin of ~uc. ~
Madras Presidency \GS sstUed \'lith diffcront tenurial syatems nnd
an unequal distribution of land rc~ue bruck.m, tatich in turn
~rated m:my evils in the ngrarian cconarlY·
land tenures established a pattern of relationship on land that
fo~ the framework \11 thin \thich e19riculturnl pro&lction was
carried out. Tl'te rcanner in 'Which land ms h!Ud not only
<bcioively influ:mccd the Dthods and techni~ of the
agricultural production, but also strongly influ:mc:ed tho
distribution of ttr:: production. Hence, to start with, ~ mall
ex&mioo th!l cbval~t of different tenurial ralations in t·adrao
Prezicb1cy, particularly in tho districts of Andhra, along '<'lith
the lmld rev.:mus syst.o in or<br to understand the strw:.tural 4
changeo in th3 'agrarian ccono:ny', as aleo the changes in ·t:!l'9'"-:· ...... rf ~
agrarian cles ralationo. t J<.,..,. ... ~""'- ...
5 In 1920-21 tho ~ns Presicrency ~rie:cd of 27 districto and
had an arc!l of 1,42,255 oqunro r.dlca, of which 19,287 square
-----·--------------------------------·-------------4.. Th9 ll9rarian e:corun.y t1ill be discussed in terms of aspeetn like : (l) Land Tenuicn: (2) System of Land R-""VenOOf (3) Rent snd Price ria~1 (4) Systems of Rural credit and too 8\lrd::m of Indcb~'1J (5) Cc:xrm:!rcialization and t"..arkcting syctc:n; and (6) Clung~::; in Agrarian Social Structure in tlt:t COlonial context.
5. A Stntiotical AUc3 of ~ Vadra:.; Prcsi~, 19,20-21 U~on, 1921>, p.l. ~t-4
) \A ~ ~ \ \ ~ '-J.) "'"' \ 5 \ N ?J t-1 5
lillL::...l...a.1
NUM!lE. R AND AREA QLVlL.br'\?{~
--------Oht.ricte ' R~gtwu:i ' ___ I!lll! ---1. :t!! i !l sh d : Tg $AJl j Po~onta~o I '.' of ' ~ of 1- I I
: Nu111bor :~roo undar I N ull!bc.r I A roo Nur:~bcr! Area ;In 0111 to : Zar:~in-:Nu111bor
1 Al"ao
1 of Ryot-I lGovt. + '1. ' Aca : Acroe : Acl"'e : ~o~ari to :Total I dori to I I _jMinor Inaoa I t I ·j Total aroo I To tel ' I ' ' I I • • • 2 3 4 5 6 7 e ' 10 11 12
1 • Gon j a• 916 11419S7 539 2343 70 3039 1718625 .. 554 3094955 36.86 7.57 55.53
2. Vifcaapat.alll 269 357l28. 842 491 9 !!4 1643 201423-i 275oi 292l5oi6 12.22 16.63 70.95
3. Godavari 448 976242 90 93520 317 558601 855 1628363 59.55 5. 74 34.31
4. K istna 774 1937H6 3 54 467059 694 '376261 1622 3180106 51 .2 5 1 2 .3 5 36.40
s. Guntur 763 3332~ 27 Hi2 210334 sa 102121 983 3645182 91 .41 5.17 2.82
6. Ned lore s1 e 2 5293 82 211l l!S1l3 925 2187931 1726 5103053 49.57 7. 56 42.88
"T l£1A). 3748 10274502 2270 1S8lOOO 6676 B01 U03 126U 2017!90$ 50.92 9.33 •'· 39.74 , .. 7. Kurnool 695 HZB781 89 123309 783 U52090 97.46 2.54
B, Bellar)' 813 3529212 89 115654 962 36UU6 96.83 3.1 7
9. -'nantapu.r 750 4~50672 136 131196 886 4201868 96.94 3.06
'0. Cuddapah 755 3509715 218 214980 973 3124695 94.23 s. 71 " 11 • Chit too r 468 183U23 368 557568 1468 1198125 2304 359031' 91 .1 0 1 s. 53 33.37
!liltdJ 3541 , 775~003 900 , 142707 1468 1 198125 59()9 20093835 88.35 s.n 5.96
&£4!!SL!llAla t T2e6 21027505 3170 3025707 8144 9216528 1 8603 40269740 69.60 7. 51 22.89
A9ency Di'tiwion 1965 3050277 88 273780 10794 9'374602 12647 12HS659 24.02 2.16 73.82
.§.r~ru! Tr,t=,Ut1.1o~) 9254 31071782 32SS 3299487 18938 18591130 311i 50 sa6&J99 58.67 6~23 35.10 '-
l!Lillll:ll ' Grand Total 10007 31 !40!16 3120 2917120 20361 17595455 33488 523353291 60.82 s. 57 33.61
(inc:ludinljJ .. t-:> flgency) 75:1 762934 138 382367 1423 995675 2038 615108 1\,)
~ of increase/ decra 11 ce Crl , 9U~.o1, • (-)7.53 (-)2.40 4.42 13 .11 (-)6.99 5.66 (·)6.09 1.18
--------
23 6
miles wore occupied by the rt:!Wly conotitutcd "k;pncy Oivisionca . 7
and 21,%2 sqare miles by zsmindarios. "Pasture llltt!
agriculturon fomei the occupation of a majority, i.o. 70 par 8
cent of the population of the Presidency. Land \OS h:ald m::Unly
extent of ho1difl9 undor different tenurinl systtm:J in Andhra is 9
pre~nted in table 2.1.
Thg history of the rovanuo cet up in An6hrn under the British 10
rule dates b:lclt tD 1766, W1en the fl'adras Goverl'tl't3llt too.lt over the
mnagerr.cnt of th2 Northern circars, viz. Ellore, Olieacole,
6. Ibid: and als;o sac Adminiotratiw Report of tho Forest ~rt:m;:!nt of the M!ldrns Presidency 1923-24, VOl. II, W.2dras, 1925), p.l7. ~ A9enCY tracts in Ganjam, Vizagopatam and Godavari districto ~re oonsti tuted into nn 'Ag2ncy Division• or district for ~niotrativ~ convenience frc::x::l 1 ~r 1920 nnd thio was again ll'2rgod tdth the l.lbov3 diotricta within a short span of tim:!l, i.e. fran 16 oetob3r 1923, as a llt!!lSUre of retrencl:'mr:mt of ~nditure.
7.. Ibid. '1'h3 Dmri.ndaries of P..n.rlhra ~re chiefly situated in Gsmjam, Vizagapatam, Godavari, Krishna, ~lora and OU.ttoor. t'fu:m consid2rcd tlw wnolc Presidency ths concentration t~o ~tly in Andhra districts.
8. Ibid., <1911), p. 7. 'Ibis incrensed to 71 par aant by 1920-21, Ibid., (1921), p.7.
9. Ibid., (1911 and 1921). Figures are cnlcul4t.ed for ~ency division sa,9arnte1y for 1920-21, but in th~ case of 1910-ll, the c.gency figures are includcl in tha totals o::Jing to the l.aclt of correct oeparatc figures in Cbtai1 oo in the a:~.se of 1920-21. .
10. Early British acquisitions in tho O:lst of Northern Circars : Year Station Distict
1611 1625 1634 1679 1983
1722 1751
Pct.tapoly &nd l>'DSUlipatncn Armzgso ~rawsaram tJ..a&:!pallarn Vizaqapatnam
Ingore::n Ead.~r1tm.'ta 6 ~~lapilly
_' _____ _ Kiatna ~lore Q:ldavari Godavari ~of the ~~~....rn Circa.rs Godavari Ga.iavnri
t"'.z:clcon:}, 1'.d:.iinictro.ti v.a l-::IDual of Medrao Presidency, Vol. I, (:.::tdroo 1879), ll!lrtl 94 •
24
11 Rajammdry, t-:ootazanaga.r and r.toostnfanagar (GUntur). In thess
arena, th3 syctem of reven\13 collection follm..-ed by the previous
ruloro \>nll by and larqc contimred by tha colonial rulorn. ·~
collection of roven\13 \'3G mdz through Poligars/ zamindars I 12
Contractors. Wh3n the E'.mt India ~y acquired the districts
of Bcll.Llry, Arulntpur, OJddapah, a portion of lt\lrnOOl and Pol~nd . 13
tnluk of the Guntur district in 1800 from the Nizam of Hyderabad, 14
and Chi ttoor and t-!a11ore in 1801 from th9 N:r4b of Ateot, there
d3velop::d ll different tenurial syste:n called the •Ryot~i a
oysteu. This was later implaronted by Sir 'l'ho::nas r.runro in the
~"bola of tha Madras Presidency. B3t~en 1802 and 1806, a
systamutic wrvey and £3ttlem:mt of the oeded diotricts -
B:lllary, CUdnppah and I<urnool - covering D.n area of 26,592 square
miles \::39 taken up by Sir 'l'llom:ls lf.Unro. At~s v.3re mde to
introduce ~t sattelm:mt in all territories of the Msdrna
Presidency ~tt.-aen 1807 and 1818, \::hich proved abortive. 'Ibn tho
ryott:ari system was introduced into nll parts of the province,
~ro a of the land revenue -· ..... '* ............... -----------··-··-·-··-------------11. Ibid.· ~ forn!d t.h::: later diotricto of Vizagapatnem,
Gmljarl, ttistnn, Godzlvari and Guntur. For fut.ber chtails ~. Atkins, Treaties, Engage:rcnts Qlld sane.ds, p.ll4: tmilwnda Sa.tyanarayana, Bhumi, Ryotu and Raju (Telugu, B!'!zwada, 1946), pp. 143-MJ tanka SUndaram, "British B3ginnings in Mcihra", in Trivani, t~ l928r B.H.BcthmPm."C.ll, 'I'lw Land Syatams of British India, Vol. III C03lhi, 1974), p.1.
12. B.H. Baden - Pot-!311, op.cit. Later becaw...e of the infl~ of Bengnl. Govcrnm:mt, n spxial Camdnsion tss appointed bct~n 1802 and 1804. ~ diotrictG ~~e parcelled out into permarcntly assessed Crovenue) ~tatcs. 'Ihesc were called as Zamindari esto.teo in Andhrn.
13. Ibid., p.a, Nil.ro.ni ~'therj03, Tho Ryotwari Systcr:l in Madras 1792-1827 <calcutta, 1962), p.20.
14. ~, l!:lllorc r'ilnual: s.c. Rny, Land R:wcnll!l ~nistration in India (Calcutta Univoroity, 1915), p.61.
25
had not alroody ~_n affeetcd t1ith t:l't!) zamindars, by MUnro during 15'
his term of governorship, i.e. fro:n 1820 to 1827. An ln\90rtant
phaes in tho ryotwnri syatc:m tSS started with the f6
reinterpretation of MUnro's tem 'fixed or pam.:ment' land
cbm:md, by
gencrnl revision of all ryott!ari revanue follcm3d La
sattlem2nts in 1855. 'l'h3 subsequent re~t1e.t.te'lts \Qre fixed for
. a durntion of 30 y.aaro. ~ 1866 and 1887, the Madras
governtr.1'.nt carried on settle:.mnt operations in many of the Andhra
dintricts in order to krla.l the accurate extent and val1.12 of land
under ssvaral catcgories,which in practice e:nabled the government
to dan:lnd increasing reven~. CThio will txl disc~ later).
15. For n datailed ct.udy B30 : Colonel MUnro' n Corronpond!mcc regarding the survey and Ryotwo,r:i set.tle::rnmt of the 02ded Districts 1802-1807, A.s.o. , ·· (0) Reprinta of District Rccordo, No. (22) 79, Tamil Nadu Archives, Madras (TNAh Selections of Mr.. Robon •o Report on the Parm!ment Sottlemgnt ('IWA)J Sclections of Papsrs Rolating to th~ ?.emindaris, 1836 (1932) t.b. (490) 150-15, (Tl&); r:,r. John Rt3ad's Report on the r.:r.:mi Syatem and the Zlimindnrio, Parts 1 & II, Noo. U50) 274-15 nod (151) 275-15 ('INA); C'arr~ relating to tho Villaga Scttl~nt Triennial llnd Decennial Leaoon and the t-:orking of the Ryotwa.ri Syst.an, 1800-1855 (1876), No. (210 > 295-15 (TNl\) 1 A. s.o (8) Ot'.her Reports Abstract of Cbrrcopoll:dnnce bat~n Sir 'l'bc:Jmos MUnro, 1be Board of Revenua and the Mc:!.dras Goverm.rent, 1886, No. 245 (501) 34 CTNA)f A. H. a., Major-General '1'hanas MUnro - Selections frcm His MinUtes and Other Official t'lritingn, VOla. I 6 II, (Sir Aloxondor, J. Arbuthnot, 1881), NO. 309-310 (26) (TNA)J Nilmani ~jee, Tin Ryotwari Syste:3l, Op.cit., pp. 17-121: History of Land Revenue S...~Ue:nent and Abolition of Intc~iary Tenure in Tamil !o!adu (Govornmnt of Tamil Noou, 1977) (~...rao.aft;cr co B.L.R.s.); R.C. outt, The Boonomic History of India, VOl. 2, <1970 ~rint), pp.47-48; B.H. .Bacbn :Powall, A chart Account of tho Land Revenue and Its Ad:ninistrntion in British IndiaJ With a Sketch of the Lnnd Tenures (Cttford, 1913), pp.ll-32.
16. Far n cbtailed discussion, especially on the c."lange of Govcrl'l'lront Policy, ~= Land RaVenuo Policy of the Govarnmnt of India. (Govcrlll'lSlt of India, Or.tlcutta, 1920)9, pp.l52-243.
17. For a brief history eee, I<.N. An!mta Raman, Chairman, Rzport of the Land ReVan~ Reforms Om:ai ttcc of the Govci11m2nt of Andhra Prad2sh, Hyderabad, 1958-1959, Part-I, Vol. I, (Hyd:lrabed, 1959) pp.SS-226 (H3rC!lfter as Ananta Raman Cb:::ni ttco Report).
18 Un::br tho 'zomindnri • tenure, broodly sp:!Olc.ing, land ~o s....attlcd
pcrmncnUy under Regulation XXV of 1802. By this ~t
oottle:mmt the Govarntt.::mt granted to "Zamindars and other
landholdaro, their hairs and successorn a pet'l!t'.Ul'OOt propsrty in
thsir land for all t.im3 to OXI':3• and fixed 0 forcver a modarat..o
assessm.:mt . of public revonue on such land.~, the ~t of tmich
shall naver m liable to be increasOO. under nny circumstnnccs a.
'.l'h9 •public revenue• that was thus S3ttled was tho 8 p:JShkashu 19
which each "Ztlmin.dnr• had to pay to the govarntratt. 'Ihis ~~
right in perpetuity sanctioned by the ooloninl govc~t
genernted m:my evils in t:.hg zmnindari oysters which t'IOI'Wtitutcd
35.10\\ of the totul aren in Andhra districts in 1920-21 (Table 20
2.1>. Contrary to this, under the 'ryott:ari • tenure 'tt'lich \"26 . 2l
58.67'l of th3 teal Andhra area in 1920-21 (Table 2.1) tOO land • • • ... _,.. •••••• , __..._......,_.......,....,_....._ vr • • .... •• -
18. ~ H.L.R.s., pp.43-52J v.v. Sayana, Tile Agrarion Probl.om:1 of Madras Province (M3dras, 1949), p.SO; s.c. Ray, op.cit., pp.Sl-83.
19. G.O.M., R3V. Dapt., G.O. t\!o.2526, dated 18th OCt. 1940, p.307 (Strictly Confid).
20. A cbtnilcd information on thio f.\flP3Ct of tho umi.ndari systa."l\ am te obtllincd fro:n tho foll<ming t:arks ' !ii.G. Rr:lngn, Econo:nic conditionn of tro Z&nindari Ryoto ('i'ro ~rt of t.lY.! a:x>nomi.c Enquiry Ctn:nittea, ~za~, 1933) J ti. t<.. Pirmingecr, ~rt fro:n the Sglect Cc.m:li ttoe of Affnira of the East India OX:p:lny (calcutta, 1917>, pp.l45-2l5J a.n. aad3n-~'"'3ll, Tho rand Systcms ••• op.cit., Vo1.III. pp. 133-lSJ A ehort Account of ~ tcmd Revenue .op.cit., pp.l54-168J T. Praltasam, rt.adras Ent&tcs Land Act axorl.tteo Raport (~no, 193El)J l~lcans, ~nintrative f:".&nunl of ft'adraa Prooicbncy, Vol. 111, (MJ.dras, 1879)1 S&liga, Studies in r:~r.ao Adminiotrntion, Vol.1, U-!adras, 1960>, pp.82-83J s. S.Rngho.vaiyangnr, Progress of the ~as Preait!ency during the lllst 40 yearn of Britioh Administration (~Jldras, 1898), pp.222-28: H.I~.R.S., pp.43-52.
21. t"Olon the re~~ is a.ru:cu=ed on individuals \:ho arc the actual oecupants, or ora accepted as roprcc~nting the actual occupz1nts of lr.'!1lll holdinge, tho asOOOCiil'Clt b ~ an 'Ryotturi', a.L.R.s., pp.37-3S, s.c. Ray, ~.cit., ?.2.
One Interest
1. The Govarn•ent waa aole proprietor IKha• eetataa alluvial ialands and eo on.)
IPL£ - 2.2
Two lntereete
1 • Governatent.
2. The ryot or occupant with a defined title (not a tenant).
Ttu:··· lntereata
1 • Govern•ent
2. A landlord (Zalllinder and ao on)
3. The actual cultivating holders, individual co-sharers and c.
3J
four lntareata (a) (b)
1 • Govern•ent t • Governunt
2. L•ndlord . 2. An overlord or auperior
3. Sub-prop riet- 3. An actual ora or tenure proprietor holders. or landlord.
•• The ryot or •• The actual cul• actual culti- -tivating vator. holders
individual co-sharers and c.
------------·-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------·--------Source: Baden- B.H. Powell.
28 \\\
was hsld by the individual~ eyots m th a right of cx:cupancy, which \ ' ,
was both heritable 1and ~ansferabl~. &.:!re the revenue was ! . I '
subjected to the princi~l,e de cbductincJ and ~tiona in certain \ ~ ! , \
circumstances and subjec\-1_ \\to ~s~ions i~\ ·-~~ be after 22 ~' ' :. ."
intervals of 30 years. '\ , 1~\ ' '
There were also othSr varieti~s'ot land tenure, the i.IrlpO{~~-one I ' i ' 23 . \ \ I . · ·. ,
was the 'inamdari system•. rlout ofi~ ~23'.\ of the total~ .. ~ea ' ' \ '\24
(Table 2.1) there ~e ~ , tual ~~hol~s..,~der a title~·, ..
enfranchised inEms or ~~hs of ~ or of ~e l4nd ~venue '"'-25 ·\ '\
thereon and inam htf-dinqs ¥<?luding /fgirs or gre~ts of land or· I' \ \ I \'
of land revenus ~ld (unef a ~~e ~nt en t\~ fulfil.tnz!nt
f . di . ) '2~ l t t~th ""' ........ o certain con i~lcr..fo/•\\ ~' Unde \.e... sr systems there may ~ rent
paying tenants. in: f~,\ ~ ~ interests varied ...,.;~~ to
the nature of ~ lpmurial syst~. B-otwaen the ~t, ~ ( '
the actual culthrfitpr it may ~~e \'13re one/t::Mo or mre
intervening inter~ts. \ \,
\
Table 2.2 n~J;OU!:J interm::!diary landed
interests l form. In fact, there existed
' '· ;
an even more, c:o:«pl~~. ~~-TX>rk of interests. This cxxnplex rnrt.-work J . '
22. H.L.R.S;.;, pp./{317..:.4L / ;
. . I ' I . . . . 23. For ~ <h~Q.~ ~ted history of 'Inamdari' tenure, see,
Ib¥1'., ,W.;~.,31 · for the ~initions of different terms apsocia~ ~'t\h •inamdari' system such as Inam, Inamdari,
_.ll'l&m Estatfe,t •il'nam Llmd, Inmn Village, and so on, sse, P.T.
I(Cborge, • ~~ogy in Indian Land ruri:orms (Orient Iongnan,
197,2J Ill \ ~ . ' I I I : i~. I~d., rtP•'~O-~:r,· These show proprietorship as against the
Gever~t;· ·an~'1pa.id no land rewnll2. / ••.. i' ,\ 1\.'
25. / Ibid., P-' 6~. ~ Tth!!SC ~~e held under a title &zed shom.ng / propri~r~p ;as against the Gove~nt and paid a 'quit
/ . rent;' fi~ tf<.lfe~r calculated at a favourable rate.
/t!6 + IbiJ}. I p~ 94 .' ~,
29 of interacts broadly indicates the q>proprintion of th:!
agricultural produce in the colonial cxmtext and this \10 Ghnll
dietCUss in the subooq'U3lt paqos. First .of all let us examine the
land revenue d:::mand cmd its· bard-'--n on different &grarian claos:u1
in relation to the difforcmt tenurial systems.
Many nationalist historians ha.va often emphasined the hs!avy
burden of l.nnd revenue danand and the ooc.rci va proc::esses
employed, l:x)th by too governm:mt and the zamindaro, in the
realioation · of tho revenue and rent rospecti v.3ly, as the main
CS\JZ...."»S for the im,?DVerishment of the p3afXl.ntry und2r eolonitllirnn ..
1his logic my broadly explain tbe objoctiw social base of tho
peasant discontent and their participation in tlle p::u1aant and
nationnl. mo~ts. The incroosing rownU3 d2mand not
only absorbed the petty profits but alro cut into the m:3agre
subsiotan6e incane of the ~sante. Biqh rentals nnd revenue
demand forced tho ps!lGants to borrru m:mey fran the 1\Dlley-lendero
oven at abnomol rates, t.bic:h aggrcvatcd the situation. tt wao
only one asp;xt of the c.:xx:nplel! proble:n. In order to k'now the
proceso of thio complex changG W3 shall not see just the t"Cvanue
burden, but tho actual pgrcentage of agricultural produce
alienated by ~santary to pay renvcnu'3, rent and cr...har cboands,
rolationo of production, t:ho appropriated the suplus and in ~t forma and ~t mre the rolations bat\CSn the la.ndlord/gove.rntn2nt
and the direct producer and tiii'On9 the various clas~ of
p:.w;Mtry.
"l'he rewnue ~ increaGSd in moot of thG .Andhrn
diotricts after evury rossttlroant operations. ~ 'unjunt
30
en~t • of the ra~nue <hm:lnd ~ tho ryot\tari system,
bas3d on tho principle of a 30 years' period gnp for every
revision, as ob:::erved by R.C.Dutt, \«>Uld "~ssarily lmpo'-"'3rish 27
ryot a. 82 furth3r ob:;&ved that in the "s...."'ttlem:mt and survey
Op3rations which t:Jare introduoad after 1857, the real position of
M!Jdrao clutivator ~ loot sight of •• • the M!!dras cultivator
instead of holding his land in p:arp3tuity ·without any incr01se of
a.ascssnont •• •• subjected to enhancemant at 1each mcurrinq
sottlcm2nt and has bsan reduced to ·a state ~ poverty and
indcbtness ~:hich a:ake.o him an easy prey to fami /~s in the years 28 i.f~ .
of bad harvests".
Table 2. 3 sf"lc»>s a sta:ady increace in the land revenuo incidence
per acre. ".rh9 increase in revenue ~ W':lS cnra rapid
in first of the 20th
27. 1£.lnd Revenln Policy of the Indian Government (Calcutta, 1920), p.lSl, "Initiallty• OUtt obaervod, .,,...adras ryot h!ld o d2clarod and indefeasible right to an unalternble l2:nd p3rpetuol asecsem:mt8 and 8 this right has bean <Xlnfiscated by the British Gover~nt.. • 'When they established the ~ 83ttle:r.:mt... and introduced at that time parmanency only for a period, ~ereby the assessmoot is subjected to possible revision after each such p9riod", (after every 30 yaars). Ibid., p.l52,
28. Ibid., pp.l54-SS.
31 century. For ~1e, the aaeessm:mts in Godavari district
29 'lbb1e 2.3
Financial 1892- 1893- 1894- 1895- 1896- 1897- 1898- 1899- 1900- 1901 Year 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902
Porce_n_tn--te-.-d------------------·-·--·-·---------·-·-···--·---------------·------·--·-··1 Increaao/ 117.7 125.4 127.9 126.7 117.6 125.0 127.5 121.6 128.6 128.9 02croooo of LMd Rsvenua
Note' Tho figures are for the M!ldrns Presdency. '.Ihe figures of 1891-92 being ta~en as = 100. And the &hare of the lllnd revenue d\.13 to irrigntion is exc1udad fran tha CDlcu.llltion. 1896-98 wara famine years.
30 31 tutl!l incrCilS-'"'Cl in 1901-02 by 24 per oont. ~ net ryotwari dznand
during 1906-07 mr.ountod to Rs.. 570.96 lakhs against 557.85 lakhs 32
in the previous year. Th3 <hmand for the P.resi&mcy during 1915-
16 W30 raised to R.CJ. 631.91 lakbo against Rs.619.05 l.akhs in the 33
previous ~r.
29. Sta~t EKhibiting the Morn1 and Material Progress and Condition of India, 1901-Q2 <IndiA Office, 1903), (Hereafter a!:> f·'!Oral and t-iaterial Progress), p.l6l.
30. Ibid., p. 159.
31. •t¢ilt Ryotwari Danand', i,.e. less remissions but including water-rate, second crop and miscellaneous revenll3.
32. Roport on the Sattlcment of Land Revenue (Jamabandi >, f!or Faoil 1316 (1906-Q7) (Kadras, 1908). p.S.
33. Ibid., POr Paai1 1325 (1915-16>, p.7.
32 'J.'tl2 incrooc~ of <btr31ld \13S mostly on th::l highly irriqated cblta
districts in the form of water rate and oth2r ceases. \\"?en trn:!
incrcaso in toto.l dsnand was nearly ll per cent, tho increase 34
under tOter-rate and second crop ttas nearly 175 par cent. "'hls /
high increase, especially in th!! case of water-rate, forced the
p3asantry into militant political action as a part of the non
oocpsration mav£ment in Andhra in 1921-22. Table 2.8 (given in
t.~o later pages) clearly shows that the increase in the
inci~nce of revenue per sere \\"aS rmstly in highly irrigated
Cblta districts like Godavari (21.4 par rent i.e., fran Rs.5.84
in 1901-02 toRs. 7.09 in 1920-21) and ltristna <25.9 per O!nt
i.e., from Rs.S.30 in 1901-02 toRs. 6.63 in 1920-21). It was on
the other hand mnrginal in the case of (dry) ceded districts.
~~ror, the burden of revanue t'!!lS not uniform for all tenures.
'l'h2 revenus cbmand in ryotwari areas had been increased by 13. 2 b)'
per cent. whereas it increased~,..only 0.06 par o::mt in zamindari
areas. Table 2.4., giv.an ~10\1~ demonstrates this unequal
distribution of tho d<:!rr.and and its differential increase.
Thus virtually the entire contribution to revenue increase ms by
the ryott:ari tanure Dreas, for the wry nature of the tenurial
system all~ a periodiati increase in revenues chmand whe.reas
it h'l!Ul not so in tho za.1lindarics since the revenues ware fixed
p:arrranently.
But it does not l1!.!Wl that the actual cultivators unr:br the
-------------------·-.. -·-"----------·-------~~------.. -------·----34. Ibid.
I
33
Eamindaries ""'Ore 1:.211-off. In fnct, under this tenurial system,
the p:!QSants tere exploited rrore, for tho'.f t-..~re oxploited by
numerous intemediarien in different ways. under both tenures,
if the pattadar or tenant did not himself cultivate the land he
was in the position of a superflUOU3 middl.cwm intervening
between the actual cultivator £fld th9 stnte/zamindar and exacting 36
inte~ntc rent in orcbr to maint.ain his o::m idle existence.
-----------------------------------·------·-------·-·-----·-35 TABLE 2-4
It~ IN rol'AL RE\la"UE WWID U:..L)ER DIVFERF:k1:' TENURES
(RS.)
1905-06 1906-07 1914-15 1915-16 f T p ..... ._.. -- --
Peshkaah on 4,~3,617 4,983,333 4,987,350 4,986,531 Penr.::mcntly Settle..'(:} EstatCD
Shrotiem Jodi 756,628 766,052 756,323 756,294
Ryotwari and 55,792,691 57,095,494 61,891,575 63,152,536 ttincellaooous
'l'OI'AL 61,532,936 62,844,897 67,635,248 68,895,361 .....----· 35. Report on the settle:rnmt of Land Revenua (Jamabnndi) for
Ftts1i 1325 (l915-16), p. 7.
36. GUb2rt Slater (Edited), Econanic Studies. sar.e South Indian Vi1lag~, VOl. 1, (OMford, 1918), p. 235.
I a
Name or the I Zald.n dari ~
I J I ~ ~ ~
District
Parlakimedi Ganjam
r.&.BLE 2.5
SUD.MiNT aHOifDIG mK .lPP.BOXDU.tE .&..Ria AND .HISVB.NU& P.liMUTS O.f THE UMINDARI.S IN .AH.IE.BA
b A Total I .&rea ~ as per I 1881 I Census I f ~ 1 Acres
268,000
(Bevenue .Rupees in 000 18 )
D Estimated Bevenue Bealised § Peshkash paid to the I Percentage paid to the t by the Zamindar from I Government by the ~ Government by the 0 Cu1 tivators/Tenants f Zamindar J Zamindar ~ 1906-11915-11933-;194-1-IGrowth ~1906-11915- 11933-1194-1- :Growth ~906- 11915-11933-1194-1-: Growth A 07 1 16 : 34 ; 42 l rate ~ 07 I 16 : 34 l 42 : rate A (11 I 16 1 .31+ : lt2 1 rate ~ l I I ldurin~J I I l !during ~ ' 1 1 1 during ~ l : : 11906-0'" : : : l1906-07 § : 1906-07 f. ~ \ : l and _( : : : : and a : and 1 I : : 11941-42i l l I 11941-42 A : 1941-42
431 444 498 N.A. 15.55 82 80 80 N.A. -2.44 19.03 18.02 16,06 l~ .A. -15.61
Vizianagaram) 465,280 1,790 2,265 2,089 2,119 18.38
17.22
-9.73
485 495 495 0.20 27.6 21.41 23.7 23.36 -15.36 ) Vizagapata.rr.
Boot::.:: )
Pi t!:apuram
Dev-arakota
East Godavari
Kistna
206,400
117 '760
546 5"44 627 640
863 943 779
238 257 251 259
83 84 83
9.2?• 243 263 263
8.82 80 80 80 79
VenY.atagiri Guntur 1,171,340 1,069 1,180 1,162 1,290 20~67 369 369 369 383 and
Ne1lore
Ka:-vetr1agar ) ) Chi ttoor
Kala"'asti )
441 1 600 K .A.·
779,520 N .A.
889 399 621 -30.15@ N.A. 105 174 174
738 433 290 -60.71 N.A. 123 173 173
-1.19 15.38 15.26 13.4 12.97 -15.67
8.23 28.16 27.33 27.8? 33.76 19.87 -0.96•
-l.25 33.61 31.13 31.87 30.5
3.79 34.52 31.27 31.76 29.69 -14.98
65.71 N.A. 11.81 43.61 28.02 137.26
40.65 N .A. 16.67 39.95 59.65 257,83
N.A ... Not available. • Growth rate when calculated between
G.o. Nos.
35
Table 2.5 shows tho extent of t.h$ surplus retained by tha
zmnindars, after paying the 'P2Shkash • to the govarnm:mt. 'lhis
table also dsmomrt.raten thnt when the grom:.h rate of xenta
realised by too zamindars from culti vators/tenanta had t:esn
~ally aoving upwords bet~ 1906-o7 and 1941-42, there~
Bar.::! fall in the amounts paid to Governr:rent by the zamindars as
•pashka.sh' (except in Chittoor) if seen in relation to the amount;
of rent realised from t:.enunt..r.; during t.~is period. Thus there was
an increa!linq alienation of agricultural produce by the
culti va.tors/tenants and a steady accumulation of A(Jricultural
surplus in tho hands of .za..'i\indars av3r a period of time. This
trend adversely affect~ the cultivators/tenants in th3
zamindnr is.
Furthermore, the increase in revenue rates tas highest in ~
regions t.ncrc agricultural production, irrigation, narket and
cxmuunication facilities ~e hiqhly developed. In tM (X.)S.St£.11
districts like Godavari, IU.stna, Vizagnpatnam, Ganjam, Guntur and
N:Ulore the inci~nce of rovenuo p& cere tats much higher than in
tha backward areas of Raynla83ema districts, liko Bru.lary,
Anantapur, Rurnool, Chittoor and Cuddappah (see table 2.8). on
the other hnnd, in the Rayalaseem districts frequent famines,
lack of favourable seasons and irrigntion facilities, and so on, 31
resulted in insecurity in the agricultural sector and henco,
theoreticnlly - and practically aa w:!ll - it t~as found impossible
to increase the revenue &:nand, as in tho C>lfle of coastnl Andhra
diotricts.
37. Sea, Fmni.n::l O::mnis!lion Rcportn, For Years - s::c, Biblography.
aowaver, the inc.o.:ne of the peascmt t!as not datermined just by the
absolute increase in the toa1 amount of revenue par acre. What
mattered wa8 the latter's relation to the returns fran the land
and to other production a:mditions in £l9riculture.
Firstly, the rate of increase of the revenue demand ms much
higher than t:hs rate of increase in the expansion of cultivation,
especially in the ryotwari areas. Table 2.6 demonstrate the
extent of cultivation under different tenures batween 1~10 and
1920.
38 TABLE 2.6
36
Year Ryotwar i Inmn Area Zsmindari Total Area Percen- Percen- Percen-Area t.1IlCl:::!r (Acres) Area (Acres) (Acres) tage of tage of tage of
Government R<JOtwari Irmm and minor to I nama Total (Acroo)
1910·-ll 31,840,716 2,917,120 17,595,455 52,353,291 60.82
1920-21 31,077,782 3,299,487 18,591,130 52,969,399 58.67
Percentage of Increase/ -2.4 13.11 5.66 1.18 Dacrease
Thus the cultivated area under the ryotwari system was d2creaE!ed
by 2.4 ~ cent, the toal increase of 1.18 per cent was
contributed by the other two tcnurinl systems. On the otherhand
, the increase in revenue den>..and was more in the ryotwari areas
38. Calculated fran Statisticnl Atlas of Madras Presidancy, 1910-11 and 1920-21.
to Total
5.57
6.23
Za:nindari to Ttotal
22.61
35.10
37 thzln in the zu:r-..indnri areas (S""e table 2.4 ). This \'3S perhasps
dua to thG very nature of the tenurial system. To sum 1J9, 'l<.'a can
safely argue that the state did ab:Jorb a large proportion of ths
a!X)t<mtial surploo" in the ryotwari nreus, weroos it was
absor~ mostly by the zamindar and the occupancy/non-cultivating 39
tenant in th:;, permanently settled estates. In general, this
tended to restrict the accumulation of surplus in th3 hands of
peasants. Still SO':ie accumulation did occur. 'this ..-ss so
mea usc in tcrrco of ~s, no doubt, state absorbed much of tho
agricultural suplus in ryotwari areas, but if seen in the oontext
of risa in the prices of the agricultural c:xmrcdities, the rate
of increaS3 in land revenue demand lagged bcllind and was falling
in t.erms of the actual produce alienated. 'fhis created
possibilities of eccumulation for C3rtain Slctions of p:xtoantry. ft:\e.,
flo::1aver, L effect of even a marginal incrcc.se in land revenue ~ro
ruinous so far as cass of toasants with mar9inal and small
landholdings 'I!:Cre con~rnoo, for th9 production on th~ small
holdingo was conditioned by many constraints, which wa ahD.ll ~
in th~ folluding sections.
Socondly, tho inco:r.e of t;,.~ ~t ta.s also dstermined by the
nature of returns from th~ land. The average •outt.ur.n '/
production per acre, for instance, of paddy crop had increased
over a period of ~ in almost all the ~1ra districts, except
for a slight fall in Vizagapz1tam and Bsllary diotricts
(Tabla 2.8),. 'Ih3 increase in the average •outturn• tvlls
------------------------------------------------------~ 39. It \<as obsarvoo that "In many estates, in tho prov~ U.1adras), the rent l~ted by the landholders from his ryota t.sa sutxltantiall y in e:xc~:::s of the aso...."'Ssrronts charged by t.ha Govt. on nimilar land in the neighbouring eyotwari area and the rent tee in certain cases beyond th~ capacity of tho tenants to pay ... • Ananto Ra:r.an 0-cc.::ni.t~ Ibport, -p:trt I, Vol. I, p.S3.
38 'f,lBLB 2.7
.lGGH!GATK ANNUAL OUTPUT, ACRIUGE, AND YIELD PER ACHK IN THB MADBAS PBBSIDBNCY
(Output - Million RUpees; Acres - Millions; Yield per acre - RUpees)
mARS ~------·g~glN--------~------1r¥~P_ 1 __________ f---X~P-~-~~--------All 1 FOod- on-Food- All FOod- Non-Food- All Food- Non-Food-; Crops I grains I grains ~ crops I grains I grains _j_ crops l grains l~rain~-
1891-92 22.2 19.3 2.93 869 729 14-0 39·1 37.8 4-7.8 1896-97 24-.6 21.0 3.58 1290 1100 190 52.4- 52.4- 'i·l 1901-02 26.1 22.5 3·63 14-57 1216 24-1 55.8 5\+.0 6 .~ 1906-C!l 26.2 22.2 ~t-.oo 14-13 1157 256 53·9 52.1 64-.o 19C!l-08 26.4- 22.2 4-.22 1396 114-2 254- 52.9 51.~ 60.2 1908-09 26.3 22·2 4-. C1l 1268 1014- 254- 4-8.2 4-5.7 62.4-1909-10 26.3 22.1 4-.21 14-62 1200 262 55.6 54-.3 62.2 1910-11 26.9 22.6 4-.28 1631 1334- 297 60.6 59.0 69.4-1911-12 26.3 21.5 4-.77 1731 14-34- 297 65.8 66.7 62.3 1912-13 27 .o 22.5 4-.50 154-5 1263 282 57.2 56.1 62.7 1913-14- 28.1 22.6 5.4-7 1537 1231 3o6 54-·7 54-.5 55.9 1914--15 27 .If. 22.2 5.19 1630 1308 321 59.5 58.9 61.8 1915-16 27.8 23.2 4-.56 1755 14-05 350 63.1 60.6 76.8 1916-17 27.9 22.4- 5.52 1868 14-65 4-03 67 .o 65.4- 73.0 1917-18 28.1 22.6 5.61 1806 1371 4-35 64-.3 60.7 77.5 1918-19 26.5 21.2 5.31 14-65 1088 377 55.3 51.3 71.0 1919-20 27.9 23.1 If.. 78 1694- 134-4- 350 60.7 58.2 73.2 1920-21 26.9 22.0 4-.88 164-7 1275 372 61.2 60.0 76.2 1921-22 27.3 22.8 4-.54- 1692 1322 370 62.0 58.0 81.5 1922-23 27.8 22.5 5.28 175'1 1321 4-30 63.0 58.7 81.4-1923-24- 26.1 20.5 5.5? 1556 114-3 4-13 59.6 55.8 ?4-.1 1924--25 27.4- 21.4- 6.01 1?51 1260 4-91 63.9 58.9 81.7 1925-26 28.1 21.4- 6.?2 1861 13C!l 554- 66.2 61.1 82.4-1926-2? 2? .1 21.1 5.95 1663 1178 4-85 61.4- 55.8 81.5 192?-28 28.2 21.5 6.?0 1879 1265 614- 66.6 58.8 91.6 1928-29 28.5 21.2 7o31 1938 1288 650 68.0 60.8 88.9 1929-30 28.8 21.9 6.87 1893 1303 590 65.7 59.5 85.9 1930-31 28.? 21.9 6.?7 1911 1296 615 66.6 59.2 90.8 1931-32 27.6 21.6 6.02 1826 1308 518 66.2 60.6 86.0 1932-33 27.9 21.2 6.74- 1934- 1308 626 69.3 61.7 92.9 1933-34- ·27.2 21.0 7.18 1918 12?4- 64-4- ?0.5 60.7 89.7 193lt-35 27.1 21.3 5.77 1662 1192 4-70 61.3 56.0 81.5 1935-36 27.7 21.3 6.38 1780 12lt1 539 64-.j 58.3 84.5 1936-37 29.0 21.7 7.28 1907 1272 635 65.8 58.6 87.2 193'7-38 29.lt 20.9 8.50 1956 1237 719 66.5 59.2 84-.6 1938-39 28.2 21.1 ?.12 1696 1105 591 60.1 52 .If. 83.0 1939-ltO 28.5 21.lt 7.11 1861 1200 661 65.3 56.1 93.0 19ltO-It1 29.5 21.7 7 ·75 2o6lt 1319 74-5 70.0 60.8 96.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SOUOCE s George Blyn 1 Agricultural Trends in India 1891-194-7:
output, Avai!aoi!Ity and proauctiviEy (Philadelphia, 1966), pp.32o-j21.
T ABL~ - t •I Table ShowinQ Incidence of Revenue Paid in Caah/kind in Hlation
with price-ria• and Outturn.
---~------,:--~In~c~id~e:·n~c~e~o~f;-------~~~S~a~la~p~r~i~c~a~o~f~p~a~d~d;:;~---~,r-~Q~u~.~n~t~i~t~y~o~f~p~;d~d-~----~-----------------------
Dhtrich '_B.iyenup per '"" - ! .lin l•!fhf.SL.UI..L-1 to b• aold to Pa~ ! *Avauga 'Outturn' of padd.t ! 1901-2l1910-11~1920-21: 1901-Q2 1 1910-11l1920-21: 1..tl.Lt•~nua <J.q ''lUll cro:u 100-denoting • ! i i : ! : i Bot -z:191o-Hi1920-21 l .:f:;~!-:;~~; 0 _..,..1 -1 _,:__,.1 ..,.9~1 --9-~-2-0-•••
-_...,_ ___ _,J.: __ Rs_. _P_ :R!. _P_· -L.:r._. _P_· ~: ----.L: ---......i..: ____ ';._• - : . ' ' 1 I -••-------~1~-----.LA----------~-------_j _________ __ Get:Jja• 2 .!7 2 .81 2.67 22.9 2•.7 11 • 6 66.56 69.40 30.97 83 83 86
VizegBPate• 3.10 3.72 3.50 22.4 21 • 5 9.1 69.U 79.98 34.30 92 83 89
Godmvari 5.84 5.70 7.09 2~.3 22.4 8.4 147.75 127 .6!1 !9. 55 91 BJ !16
Kiatna 5.30 5. 81 6. 63 25 .l 21.4 10.7 134.09 124.33 itl.94 BJ 83 90
G.untur 2.47 2.87 2.9. #18 -~ 19 .o 9.7 H.43 54.53 26.51 76 83 1 01
Nellore 2.19 ;?.60 2.64 22.7 19.4 1t .2 ., • 71 so.u U.56 75 83 106
Kurrtaol 1.23 1.35 1.30 20.2 19.3 '. 1 z•.u 26.05 11.U Bl 86 101
~•llar)' Q.93 0.98 o.:;J 20.6 zo .4 '·' 19., 5 19.19 8.92 92 92 B1
A.nantapur o.76 o.u 0.63 20.15 23.1 9.!1 1 5.65 19.19 6.17 86 63 90
Cuddapah 1 • 52 1 .84 1 • 71 u.a 21 • 5 '·' 28.57 39.56 16.92 72 75 99
Chittoor 1 .62 ,.,, 1 .41 • 31.05 22.7 to.t s1 .ol u.ol 16.13 83 97
• 'b' 1 ol.!tturn 1 figUHa are af R)'otwari ( includ ini' •hor ina•) area•· But in 1919-20' figurea that of non-r,yatweri era a• a leo in~lwd.ci so fer •• i.n for111a t ion ia avsilabl•.
•• Since figures for 1901-2 ware not availebla in 100 part a, I have tahn 1906-7.
*** Sine• tha aiency fiQu~ca instead of 1920-21.
were ;ivan (frQ• 1920-21) tepsre ta ly, I have chosen 1919-20
I Fi~uraa for the year 1906-~7.
• Fi;urss for the yrtar U03-o4.
.,
Clalll of soil : Outt~<rn in :me era. ' I ' I •
TABLE - 2.i_
:F;dd;--TDeduct Re=inder :oeduct NE~-~:~H-e~l~f----~:~R~=-+~.~-~--s--9-n-~7t~i-g~n~e~~-.,~i~~e~~-e~n~d~:~~.-o~f~ha ivalue PD% of' !cultiv- lPt.t :hLa!' ... J:tl_!~£.§!!!_~';( of' lhalf-lat lfor :ation : : I et : . 2nd :half :net :RI.T2/- lunfa;v- lexpene- : iclerte : clue :net ls&Bet, !per :oun;ble lee. 1 :aource : source ~sset l2nd :ljjarce. lseucne : 1 :rate. : ute. 'at lcLsu : late. : l l : ~leas lute. I I t I 1 I ~-te I t I I t ' I i,.. t
------------------~---------~----4~-------~~~~--~--~--------~------~~----~~--~~~~-----~~--Rs. P• Rs. P• Rs. P• Rs. f.• Ps. p. A:!. P• ~. P• Rs.-p:-
1 A ar per~aiH!ntl)! illprov~tdo
1 or Bleck Clay
1A or p&r•anently improved
I or Black Clay
1725 2B.B7 2.59 23.21 s.so 17.11 7.00 5.50 78.7~ 61.87
t 500 22. so 2.25 20.25 5.25 1s.qa 7.50 5.50 5.50 73.33 66.66
1125 4.24 38.1 6 u.oo 12rOI 12.00 10 .oo 99.3~ 82.78
1500 3.69 33.18 13.0(; 20.11 10.09 10.00 )1.00
Sowrcu For year 1162-63 • celculated fro111 !'l~uf i!JL Ad•dni.§ll:.d.iru:Lof' the l:!..l9.~ ~~1~~~· 2~£11•• (1eB5} ~_!ll=!ll ~nd ~or yser 1903 calculated fro• Gov8'rrtl!ilent 1 t903, of ~edrea Rt:v~nue, G.O. No, 372, 7th Apr., 1903 Eu.!!!!ion SeH.J.e~nent cf the_~odaveri District, PP• 24-25.
very ir.lprasai va in C"COstal Anndhro districts. Table
2.7 th!lt yield . par acre in_ the
Preoidcncy had wi~oed a steady growth rate, which further
otrcngthened the economic baso of t.h3 peasantry by the 1920s.
This trend, if see.'l in terms of the marked fall in the alienation
of agricultural prociUce to pay the land revenue, would explain
the ~c bas!! of the ~rging 'rich paasantry in the first two
dx~dea of the 20th O:mtury.
Thus, in Andhra Un irrigated regions), even though the laval of
revenue~~ high, the land owner/pattadar alieroted lnlJCh
le~s as land revenue. in terms of produce in kind. This was due
to the rise in pri~s. In other trords, the rupee prices ~re
rising gradually from 1990 to 1914 and with great rapidity
aften. .. ards. Althou;h in a 30 r.._ars sattlemgnt the nmr.bar of
rupees a pattadM paid, let us aosuma, had remained more or less
the sa100 during the period of the sottlem:mt the quantity of
produce ~ich ha sold in order to obtain a 9i ven nt.I!Ill:er of rupees 40
to pay the revenue had been reduced generally to about ~-half
by 1920 and eo.m9times even bela.il this. Table 2.9 clearly
denonstrates this trend ..
In ord.Sr to emmi~ this p::>int nore closely let us &..?ie the caee
of Godavnri district.. Table 2. 9 shol:-13 that the theoretical
principle of dsmand constituting hal£ of net assets had been
irr.plorM!nted by 1903r and th~ incidoncc:! of revenue per acre had
been increaoed b'f 21.4 per cent in tenns of rupass. But the
quantity of paddy which oo cold to pay the revneU3 ~s reduced by
59.7 p:!r cent, ~'hsrcaa the yield had bcxm_ increased by 5 •. 5 per
~nt. ~ in • Dry • areas tho culti va.tor lll.ionotcd much los~ of
40. Giloort Slater, op.cit., p.239
41
42 the total production. Far in5t:.once, in Rurnool and CUddapah,
t~'hen the incidenco of rcvanue p:;!r a.care in rupees 'b.'as incrcaced
by s. 7 per cant Mel 12.5 psr ctmt respact.i vcly, the quantity
tmich they alienated to pay the revenoo ~s dsereased by 52.4 per
cant and 40.8 per ~. As pointed out earlier also, this do3s
not uean that the inerenoo of revenue in ah::olute tetm9 h!ld not
affected any of tho agrarian classes. For n p::ltty landholder
even this increase could mean ruin, since h2 hardly oorefited
fran t.tJg rice in prices. Tbis we will discuss in d'atail l.nter in
tho section on ront and priC2S. t'llat ia ~rtant here is to t:ake
note of the ~its .hri ved by ft.z.t.. section of the p:!Qsantry
which W3 have descritxn as the 'rich peasant class' dus to this
particular trend.
EVan though tho 'rich ~try• c:ould consolidate its gains in n
period of price riso they suffered n sctbcck during the
depreosion poriod. Approximately t:e can idantify the yenrs fran
1845 to 1864, 1896 to 1920 and 1939 to 1947 as periods of rising
prices l1lld fran 1864 to 1896 and 1928 to 1933 as periods of
falling priceo. (See Table on price rise in the rmct. section).
\!.'hereas the p::riod fran 1920 to 1927 and 1934 to 1938 had
ui~ssed a price stagnation. It \'35 in t.h3 p3riod of 1896 to
1920 that tho peasantry in coantal Andhra reap2d t.hs ~fits of
not only a ~ rioo in the prioos of agricultural products
bUt also of th2 new irrigation syste:ns. i.e. Godavari and ttistna
anicuts. This · hslped stme \JPP$lr ~ions of the middle peasantry
and £Ubstantial landholders to consolidate as a ~rful 'rich
p3aszmt • clncs.
But th3 poriod tnt~ 1928 and 1934 ti'itll!!ssed an unprecedented
fnll in tho pricen of agricultural produce thereby hitting t.OO
rich p3nsantry Wry Mrdr for it tOS this class mich started
tbvoting mro and more land to cxmoodity production es~ially in
the hiqhly irrigated cblbl$. In this psriod of prica-d:!clioo,
fa.rm-i~ and land vnl~ fell and d3bts becm1t2 more difficult
to rep9y. Yet the curve of the Goverl'tn'!tlt reven\19 danMd in the
ryotwri areas shot ~rds r forcing the peasantry to lllienate
mre and nore agricultural produce to moot the .reven\13 and other
~s. This, to eo:r.a extent, erocbd the econanic base of tho
rich peasantry and t:en<bd to push them into th3 fold of middle
and poor peasant oate90ries.
The introduction of enhanced resetUem:mt rates in Kistna, East
. and wast Godavari districts in 1931, further increased the land 41
revenue blr<Y..:!n many fold. Table 2.10
43
Assessnent p3r Acre on Different Classes of Jirajiti CRyotwari )Land, uith Acreage under Each class in Vunagatla Village of Ristna District
-------------------------------·--------------------------------------1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
------------------------------------------------------------·----~-----·----Class and ~ription of Soil
. " ••• :1
... ___ _._....
Best Black clay 3-l B2:lt b~ck loam 4-1 ~t red lomn 7-1 ~ot red acmd s-1 Total
8 9 8
12
Rate p3r EKtent acre after Acres 1932 Resctt.
-· --·---Rs. As. - ---
2 - 0 71.89 1 -14 423.56 2 - 0 22.28 0 - 12 507.07
1024.80
ASsessm:!nt Rate of assessmant before 1932 Resett •
...... - . . ., .. ----Rs. As. Rs. As.
Difference bat~ cols 3 to 6
Rs. As. ............. __ .............. ~ 144 - 1 1 - 12 0 - 88 795 - 0 1 - 10 (} - 04
44 - 10 1 - 10 0 - 90 380 - 7 0 - 10 0 - 02
1364 - 2 _.... ... tlill!!o ........
Source : P.J. 'l'ha!as and K.C. Ramakrishrnm (eds),
Percents~ of increc in land revenue
---..... li I • -78.57
3.64 81.62 20.0
Sane South Indian Villages A Resurvey COni versity of Madras, 1940), P. 'll.9 ·
41. G.O.M., Board of R3Ve.nue, Resolution No. 29, Press, dated 8th May 1927: G.O. No. 405, Rev., dt. 26th Feb. 1929; G.O. No.56, Rev. dt. 9th Jan. 1930r Rev. Dept., G.O. No .. l486 (21-S), 11th July 19317 Dept. of Fducation, Health and Lands (lands) - Nov. 1931, ~. 42-468; Madras Resett.leimmt Report - East ·and ~t Godavari Diat.ricta 1929 (fit.3dras, 1929); Report of the &::onoroic Enquiry Cmmittee, Vola. I to III and other conn~cted p:1pera CMadrasr 1931).
44
'ltte Table 2.10 shows the level of increase in the land revenue
burden after th3 introduction of resettlEllteflt rates at the grass
root level. Evan though the negative trend in the <Xl!tt'Odi ty
prices was only a short lived phenomenon, in the substantial
senso its effects continued into the post-depression p&iod. For
the enhanced land revenue rates justified on the previous trend 42
of price rise forced the peasantry to alienate m:>re and m::>re
agricultural surplus at a ti.IM! when prices \\-arc touching botto:n
and thereby retarded the further grmlth of the middle and rich
pmsant classes and even pronoted a negative trend.
In other Andhra districts the condition of psasantry ware in no
way better. It could be argued that the land revenue that a
village had had to pay tw:enty yaars after the first survey tas made,
would naturally result in the incidence of revenue being heavier 4-3
because of the fall in prices.
In other words, even in the ·areas where there w.:!re no
resettlements, the bur<bn (revenue) \'.l3S ho-avier b::!cause of la.:er
prices of all oonuodities. Thus the land revenue had ~. a
real burden i~ not in the first two dscacres of the 20th Century,
then at least in the post 1929 years. P.J. Thomas and I<.C. 44
Ramakrishnan observed in 1940 :
It is a ~tary on the system of our land taxation that the rates of land revenue should have been raised in san3 villages, and not letrered in any villag~, in spite of the great fall in the prices of tWr.ost every ltind of · prcduoo since 1930. The e....~Ue:m9nt is pariodical and oould not be ctu:mgad before the expiry of 30 yenrs. In the 60 years foll~ding 1870, resettlement once in 30 yGOrS ~t invariably an ~of rates dua to th2 continuous
45
rise in price. 'there ~e no doubt protosts at. every cnha~t, but they~ not seriously taken into account by th!zt Goverru:ent on tho score that, if anything, ths resettletent tOG over lenient to th9 llmdhold:!tr as it left him much rore than ~ lSS entitled to lJ1ld& ths principle of· the St:nt.e taking half the nst assets. lQmtever the justification of this theory and its practical application in t..int3 of rising prices and in the mSG of l.arqs landholcbrs, it is bound to b3 felt as a b::mvy burden by the poorer paaaants in~ of falling prices.
42. Ibid.
43.. P.J. 'lhan39 and tt.c. Ramakrishnan (eds), Sttrna South Indian Villageo A Re-survey (University of ~as, 1940), pp. 214-250 and 365-370.
44. Ibid., pp.366-67. It was further noted in 1940 that thG '*Madras land revenue system, as it is, is highly i.n3lasticJ in the chY:Jmrmrd ~ of the tr~ cycle, when the agricultural inoane falls heavily, as it did in 1930-3~, its inelasticity b2ars heavily em the ryots•, Ibid., p.370
46 3.. !Wfl' M'D ffiiCE RISE
Rents and subrents wre prevalent both in zamindari nnd ryotw:1ri
tenuras. aor:ever, theza rents varied fran one tenure to anoth~r.
'Ihs ups ond downs in rent rates ware perhaps closely eonnected
with th2 prices of agricultrual ca:modities and lanl val~.
H2nce t'l:! shall discuss ths trendSin rentals, price rise and land
values and their inflUSfiOO on the agrarian clnsses.
'l'h:l do:ninant J:rode of Sl.lrPlUS entraction was rent, whether in kind
or cash. In the zamindaries -with sane exceptionn, ho-..13Ver- Md 45
ilUXU villages, the rentnls ware the 'Paimash' (original
settlement) rates, 1rl'hich ware g2113rally much higher than tho 46
ryotwari assessm:!!nts. ~ rents varied fro:n estate to estate.
Under the ryot.wari systEm also the rates of rent varied but W3re
based an the nature of irrigation facilites, fertility of soil,
yield per ncre and so on. Broadly spaaking in both the tenures
the rents frequently varied according to the crop. In tOO fir;-st
dgcada of the 20th Century the highest fixed zamindari rental ~s
balieved to m as. 45 par acre of irrigllted land, apart from m 47
extra charge levied on fruit tress in addition to ths land rent.
Gengrllll.y, half of t.lle produco t·;as givan to the cultivator, and
the other half to the zamind!lri tenant/zmnindar, who let out his ·---- ··- ... 45. ~rial Gazetteer of India, f.!".:ldras I, Cl908), p.52.
46. For a brief history of rentals or cultivator's share in different zamindaries in Y.adras Presido__ncy in general and Andhra districts in particular in th9 early daca<bs of British rule S$e, extracts from different CCm:nittee•s reports of years 1704-88;1800;1822 to 1823; 1879; 1883; and 1907. GiV31l in Ravan\l!l Dapart.oent, Miscellaneous sories, Govet1'1m:mt of Madras, G.O. No. 2526, dnted 18 ooetober, 1940, (Strictly OJnfid), (Tamil N.:ldu Archiv-a, Madras), pp.204-218.
47. Inperial GaZette:l!r of Indin, f!lldrns, I, (1908 ) , p. 52.
47 land c.nd Ql.l tl12 strnw \aS gi v;:m to the cultivator, tdlo supplied
48 all the cultivation inputs. In some caS3S the zamindari tenant
supplied coo pair of bulls and ploughed the land, while the
cultivator (sub-tenrult) s~ly helped him in his tK>rlt. In that
case only on..-oixth of tre! produce w=1.s given to the cultivator.
If the zamindari tenant supplied two pairs of bulls, . ~-eighth 49
trent to the cultivator. Wb:lre the paddy crop was divided between
the zmnindar and the ryot, the division of produced t.~tas
thooriUcally supposed to leave the cultivator/tenant 40,50 or 60
per o:mt of the crop, the higher rates being allowed to BrahmanS
and other favoured classes. But, in practice, the cultivator's 50
share rarely~ 20 or 25 par cent. Tb2re io ample eviclence
recor<bd by Prakasam nnd Ranga Omni.ttces on th3 rack-renting of
producers by the landloroo &nd the internrediary tenure holders 51
like ~ muttadars. It has been rightly remarked that
"the traditional share of l/2 of
48. Ibid., p.53, Gilbert stator, op.cit., p.97 (A village -Thsttupslli, in Orl.ttoor District - Study by E. Krishnamurthy).
49. Ibid., pp.97-98.
50. G.O.M., ~. Dept., Mis. Sarles, G.O. No.2526, dt. 18th Oct., 1940 (Strictly Cbnfid), pp.217-2l8.
51. For details se:t, T • .Prakanarn, Madras Estates Land omaittc::l Report (Madras, 1939), SUppl~ntal VOlun::s, p. 619; For other d9tails also ~, tl.G. Ranga, Ecxmaznic Conditions of the Zamindari Ryots, op.cit.
48 ryots \r.:ls reduced to l/4 or l/5 by the additional iaports loviad
52 on various pretexts If.
With the introduction of t.ru! Estates .and Land Act of 1908,
rronetination of rents took place on an extended scale "by &tMnc of
c:o..-mnuto.tion: and th3 mJSt ~rsistent struggle ~ed over the
pzaaants' dsmand for ttY.!! o:xwnutation of their produce tent into
trDney rent. This struggle for cxm::>;utations was also intendoo to
stabilioo the occupancy st.ntuz of the peasnntry. But the village 53
studies by different scholars in 1915 proved that th1a da:ninant
mode of rent pa~t by the sub-tl3nant, b'! it to the tenant (non
cultivating) or zamin&lr, \;9S still in kind. Th:a striking feature
of this period tras that ~ cx:cupancy ryots or tenants, like the
zsmindara 1 had al\"lays ~ and got rents in kind from
their sub-tenants 1 but ~y (tenants) themscl. vos c:hangcd t£-lis .
payr;:snt to cash rent whenever th3y paid to the zamindar ~ taking 0/;
~ cWvantag3 L the 1908 Act. ~ n::lt result ~s the accumulation
of a l.llrgc part of the surplus with ~ non-cultivating tenants,
espaciall\-Y at a tin::a when the prioas of paddy and other products
woro IIDVing upwards. This tend~ was mre trl.despread in the
dolta ~ion. So, inevitably und:lr the zanri.ndari tenurial
structure, or for that matter even under the ryotwari tenure, the
chief victim was the at.'tuol tiller I sub-tenant who ~
~ source of the varied exactions of the pattada.rs,
izardars, zan'.indara ,. • • all sittinq one over the
-----------------------------·--------------------------52. s. s. Ra.ghavaiyangnr, Progress of th2 Mskaa Presidency,
op.cit., p.220.
53,. Gilbs:rt Slater, op.cit., pp.97-98.
54 other•'. ~ rents ~e so exorbitant that the sub-t.ennnts ~-are
left with evory litUe margin for their subsistence. Table 2.11
dsiDnstrates the surplus appropriated by the occupancy tenants in
terms of rent fran the sub-tenants.
Table 2.ll
SUrplus appropriated by occupancy tenant ....... -·- --- ----- I Ill .. 1111...._11111__ P -1- ·~ ....
49
... ··--····. ·---··----· I ~ ....... ---s. No. Nsnr! of Patta out- If con
verted toRs.
Share Money of valua Altta- Rs. dar.
Rent to Nat % of share the No. put. z~n- differ- paid to Estata dar. ence zamindar.
Rs. Rs. __.....___ ___ .... __ ....._....
l. Repudi 62 12 120 Ralf 60 6 54 2. --do- 90 14 140 Half 70 5 65 3. -do- 99 16 160 Half 80 4 76 4. -do- 31 16 160 Half 80 5 75 ._......_. ___
...........,._ .... .... Source : Or.:piled from T. Prakasam, Madras Estates, Land Act, Coarnittoo
Report, ("''ladras, 1939).
Thus t.tw rent paid by tha cultivating peasmtts in.variably
nvora~ bett.~n so-so par cent of the gross produce.. At times
the rent nte into their subsistoncc and this in turn set in the
process of disintegration of the peasantry. On the other hand, a
large share ( 60-90 per c::mt) of the surplus wa.o appropri<lted by
the internediary tenure holcbr. This surplus fonrod the basis of
o struggle for rent tx!t.t:aen tro two sections of rent reoai vars,
------------·------------------------------------------54. T. Prakasao, op.cit., p.619. The &ea under. sub-tenancy varied fra:n 25 to 60 par cent of t:.hc total area held (Ibid).
When ~ed with th3 non-cblta districts, subletting ws much mre prevalent in the c:blta region in the fonn of share cropping, fi.xed rent in kind and 'Makta', i.e., fixed rent in Jcind or cash, "-'heroos tlw: extent of subletting "wao net n-Dre than 10 par ont • in the districts like. Ganjmn. It was of course, rrorc than 30-50 per ~nt in the delta diotricko like G<xmvari, I<istna nnd Guntur. 'Ibis trend am bs explained by the fact that the introduction of ltX)roy rcnto ~':ls roth fa:Jter and extcnoivo in tho Cblta are~o than in t:h!:l non-c:blta districts. Be:!, v.v. Sayana, The P.grarian Problcxo of ~-t::dmo Prooicbncty, op.cit., p.97.
10.0 7.1 s.o 7.5
' I
i.e., the non-cultivatifl9 tcnnnts and tha zo:nindars. 'Ibis
struggle furt.tr:r intensified during d2prcssion years, for the
earlier oonvcroion of rents fra:n kind to coney rants adversely 55
affected the tennnts due to tho fall in oomnodity prices.
Table 2.12
Land Sales in th3 Estates
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
50
1. Year r~ of Amunt of
Defaulters Arrears (Rs.)
Total Lands sold (Ace)
Estimated va~ oflawt~ &M~Rs.)
Total .Am:>unt realised
(Rs.) -------- --------- ------·----- --··---1916-17 11,107 87,89~ 7,255 1917-18 9,477 83,744 6,680 1918•19 11,099 98,523 7,617 1919-20 14,285 161,716 7,443 1920-21 10,828 113,849 8,761 1923-24 6,881 152,351 7,520 1924-25 7,727 125,803 7,454 1925-26 8,522 189,783 8,697 1926-27 8,393 158,598 8,988 1929-30 9,477 167,954 11,127 1930-31 8,070 170,6~0 11,058 1931-32 10,588 225,671 15,929 1932-33 13,084 547,681 19,338 1933-34 14,982 356,901 26,468 1934-35 8,97~ 217,101 13,609 1935-36 6,484 175,989 8,664 1936-37 7,819 272,068 11,234 1939-40 6,191 128,561 4,981
291,188 275,844 170,454 145,922 147,457 191,431 165,965 212,495 153,200 206,796 197,082 244,736 553,210 403,296 240,548 182,509 407,548
79,913 94,695 89,113
135,807 80,454
132,909 120,923 177,705 149,727 163,947 154,565 185,822 374,469 291,350 178,204 144,019 201,244
SOUrce : Reports on the t«>rlti.nq of the Madras E'l.states rand P..ct of 1908, quoted in A. 5atyanarayana, ASpects of A9rarian RP..lations in Madras Presidsncy - A otudy of the Andhra Districts 1900 - 1939, unpb1ished Ph. D. thesis, Hc;!ida1burg University, \':ast G3mruly 1983 Table No. 3.1
Table 2.12 shows that during the depresoion period the rent
arrears incroosed when ca:npored to the eo.r1ier <hcade. As a
result in ~any of the estates the tenants • lands \:Jere sold to
extract the rents. The rent collections in the court of Wlrds
mnt down by 1935. t."hen in 1916-17 the oot recovarablo balance
55. This aspoct was analysed in A. Satyanarayana.
7. Pa-centage I of a:>lu:nn 6 to 5
21.4 34.3 52.2 55.2 54.5 69.4 '72.9 83.6 97.7 79.2 79.4 75.9
103.8 72.2 74.0 78.9 49.3
' 51
Of rents in ths Court of t·!ards was 8. 5 per cent of the total 56
demand, it was 18.1 p:ar cent in 1921-22, 29.4 par cent in 1926-
27, 28.4 per cent in 1928-29, 31.79 per cent in 1930-31 and 42 57
per cent in 1934-35. Thus at a ti~ \tti1en ~ tenants ware faced
with an unprecedented fall in the agricultural c::amOOity pric."es,
the Court of wards and tOO zamindars resorted to the collection 58
of rent arrears through forced sales of lands, which sharpened
the contradiction betwaen :uwi.ndars and tenants in Andhra. This
perhaps explains the emergence of a strong anti-zamindari
-mvement in Andhra in 1930s.
Even though this process was SCJ!l'eWhat different in ryotwari
tenurial structure t.he general outcoms ~ the same as in 1:00
zamindaries. A large part of the ryotwari lands w.n. also sub
rented on various systems/terms. under the produce rent stystem,
1/2 to 3i 4 or m:>re of the gross produce ~s paid to the
landholder/pattadar. On irrigated land the sharing of produce
was DX)St cxmnon. 1be share varying fran one to 1.5 tons of rice
worth Rs. 45 to 70 psr acre was cxmnon rent on good double
cropped irrigated land. The grain-rents ware fran three-quarters
to one ton of rice on single - crop irrigated land .•
~~~- --- Wlh& --- a V -~-----~· ~
56. Report on th3 Administration of the Estates Under the o:rurt. of t'lards in the t<?adras Presidency for Fasli 1326 (1916-17) CP'adras, 1918), p.4.
57. Ibid., for Fasli 1331 (1921-22) (Madras, 1927), p.3: for Fasli 1336 Cl926-27>(Madras, 1928), p. 3; for Pasli 1338 (1928-29) (~~as, 1930), p.4 1 for F.asli 1340 (1930-31) (Madras, 1932), p.4; for Fas1i 1344 (1934-35) (Madras, 1936) R;>.3-4.
58. ~ Ibid and Table 2.12.
52
General rental everywhere on o.xnmon dry lands \;SS twice the
nsses~t, but it was often raised to five or even ten times on 59
all claces of land. For instance, it was reported in one village
survey Cof 1916-17) that the rent under "Varam" or share system
was 5/6 of the produce per acre and under ttKuttakai" or in fixed
lease system it W3S 10 to 15 kalams of produce for acre, which
came approximately to the sarng ratio. Interestingly under these
syat.ans tho rents ware paid in "Kind and naver in money". In
other words, if the rent in kind \tlaS (on wet land) ba converted
into m=mey rent, the ltlndlord \aS paid by the tenant as much as
Rs. 50 to .Rs. 70 per acre as rent, t:mich "'-"aS from 5 to 7 titm$
the kist, the awrage kist baing Rs. 9.81 or 14 psr oent of the 60
grosc produce.
lt t-.as observed in 1879 by c. 0 Meclean that "the system of
tenancy un~..r ••• (ryotwari) landholehrs is, howaver, fully
developed • • • • In the distr iets on the East coast, lands are
rented Ot.t by the landholders either for a fixed annual payment
in lll'.>ney, or for a share in the produce, which is generally half.
ordinary dry end
59. Imperial Gazetteer, op.cit., w.53-54. An enquiry into leases on 6,968 acres shOWGd that the rental of 'dry' ·lands awraged 3.4 timeo, of 'garden' l.&nda (irrigated from wells but inclt.ding as much 'dry' as 'garden'>, 5.1 tim!!s,of •wet • lands, 5 timas the ascessment. In many cases, chiefly 'garden' . land, the rental ex~ded 8 times the assess.rnsnt. Ibid., p.S3.
60. Under "VMam• the landlord supplied seed and manure and paid the kist, while the tenant supplied only labour. Onder "i<uttakc:l.i" the ~ of cultivation, i.e. seed, labour, manure~ otc., ware borne by t.hg cultivator or tenant whereas the o::."lllr ;;nid the kiot. See the survey report of Dusi Village, North Arcot district, by P. Rrishnama Acharya, in Gilbert Slater, op.cit., pp.85-86 nnd 234: Dusi Village resurvcd in 1936-37 by A.K. V~raraghavan, in P.J. 'ltla:r..;;;.s and K.C. Rar.3kriohnan, op.cit., pp. 187-89.
gra~ lands are rented for money and irrigated lands 6or a share 61
in t.'-ls produce". 1.bis trend was confin.-:ed by the villac;a 62
studies later in 1915-16 and 1936-37. Thus, tl:lhilo half the
produce was given as ront in delta irrigated districts, rent
~.es paid n:ostly in cash in the dry regions.. It wan J:eCOrded in
1936-37 in a villaqo nurvey thnt ·~Dney rents arc th~ rule. only
in 2 or 3 pl!r cent of tho cae.s,a, pn~t. of half the crop as rent
is oou:U, the straw or such other by-products aceruing to tha
ona, who ploughs and SO>i'O ths land_, be he tl"\!) rnttadar, tenant or
third' party." Regarding ttm rates it ws recor<b:i timt •
'Pulladi' fetches a rent of Rs. 10 per acare generally (though
there io a range fran Rs. 7 to Rs. 15 or mrc according to the
quality of the soil), and the •garuvu • <excluding palms) about 63
Ra. 5 per acre".
~ver, sub-letting ~ not that prevaient in the dry region as
c::ompared to th3 delta irrigated diotricts. In Arulntapur only
nina per cent of thel total occupied land \<39 ~ by the non
cultivating la~rs thi~ baing cultivated by tenants. This Glf.
p:3rccntage tna arOW'ld six tnr cent in Bellary district. Both in
61. c .o. teclcun, standing Information Regnrding Official .Administration of the r:-..adras Presidgncy (tl.atiras, 1879), p.ll9.
62. Gilbert Slatar, op.cit., pp.SS-86 and 234: P.~1. Thomas and 1\.C. Ramakristman, op.cit., pp.l87-89 and 219~ Also see V.V. Sayana, Th3 k;)r'arian Probl~l of Madras Province (M:ldras, 1949), p.229.
63. ~ reourvoy of a typical dry village V'Unllgatla, west Godavari ~!strict in 1\ndhra, by K. Ramngopala Rao, (1936-37) in P.J. Tha::ms and K. c. R&u:litrishnan, op.cit., p.219.
64. G.O.M., Board of Rovenu::!, No.2, dt. 4 Jcnuary 19261 G.O.r-1. G.O. l,b.l392, R-av. ~pt., dt. 13 S-"Pt. 1923.
54
the kind and cash looses, the rents varied according to fertility
of t.he eoil and the nx:xi2 of irrigation. Lands with irrigation
facilities to raise n ~ond crop and suited for "seed beds",
"lando on a portion of which th&e roay oo a house or n shed ar
fruit trees", •improved lands" and "l.a."lds p.:>Ssessing advantages
of 1&-....ation and contiguity 0, etc., all fetched higher rental
65 valueo than other .lant1s. In the case of dry px>r quality soils
there \\'3S not any rush for renting in lands. In m:my ca~
less fertile drJ lands ~re leasad out just for the ~re payment
o.f ~ assess.mant n so that th2 lands cnuld be kept under 66
cultivation instead of being left as fallows. Ha~;aver,
lands cultivated with oosh crops like sugarcans fct.c:hm as much
rent as Rs. 180 psr acre, which was 10 times the double crop
assessm!nt on the best wet land and 21 tir.es awrage wat U~? 67
assessment on sinqle~crop lnndt!iwr channels. In Chittoor
sugarcane md betel lands \o'Cre let out for m:mey rents .at the
rate of Rs. '30 to 50 p2r acre. In I<urnool the highest rents were
demanded on lands where betel leaf, etc. , were· qr0t1n: these \
varied from Rs. 30 to 60, sanetimes reaching upto Rs~.100 per
acre. The best paddy lands \<~ere rented out anually fo:r; Rs. 25 to 68
60 per aero. Further the cah rentals ~re invariably \higher in
delta districts as ccmpared to the dry region in .Andhra. '1\le
garden and lanka lands fetched as much as Rs.SO to 200\per acre 69
I '
as rent. I .
65. Report of the Ecxmanic Enquiry camnittee, Vol. I, p.Jl-66. G.O.M., G.O. No.l392, Rev. ~t., dt. 13 ~t. 1923,. 67. Ibid. ,, 68. G.O.M., G.O.No.SOl, Rev. Dapt., dt., 2 JUne 1905. . 69. G.O.M., Boord of R...~u::!, t\o.2820, dt. 29 Sept. 1930; also
a...~ t!.G. R:mgn, etc., The Econo:nic COnditions of Za.1lindari Ryotu <am::ada, 1933), p.65t V.V.Sayana, o:;>.cit., p.2.,25.
55
'l'hese rentals, ho\10ver, started ll'OVing up-~rdo in the ~ of
raising ~ity prices; this can be establish® in the
light of leru3c and sale val~s of land. Generally in tho
ryotwari tracts the SX!r~ntago of assessment to rental in the
case of all classes taken together varied from 10.7 to 29.0 J
this percentage: in half tOO diotricts in the Madras Presidency 70
was, howavar, lesa than 17 .1. To assess the burden of this rise
in mntnl let U."'> take uP. the case of Kist.na and Godavari
districts. TOble 2.13 sho'.;JS the increass in leaoo value
along with the sale val\19 of land, in ~t land (delta and
plane) areas.
Table 2.13
INCREASE IN LEASE AND SALE VALUE OP l~'EfLAND
SALE VALUE 0? l ACRE ·----------- ...--·-----·---
DELTA UPLAND DELTA UPLAND ---------- ------------- -... -....... KISTNA GODAVARI KISTL(A OOOAV RISfNA GODAVA IUSTNA OOOAVA
ruu ~ ~
---------------- ---------------------·---------Rs. p
1900- 27.12 1904
192o- 72.37 1924
Percent-
Rs. p Rs. p Rs. p Rs. P Rs. P RD. P Rs. p
16.06 12.57 9.9~ 139.00 124.00 125.00 80.00
50.00 50.37 29.12 598.00 640.00 417.00 330.00
age 166.85 211.33 295.06 192.96 330.22 416.12 276.8 316.25 of Incrense
------------------------------------------------------Source : Canpiled frcm Madras R~ettletm?nt R-"'PPrt, Fas:t nnd ~~t Godavari Districts (1929), p.l94
----------------·--~-----70. Report of tho Jooian Taxation Enquiry Ccmni.t~, 1924-25, Vol.I, (1928, Calcutta>, p.81. ~s~ figur.en were the renult of nn elaborate cm;;mination of the C!U"Stion nn:dn ten y-.:..'lrs ~foro the Co:mli.ttee' o appointm::mt, i .. c., probably in 1914-15, in tile t~as Presid2ncy.
56
This incrcaoo t:as nostly in ~ 'let land, i.e., the hi9hly
irrigated area, GSpecinlly chen o::npared with the increase in dry
aroa.n.. Twle 2.14 chmm the difference in i.ncreaoo by 1920-24.
ctASS C'f! SOIL
DELTA
t."'et OXy
Difference
~t
Dry
Table 2.14 ----... _..._........,..__ .
Awt:U\GE SALE VALUE CJi· C»lE ACRE --KISl'NA OODAVAAI
Rs. as.
598 640 175 333
.. , ..... .......__
423
471 116
307
335 75
--· ·- ......
Difference 353 260
Source ' Ibid,
AVERAGE LEASE VALUE OF am ACRE
KIST.iA GODAVARI
Rs. p R...c;. p
72.37 so.oo 14.69 19.87 ......... _........... ... ......,..._____.._
57.66 ......
50.:!7 s.so
41.87
.. .-..... 30.13
29.12 6.44
22.68
But interestingly renting in ryott1ari areaa was nost prevalent.
c:mong the ryots who had 10 acres of land or mre. 'l1lia section
rented in m;'tlt of the rented-out lands.
Table 2.15
----------------------·---------· DISTRicr CORY)
Area Omcd No. of Averag.a Area Average TOtal Rent Per Imas3n holding rented area Rent Acre
a.med rented Rs. Rs. P
----------------·----------------·-·-··-··-----··--~--------------·---No !and 5
One acre and Leas 7
Bet~ Fiw 12 and Ten Acroo
0.28
1.42
2.60
Over 10 Acres 51 15.00
lS.S2 3.1U 9(}.
11.41 1.63 148
18.06 1.64 273
15.00 1.25 368
395.91 7.76 4480
6.0
12 .. 8
15 .o
24.8
11.31
----------------------------------------------------~~~---Source 1 Report of the Ea>nanic Enquiry Ccm:ni ttee <Madras 1931), Vol.I, p.33. (for further details see Table No.1).
Thus, tho consolidated village enquiries by the F.conanic Enquiry
Canmi.ttec in 1930-31 indicated that the landless and enmll
hol~rs wre not very much. in t~ run for lands to b3 rented and
that only the ryot.B who had at least 10 ceres or more ranted
nost of the lands. This was recause only such ryots had at least 71
•a pair of bullocks each"; they, therefore, rented land from
oth~r p.:1ttndars to get D¥lre surplus in th3 wake of rising prices.
On tl'l9 other band, the lack of pr~r credit facilities, rising
cost of cultivation, costlier leases, and vagaries of seasional
conditions ruined many of the s.rnall tenants wheoover they went in
for leaoing in lands. -~------- ···-·--- ...... I-----------~,---· 71. R-~rt of the Econo::nic Enquiry Ccmnittec, ~1. I, (~.adras
1931), p. 33 <Hcroofter a~ Economic Ccarmitte).
57
fbldln~:"
------·
5 Be:-~! .q_nQ 1~,. 0,90 1.13
10 acres on <I J.e., J .• GO 3.30
15 HcrG:a and l~s• 0.\l-4 3.13
20 &c:res e.c d lesa 0.74 2.44
25 a.cre1 &Ddleu 0.76 2.70
30 ~cr.a &.nd le.5a 0.64 2.92
Tt..!>Lh 2.16
?El\ *.('?F. CUST :JP C'JLTH<.'l"ION ( 1n r"IJ'efil., )
., Cl!ttle I C>lt~le I ""nure
~vr!le 1 ~tlon 1 ~&i r.ten_:~l!"
l'lOO l 192!'!! 1!'00 I 1<128 I 1900 I I I _L __ _l
2.67 g,.e3 4.00 13.08 2.50 5.00 0.75 2.00 Rl.l 6.00 10.18 2!!.46 21.0C M.Sl
1.50 s.111 3.00 13. 3£' 2.50 4.82 0.75 z..oo ldl 6.00 10,09 23.76 19-45 63..46
1.12 5.92 2 .• 16 n.ce 2.50 5.66 0.75 2.00 !dl 10.00 lO.lO Zi.-90 17.S7 E0.69
1.15 6.30 2.10 3.90 2.50 7.05 o. 75 2.00 2.35 9.53 8.60 23.96 lB.l£'· ~-lB
1.35 6-51 2.50 10.62 2.50 6.87 0.75 z..oo 2.50 12.82 9.02 22.04 19.39 63.55
1.22 5.30 2.22 8.92 2.50 6.66 0.75 z..oo 3.52 10-44 7.28 )!1. 74 1'3.13 ~-98
! SOUllCKI ~rt or the !'l::onomio J?nquirz Cl>m:ni tt .. e, \bb. ~ eomeeted paper-s (~>irns, 1931) 1 pp .. 96 & 102.
to !II SO:i other
~O!K> The original l'l;:ures vere &1""n 1n •· l. P. and I hltn changed them to :,. "· (co»sioeriny the old 1~. u ON!> ann• of *<'dern 6p.)
----r t: of I % or
in tncr~ue in I 1ncreue c-attle I 1n
~ur
?:0'1.14 2:.>0.71 227.00 179.57
Z26.27 246.00 346-~ 135.03
245.42 423 .5? 412.96 116.83
230.84. 447.83 323.81 178.60
227.75 378.68 324.80 144.35
;1Y3. T1 334.43 301..80 171.15
59
Generally speaking the landless people could not ocmnand credit
to purchase bullocks and carts. And landlords (who leased out
o*1e land), en the other hand, did not have nu:h tru.-;t in them for
they could not give any security for rent in case of failure of
harvE~st. ~ to this, high Nnts kept the landless people IIW8y 72
from the o:xnpetition in rentinq in lands. At the same time, the
eollt of cultivation increased so rru:h that even thou9h the petty
landholders and the landless rr.anag«l to lease in land, they were
canpletely rulnt!d. Table 2.16 shows the enotm.:sUS increase in
cost of cultivation pP-r acre.
In 191~ the village ~ry by K.S. Narayana MUrti in Kistna
district (VUnagatla village) also proved that the ~3t of
cultivation \eU very hi.gh ~n ~ral to the earlier period.
-------------·----------- • II J f • .. .... - ... q • -
72.. Ibid., p.34.
60
.An enquiry into the expanditure on ten acres by an average ryot,
obtained fran four ryots, showad that the par acre expenditure 73
\'."aS Rs. 42.43 even though it was dry land. 'thus soaring rents
and costs of cultivation added to the freq\rmt failure of crops
forced the patty ryots and sub-tenants to oblige to borrow ITOneY
for buying bulls and grain and m::>re particularly to pay his rent,
'Which in turn resulted in the alienation of his proparty/land.
This land was rought aostly by ~11-to-do per.~n/tyots as a
sort of investment and also because it t::as so:retimes sold at a 74
price lower than its real b'Orth. '!hus, there ezrerqed a rich
peasant class under both the tenurial systems through a process
of usurpation of the much of t:he a.gricultrual produce in the
Ghaps of rent, etc. Even though the system of agricultural rent
and land revenue tas scxnewhat disorganised in the 1930s owing to
acute agricultural depression ~nich adversely affected the 75
fortunes of the rich peasantrty, this class had been able bo
stabilise its p>sition, es£X,~ially betweoo 1900-1920, due to an
Lmpressive rise in tho prices of agricultural commodities. Let
un eae how far different agrarian clu~~s benefited during this
period of price rise.
As the grain prices wre gradually inc.reasing during 1880 and
1920, the zamindaro/tcnants and landlords (in ryotwari areas)
preferred to collect rents in kind particularly on wat lands.
73. Gilb3rt Slater (ed), op.cit.,pp.lll-141 For rrDre infonmation on rising rental~ due to ~itio~ in the irrigated dalta districts see G.O.M., Board of Revenue No. 40, dt. 18 March 1919: ~omic Ccmnittee,\'ol. I.
7~. Gilbert Slater, op. cit., p.l02. 75. Govt. of India, Dept. of alucation, P.:.-alth and Lands,
(f>..<Jricultural Sactiona> - Lands, F.No. 59-60-B, Ck:tober 1931. (National Archives of India, New Delhi, Hereafter as G.O.I., O.E.fi & I, NJU).
1680-81
lll00-1
1901-2
1902-3
1?1!
185
173
l29
l906-7 225
1907-8 ~
1900-G .2$S1
1909-10 200
1910-U 1!14
lSU-12 n4
ll!ll!-13 z;r1
1913-14 231.
1914-15 231.
1915-HS 253
1.916-17 235
l$117-18 "i!fJ7
l.il8-lG 326
1919-20 <(,3)
1920-21 U2
1921-22 328
11>22-23 258 323
125
222
l.S9 . 155
165
176
21.3
Z72
134
303
212
154
156
202
270
297
3:37
~
301
281
321
354
298
3411
Sl8
573
627
370
~e' -~~t. VAR! ATIO~ Ill PRICES 11 THI .llllli!RA tl!BTRICTS ( In rupe"& per prce )
134
225
170
l53
177
2l?
~
252
'87
24?
234.
l7l
308
223
lB8
176
239
286
30!1
342
390
:M3
333
2515 3511
294. 401
271 348
252 m.s
255 :MS
352 372
266 Ul
318 M8
338 752
448 . 669
393 569
147
z::n 2ll
178
l.58
l!H5
239
24£
259
291
a69
3&7
34.0
293
332
252
3U
25l
2513
351
~
428
369
394
175
337
?.5S
l81
168
2S
313
310
356
380
~5
~
343
3SB
34;
309 3(n
382
too
617
811
650
636
4518
lJ'I5 3S7
327 3BSI
267 337
2152 298
2152 305
Z18 370
30& 465
366 635
4.92 828
-t.G3 678
(.50 585
392 476
!33
Z70
201
234
30t5
295
289
~5
256
252
390
532
489
476
.U7
3l5
~2
235
:1l50
309
2M
286
251
330
312
463
5?9
495
l:M
3oU
295
228
ll58
180
258
Z75
315
346
307
2!11
313
331
330
289
~
2SI
408
?98
NO
694
619
477
174
2Sl
237
liM
154
l.S9
205
138
317
Z75
199
139
221
252
253
324
310
271
'Ct71
2Q 298
334. 3M
~ 333
275 282
268 267
267 321
:!!5 436
U3 634
6<?8 774
525 679
452. 595
380 "'39
~------------------· SO'JRCI:t T. ?rakhoM, 1\ol)Ort et the Me¢1'-as !')<t!lt~o tend l:st (t>=l.tt...,, Pert !TI, l>r1ce-Itt-rdl and ~apb.a (lllldrR.I, 1938).
roTP:t 0:1G ~dr&l ~:r~• i! &auol to 4.800 1•~rs. lnd AO toloh!·' ""ht. or rico 1a ono .. er.
154
27l
255
202
HB
lasl
222
245
276
3l.5
2$7
223
34E
318
318
303
329
3l3
292
uo 576
4S1
445
417
155
3~
305
199
137
231
261
3M.
~0
353
319
301
317
362
350
315
301
;M7
403
578
7110
629
S58
445
138
49-l
437
U9
4ll
lSI!
3S7
323
62
As ~ data on prices indicate ~._re was a rapid increase in the
prices of foodgrains (Se3 Table 2.17)~ It,is alSo clear that the I
prices of all agricultural ocm:nodities· ;e~ched : tmr' highest point •I i ,
in 1919-20 a."ld started declining frr.b.· 1922· ~rds. 'lbe \ ' I " ' ' ; .': - .
depression per.iod (1928-33 > witnessed the l.q.--~st !»int. . ' f' i ' : ~ ~ I I \ '! ~\
< \• \ ' I : \ "- \
. \. ~~ .) '
The nest important feature was incraass of ~lam and,\llp.gi prices \. ~. r ; .,
as cx:mtpared to the paddy. For example, ln,. ~~Ur diskr~~ Cholam
price increased by 302 per cent, Ra<;Ji bJ'f ~~~· ~ cent.~ ~ by
119 per cent oot~ 1900 and . 19~9~~0 ~.\ '~v~, other ' ' ' ·' I \ '. '
districts see Table 2.17>. '!he increase ~·t!ie :{;rice ~\~l~s ' " l'' ~ / ( -~1 • . .--\ "\
maant that the rorden of price riset.?' the, ;·t;oqxli. peasari~ and
other lowar sections of the agricultural ~~.tAJT~~\:~ly 76 " // '( t .· ·' ' ' "
cons\li'rP-d millets. Moreover, these po¢ ·~~: ~ants/~ndless . I 'i i : 'I ~
labourers culti\rated the lands of the za:mindat{s:•and\.r.4:h peaSbnts
as share croppars and under-tenants paying, )~r~i~t ~~ I ! .\ , . '\ '
' ' &' • / . ~.,
m:>Stly in kind. As we have seen earlier tbey1
~iQ ~;LY 50-80 '" . r ,; ln .. -.. I \
per oant of gross produce as rent to ; : ·~]'(:i,lir i · superior \ 1 ': '!·, ;', ( ll
tenants I landaNners, and henoe they had; tO~ a1ien4te ltDSt . ,.. 'r\ , ,( ·, \
of their produce \'lithout storing '{: : ~~ for
76. Statistical Atlas, op.cit., 1940
TABLE 2.18
PRICES OF FOOIXIBAINS IN ANDREA DISTRICTS (Annual •verage Prices)
(In rupees per imperial maund)
» § VIZAGA- § GODAVA.Rl § ~ § ' § b } ~ A GA.NJ" AM 0 PATAM ~ E t I KiUSHNA A NELLORE 0 GUNTUR ~ ANANTAPUR A BELLARY A KUBNOOL ~ CUDDAPAH 0 CHITTOOR
IEARS ~-Paddyf6ho1!Paddyfcu;b~P!d:~-Jho-1!PaddYfcb;1fPadd~-cb;irPadd~-ch~JfP~ddyJch~i:Padd~-ch;ifPadd~-cho:tPadd~-ch~:~P~dd~-c~bu ___________ J ______ l:~~J ______ ! _____ l _____ t:~~-l _____ l:~~-l _____ l:~_l _____ l:~~-t _____ J:~_l _____ L:~_t _____ l:~~-1-____ L:~_; _____ l _____ 1923-2~ 6.86 3.81 6.19 3.~9 6.3~ 3-70 6.37 ~-27 6.87 ~.17 7.28~.~9 7.90 ~.81 7-3~ ~-36 7·99 ~·33 6.52 ~.18
192~-25 7-30 3-59 6.56 3-~ 6. 97 ~-60 6.9~ ~-50 7 .2~ ~-57 7.68 ~.66 8.36 ~.81 7-~ ~.26 8.~o ~-58 7-59 ~-27
1925-26 7-16 ).62 6.83 3-79 6.3~ ~-51 6.69 3.86 6.85 ~-2~ 6.96 3-63 7.80 3.68 7.39 3·37 7.56 3-59 7.11 3·83 1926-27 6.55 3.78 7.07 ~.~ 6. 82 5.09 6.93 ~-57 7-05 ~.60 7 .5o ~.03 7.98 3-90 7.~3 3·97 7.70 ~-13 7-11 ~.01
1927-28 6.05 3.71 6.83 ~.03 6.~1 ~.92 7.53 ~.88 6.92 ~.72 7.~5 ~.29 8.03 ~.17 7.36 ~.23 8.06 ~-70 7.58 ~.29
1928-29 6.1~ 3.36 6.05 ).56 5.80 ~.13 6.72 ~.08 6.33 ~.2~ 6.99 3.7~ 7.30 3·7~ 6.77 3.88 7.3~ ~.co 7·~ ~.08
1929-30 6.~3 3.36 5-~ 3-29 5-72 3-85 6.2~ 3·51 5·97 3.91 6.55 3.63 7.~ 3.66 6.56 3-~8 6.88 3.~7 6.39 3-83 1930-31 5-35 2.80 ~-39 2.61 ~-4-3 3-17 ~-38 2.70 ~.61 3-05 ~-77 2.2J. 5.4-9 2.10 5.25 2.33 5-19 2.30 ~-55 2.72 1931-32 ~.35 2.36 3.63 2.65 3-~ 3.26 3.65 2.46 3.71 N.A. ~-27 2,22 ~.88 2.72 ~-32 2.36 ~.58 2-37 3.77 2.20 1932-33 3-84 2.01 3-37 2.51 ).4-3 2.86 3:81 2.31 3-55 2.67 4-.07 2.22 4-.4-7 1. 98 4-.11 2.~ 4-.87 2.32 3-90 2.~0
1933-34- 3-ll 1.77 2.72 1.67 2.71 2.07 3·~ 2.05 2.81 2.07 3.22 1. 94- 3.82 1.91 3-~ 2.06 3-95 1.96 3.4-4 2.00 1934--35 3.16 2.14- 3.26 2.10 ).4-8 2.65 4-.61 2.39 3.61 2.66 4.07 2.93 4-.53 2. 75 4-.06 2.3~ 4-.~6 2.4-1 3-79 2.4-5 1935-36 3.60 2.53 3-52 2.32 3-53 2.82 4-.44 2.4-o 3·80 2.79 3-99 2.53 4-.70 2.21 4-.19 2.29 4.59 2.30 3.86 2.~
1936-37 3.66 2.28 3-38 2-37 3-51 2.72 4-.14- 2.41 3-72 2.90 3-79 2.37 4-.55 2.23 4-.os 2.31 4-.38 2.18 3.67 2.25 1937-38 3.65 2.4o 3-59 2.38 ).70 2.98 4.26 2.38 3-82 2 .~ 4-•00 2.4-1 4-.67 2.38 4-.27 2.57 4--53 2.27 3.48 2.20 1938-39 3.62 2.33 3-59 2.42 ).63 3.05 4-.34 2-39 3-76 2.78 3·~ 2.32 4.65 2.07 4.16 2.38 4.4-2 2.18 3.78 2.16 1939-4{) 4-.16 2.64 4-.04- 2.83 4.02 3.24- 4.4-9 2.83 4-.12 3-07 4.24 2.42 5.13 2.17 4.69 2.~6 4.55 2.4-6 4-.24 2.43
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~--SOURCE :
, •.
NOTE: One imperial maund is equal to 3,200 tolas, 80 tolas weigh of rice is one seer and 4,800 seers are equal to one Madras garce. OJ
CLARIFICATION: Since the figures till 1939-40 are not available in the source used for Table 2.17, we have used ~ different source. For clarity we have given the conversion scale also. Figures for Ganjam are not av&ilable and in the case of Chittoor and Vizagapatam since Cholam prices are not given we have taken the prices of Cumbu. ·
VI S':'R! CT
-18.~ 0.53 o.so 1.3.7]. ~-77
-12. :J6 0.40 ·25.!;1 11.43
4.77 1.49 878.73 71.4.2
3.15 6.8 22.35 0.65 2 .ca · 6 .s 244.56 25.85 as..a2 a.s
OJ:Itur 3.83 3.06 6.6 0.2.4 2.23 6.6 904.17 43.69 48.26 5.6 17.74
tlellore 1.91 4.32 Sl.57 0.57 1.42 4.32 161.48 22.77 21.06 4.32 -3-58 16.2
5.11 2.87 -0.68 0.68 56.91 41.59 ~6.28 8.14 2.35
~mool -2.17 -17.?9 0.15 0.57 267.8 40.22 40.05
4.).7 -11.04 86,$4 0.14 -34.55 3.95
-0.76 0.94 0.13 1613.83 37.:!:< 45.89
C:h1ttoor 1.33 0.65 0.78
0.93 43.~
1"1J'l:!ttFOR 475354 527280 10,92 66662 2:33952 250.95 4509261 SJB0662 bl STRI CTS
12.6\l 7.29
1.75 -28.9
u.oo 6.8 23.50 (;.8
20.25 6.6
l&.Ol 4.32 15.97
-16.72.
13.22 197.$ 18.34
21.62 17.32
3.01 15.11 14.24
12.S8
s .39 3728354 3338792
-0.56
-55.13
6.5:1.
13.71
2.25
4.47
2.9!!
-::0.49
-9.11
I I I
65
their consusxption. Thus, at the time of year when price level
was at its highest they had to purchase food stuffs for their
consumption. This ~t that price rise led to imn::mse
unavoidable suffering for the poor paasant classe.<J.
Ca:rmcnting on the effects of the rise in prices on different
classes K.L. Datta, had observed in 1914 in the Repor.ton the
Enquiry into the Rise of Prices in India that the classes that
benefited fran the price rise ware cultivators of 1:l"tooo
C'OI.11LOOdities W"lich have risen in _price faster than their cost of
production. He further remarked that the petty proprietors
holding their lands directly from the state in the Ryot"Wari
Province of ~as also benefitted, for their profits fran 77
agriculture w:n-e greater than they ware in the P35t. Actually,
how far ware the petty proprietors able to benefit by price rise
? No doubt, that petty proprietors did constitute a wry 78
considerable class (see table 2.19) of the 89ricultural sector.
And theori ticall y they were the indep::ndent p:-_asant proprietors.
But this iz'ldependence was only from the state but. not fran other
serious constraints of the agrarian structure of that tine. In
other words, in reality, there were con~iderable classes of
landed proprietors -who had either no surplus produce to sell at
all or whose surplus produce twas so small that any increase in
prices obtlliood was oore than swallmred up by t.."le increase in the
-----------------------·----·~---·-----------------.. -·~-----~---71. Cited in Econorni.c Ccmnittec., p.40.
78. For details ea2, Table 2.19 en cultivating l.and.oonors and other llgrarian classes.. Also see the Table on the status of pea~ant proprietors in ~JOtli3ri villlnges given in the last soct.ion.
o6
c:ost of production nnd physical rsinte~ FUrthenrorc_,. tho poor
peasants/petty proprietors did not posses noccssary capital to
cultivate independently and \'ere forced to &pend on the rroney 80
lend~r~ I morchantq I rich peaaont~ for th~ir credit. Renee the
produetion cbciaiono ware al1J0 ofte"1 im~~cd b'J the ne:ds and
interests of their creditors. Thu .. 'l, in practice, th::;:y t2ro not
allm.-ed ~ produce independently DL"CCrding to tOOir no..!ada. E:ling
dependents on th~ creditors/rich peasants, ~ir (peasants)
econotl'y \'SS subordina.tod to the rich pea cants econo:ny. As
evidence record....od by the Banld.ng E:nquiry Q:mnittea indicateo
that th~ poor pa_aoant or the avorage d3lta ryot did not and could
not Store his produ--e but had to part with it either ao soon as
the narve::;t::' was over or a mntb or two t:efore the hnrvtmt, having
to enter into an advance forward contrnct with his ~r, who 81
consequl.mtly paid him a miserably low price.
The 1 rise in pric:es also resulted in the shifting of tho payment
of agricultural \>:ages fran kind to cash especially in the first ' 82
two decades/ of the 20th C!entuty. This ~ m::>St prevalent in
the delt, districts. Since 19ll, there t>JaA a 100 per cent I ' ~!3
incroo!Y-3 in. tm1CS· But thia rino in wageo did not match the
79.
so.
-------------------Eoonomi¢ Ccm:nittea, p.40.
f4'ldrau/ Pr~vincial Banking Enquiry Ccu:ni ttee Rq>ort 1930)/ VOl. II U~itten Evidence), (Hereafter as catm4 tt.ec)
(ft'..adraz Banking
81. Ibi;1 .. , Vol. II, P.591 and Vol. IV (Oral Evidence); A .. Sat.yanarayana, Riean Hovat:snt in M:idras Presiooncy 1928-42: A · stuc.l~ of the Anti-zanindari Agitation in Andhra (N~ DP.lhi 1 1919, CHS 1 SSS, Jt.J.l, r-1. Phil dis~tation) _, c.ho..ptw II .
/ I
82. Statj:sticnl Atlas • • • op.cit., 1940 • 83. ~MO"..ti.C Co:r.:nittoo, VDJ.. 1 p. 46.
67
84 abnormal rise in th9 foodgrain prices. The purchasing capa.ci ty
of the rupee had declined to such an extent <see Table 2.8) that
the labourers lived fran hand to mouth without even t:nrc 85
necessities of life. ~ Table 2.20 given oolO'd dsmostrate this
disparity. 'l'l:lerefora, the prico rise did not mcame
Table 2.,20
_______ _.............,_._- ..... ··------· ----~----..,... ..... .....------·---l. Field labourers
without food (daily wages in
1842 1852 1862 1872 1911 1922
Annas). 1.5 2 3 4 4to6
2. Price Rise (S~rs par Rupee) 40 30 27 23 15 5
--------·--------_......_--~..... .. ..... - ............... ··-· ~ ..... Source : R. MUkherjee, Land Problema of India, pp. 21-22.
84. Ibid.
Prices of Staple foodstuffs in VUnagatla Village .. ~·---..,._._ ......... ____ ... _ .. ______ . ______ _ 1916 1936
._..,.......,__ .... Re. A. P. .Rn. A. P •
Paddy par bag 5 a 0 3 10 0 Cholam " 9 1 0 6 4 0 Gingelly " 12 8 0 8 12 0 Red gram • 8 6 0 6 4 0 GhP....e pgr vi.ss 1 8 0 'l 4 0 .. Chilli en 0 0 s 6 __ ..
85. !".ohru:mad Ali and eajrang t.ol Tel.i, 'I.and. T'Znure - A Hazard in Agricultural ~J:llop:tent • in !'<'.ohrumlad Ali (F.d), Dynamics of Agricultural D:Tro~nt in Ir.!!u (Delhi 1979),;;> .. 145 ..
68
advantageous to the poorer sections of the llgricultural
C<Xt:Junity.
The upp3r sxtions of th(3 peasanty in ryotwari regions and
terumts in the zamir.dari are!l!.l, bccasue of their substantial land
holdings, dgcline of l'€VCnoo demand in terms of produce \'hlich
they alienated to meet it, the facility of pa~nt of ·t.rn!
revenue/rent in cash to til3 state/zamindar, avoilability of
storaga nnd crecti t tacili ties, and <kwal~t of CtXilmll'licat.ions,
~r·e clOf'"...cly inte9:t·ated illto tha rrarket. and l:enefitted 86
considerably fran the rising prices at that time. With the
necessary capital J.n their hands, they· \ere generally free from
the exploitntion of tho m:meylend3rs, Which enabled t.he:n to sell 87
their produce at a time of their convenience. A good number of
statancnts of the colonial bureaucrats substantiate the fact that
the wall-to-do sections of tb2 p::!a.SMtcy benefitted from the
steady ri0!3 in prices* The Collector of Kistna. district, for
example, felt that "th:! laud-owning classes benefitted groatly 88
by the rine in pricell..... The b:!nofits derived by substantial
land-holders due to price rise can also be seen in terms of the
--------·~·--------·----------------------·-------------------86. Royal O:lmtissi.on on Agriculture in India, A_upendix to Rcpot·t, Cllaubay, 1928}, pp. 267-69. H~c they 9ho-.::ed clearly not o.'lly the rich landholdsro but also the middlem:oo who got s~tantial capital.,of course in scmc Qses only, benefitted mostly by m3rketing the agricultural produce in the \~ke of price rise.
87. A.V.R. Rao, Bobbili Zcnindary (t.tadras 1907), pp.269-70: Banking camdasion, Vol. IIJ Ecx:>nomic Ctm:nitte.e, p. 71 and A._opendix t..!o. 10 for turt.hsr details.
68. Stati£;ticnl Atlas, 19~0. "The Collector of E. Godavari oboorvad that the condition of the <hl.ta ryots is generally better than that of tho upland ryots. • • whether in the u9land or delta it is cnly the capitalint that is flouritlhing \\nile tl1c (fX)Or) ryot living QX)re or less frO!I' bend to routh". (Ibid).
/-
69
iricroaoo in land under cultivation (particularly under camm-cial
crops) and the davelopnant of trnds and cxmnerce l.inlted w1 th 89
OJJriculture. 'Ibis we shall be discussing in the next tM!JCtioi\.
But the unprecedented fall in t~ prices of agricultural 90
com:nodities after 1929 reversed the fortunes of tho rich
paasantry and sevarely rottlrded it.s growth (if not totally ruined
it). It is clear from Table 2.21 that. prices declirJed rapidly
from 1929 onwards touching the lowast point in 1933-34. But. the
lease and sale values ot lands, which had moved up correspo."lding
to rise in cxxmvdity pricos earlier, did not cx:ms cb-m during the
deyression. ~\\U.S the case with per acre cost of cultivation 91
and t:he standard of living. As we have seen earlier, the t:cnant
C'\llti Vatora in tha zamindaris, t:ftlo we.t'G paying consioorably
hi9hcr rents than the assessment paid by the poa.sllnt propritorn
in the ryotwari areas, were badly hit by the fall in prices. In
-----------------------------·-·-·-----·---------~~~---·----89. This impact has b:en clearly brought out by Dharrun . Narain and A. v. Rar.ana Rae. D. Narain, Imtnct of Price Movenrmt on
·Arens under Selected Crops in India (London, 1965); A.V.R. Rao, op.cit, pp.274-309. ·
90. G.O.I., D.E .H. & L., Agri. ~ F.Nos. 142-B, Dec. 1930; 99-100-B, Feb. 1930; 293-297-B, July 1931~ 136-B, July 19311 60/32-L & 0, 1932; 3/33-L & 0, 1933i 3-3/33-L & O, 1933; 17-17/34-A, 19341 48/32-A, l934r 7-36/35-A, l93S; 274/35-A, July 1935; 17-3~/35-A, sept. 19l5J 17-47/35-A, Aug-Dac. 1935 (NAI) •
91. Ibid., Ayri. - F.No.l04-B, oct. 1931 (NAl)J aleo ~ for a detailed discusnion of those apsec.ts, A. satyanarnyana, Aspects of Agrnrian ~atiorw in t-'£dras Presidency : A otud.y oi the Andhra Dictticts 1900-1939, (Ph. D. theais, Haidall::er<,;~ Univeroity, 1983), . _ Chapter~ II 6 III; &."''nanic carmittee, Vol.I, pp.46, i4 & 82.
70
in the case of ryotwari regions, the slump in prices adversely
affected the substantial landholders, who had gone in DDre for
ccm:nercial crops, than the small and the middle paasanty. The rich
{X!llsant class could hawaver survive the depression, for the
~ices started stabilising after 1935 and even the Madras
Government trade tx>licy helped them in the .i.nmediate ssnse, at 92
least for a brief pariod. At the political level this brought
together the non-cultivating tenants in the zamindari areas and
the substantial landholders in the eyotwari areas in the struggle
for the abolition of zamindaris, remissions in land revenue, 93
fixing of land revenue permanently with lower rates, and oo on.
4. SYSTPMS OF RURAL OtFDIT AND 'l'HE BURDEN a? ~
Before ~ examine the commercialization of agriculture and the
marketing system, we shall sumnarise the system of rural
credit and the conscqu:!llce.~ of indebtedness of certain agrarian
classes i!l the colonial context.. Since the credit system played
. an important role both in the nature of agricutura1 production
and marketing of the produce, it is necessary to discuss it in
sans detail.
92. G.O.I., D.E.H.&L, Agri. - P.No.215-242-B, April 1931 (COnfid)J 74-76-B, Sept. 1931; 23-25-B, Feb. 1931; 29-30- B, March 1931: 72-73-B, Ssp. 1931: 68/32-L & 0, 1932; 60/32-L & O, 1932; 364/33-L & 0 ( COnfid), 1933: 17-43/34-A, JUlyDec. 1934; 178/35; 17-48/35-A 1935 ; 7-53/35-A, 1935; and 7-40/35-A, 1935 (NAI).
93. See K. Olinnaya Suri, Agrarian Movements in Andhra : 1921-1971 CPh.D. '!basis, Centre for Political Studies, SSS, Jat::ahnrlal Nahru University, New Dal.hi, 1984), Chapters III & IV; G.O.I., D.E.H.&L., Lands, F.No.l03-104-B, January 1930 (NAl).
71
~ small peasants the nOOGssi ty for frequent borr0"4ing l(l.S
obvious. It is an ascious that in countries with sm:lll
holdings,tdlorever organised credit is ~nt, the isolated
position of the individual ryot renders credit dear and leads to
serious ind:abtedness. The poor agriculturists in Madras
Presiebncy borrowed money from ordinary m::meylendP..rs/rich
peasants for their cultivation axponses at CIC.l'l\PC)lUld interest 94
varying from 18 per a:mt to 24 par cent. Th:! ordinary interest
rates, ho"..-."SV'er, varied frcxn 6 to 18 par cent; in sana districts 95
the rate was 12 per oent and nore.-~ bscamo the major
source of agricultural credit and /~ul force in the rural 96 .
sector in the colonial pefiod. EVen otherwise as ((arl ,....arx
noted •the really /ap:>rtant and characteristic danain of the
usurer is the function of m:m.oy as a mans of payment. Every
payment of r:oonoy, qround rent, tribute, t;.ax, etc., which becom9s
due on a certain date carries with it the need to secure D'Dfl9Y 97
for such purpos~s·.
In· Andh.ra, inspite of ths existance of the branches of the
Inpsrial Bank of India in sane of the larger villages and of Jw.ya.(
c:ooperati w societies, nest of the L loans \'JSre given
94. Banking carcnittee (1930), Vol. li, p.33.
95. tccal Board (Telgu Monthly), VOl. 4, No. 7, Novembsr 1935, p .. 2081 Rural India (Telugu MOnthly), Vol. IV, No. 9, Saptembcr 1929, p.203r Report on Agricultural Indebtedness, by ti .. R. S. sathyanathan (Madras, 1935, C'Onfidootial), pp.l4-l5 (fi&cafter Sathyanathan ~t). ·
96. Ses, S.A'nhirajan, Classicnl Political Etxma:ny and British Policy in India (Vikas, 1978), especially ~.110-129: J.B. Phenr, Indian Famines and Village organisation (tondon, 1877),p.l2J A. Satyanarayana, Ph.D.'l'henis, op.cit., Olapter IV.
97. Rarl ~x, Ctlpital, Vol.3, (Mas~, 1977), p.S99.
COMMOl:.OITY
Pad ely
H.ed eram
Green ~ram
Ben.;al Gral:l
Horse ,;r;n:
Cholam
GirJ0elly
;:,oapnuts
Cotton
TJ,lJl .. E 2.21
r <ICES 'P::;:l CJ->U;y OF H.l'O•{TJ,NT U!Ol S II\ 1916 M·;D :!r, 1925·-36 n: Vl!Kk.iATLJ, VILLJI.GE,,\E::.T GOJJJ,VIG LI:)T!UCT
1916 1929 19JC 19J 1 19,J2 19JJ 19)4 1SJ.5 19J6 Rs.
44
67
66/8
72/10
102
3.5 to 42
Rs.
lOG
120
120
(\0
68
100
120
2J/12 to 25/2
Rs.
8C
53
67; 68
Rs.
ec
46
6G
1J to 19
Rs •
7.5; 78
76
71
90
63
18/8 to 19
Rs •
J6; J9
sc 50
40; 41
!)0; 61
6G; 50
1P/8 to
19
Rs.
27
42; .5.5
41; 43
JP
82
41
3G
16 to 19
Rs.
28
66
63
,54; 7G
sc so
3.5
20; 17
:t-:OrE: '.{hen there EJre two quotr.tions both are ~;j.ven: if more than two, the mnxin•tHT• end mininrut' ere ;iven. Tl1c prices are those ,,,hich t!;e cultiv<Otors could obtr.:in.
j0T!!1CE: ::.esurvey rer>ort of Vuua;:;etl<> Villttge (in19J6-J7) by K.Rumu,:;op<:>la l<~o, in P .J. Thor.'ns "ml K .C. f\amckriahnhn,Sol:le South IndiLin Yill!J:;CS A Resurv£>Y (T'n:i.versity of' l'1adre.s, 1940), p.24J.
Rs.
29
4C:; so 6G
.57
60; 62
4f' t 0 .50
70
4C; 42 iC
35 to 40
1.5 to 22
-~-.-.-~--~~,~t-h-e--~~y~.-.-:r~;N~u-.~b~.-r--r-l~~--------------~----------- Picf~Lli~~=~_gt-=o~----------------------·~----·---------iJhtri::t lof 1 Bor~~· _I benge;:a I Totel
• ocu- ,Agr cu -. r• er, nc;n•y- I ~h•re , .. gr cu ... rede:r, nev-IOthera I 'd i 1 • T d • .. '---~,0,.....-- .... 1 1 •r • ~ --• A•ount l .. nt ;t.urht I l LendH ; lturht ; ; · ~u' I in AI. • ' • t : : 1 : . : : ...-1--- ~-_.z.____.:-""J ___ l._.;;:4 ___ ~: :__1__: ' LJ __ __.._t__ , 2 • · 'P s u ,
K iatna
ilesl: GodeY111ri 1901 19H
E ut GodeY.t.d. 1901 192J
1901 192.4
II est Godavari ' 1901 1914
f.e~t ~odavari 1901 1924
1901 192.1.
.,.~t Gcdll't'll:!:i 1901' 192.
Ee3t GodGv&ri 1901
K iatne
1924
1901 1924
~•at Godeveri 1901 1924
Eut Gode'>'eri 1901 1924
--
SH 7511
12U 741
1380 11111
2 2
20 71
60 41
71 38
115 1C2
271 215
8 4
,.. H
56 14
387 611
268 J.C5
526 5SJ
1 24
18 12
51 2
20 49
112 us
1
• 9
31 12
Sowrca1
15 13
8 9
1 s 23
2 1
9 5
~lta - wi\hgy\ R~IIS!igQ
124 267 113 12& 313 143
10011 3ei
8311 60!1
19 <41
40 28
412 19
!Litl.Jt!l>LJiil.hg_ltl..JiUM. ~ 19 J.A 36 J
95 4!
90 62
1 4
10
• 18
1
66 51
159 103
2
12 16
311
•
1U 19'
131 19
4
3
22
' 27 27
60 52
2 l
137 11111
417 360
662 663
1 2
t 27
1!5 22
1 5 Ui
21 24
52 59
1 .. 1 1
16 l
1011394 366210
2363 3 5 349148
399 91 7 6119 75
512 595
3372 19635
12221 1016:1
1 7529 17040
16792 46170
15829.1. 233707
1758 1900
2262 4821
12U1 4515
74
98 by local rroneylenders, merchants and rich pesants-la.ndlords.
'.l'b!!re ms an i.ndiganous OCl'llm!rcial caste, ~ich specialised in 'i·e.·l
usury, e-4:-. • Kana tis' or • Banias • who ~re also local tracbrs and
merchants. In fact, every nerchant had sane dealings with the
bigger ryots. The latter used to send their produce to the
merchant•s shop and a 'Kata' was kept. 'Iha accounts t:ere settled
p&iodically. Very often smaller traders of the village collected
the produce and sent it on their a.<m &CCOUnt to the business 99
centres. Thus trad-9 and usury ~'Zre inextricably linked in the
rual areas. The tradition&l m:meylenders, howaver, ware largely
replaced by the rich ryot-creditors from the beginning of the
20th o:ntury.
1.'he burtbn of debt on petty land-hold&s increased during
famines. For inst&nce, during the 1898' famine it ms estimated 100
that the indebtedness of small ryots had increased by about 25
per cant.
The periodical visits of unfavourable seasons and ot.h2r
constraints hardly all~ the marginal ryot. to recover fran a
old d::!bt once contracted. As the PamJI'Ie. Ccmnissione~S of 1901
noted, cultivators "fail to lay by fran the surplus of good years 101
a sufficiency to meet their obligations ~n bed years ooma ••• •
Consequantly, when the goverl'ln'ent/tenant tried to extract the
-------·-----~---------------------------------------------98. Banking Canmittee, p.l76J Sathyanathan ~rt, p.l4.
99. Ibid.
100. I_'Jldian Famine CCm:nission, 1898, ~dices in Vol. II, <calcutta, 1898), p.Jo.
101. lbport of the Indian Famine Cc:mni.ssion, 1901, (calcutta, 1908), pp.88-89.
75
rentG/revenuzs DUSpanded in famine years in tho ~rs .imnediately
follc-ding famine years along with not'll'--.:ll rewnue/rent, ti:3
cultivators t:are forced to borrow on conditions i.nca;np:ltibla with
his solvency.
Official Years
--.-.-------·---1872-73 1873-74 1874-75 1875-76 1876-17 1877-78 1878-79 1879-80
'l'llble 2.23
Land Revenue Danandgd (In Lakhs of Rupees)
469.35 445.15 463.55 454.50 329.66 349.49 494.85 485 .• 00
-------------------· -------·-----·~·----··-··--Note : Famine years are 1876-77 and 1877-78.
source : Review of the Madras F'Unins 1876-78 (r.adras, 1881), p.29l.
Thus, ~ to many unfavourable conditions - both natural and
artificial - the poor paasant • s econo:ny was subordinated to the
mrchants, ~tDneylen<brs or rich ryot-creditors to who:n the
peasant \":38 nzavily indebted. Evan though the middle p!a.SMt
\'"las also a heavy borrow-er, ro was able to got better returns and
good profits fran the lands at a tima ~n the prices of
agricultural ca:r.modities ~re rroving llpt'mrds and, thareforo,ooul.d
ourviw the ruinous effcct.o of incbbtedness. BUt the burcbn of
the d2bt on him WZltl still relatively high \"Alan canpared to thG
rich paa.sants position. It ws only t.he substantial (rich)
~santa \1.00 t:3re £reo frc::xn the ruinous effects of high intorcst
cbbto, for ~ ~ly e:nerged c:oop;!!ro.tiw cocictics eater3d to
76
their credit needs. '!'his t:a shall discusG ln the follcr.;~ing
pages. Now let us ses how far ths high interest rates ll99l'avated
the si tuntion.
By 1900, less than one third if the mortc.Jages, in and outside 102
Madras City, \>.tare with possession. Interest on m:>rtgaqes varied
b3tt:.aen 6 p& cent to 36 par oont, but three-fourths of th3 103
nortgages ~id batuaen 9 and 18 per cant. The non-mortgage 104
Cbbts carried scxns tihat higher intere.st. Particularly in the
coastal Andhra districts the middle and the p:x>r ryots borrowad
m:mey from a rich ryot or a 111)noylender at the rate of 12 ~ 105
cent interest par annum.
Gsnerally speaking, ryot.s borrowad paddy for their oonsureption on
the condition that they tJOuld repay at the t.i.In9 of harvest 1.5 106
t.imes the quantity borrO'>'!ad. 'l'h3 qrain loans, ~ro nlso taken
for seeding their lands by the middle and poor-ryots. ~ rate
of interest on the~ sead grain loans varied from SO to 100 per 107
cent.
------------------·------------------------------102. Imparinl Gnzattesr, op.cit., p.49
103. Ibid. 1 for d9tails ~, Srinivasara<Jhava Ayyanqar•s r.-.smorandum of 1893, op.cit. J and Report on Agricultural BMks (1895) 1 Vol.!, pp.229-42.
104. lm:p3rial Ga2etteer ., op.cit., p.49r Sathyanathan Report, w.38-40.
105. Banking a:mnittee, VOl.II, pp.488 •
. 106;. Ibid. (Written Evidence by D.R.O. Cocanada) 107. Ibid., p. 417. a.:rh:a s:o-A'mrs • • • purchcme all that the
agriculturist dlooseg to ~11 and stock the grain in their goda.ms at rates in aost ca~s previously settled at the tim9 of ndvoocing lo&ns.. • • In other cases they purchase with refere~ to prices 10"~ tban in Cin nearc.tot town) narket... 'l'his grain, \Clich they stored by purch!lsinq at 1~r rates, t:as later given to mstly poor and the middle .ryots ao loan with high mtes of interest tflich in turn a-.":Ulod their cnpi tal in lending business.
77
Thus the rate of interest qo_.nerally began mth Rs.l and W3nt up
to Rs. 2 £X!r DDnth for 100 rupees of loan. It ~s reported
that in the villages of .Alrunur taluq of East Godnvari district,
the peasants borrowed tmney from the sowcaro or bigger ryots wi. th
interest rates rnnging fran as. 1.55 to Rs. 3.15 per m:mth for a 108
Rs. 100 loa.ci. Tho variation in the interest rate t::aa due to the 109
unregulated nature of the credit market in 1\ndhra. In mny of the
districts the interest rate of cooperative societies ~ only 9
to 18 per 03nt, but qanerallty the middle and iX)Or class ryot5
borrc:M:!d not fran these societies due to ths inherent constraints ~·
in the syotem but from uonsylendcro./rich peasants, who charged 12 110
per owt to 24 per cent and so::ng t.i.nvl 36 per cmtt to 48 ~r oent.
Due to these high rates of interest particular coctions of
p3a00nts like 'Idigao.' and 'Rapus' in the upland pnrt of Andhra lll
district \1Cre reduced to the status of tcnllnts.
Indebt.edncns ms a =re sarious probl.e:n in zamindari areas W"len 112
ca.npared to too ryotwari a.roos. This was perhaps due to the
very nature of t:ho tcnurifll system and the position Of the actunl
cultiwtors. ~ poor ryots could offer their crops as ~ity 113
to tho mrchnnts/~s in ~ ryotwari tracts, t:hereas in
108. RUral India, VOl. IV, t!0.9, Septemb2r 1929, p.203. (Report in ~ugu).
109. In fact this \OS also trus of other regions in India during this pariod. For instance, roe B r~ Nand, Sana A-~ts of the Agrarian Structure in t~tern Indin : ~ District of the central Division, 1880-1930 (Ph. D. T1hesis, 1983, JatJah.Qrlal ~ru University, r:-~ew Dalhil, pp. 72-82.
llO. Banking cattmission, Vol. II, p. 713. lll. Ibid., p. 716. Also co, p.l34J also sec Village Studies
in Gilbert Slater, qp.cit.1 P.J. Thomas and R.C. ~ishnan, op.cit.
112. 5e3 Rsport on tho Mministration of th9 Estates Onder tho Court of \'!lrds in ~ tft.:rlrno Prosi~ for y®rS 1921-22 to 1930-31·
113. B!mking Co:r:nitt~, VOl. II, p. 741,
78
zmdndori ~tracts, in najority of the c::asss, ryots could not
oosily pledge their crops aa security,for the 1908 Act authorised
ths znmindar to distraint standing c:ropo fer his arrears and hie 114
r:ont was recognised as first ctmrge on the land. Henco, t'ln
higher interest and. d.sanded a
greater mrt.ent of land as security in t.he zamindari areas than in
tho ryotwari arens. In other words, in Mmindari arolltl the rate
of interest t:.as higher becasu:l thtJ sa.:rcar did not 1cnol1 tho l:lmOunt
of rent the tenant a.:ed to tho lllniUord nor did he k.now tmc11 the
tenant might lose his land. 1bon again tenant tad to pay a larga
part the gross produce to the landholc'br. very little ~ left ,r·
for tho m::meylender to profit from. Consequently m, <:hnrgod a ' 1~5
highar rate of interest and demanded more land as S3curity.
Thare were instances, for example, in J{akinada, \'k\cra the
·~rio' <hmanded a plodqc of gold and· silver· rather than land 116 .
ox: crop as sacurit.y for loans to· the ryots. But this was not GO
in tho case of ryotwari areas. The delta ryoto in theS3 aremJ ·
found it extremely easy to obtain credit fran the num:arous rich e ll7
ryots <'Kamas• by caste), r. Marwaris: Kanatees (SO\!:Cll.rsl and so on .. --- I!I'H .................... ..........__III 'R P .,. •• 1 H g ')I_ --- ---I 1HU ••••• f ... _ _._..............,:1!11., I Rill! ...
114. Ibid., p.l32. us. Ibid., p.lO. Nemarko by Biswanath cas, one of the witnesses
before the Banking carmi ttee 1 tJ.cre information on the extent of indebtedness had ~ given in the Court of wards reports. A glD.nce at the reports shows a. pathatic picture of the tenant in the zaroindaris, ~ was "<bep in the hands of his sowcar.. • thlo charged abnorm.Uly high rates of interests.• Sse, Reports for years 1926-27 to 1936-37.
ll6. Bnnkinq O::xmnittee, VOl. IX, p.58.
ll7. Ibid., Evidence given by N.G .. Ranga, p .. 738.
79
rt..ost of the chlt~a ryots wtlre also not prepnred to mortgage their ..... .
lands or to offer thoir crops as security sinco the val~ of
their lands tOS wry high. This, in fact, was
one substantial advantage a marginal landhol<br
~xived from the higher prices pcevailing for their lands in· ~ 118
ryotwari areas. But, broadly speaking,under both the tenura"1 the
poor and the middle 1/.X*lsants suffered lmavily fran the cronic
problem ofindabtedneso, and nore so in the late 1920s and 30s due 119
to the Depression.
NO'# let us also see 'Which class actually benefitted frcim this
sytem of ll'Oneylending. EventhoU9'h the money t.':lS lent by different.
sections of the society 1 the lending business carried on by
certain agrarian classes W3S trDSt significant in the celta
districts. The proportion of cash advances by the different
monoylending t.gencie~, for instance in Kist.na, East and t~t
Godavari districts \trere as follows :
Table 2.24
PERCENTAGE a! CASH ADVANCED 8Y DIFFERENT ~EY IalOING AGENCIES ....................... , .. _____ .. _,._, ---· -----------------LENDER KISTNA WEST OOOAVARI FAST OODAVARI
I __ _......_ .....,._,, ----1901 1924 1901 1924 1901 1924 .. ..... -. ----------·-·---------------------------·----·-------------------··----·-,·--Agriculturist 51.64
Trader 21.86 f.b'leylender others 26.50 ~ 100.00
41.29 18.87 15.04 24.80
100.00
49.85 12.77 0.23
37.15 100.00
40.62 42.03 35.48 -10.66 10.00 7.54
0.14 0.85 48.58 47.97 56.13
100.00 100.00 100 .. 00
-Note : The fugures are only for Delta - without (DSsession. source : Madras 174,sattlement Report,. East end west Godavari
Oistrcita (1929), pp. 154-55.,
------------·--------·--·-··----------~~------125. Ibid. I p. 741 •
126. For details see, Sathyanathan Report,.especia1ly pp.l3-18t A Statistical Atlas of the Madras Presidency 1930-31 and 1940-41.
80
Probably, a large number of the moneylenders under the category
'ngriculturisto • cn.mo fran the rl.Ulks of rich pc:~.sants, tmo cmro
to acquire liquid capital through favourable returno of
investmmlt and rents from their l.c:mds. Perhap3 even Linds!r the
category 'ot.hers • most of the psople who had some interest in
agriculture might hava been included. BUt ~ connot certainly suy
about thin 'others' cntegory duG to lnck of dot.lliled sources on
tho subjoct.
Still nm1rly 45 per cent to SO ~r cent of ~....e \\1-lo lent rmney 121
\!i'3ro rich agriculturists. 'l'h3y lent money to {X)Or and middla
class peasants. Tho evicbnce fro:n other reports also confirmd
that tho rich ~ntry had l!!!ltX'ged as a daninant force in the 122
moll$.Ylcnding mrket in the rural Andhra. It was suggested that
tho ·~lthy psasants• ware the mjor source of rural credit and
especially in the dry Rayalaseema di~tricts,, around 123
90 per amt was contributed by thgm. It was also
p:>inted out by the COtton catmission that - *- •• • M L .. ._ ........ .-.. ..... ., • I- r 1 ___ ..,__..............,__.., _____ _
121. See, Table 2.22 for further deto.ils, and also sea, v.v. Sayana, op.cit., p.l67 Cfor zamindariesh Banking camdttea, Vol. II, p.227J 5athyanathnn ~rt. p.l4 o
122. Banking camdttee, VOl. I, pp.81-82; P.J. Thomas and t<.C. Ramakrishnan, op.cit., p.370; RUral India, VOl. III, No.3, Sept. 1929; Vol. III, N00.4-5, o:t.-ta.r. l928r Vol.IV, No.lo, o:t. 19291 Local Board, V01.2, No.l2, April 1934i Vol.4, No.7, NOV. 1935.
123. Sae F.A. Nicholeon, op.eit., VOl. I, p.230: C.J. BakGr, POcbt and Depression in Madras, 1929-1936•, in C.J. newoy and A. G. Hopkins (ed), The Ir!q;Jerial Impact : Studies in the Econanic Hiotory of Africa and India <Iondon, 1978), p.238"
81
in the ceded Districts rich landlords advanced more than half of 124
the total loans.
H:atlaver, there ..as a fun~...ntal difference ~twaen the • vaisya!l'
or •sowcars' - \ibo ware trad9rs in villages - and the rich ryots.
'l'hs nature of , their interest in advancing the loans was
different. The 'vaisya • /traders trero interested in controling
the crops on the fields, sinc3 their profession was trada in (...
agricultural produce whereas ri9Jh eyota anxious to grab as much 125
land as possible. Consequently, the former obtnined forward
contracts for the crops of their dabtors W:lile the latter tried
their best to get the <.h!btors into their clutcheo so thnt their
lands could be added to thsir lands. This, obviously,
accentuated the trend towards the disintegration of the (:easant
holdings. 1't'Y'-re ~re a number of caoos in ,mich "small ryot.c;
who were indebted to bi9 ryots surrendered their lands in 126
discharge of their debts".
While mmrly 80 per cent of the total cr~cUt \'!as advanced by
private agencies, loans by ooopsrati vo societies also played o
significant role. The richer section of the agrarian classes
ware the main beneficiaries of this source of cheap credit
through <X.llm\ercial joint stock banks aid and ths _cooperative
credit societies. They virtually m:>nepolised the source even
while lending croney to the poor and middle peasants at usurious ------11 PM M1- ----..,~--·--------_..;,.. ____ _ 124. Indian Central Cotton catmission, A G::!noral Report on Eight
Investigations into the Finance and Marketing of Cultivator.'s Cotton 1925-28 (Ba:nbay, 1929), p.l4 ..
125. Banking camdttee, Vol. II, p. 740.
126. Ibid., p.2l9 and VOl.I, pp.30 and 220: F.A. Nicholson, op.cit., Vbl. I, pp.230-3l.
82
rates of interest. Thus the credit from th~ oooporativo
societies bolpsd tha oonaolidation of the rich ~sant class
trotk . as producers and creditors.
The cooperative eocieties did not significantly expand their
operations in Andhra unitl 1915. As in other parto of India, the
~ntiw mov;::mtent in the fl.illdrns Preoidency begllll around 1904
t:hen the firot Cooparativo Ctedit Socities Act 'WaS p::lSDetl by tha 127
Indian Legislature. The earlier rural societioa ~ro all credit 128
societies, fo~d for the purpooc of giving loans tD ryots to
purchase agricultural r-equisites and necessaries of. life and for
the payrn:mt of gc>V3rnnt:mt revcnuo. _...........,_ _____________ ,_________ """ • 'II. ·- ......... ..-----------
127. ~al COmmission on Aagriculture in India, App3ndix to Report CBanbay 1928>, pp.261-62~ for dstails see, J. Vijnyara9hava Achariyar, Report of the Camdttee on Cooparation in Madras, 1939-40 (Mndras, 1940) : Rural India, Vol. III, N0.1, July 1928.
128. J. v. Ac:hnriyar, op.cit., p.l2. Betwoon 1906 and 1911 there wns a phenomenal growth of thcso societieo. c.c.s. Act II of 1912 gave legal recognition to the production and distributive societies and to various forms of central organisations. Late. P. Rajagopalachnriar t'as tho first Reqistrar.
---------· -· ·---· -----......... __ ......,.,_...,..._ _____ _ Year . No. of Societies M3mbership Working
capital in lakh Rs.
1904(30th Aug)
1907 do
1 (Tirur society)
63
.-6,439
66,156 118,726
1912 do 972 1915 do 1,600 142.10 --··--... --~ ... -----.....-..--.....----------,...._.....,.., ___ , __ _
Note c Of the totlll societies in 1915, 1,446 ware agricultural credit societies and ramaining ~e urban credit societies.
For further <btnils 83e, Sathyanathnn Report, pp.58-68J Report of the Econanic EnqUiry Ccmnittee, VOl. 1, (Madras, 1931), p.77.
CREDIT SOCIETIES
Table 2.25 ---_. * •• r ,."' .. , • .._ ........
SOCIEI'IES orHER FOR PURCHASB, FORMS PRODUCI'lON & SALE
' * .. • .... ,_..,.....,
__....... _____ .......... " --------------- ·---· -... ~~ .............. , 1904-05 1912-13 1917-18 1919-20 1921-22 1926-27
8 1,006 2,271 4,156 6,206
11,000
2 19 60 79
132
8 1,008 2,290 4,218 6,289
2 4
304 11,436 --------· Fll .._ ... ._.._ Pll
Notes : The m.jority of tho cocieties of "Other Forms• are societies for the acquisition or leasing of land for cultivation by m::mbers of the depreaocd classes.
SOuroe : Royal Ccmniasion an Agriculture ••• op.cit., p.262 •
In 1919-20, the n't.llllbsr of Agricultural SOCieties \laO 4216 t\.'hereas l1Dn-
the ~1!!1\t-rol Banks and~agricultural societies were 30 and 641
res~ively. Of tbe toal membership, the agriculturists 129
constituted 1,80,612. The represenation of poor ryots and
agricultural labourers was far from satisfactory. Of the m21nbers
from the ryots ware 25,414 and the agricultural labourers 130
10,636. 'nlus the percentage of ryots and poor psasants in total
mambership remained very low. deposits
129. Andhrapatriks, 28 February 1921, pp.4-5 •
· 130. Ibi.d.
T.ll!~ ?..2S
St.-.tec:e:-,t sOOving a::JCUnt.z or losns bz a.gMeultur.a! .s~1~t_~t!S r'OI' JH'O•.hlct1:ve Eryo••• and pay1.ns_otr prior. de~t:t
I I I r ( I I 1 Orand I Jf or Jf or Jf or ~ or 1 % or 1 ~ or I ~ or ~ or 1 % or I % or I ~ 0,. I ~ er par;n,
~ars f '!'O~a! I Ctllti- I Pur<:hue I po,.,.ent! Im1>ro-~ l'Ureh«oe I tnde I Muc~tion I i'tm54 I ..... .,.. ract'->T9 I Pttr-ehau I<>Od and i or pr t' I Y.ation I or C!tt'•l or n.t i Te .. ~nt or uv- I I 3rlld1ncland purellaul or I n&euur!"o I debb
I I 1 1
1 or lan "ft~;hlo J I I o~ country I l&nd I or lit'>!
I I I I earb I I I · I I Indlutriu 1 I I
19~-05 3773 s.~ 17.63 13.52 l-72 4-:M 13.46 - 1.33 - - 35.52 6.63
1900'-06 48302 16.C8 12.17 2:!.!;8 1.36 0.92 12-44 - 4.97 - 0.83 6.45 15.81
1906-07 l9Z3Z7 1.4.81 12.17 16.92 5.02 O.?S u.74 - s;36 - 1.56 3~16 V.49
1907-08 31.15l8 14,.:<2 u.so u.3l 6.23 0.57 l.fo,()J - 3.6o - 1.08 3.83 33.32
19C8.(); 683939 U.52 10.7(5 6.93 5.60 0.2$ 15<25 - a.eo - 3,4.3 4.85 37.7l.
1910-11 15o"'7906 6.% 14.22 ··L94 3.<\S 0.46 9.90 - '5·2'1. - ;,.77 •• 76 46.39
llnl-12 225C414 7.04 13.11 3.23 J.$- 0.91 9.45 - 4.67 - 4.32 5 .. :12 48.3£>
1912-13 2'M2741 8.33 13.50 3.ffi 3.4.9 o.s:;. 12.25 0.07 4.79 0.62 5.01 5.73 42.41
1913-U 2564<;60 6.48 ll.83 3.37 3.59 0,63 }.3.99 o.i9 5.09 0.44 4 •. 56 4.74 45.10
191-l.-15 257'13365 7.52 1_0.5€ 4.11 3.91 o.:~-s 16.52 5.17 4.55 5.65 41.66
1915-16 3301.485 8.61 8.40 s. 78 3.43 1.4Z 15.4.5 5.27 5.02 4.44 42.21
1915-17 4-!55006 9 .. 73 6.92 3.12 3.39 0.39 16.60 4.;}5 4.21 4.08 41.64
1917-ll! <!863809 u.26 7.14 B.45 3.43 ).55 16 .. 55 s.o1 3.06 s.os ~.79
191.8-19 6546534 12.53 7.55 e.89 3.94 o.ss 13.00 4.72 3.68 7.83 37.22
1!'119-20 8693964 1.4.54 9.31. 7.93 3.58 c.sa 14.$ 4-19 3.7l 9:1'2 :n.74
1920-ZI. 86:s:rt6 ll!.77 9.57 8.04 2.93 0.71 1,3.23 4.69 3.37 u.s2 26.Rl
1921-22 U475473 15.75 10.42 s.ao 4.16 0.72 12.73 4.63 4.10 9.63 32.06
-1922-Zl 12342033 18 .4;1 8.78 6.48 3.98 :),80 !,3.()! 0,31 .(.00 ;).54 3.41 9.60 30.60 (Y)
~
SOURCE 1 !tll&l ll>lll!dnton on ~1c•Jlt~.:r~ ln Indh, ~l. rr! 1 b~ ~e!"!Ce t,e.\cen tn the Me4':"•5 pre51ddP"£Y
(~,.b~y, 1928), ~p.672(a) • 67<l(b).
85
131 t:are Rs.l54 lakhs. In 1926-29, tho cooporative m~t had a
llEibership of about 8, 33,000 < rurnl and urban> of which 4, 97,940
were agriculturists. Of the total ~-ro non-cultivating
landlowners ~re 52,650, culti va.ting landaA1Ilers 3, 38,611, tenants
63,378 and field labourers 43,940. Still the percentage of field 132
labourera to th3 total \O.D only 8. 7.
As brought out abovo the cooparativa societiro repree-""'nted aostly
th3 substantial class of cultivators and particularly left
untouched the lowest strata of the agricultural cara:runity7 for
example., in 1920, the poor ryots and agricultural labourero
(X)JlStituted only 19.96 per cent and 5.88 per cent of the total
membornhip of the agriculturists.
Innpi tc of the fact that tT.OSt of the money tldvanced was Bp.'!nt on
productive purposes (sec Table 2.26) the ooopsrative credit was
available only to certain sections ~f the peasantry. Basically
the ~rldng of the cooperati va societies was d:::!fect:.i ve in so far
as they did not offar c.dcquate access to the lower strata of the 133
peasantry. The poor ryots could not in practice approach the
oooperat.i ve societie£1 directly to gat loans, since they could
not produce the necer;aary security, as required by the rules of '----- , _____ , ........... ---··- _ _... ___ .. ,. 131. Ibid ..
132. Royal Ccmnission on Agriculture, op.cit., pp.262-3.
133. RUral India, Vol.III, No.1, July 1928; Vol. III No. 3, Sept. 1928, especially pp.57-627 vol.III, Nos.4-5, Oct.-Nov. 1928, pp.79-82.
D1.etrict
1
Ganjam
Vizagapatam
East GodaTari
West GodaTari
Kistna
Guntur
Nellore
TOTAL
Cuddapah
Anantapur
Be11ary
Kurnoo1
Chi ttoor
'lOTAL
§ § No.or ~ V111-§ ages ~ ~ ~ R 2
4-
6
1
7
3
5 2
28
2
7
2
16
2
29
TABLB 2.27
R&SULTS OF INVJ!>STIGATION INTO THE QUESTION INDEB'lBWESS IN 57 SELECTED VILLAGES IN ANDHBA DISTRICTS IN 1935
I 3 A 4- § 5 ~ 6 § 7 Q 8 i 9 0 10 ~ 11 D, 12
1567 2355
5534- 4-586
2060 2099
11027 10987
4-259 3934-
94-60 8750
5059 5106
38966 37817
3022 315'4-
10602 10290
589 539
13902 13510
2661 25'4-2
3Cfl76 30035
2629
34-29
1634-
504-1
3933
6580
3565
26191
1886
2688
657
8783
1589
15603
1566
2860
1602
5530
24-91
5318
2917
22284-
1688
5530
265
6739
1116
15338
679
54-7
174-
24-12
904-
2320
4-50
74-86
865
2099
181
3207
755
7107
1106
4-87
201
1521
658
4-734
4-35
914-2
584-
1377
4-4-
6187
703
8895
3
34-1
14-1
28
ll
86
610
225
305
229
759
330
167
55
883
305
901
60
2701
25
14-53
15'4-
973
296
2901
188
757
22
2831
?34-
1773
225
6530
370
1119
8
14-03
592
6551
135'4-9
5193
27055
12126
24-770
13730
102974
8062
23580
1785
36195
6792
00 contd •.• /-0)
~ 2.27 ( ••• Contd.)
Number of{Number of I Number of a Number aN~~:~~ a Number of~ Number 0Numoer I Debt I I ! Extent and Nature of lan Professio-1 .Agricul- ~g1.st¢red ~ of j ~abou- ~ Numberf Registe- f of : of 0 for A Debt 1occup1ed ~ under Ryotwari Tenure ml money-1 turist 1~nolders of A Tenants~ rers ~ in- 0 red land ~ TenantsAFarm ~head O per ~ Area D-";";:-::---r:c___;.-=-'""'1!""~.........,:-lenders I money-
11and who i free § free ~ debted~ holders I in- ~Labou- ~ of I Family~ Wet R Dry j Garden
11enders 4are free 0 from ~ from D ~ indebted ~ debted~ rers f Popu- D I J Land ~ Land 1 Land D 1from debt 0 Debt Q Deot Q ~ D ~de~;d f lation D I J D C
13 I 14 I 12 I 16 8 12 ~ 18 B 12 8 20 ~ 21 t 22 8 23 I 24- ~ 25 ' 26 I 22
1
6
7
2
20
10
58
1c4
10
92
26
7
135
81
17
119
44
66
29
4-20
65
137
9
222
52
4-85
226
236
179
881
39
446
52
2059
186
364-
55
1049
14-0
2794-
103
206
31
221
5
4-73
15
1054
26
551
56
117
139
589
103
325
8
916
4-07
706
10
175
34-3
10
4-01
23
lc42
1020
2231
234-
3732
2892
5447
1500
17056
779
3250
97
6235
239
10600
771
780
196
2392
lc42
4-884-
508
10582
68(
2819
159
5734-
860
9659
102
307
24-
823
24-3
365
183
2107
217
1803
88
1039
157
3394-
303
4-75
1535
1067
225
4-061
24-5
783
57
94-9
22
2056
24-
20
23
64-
55
52
20
24-
24-
50
36
38
32
~ ~- .. .. .. 99
95
89
314-
267
24-0
95
203
113
101
339
196
229
157
2968
5822
74-8
21085
74-81
18196
951:1
65819
4-548
22604
4-353
11272
5606
1084-73
1321
2700
809
12997
4-661
4-276
170
264-36
1385
4-339
7080
854'
13658
1647
2764-
112
5031
24-64
16139
4-818
4-1
327
384-
212
170
32975 1134-
4470 4-20
184-23 82
3813
58967 1719
4-84-3 1000
90516 3221
contd ••• /-
Debt ~ Total j Per ~Assess- ~ Debt per Acre ' men t ~ fupee of
~ includ- D Assess-§ ing Bent~ ment and ~ in Za.mi- ~ Bent ~ ndari 0 i Villages~
28 t 29 Rs.
52
47
192
82
89
70
29
69
41
25
21
18
45
22
Rs.
8315
29171
698'+
113364
46723
76o37
8859
289453
15317
38115
2971
88290
9565
187338
Rs.
19
9
21
15
14
17
31
16
12
15
3C
15
27
15
TABLE 2.27 ( •..• Contd.)
Q Debt on Security of ~ Debt wi tbout ~Debt on 0 ~ Immovable Properties li'rom ~ Security From O Security ~ Total Debt ~ 0. ot Move- ~-----:-~ ---~~----"""';1,.------,-~ ---~ A Coopera- A Money, ~ Coopera- { Money- 0 able pro-~ Unexp- I From A From § From I
0 Govern-0 tive A Lenders, § tive ~Lenders, 0 perties ~ lained ~Govern- O Coopera- ~Others § TOTAL
p ment ~Credit §Profe- QCredit ~Profe- ~mainly} Debt ~DDent A tive I ~ ~ 0Societie~ ssionals ~ Societies~ssionals ~ trom } ~ Q Societies~ §
0 Money- ~ x • • ~
1072 2230
4002 4668
5500
2150 7401+9
100 40050
4632 39202
1076
11956 166775
1300 5800
39622 5"4-527
2676 7875
8141 45240
1505 6330
53244 119828
40890
150032
29700
917305
178960
120938
150700
1588525
21560
1.21005
50397
412580
19216C
797702
12262 93859
6648 99974
2915 103765
42782 660590
5265 418535
38744 1037239
6538 117100
115154 2531062
2020 156495
21326 242524
425 27233
14974 792868
54985
38745 1274105
er Lenders ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2024
6120
1455
19000
21000
3500C
200G
85599
2870
76916
llOC
266oc
1000
108486
2495
19800
1390
2)685
15274
15274
1072
4002
2150
100
4632
11956
1300
39622
2676
8141
1505
53244
lis.
14492
11316
8415
116831
45317
77946
7614
281929
7820
7585 3
8300
60214
6380
158567
136773
256126
134920
1596895
618495
1193177
269800
4206186
180925
440+'+5
78730
1232048
243145
2180293
41 lis.
154832
271444
143335
1735676
665300
1275755
277414
4523756
190045
555920
89760
1315677
256030
2407378
SOU.OOB~ Report on Agricultural Indebtedness by W.R.S. Sathyanathan, {Madras, 1935), {Confidential Report), pp.38-39·
00 00
89
134 the societies. Loans wero usunlly given on 'tl1'!l basis of
the parson, hia rep;2ying capacity, and oo on. '1'hs only way in
which a poor peasant oould (J!t n loan ws through the m3di&tion of
tha landholder or their authorised agents or through gatting a 135
~rsonal · security of QnG or two aembers of the society itself.
'l.'lY.l Chairman of ~ Q::x')pcrati ve Qmnission 'o Report nlso
remarked in 1940 that 0 tha loans made under ~e Acts have men
of help to oore substantial clasa of cultivators who can produce
the nec:esnary security but they bnve loft practically untouchoo 136 Ca-l'\
the lowest strata of the agricultural ('."'(rnlunity". Hence, itLbo
safely argued that the cooperatiV3 movement primarily helped the
expansion of and consolidation of tho rich poaflMt class.
While the fruits of the cooperative. ~t wore enjoyed by the
rich p::maant cl&oo by virtue of their vary economic and t:aeial
status, the indobtedness of ~ poor and middle po.noantn became
the ord~ of the day. As is evident fran Banking ·Enquiry 137
Carmi ttoo Report, the tbbt burden in Aandhra was borne ax>I\'l by
bulk of the P'Qr peasants. Th9 different ns~s of indebtodneos
have been brought out in d:!.ltail in Table 2.27, and this (X>ints to
the trend in all Andbra districts. The maqni tude of this
indebtedness can also oo soon in relation to tho tran!lfer of the
original pattas.. An enquiry conducted into 24 villages of 138
Kistna and East and ~ Godavari disctricts in 1929-30
establiohed the fact that due to the above discussed . ccona.nic -··-··-.. ----·-·-··-·--·---··-· ---------·--·-·--·---· .. ----·' ----·- -._ ............... ___ ..... 134. J.V. AChariyar, op.cit., p.9.
135. Ibid.,p.l9,. 136. Ihid.,p.9. 137. Banking commit~, p.298. 138. FJ:Xmianic C!attnitteo, op.cit., p.69.
pressures, i.e. revenue, rent, cost of culticvation, debt,
famine, and othar burdens, majority of the poor and middle
peasants had lost tneir pattas/holdings either to the rich
peasants or to the scr.«::arS. In these villages, out of 2,288
p:tttas at the t.im3 of the last settlement in 1890s, only 591 or
about 26 P3r oant had remained in the hands of the original
pattadars or their tr-iro m thout any uaterial change. Only 202
pattas or about 9 par cent had increased in size. Th3 rest,
i,e., at least 65 p:;lr cent of the pattas, had undergone partial 139
or complete change of hands. In o~her \«ltds, nearly two thirdo
of the pattadars were unable to retain t.hei.r holdinqs intact in
that period of 30 years.
We my also examine the econanic cL~y of the poor peasants trore
closely. The Econanic Enquiry Coomittee also revealed that those
ryots whose assets ware wrth not mre than Rs. 100 each ware
140 rrost heavily indebted.
-----------------------~--~~~------·------139. Ibid.
140. Ibid., w.69-76.
91
Table 2.28
-------------------------~-----~~~···· ·- '"* • •~'•• ..........,.._ 1 • • tr- u.,..
THOSE k1iOSE PROPERTY IS ~10.RTH
--- ............. Br!low Ra.SOO
From Rs. 500 to Rs.lOOO
Rs.lOOO to as.sooo Rs.SOOO to Rs.lOOOO
Rs.lOOOO to Rs.20000
Ra. 20000 and tTOra
All the ryots for the dist-rict
District Average
PERCENl'AGE Cfi' THEIR PROPERTY INVOLVED IN IE:lT ...... _____ ttistna west Bast
Goda- Goda-vari vari
•• I a _ .................... PI
ss.n 69.31 91.64
38.22 43.~4 44.39
25.97 26.15 27.30
19.49 21.99 22.58
16.82 18.28 18 .. 78
12.16 14.63 20.78
17.07 19.48 23.82
DEBT PER HFAO
_ _ _,........_
Kiatna wast East God~- Goda- -vari vari
IQI1 I
137.17 167.61 261.23
267.08 303.83 297.25
1372.83 1507.77 1469.60
2329.75 2455.36 2461.84
\
4709.25 5381.22 7231.62
1070.21 1236.23 925~~7
Source : Report of the Ec.'!Onamic Enquiry C<mnitt.ca, VO.J,a. · I-III and other connected papers, (Madras, 1931), PP,. 72-.,/6.
\ \
\ '\
Table 2.2B cl~arly show~ thnt thoRe hAving property val~ 'at less than 500 ~re h9avily incbbted. Ryots We> ware having Rn.
\
500 to 5000 worth of property, who can be cooaidcrcd as \~e \
landa.tmers of •s acres and less", had to clear off a debt ~ Ul ,
Rr. 250 to as. 330 per head. 1be total d.ebt of the lli.g owners was
psrhaps nora than that of small C'Milers, t:ut, unlike in ... -- --~-................ ---.-.-... - , .. ~.......,....__,.,._. ____ . ·-· ____ _. ........ ~----141. Ibid., p.72- '
92 the case of small landholder. a very small part of their property
~as involved in debt. As the Economic Enquiry C~ittee ~aport
pointed out, "the burden of debt should not be estimated by the
amount borrowed alone. A man ~ith a debt of rupees 20.000 may be
more solvent than a man with a debt of ;ts.500. The proper
intensity of the burden of debt 1s the proportion \1hich 142
tndebtedness b~ars to assets". Tf the available mnteriZJl is
examined fn this ~rspoct1vo it would be cloar that it tillS the
poor lmd the middle peasants who were burdened by heavy debts.
On top of 1t, as brought out earlier, most of the poor ryots ~re
obliged to borrow money at more than 15 per cent interest rate
per annum, mostly for cultivatfon expenses. liquidation of old 143
debts, family expenses and the like. Those poor ryots, ~ose
property ~as trorth little, ~ose assets ~are noglig1ble and who
were very badly in need of money ~re often forced to pay "very 144
high a.nd even abnormal rates of interest". As brought out by
table 2.29 belots tJe can also say, that from 25 to 38 per cent of
the total indebtedness was caused by their inability tn finance
their cultivation ~ith their ~n capital and nearly 40~ were due
142. Sathyanath~n ~eport, p.42.
143. Economic Committee, p.74.
144. lb1d.. p.75. The rates of interest vary according to the kind of mor.ey lender. If he was a ryot. the rate ~as never moro than 18~; but if he was a merchant who rather interested in ftNamulu" and "Jatti"- it ~as often not less than 50~. tf he was, hot1ever, a • t..farttari •. the rate amounts upto atleast 36' compound interest.
There was also regional variations. Tn the case of upland, ryots, the rate al~ays ~as above 121 and was often 50 to 100~ comp~und interest. Many of them t1ere obliged to get advances of credit only as •Namulua or "Jatti" or both systems. This ~as not the case ~ith Oalta ryots.
145 to the need to meet famtly expenses and chronic indebtedness.·
TABLE 2.29 -·---·---...
PU~POSE OF DEBTS
-·------------·-
P3 (I
----------··--·-----------------~------~---------·----------·----K istna West Godavari East Godavari
~---·-------·--------------·-·--------------·-·-~----------------Purchase of "ew lands 25 17 20
Cultivation Expenses 25 38 37
Liquidation of old debts 4 33 19
Fam1ly expenses 37 6 14
Marriage expenses
litigation Expenses 1 3 1
Trade 7 2 8
Miscellaneous 1 1 1
TOTAL 100 100 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SOU~CE : Ibid •• p.76.
-----------------------------------------------------------------145. This trend had been confirmed by Sathyanathan ~eport, pp.40-
43 and also see Statement No.l8 pp.lB-39.
94 TABLE 2.30
GIFTSt SALES. MO~TGAGES, AND BONDS rtEGISTE~EO BY THE ~EGJST~ATION OEPA~Tf~NT 1924-1933 IN THE MAO~AS P~ESIOENCV
(Number 1n '000 and Value fn ~upees '00.000)
------------------·----------------------~-····--···-------·-----GIFTS I SALES I TNSTiWf.1ENTS I BONDS I I OF MO~TGAGES I
-------~----t------~---·-l----·---~-----l-----~------·~1----~----Num- IAggre-INum- IAggre-1 Num- IAggre- INum- IAggre- Year ber I gate lber I gate I ber Jgnte lber I gate
!Value I !Value I I Value I fValue l~s. I l~s. I l~s. I l~s.
---·--------------·---------------------------------~-·----------
18 128 575 2725 507 1994 31 240 1924
18 150 587 2810 508 2CllP 30 249 1925
20 153 590 2884 494 1971 30 246 1926
20 163 625 3170 526 2057 34 399 1927
22 168 643 3264 511 1987 32 343 1928
22 173 650 3244 486 1966 31 317 1929
21 166 581 2900 . 444 1893 33 399 1930
19 131 504 2460 390 1770 27 201 1931
23 143 623 2804 418 1769 21 101 1932
22 133 596 2561 389 1584 20 94 1933
-----------------------------------------------------------------SOU~CE : Sathyanathan ~eportt p.41.
The depress ion period witnessed contract io?l of rural crediL
Table 2.30 clearly indicates that fresh borrowings in the
depression period were less than before the depression; and that
every year till 1933 the amount borrowed had fallen.
legitimate sales of lend~ had also fallen during the depression,
m1ing to the decline in the value of lands. After 1931 sates and
gifts of land ~re again on the rise but it ~as, as observed in
the Sathyanathan ~eport, {P.41), "due, not to the desire for land
as an invest~nt but to the forcing of clients by lenders of
money to part with their lands fn part or whole payment of their
debts, ••• (and also due to) the gro~ing tendency for unsecured
debts to become converted into secured debts, at the insistence
of money-lenders, ~o are finding that their free-and-easy
methods of lending unsecured debts accumulate ad infinituns is
becoming dangerous in this depression period, ~en land is
steadily falling in value, and the return from the land in terms
of money fs also on the decline. In spite of these defin\te
trends, fresh mortgages are steadily falling year by year, which
in a clear indication that the agriculturist, along ~1th others,
fs finding it harder and harder to obtain fresh credit". Not
surprisingly ft was in this period the peasants, especially the
rich peasants, started demanding 11beral1sation and expansion of
the cooperative credit system in Andhra.
95
U6
5. ~~~JGATION. COMr4E~CIALIZATION AND ~~~KETING ---------------------------------------·---
tn order to know which class of people benefitted from a rise in
prices, we shall also have to closely examine the increase in
area under irrigation, commercialization of agriculture and the
agricultural marketing system of that period. In Andhra
districts, as else~ere 1n lnd1a, the practice of arable
husbandry varied ~ith soil, rainfall distribution and irrigation 146
facilities. Irrigation, in particular, was highly developed 1n
the great deltas of Godavari and K1stna. On the East Coast, on
almost all rivers. dams were constructed from \1h1ch channels had
been dug to carry water to the land. ~ain and drainage water was
also storted in innumerable 'tanks' or artificial lakes formed by
enclosing depressions and small valleys. Even though the Madras
Presidency was distinguished by the variety and extent of its
irrigation works, area irrigated by a very large number of tanks
which depended for their supplies on the local rain fall ~as 147
still a quite large, as is brought out 1n table 2.31 below.
---------··--------·---------------------------------·-·---------146. Statistical Atlas ••• op.cit., 1910-11, p.5.
. 147. For more detai ~ see !bid; Administration ~eport of the
Public Works Department Irrigation Branch for the year 1920-21 and 1938·39. (~adras, 1922 and 1940) especially statements showing the financial results of irrigation under productive and unproductive systems in Andhra districts.
97
TABLE 2.31
A~EA ~~~lGAT£0 UITH OtFFE~flT SOU!lCES
Figures 1n Thouscnds of Acres (Omitting '000) for Modras Presidency
YEA~S A~EA ~~~JGATEO F~OM
GOVT. PiUVATE TAr::KS l<ftLS
~T MEA ltlilTGATED tNClUOtRG OTHEtl SOUtlCES
CMIALS CANAlS
-------~---------------------------------------·-----------------1891-92 2472
1900-0l 2802
1901-02 2922
1911-12 3535
24
25
86
180
1698
1881
2165
3299
1034
1107
1205
1442
5363
5971
6585
9587
------------------~----------------------------------------------SOU~CES : Statement Exhibittng the Moral and Material
Progress snd Conditions of tndta, 1901-02 and 1911-12. pp.Z07 and 226.
Capital outlay on different works had also increased during the first decade of the 20th century. as is brought out by Table 2. 32.
TABLE 2.32
·---------STATEME~JT SHOUTffG. CAPITAL OUTLAY
OU OTFFE!lHJT \~~KS • MAOitAS PllESiotNCY
-------·--·-----~------------~-----------·---------·----··-------DETAILS P~ODUCTJVE ~~KS PitOTECTtVE WO~KS ~lP-~A WO~KS
1901-02 1911-12 1901-02 1911-12 1901-02 1911-12 ----·---~-------·--------·--··---·----·-~~--·---------·-····-··-· Capital Outlay 4595000 5568000 323000 386000 669000 639000 to tho end of year ( ) Mileag~ in 7800 11980 210 231 2548 1083 Operation Area trr1gated 2896000 3485000 85000 99000 568000 352000 (Acres) Percentl!ge of 9.55 9.93 0.72 1.76 7.0 5.15 •net itevenuo• on Cap tt a 1 Out lay
Uota : Capital outlay 1s in British Pound Sterlings. SOU~CE : Jbid.,l911-12, p.322
98
' Most important among the major ~rks were the deltaic system of
the Godavari, Kistna and Cauvery Which together irrigated 148
2.712.000 acres in 1911-12. In these deltas the condfttons ~re
as favour~ble for 1rr1gatfon as in the tracts served by the great
perennial canals of the Punjab. The developm!nt of irrigation 149
boosted multiple commercial crops as ~11 as yields per acre.
This development of irrigation ~as of course a.nst rapid under
Godavari and Kfstna systems in the Andhra districts. Between
1895 and 1924 the total irrigated area in the Kistna-Godavari 150
deltas had increased by 37 per cent. DetDils of the consequent
increase in the area under first and second crops is shown in the
table 2.33 belo~.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
148. Moral and ~ateriat Progress, 1911-12. p.J22. Perhaps the best example ~uld be Vizagapatam district to sho~ the link bet\1een the deve lcpment of irrigation \10rks and the increasing diversification of the cropping patterns. See General ~.Ois.~o. 1682/28c2 dt. 6th May 1928 (Vizagaptam Collectorate ~ecords).
149. For instance see ~eturn of the yield per acre of the Principal Crept cultivated 1n India (1892). pp.l-3; the link between the proper water facilities lind the yield on lands was sho\1n in a case study. ~eport on the Operations of the Department of Agriculture, ~adras Presidency, for the official year 1920-21 (Madras~ 1922).
150. G.O.M., Board of ~ev. G.O. ~lo.29 (Land ~ev. & Sott.) dated 18th f4ay, 1927, pp.35-38; It was· also shown by Dharam Naratn that the average under paddy had increased due to the expansion of irrigation. Oharam ttarain, Impact of price Movements on Areas under Selected Crops in India, 1900·1939 (Cambr1dgc 1965), p.l27.
IEVKLOPMI!:NT OF IRRIGATION IN DIFFKHiNT .&NIIUU. DISTRICTS
Name or D.1 Tision &: District
Madras ProTince 65'.j . 8.6 25'. 9 63.lt 8.3 28.3 6o.lt 8.1 28.6
Agency 33·8 1.1 Ito.? ltl.S 0.6 26.6 38.1 0.8 6.?
Decc!!ll 7lt.1 3.lt ?.? 66.5 2.lt ?.5' 65.} 2.,; 8.9
Cuddapah 62.1 ?.1 19.9 53.9 5.2 20.1 51.5 4.3 23.5
Kumoo1 ?8.1 2.7 lt.? 72.0 2.1 lt.6 71.4 2.(• 5.7 Bellary 85.8 1.5 2.7 80.4 1.0 2.5 78.2 1.6 2.9
.Anar.tapur 65.4- 4.0 10.2 56.0 2.lt' 10.3 56.1 2.2 11.7
Chittoor• 52.6 9-~ 4-7.6 lt0.2 7.7 4J.4 37.6 7-7 38.6
Ea~t Coa~t NQrtt 65.9 12.7 37.3 64-.j 13.1 43-3 62.8 12.5 ltc.o
Ganjam 81.0 16.5 lt3.5 75.5 14.6 50.5 78.8 11+.c lt6.8 '
Vizagapatwr: 62.7 23.9 4-7.7 59.9 4-9.5 62.1 22./ 38.5
GodaTari 7C.4 21.3 4-9.t.. 69.3 69.7 71.7(61.6; 20.5 (15 .1) 5c.J.t. (67 .c..) Kistna 62.4 8.9 45.5 63.6 55.6 60.1 8.6 44.3
Guntur 78.8 11.6 13.5 76.4- 16.2 ?3.8 10.3 15.5
Neil ore 4-9.7 5.6 36.7 4-6.4 37 ·3 4-2.3 4-.9 4-2.9
NOTE: • Chittoor was in iast Coast Central DiTisior.. figures 1n ( ) are ror West GodaTari District and others ar~ for East Godan.ri District.
SOU~li'.: Cer.~ld.:l of ki!U.§., ;b2U, l.XII, Part-1, p.l6; 1921, Vol.XIII, Part-I, p.27 (Madras); Season an d Crop Beport of the Madras Presidency, 1.93o-31..
c.o (,0
DISTRICT
TABU 2.35
ARIA IRRIGATSD IN EACH DISTRICT FROM THB VARIOUS SOU~BS OF IRRIGATION
10~
ARIA IRRIGATBD FROM % of % of ---------------------------r------------------------------ Area Area QOTern- private ~ ls wells Other Irri- Irri-ment Chan - tanks having supple- sources TOtal gated gated Inde- mentary
canals nels pendent Recog- to by Net wells AYacuts nised Area to
source SO'tlll Total of Irri- Area ga tion Irri-
(Acres) (Acres) (Acres) (Acres) (ACres) (Acres) (Acres) gated
% or Irrigated Area to Net Are1
sown :1J preTiou:
year
_____ ! __________ g ________ J _______ ~ _______ 2 _______ § ________ z _______ ~------2------l9 ______ !! __ _
GANJAM 167,889 4-2,322 4-18,979 2,956 84-,655 713,84-5 4-9 4-7
VIZAGA- ;'It, 893 68,4-55 365,018 67,385 88,4-73 162,360 718,111 28 9 26 PA'lRAM
:!AST 375,24-7 103,577 14-6 65,502 54-4-,326 56 56 GODAVARI
WEST 4-26,183 73,54-9 6,94-9 11,776 518,4-57 64- 1 83 GOMV'Ai:U
KIS'l'NA 4-71,508 4-08 66,795 2, 9Cfl 12,286 553,904- 51 1 51
GUNTUR 334-,569 21,979 13,987 238 4-,258 374-,793 18 It 18
KUlfiOOL 33,138 4-2,202 16,611 24-9 3,584- 95,535 5 17 It
BBLLARY 16,181 29 17,4-84- 9,669 82 8,856 52,219 2 19 2
AN!NTPUR 4-0,4-65 914- 98,697 35,919 23,774- 3,661 179,656 9 20 8
CUDAPPAB 50,774- 533 54-,94-9 76,15'1 15,589 27,054- 209,4-81 20 36 19
NBLLOBI 139,814- 4-20 233,501 103,395 3,827 17,698 4-94-,828 36 21 34-
CBITTOOR 22,723 10,798 162,204- 61+,566 81,103 25,526 285,817 38 23 35 MADRAS PBISI~CY 1933-3
3,627,21.8 139,134- 3,4-91,793 1,35~,289 Jl9, 035 589,787 9,202,221 22.7 14-.7 27
MADRAS PRBSIIJINCY 4-71f. 26 1923-24- 3' ' l• 178, 35{)11 3,189,125 1,732,068 4-26,618 9,000,I.t22 28
• ReTised ligures NOTBs There are no sources or irrigation on the west coast and the
Hills. Excluding the west coast and the Hills 29.0 per cent vas irrigated during the year 1933-34-.
SOU:tas (Jlxtraot from season and crop Reports), quoted 1n Confidential Rer,rt on Agricultural ~debtedness by~~~thyanatfven, (Madras, 1935 1 ('l'NA, Madras) sta ement No.5, p.7 •
101
TABLE 2.33
A~EA CHA~GEO AS ~~~fGATEO
--~-·---------------~~~--
--------·---------···------·-·--------------·------·-··-----------YEA~S GOOAVAiH SYSTEM --------------------·~· FI~ST C~OP SECO~O C~OP AC~ES AC~ES
1899-1900 683000
1923-24 770000
60407
223153
percentage of increase 13.00 269.4
KISTNA SYSTEM
-------------------~------FiilST CilOP ACilES
588000
757000
22.00
SECOnD CilOP ACilES
500
3000
500.00
SOUilCE : Madras ilesettlement ileport~ East and West Godavari Districts (1929, Madras), P.l93.
Thus the increase under first crop was 13 per cent in Godavari
and 22 per cent in Kistna. It ~as even more impressive in the
case of second crop, being 269.4 per· cent and 500 per cent
respectively. This indicates the batter exploitation of land
especially at a time when the prices were moving up~ards. The
basic drawback fn the development of irrigation ~as its
concentration only in certain districts. Tables 2.34 and 2.35
bring out the uneven development of irrigation in Andhra.
Thfs concentration of irrigation development in East Coast north
Otvision also inf1uenced the com:nercialization of the agrarian
economy. Th1s does not mean that the commercialization had not
taken place in ceded districts or in the so-called "dry zone".
For example, the shifting of acreage from food crops to
industrtal crops did develop in both the divisions. though with a
degree of difference,· due to the condit tons of product ton. tn ~ coastal Andhra, rice emerged as the domintnt commercial crop,
UBI.:& 2.)6
P&fCUUGi: O.F G.OOSS CULTIUDD ABBA Oil ABiA 0.1P .rooD CB>PS AHD IOli-,OOD CB>PS AS PIJCDTAGE OP' tBfo 1'0T.AL .ABBA
District and I .Riee or § Cho1am, CWDbu f Other FOod crops ~ Groundnut § cotton . I other crops
Natural Division tT930:~~~5=ji9iO:ri~i~g=ff~o:it9ro=lrr93~Tr~~fi9ro=irr93o=fi920:ji9ro:-i-r930:ii920:fi9iO:irr93o=•r92o=~r9ro: 1 31 1 21 , 1 3l : 21 t 11 1 31 r 21 ; 11 § 31 : 21 r n 1 31 : 21 : n o 31 ! 21 ! 11
,&geney 39-? 1+0.1 5'0.5 21.6 16.0 16.? 1?.9 11.6 15.8 0.1 0.6 0.1 0.2 O.l 0.3 21.0 31.6 16.6
neeean 3·? 1+.5 5-? 35-lf. 37.6 38.0 31.3 31.0 3lt-.5 11.9 lt-.7 0.9 13.7 1C.5 13.0 lt-.0 11.? ?.9
cuddapah 9.2 9-3 1l.lf. lt-2.9 40.1 50.6 19.7 17.6 17.1+ 18.0 9.lf. 2.6 6.1+ 9.1+ a.~t- 3.8 8.2 9.6
JCUrnoo1 2.9 3-7 lt-.2 3lf..1 38.9 39·3 )2.2 31.5 35-3 1lf..lf. 3-3 o.l+ 13.1 0.? llt-.5 3-3 21.9 6.3
Bellary 1.3 1.5 1.7 37 .If. 38.? J8.7 29.6 31..6 36.2 ?.0 1.1+ 0.2 21.8 21.0 17.8 2.9 5.8 5.1+
.Anantapore lt-.5 6.6 9.1 29.3 28.8 28.0 1+0.5 )8.8 lt-2.1 ll.8 7.5 1.3 7.8 8.0 ?.6 6.1 10.3 11.9
Chittoor 23.0 23.0 28.? lt-2,6 lt-5.0 ltl+-7 18.1 16.0 12.9 1C.5 3-6 2.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 5.7 12.3 11.1
iA~t CQa~t NQrtb 39.1 J8,lf. 37.2 .23.8 21.2 26.5 20.7 17.6 1?.6 2.lf. 0.5 0.1 2.3 2.9 3.1 11.7 19.lf. 15.5
Ganjam 62.3 58.3 56.3 13.3 1+.9 16.1 16.1 15.2 1lf..;O 1.9 1.0 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 6.3 20.5 13.2
Vizagapa tam 28.2 31.3 31.6 29.5 17.7 30.8 22.4 19.1 18.2 4.6 1.7 1.1 1.1 1.0 1lt-.2 29.1 18.4
Godavari 50.3 53.0 51.2 13.1 10.5 a.~t- 19.0 15.3 18.3 0.7 0.9 0.9 16.9 20.3 21.2 (67 .9) (9.8) (11.1+) (0.5) (0.1) (10.3)
Kistna lt-4.7 52.0 50.0 23.6 21.1. 22.2 13.8 9.4 9.5 1.? 0.1 o.o 1+.0 2.9 3.5 12.2 1lt-.5 1lt-.8
Guntur 16.2 15.5 1lt-.4 27.0 27.7 31.0 31.0 25.8 2lf..o 1+.7 0.2 o.o 5.2 7-3 7.5 15.9 23.5 23.~
Nellore 28.lf. 27.2 24.0 lt-2.5 1+2.? lt-5.2 20.6 19.2 20.1 0.5 0.1 o.o 2.6 3·0 2.6 5.lf. 7.8 7 •'
NOD: Percentages in the ( ) are ror Vest Godavari district and others are ror East Godavari district.
SOtJICE: !gnsus ~r India (191C-11)i Vol.XII, Madras, Part-ILe Beport (Madras 1912), p.16~ ~
~·, 192D-21 ), Vol. XII , p.27; Sea~Qn !Y]d C~R ~rt 52r tht &draa 0 Presidencl l2J0-3l. ~
103 while 1t ~re the industrial crops that increased substantially
in the ceded districts. Unlike the ceded districts the delta
dfstricts were blessed ~fth rich alluvial soil and developed
irrigat1onal facilities. Consequently. they were well sufted for
rice cultivation. On the other hand, due to the nature of sofl
and lack of proper irrigational facfltties the ceded districts
opted for tndvstr1a1 crops ~1ch were suited to those pnrticular 151
seasonal cond1t1ons. Thus. both the regions wer~ drawn into the
net~ork of c~odity production and inte9.reted ~1th the
internattonal colonfsl market and trade. As A.K. Bagchi
obs~rves: "on~ difference between the relatively fertile and
et~sily accessible regions and the 'dr.v• regions of interior tJas
that it was ~asier to centralise the surplus in an exportable
form in tho former ereas; hence t~ay provided a lusher field of 152
operation for EuropeDn traders and cap1talfsts-. Perhaps. this
difference will not appear so important if one sees tt within the
overall frame~ork of colonial exploitation.
We wflJ discus$ the extent of the commercialization of the
agrarian economy fn the light of the cropping pattern fn the~e
two dfvis ions. Table 2. 36 shm•ts the extent of area under food
and non~food crops fn the year 1910-11 and 1920·21.
---------·---------------------------------------------------·---151. See note No.l51 and G.O. No.ll71. tlevenue~ dated 26th 1lov.
1906; Board of ~evenue (~ev. ~ett. Survey. tand ~ev. & Agriculture), Ho.46, dated 6th f!'eb. 1909; A. Se~tyanarayana. Ph.D. Thesis, Op&cit •• Chapter Jt; A.V. ~aman ~ao, Economic Development ofo. Andhra Pradeo;h 1766-1857 (Bombay 1958), p.283; v.v. Sa.ytta. Op.cH •• pp.3-5.
152. Amiya Kumar Bagcni. "~ended: Political £conomy of British South tnd1~· (~ev1e~ article of Baker and Washbrook books) in Social Scientist. Vol. 7 No.l/2 August ... 'September 1976. p.99.
104
From the above table, it is clear that the area cultivated under
industrial crops had increased by 24.7 per cent ~ith1n th~se 10
years. Tho phenomenal growth of cotton and groundnut, which
constituted the bulk of exported industrial crops. ~as striking
in the Deccan districts. Cotton productton increased by 18.6 per 153
cent Whereas groundnut increased by nearly 306 per cent. On the
other hand. the increase 1n indigo _and c~stor ~as concentrated in
the Esst Coast north. the prcentages of increase being 109.8 end
10.8 per cent respectively. Of all the industrial crops in the
coastal districts it ~as tobacco ~ich increased steadily over a
period of time. fn 1901-02 the area under tobacco ~as 46,760
acres. This increased to 91,989 acres by 1910·11 and 146.562 154
ltres by 1931-32. ~umerically, this increase may look reeagre but
tt "as qutte sizeable if seen in the light of the nature of sotl
in these t~ divisions. As a ~ole, 1t can be safely suggested
that ~hile the development of pcddy and some of the industrial
crops t1as mostly concentrated in F.nt Coast fltorth districts. the
ceded districts emerged as dom1nent producers of important
1ndu5tr1al crops 11ke cotton and groundnut. Thus both divis1ons
were affected by the commercialization of agriculture and
153. Percentage of area under Cotton and Oil Seeds to total area cropped
------------------------------------------------------------Year
1900-03 1912-14 1919-20 1931-32
Cuddapah
12.60 20.46 22.74 22.42
Kurnool
16.48 22.29 21.72 29.89
Bcllary
20 .. 04 25.25 25.68 36.60
Anantapur
16.41 22.75 19.51 26.25 -----· ... ·-·--·- ... --... ·-·-·---- .. --.. ·--··-·····--------~--------- ... ---
Source : Season & Crop ~eports of the Madras Presidency for the specified ye.ors.
154. Season & Crop aeports. 1901-02. 1910·11 and 1931-32.
105
consequent emergence of new agrarian clas~es under British rule.
especially in 1910's and 1920's.
H~ever, in spite of impressive development in the ceded
districts. the area under industrial crops in the Andhra
districts as a ~ole (11 districts) ~as nevertheless small. Only
about 13 per cent of the crops gro~n ~re industrial crops during 155
1910-11; this figure progress to only a little over 14 per cent 156
in 1920-21. These crops ~re in the main composed of cotton nnd 157
oil seeds in equal parts; and items 1ike sugar and dyes increased 158
from less 159
1920-21.
than one per cent in 1910-11, to only one per cent in
The development of these co~rcfal crops 1n al~~st all regions
in the Madras Presidency ~as mostly influenced by tho national
.and international tradtng situation. For instance. in
V1zagapatam, the •Jute of the district locally kno~ as
'erragogu• has risen into much prominence in recent years ~1ng
to the increase in the price of that fibre due to demand from
foreign countries. Tt 1s ch1efly gro~n in red ~o11 in the centre 160
of the District round Bobbili~ Salur, Gajapatinagaram etc". To
quote another example, the area under indigo had been steadily ()
declining till there ~re only s~e 80,000 acres under 1t in 1910·
155. Statistical Atlas ••• Op.ctt •• 1910~11, p.6.
156. Ibid •• 1920-21., p.6.
157. Tbtd., 1910~11., p.6 and 1920·21, p.6.
158. Ibid., 1910-11~ p.6.
159. Ibid., 1920·21., p.6.
·160. Gen. ~. 01s No.6273/21, 83 dt. 14th August, 1922 (Vizagaoatam District Collectorate (hereafter es VC~)
~ecords), p.l7.
106
11 due to 18ck of international demand. However, it increased to
over 300.000 acres 1n 1917-18 ~ing to the scerc1ty of synthetic
dyes dur1ng the First World Mar but again fell to 109.298 acres 161
in 1920-21. As an example \1e have given here the indtgo crop
stat1st1cs to show this ~ide fluctuations. (Table 2.37)
Table 2 .. 37 ---··----~
Area under Indigo in the ~adras Presidency bett1een 1890-91 and 1924-25.
----------------------------------------·--Year Area in Yecr Area in Year Area in P.cres
Acres Acres --···--···----·-Govt. Zamindar1
---~-------·------··------------~---~---~--··---------·---··-----1890-91 255511 1907-08 141876 1900-01 252054 7408 11391 .. 92 212255 1908 ... 09 79898 1901-02 239387 7667 1892-93 301201 1909-10 94750 1902-03 212238 8649 1893-94 442439 1910·11 82562 1903-04 241917 19631 1894-95 527081 1911-12 90324 1904-05 126098 6258 1895-96 486938 1912-13 66552 1905-06 113858 1401 1896-97 454748 1913-14 55246 1906-07 180723 2762 1897-98 323931 1914-15 71683 1898-99 210610 1915-16 221974 1899-1900 276210 1916-17 459066 1900-01 254462 1917-18 324385 1901·02 247054 1918-19 144357 1902-03 220887 1919-20 101300 1903-04 261548 1920-21 112246 1904-05 132356 1921-22 197282 1905-06 115259 1922-23 141316 1906-07 183485 1923-24 91090
1924·25 57600
Note : (1) Figures of area up to 1899 .. 1900 relate only to Government villages.
(2) Figures of area from 1900-01 to 1906·07 relate also to z4mindar1s for ~1ch returns ~re available.
(3) The area entered from 1907-08 relate to the Whole Presidency. both Government and non-Government.
Source : GOR., Oevelopment Department. G.O.Mo.646 (Mis) dt.Ist May 1925. pp.lO·ll.
----------------------------------~·------------------~----------161. Statistical Atlas.... 1910-11., p •. 6; 1920-21, p.6; To Quote
another example it was observed that in Vtzagapatam dtstrfct,•Ground.nut which wa~ originally confined mDinly to
107
tn the case of non-industrial co~rctal crops 11ke paddy there
was the influence not only of fntern~ttonal but also of national
situation or scarcities. Not surprisingly dur1ng the Depression,
there ~as clear tendency on the part of the rfch pea,antry to
shift froo food-crops especially rice. tmtards industrial crops.
for they s~w some scope to survive in the ~rkct in that spectfic
period through these crops.
The increase in co~dity production po~rfully influenced the
~grarian classe~ in Andhra. As Oharam narotn has observed, the
fate of the peasantry depended upon the fluctuations of the 162
~rket. The increasing cultivation of commercial crops like
--------------------··-------------------------------------------Continued: 161. Chtprupallt. Palkondn (rich rice gro~1ng area) and t~o or
throe other taluks, is no~ core or le$S cultivated all ov~r the district. Vary popular with the ryot es it has been paying hto ~11u. General ~. Dis. «o.6273/2183 datad 14th August. 1922, p.l7 (VCK).
162. Ohara:n tJarain, Op.c1t. For data11ed d1scunton on the •negative• 1apact of the comm~rcialisation of agriculture and the integration of fndto into tho Hol"ld ~-iarket under colonhltsm; how the production conditions tn Indian agr1cu1t.uro t'.:Gre determined by the t~orial prc:-fcr-ences and the consequent negative effect on the peasant economy see Bipan Chandra, u~einterpretatton of ntnoteP.nth Century tndicm Economic Hfsto•·y" fn his book tlat1.ona1ism and Colonalhm in f1odarn India (Orient longcan. paperback, 1981). pp.38-8l; u. Patnaik, •capitalist Development in Agriculture•; •oevelop~nt of capitalism fn Agriculture•; •en the modo of production in India Agriculture; A ~eply*, in A. ~udra et.al •• Studies in the Ocvelopoont of Cepit~11srn in India (lahore 1978); also see ~class dtfferenciotion within the peasantry11 in Ibid; P.C. Chattopadhyay, uMode of Production in Jnd1an Agriculture: An Anti~ritik", in Jb1d; S.K. Sen, Agrarian ~elations in lndia 1793-1947 (~~ Delhi 1979); Sm1r Am1n., Acumulation on a World Scale; A critique of the theory of underdevelopoent (U~ York, 1974) Vols, 2; Hsnz4 Alavi, "lndta and the Colonia 1 c:toda of Product ion", 1n The Economic end Politic~l \1cettly, Spcci&l number, August~ 1975, pp.l235 ff; 0 Tndia : Tranr.ttion from Feudalism to Colonial Capital hr.J"• in Journnl of Conte:nporary Ash, Vol. 10 no.4, 1980; D.~. Gadgil, 0 The Industrial Evolution of Tnd1a 1n ~eccnt Times, 1860·1939*(B~bay,l971).
108
cotton forced them to borrow money from the moneylenders due to
the increased costs of cultivation and specific factors like the • failure of the initial boom. immediately after the First World
163 War. On the other hand~ the price of rice rose steadily
throughout 1917 and 1918 due to national famines and other
international conditions whfch imposed many constraints on the
internal and external trade. The trade ~as banned in the case of
foodgra1ns like paddy, ~ich helped the local and inter
provincial marchants rather than the actual producers. The
substantial landholders, ~o produced paddy. and middlemen
secured enormous profits. The poor peasants and the agricultural
labourers were pressed from t~o sides: the wages were slow to 164
respond to the rise in prices of foodgra1ns, and there was
internal scarcity and famines. Thus there was considerable
pressure of price rise on the cooly classes, persons ~ith fixed 165
incomes and the petty laodholders. Th1t price trend, on the
other hand, strengthened the rich peasants who mostly took up
commercial cropping lika the production of paddy (along with
other industrial crops) for the market and were able to control
the marketing system through storage facilities. etc. The
position of merchant-moneylenders was also strengthened since
-·------------------·---·--·-----·------·------~---·----~--------
163. S. Ambirajan, Classical political Economy and British Policy in India. p.l3l.
164. See f4. Atch1 ~eddy, "Official Oata on Agricultural Wages in the Madras Presidency from 1873" in The Indian Economic and Social History ~eview. Vol.XV, No.4t 1978. pp.451-466; "Wa.ges Data from the Private Agricultural Accounts, Nellore District, l893-l974't, in Ibid, Vol. XVt, No.3, 1979, pp.301-321.
165. Statistical Atlas •••• Op.cit., 1920-21, p.l3.
109
they tightened their grip on the small peasants and tenants.
Thus the commercialization of agriculture helped in expansion and
consolidation of the rich peasants/merchant moneylending classes.
And this trend was further strengthened by the peculiar marketing
and trading conditions.
Even though trading in agricultural commodities were well
advanced in Andhra in the 20th century. the method by which
agr-icultural produce passed from the producer to the ultimate
consumer was far from satisfactory. Under British rule the
development of communications. which linked remote areas with the
urban trading centres, brought changes in the marketing system
which was hitherto mostly confined to a limited geographical
location.
Communications between nearly all parts of the presidency had
become easy by 1900 and there was no district which was not
connected with the rest of the presidency by raHway. By 1900
the last major new networks of •railed roads" were put into
execution in Andhra linking the hinterlands with the district and ,
provincial centres and thereby with the national and 166
international market. By the turn of the present century, in
Anantapur. six taluks were traversed by three different lines of
railway, i.e., (1) Madras ~ail~ay Company- one line connecting c
Tadpatri and another Gooty; (2) Southern Mahratta ~ailway .. one
1 ine through Gooty, Anantapur and Dharmavaram, and the second one
through Penukonda and Hindupur and (3) South Indian ~ailway
connecting Oharmavaram. By 1915, the rest of the taluks -·-~----------------·---------------·-----~----~-~~-·--------·--~--166. G.O.M., Public works (~ailways), G.O.No.l058, dt. 22nd
Sept.l899 and G.O.No.987, ~y •• dated 13th Julyi 1900; ~.Dis. No.235 dt. 21.9.1900, General, (V.C.~.) pp.l-4 •
110
t-tadakastr~ and t(alyendrup - had also been linked with the main
ra11~ay net~ork and thereby the rich cotton-growing villages of
Anantapur d1str1ct (also those bordering Bellary district) and
the famous diamond mining areas like Vijrakarur and ~amllpuram
were effectively linked ~tth the intra and 1nter provincial 167
markets. ~irnilarly by 1900-'10, other Deccan districts like
Bellary. Cuddapah and Kurnool wre also integrated with the
provincial railway network for the ~mooth functioning of trade
w1th the Hyderabad State and ~1adras and Bombay. A large cotton
and grain trade was kept up between these districts and ~ 168 ~-.
Hyderabad state. Among the coastal distr1cts,~tore had . _.,.
already been linked with the national and ~;national market,
for by 1900 the richest port ion of the~'/district (the eastern
zone) t~as tapped by the East Coast ~atlway. Apart from the
ra11~ay net~ork, Nellore district was integrated into the
colonial market through four man roads. .They ~re: (1) Dornal
road leading to Cuddapah district; (2) Kavali to Oornal pass
leading to Cuddapah district; (3) Oollapalem to Vemulapad leading
to Cumbam ond (4) Kottapatam to Cumbam. fnterestingly, though
Kottapotam had been a thriving sea-port till the mid 19th
167. Letter O.Ots. No.76, dt.17 Jan. 1900 from B. Mbeleod, Collector of Anantapur and letter No.4, dt. 22nd Jan. 1900 from Ibid., in~. Dts. ~o.235 dt. 21 August. 1900, General, (VC~) pp.l-2; GOM., G.O. Nos. 11 and 267. ~ev. dt. 9th Jan. and 22 March 1900; G.O. No.158 (Specfal) ~ev. dt. 9th August, 1918.
168. letter ~.D1s. "~o.840,. dt. 9 Oec. 1899 from Collector and President dt. Bd. Bellary; letter 0. Ois No.89l, dt. 20 Nov. 1899 from A. Shunmugasundram Pillai, Oy. Collector, Adoni Division; letter D. Dis. No.3228, dt. 27 Nov. 1899 from the Tehsildar of Adoni; letter No.93/0.B., dt. 21 Dec. 1899 from H.O.O. Harding. Collector of Cuddapah; letter tto.Sl, dt. 30 Oec. 1899 from f.1uhammad .laza Khan, Co 11 ector & Pres • dt • Bd.. Kurnool 1n ~. Dis. No.235, dt.21.8.1900, Gen. (VC~). pp. 3-14 and 25-28.
111
century, by 1890 the sea-borne traffic had become almost nil and
the canal traffic ~ich used to pass from the Kistna di~tr1ct to
Ongole and into the interior of the presidency hod completely 169
c~ased ~ince the opening of the Be~ada - Madras state ra11~ay.
By 1900 the coestal reqion had even better communication net~ork
both internally and eKternally than the Deccan districts. Jn the
case of Godavari district, it ~as recorded that •the district
consists of deltaic and upland tracts - the East Coast ~a1lway
practict~lly dividing the tt~o portions. The Godavari delta is
about 2~000 sq. miles, t1h1ch is traversed by 500 miles of
navigable canals~ in other ~rds, there is one Q11e of canal for
every 4 sq. miles. There are 255 miles of matalled road in the 170-
delta or 1 mfle of road for every 8 sq. miles". Since the .
railway rates were considerably higher the canals, ~mich ran
parallel to the rail~ay line from Ge~ada to Cocsnada, frequently
carried large quantities of delta produce and enormous passanger
traffic. Therefore, it was proposed to take up the construction
of more vtllage roads to connect tho villages \'11th the canals.
In the first two decades of the 20th century that ma"y new
•railed roads• t~ere constructed 1n the upland taluks, connecting
it w1th the rest of the presidency. The main line completed in
th1s period ~as the "L1ght ~ailway" from Samalkota to
Yellesvaram via Peddapuram and Jaggampeta. which was taken across
------------~~---------------------------------------------------169. Letter Uo.24/0.e.. dated 9th Jan. 1900 from C.M. ~ullaly,
Collector and Pres. dt. 8d., Nellore. 1n Ibid •• pp.29-40~ GOM., public ~rks, G.O. No.987 ~ailway. dt. 13 Jan. 1900.
170. Memorandum by the f~bers of the Sub - Committee of the dt. Sd., Godavari. in~. iUs. 235, dt .• 21 Aug. 1900,. Gen. (VC~), enclosure No.3, p.l8.
112
171 country connecting the sugar company's factory at Smnarlkota.
By 1900 the Modras-Calcutta main broad-guage line ltnked 'the
K1stna district ~ith the other East Coast districts. ~etre-gauge
lines had already connected the Be~ada main junction ~ith ·the
interior Kistna centres. There ~re sfx important feeder lines;
(1) Aasulipatam - Gudfvada - Be~ada of 50 miles metre gauge; (2)
Narasoraopet ... Naltari kall u - P1dugurn1G - Dachepalle .. Gurojala
of 42 1/2 miles; (3) Guntur • narakoduru - Chebrolu - Ponnur of
19 mtles; (4) Narakoduru - Tenali - Jampan1 - Kolluru of 22 1/2
miles; (5) Gurajala • ~entachintala .. Macherla of 15 mtles and
(6) Jampen1 - Bhatt1pro1u - ~epalli of 15 miles. These rail~ay
lines tapped the •rich rtce • producing country (villages)• and 172
•the cotton and dry grain growing tracts" of interior Kistna.
uThe remainder of the delta (was) already•. it ~~s observed tn
1899, "so ~ell supplied w1th navigable canals that no railed road 173
probably could compete ~ith them".
171. Letter ~.01s.No.ll2/0.B. dt. Cocanada, dt. 30 Dec. 1899 from A.E. Castlestuart, Collector and pres. dt. Bd., Godavari; letter dt. 30th Nov. 1899 from the Chairman., Chamber of Commerce, Cocanada, to the collector of Cocanada., enclosure No.1; and enclosure No.3; letter from J. tnnes, Chairman of Chamber of Commerce, Cocanada dt. S Aug. 1895, to the collector, enclosure No.4 in Ibid.. pp.l6-20: .lessttlement ~eport of t<ist,a, West and East Godavarf Districts. in Board of ~ev. (land .lev. & Sett.) No.29, dt.18th May. 1927. pp .. 30· 31.
172. letter Oh No.l868/l, dt. 18 Dec. 1899, from ~. Morris pres. dt. Bd._ Kistna~ letter dt. 10 Dec. l899 from the local fund dt.. Engineer, Kistna. enclosure No.1; letter Dis. No.,l932, Gen. dt.l5 Oec. 1899 from tt. Morris 1n .t. Ois. ~o.235, dt. 21.8 .. 1900., pp.20-25.
173. Letter Ois No.1932. Gen. dt. 15 Oec. 1899 in Ibid., p.24; also see 8oard of ~ev. (Land ~ev. & Sett.) No.29, dated 18th May, 1927; A. Vtpan, Scheme of .load Development for the Madras Presidency (Madras, 1935).
113 As early as 1893 another line was opened integrating the Cocanada
and Vizagapatam with the main East-Coast line. Apart from the
above route, the Bengal-Nagpur railway line had linked Ganjam and
Vizagapatam districts with 6engal and Orissa. Tn Vizaqapatam the
chief Vade route was however the road from Bhimil i pat am through
Vizhnagaram and c;alur to ,Jeypore. Many interior centres \"Jere
linked \'lith the Vizianagaram • ?.aipur railway line which passed
through Madgole to Anakapalli and Parvatipur via Palkonda to
Chicacole ~oad railway station. This communications tapped. the
hill trade and the central provinces trade at Parvatipur and
heavy trade traffic of Anakapall i and Palkonda. and the prooucts 174
traffic from the Government forests in ·Ganjam and Vizagapatam.
Thus~ by the turn of the pr·esent century communications through
railways, canal navigation and roads had provided an efficient.
and cheap means of transportation in most of Andhra. f•Jo doubt. by
Meto.-lled.-1910-20, the im;:trovisP.d raihvay feeder nehmrt<s and the mett1ed
roads for motor transport practically eclipsed the canal 175
navigation, but the emergence of other means of com:nunication
widended the scope for transport of commodities from diffen~nt
local market zones to the national and international trandin~l
ports as well as of the European goods into the interior Andhra
villages. tn other ~~rds, with the expansion of communications
174. Letter it. Ois. t.:o. 326, dt. 21 Dec. 1899 from W.O. Horne~ Collector & Pres. c!t. Bd •• Vizag; letter dt. 2 Dec. 1899 from H. 0. Taylor~ pres. dt. Bd. ~ Ganjam and letter Dis. No. 1611 0/Engq .dt. 2 nee. 1899 from Ibid •• in f'L Ois. No. 235, dt. 21-8-1900. Gen. (VC~) pp.41-42 and 14-16; for more information also see Vizagapatam District Gazetteer (Madras, 1907); O.F. Carmich'ael ~ Manual of the Vizagapatam District ( !4adr as , 1868) •
175. A. Vipan, Op.cit., pp.7-B and 94-96; Boa.rd of ~ev. (tal'l ~ev. & Sett.) No. 28, dt. 18th r.~ay, 1927; GOt-1.. G.O. No. 548. Development Dept. dt. 4th ftpril. 1932; W. Francis, Vizagapatam District Gazetteer (Madras~ 1907).
11.4
there eoarged coherent trading zones both localised and
centralised, which' integrated the Andhra agrarian economy w1th
the national and the colonial \10rld market and thereby influenced
the production conditions 1n agriculture. The interior tJa~
opened up to the coast and through the coast to the international
market structure. Tt has been rightly observed in a recent study
that during the 20th century the Andhra region fthad different
levels of market structures and the expanding transport and
communication ssystem uniformly integrated the regional market.
The integration not only functioned as the med1um of quick
commodity circulation at the local and regional level but also
contributed a necessary amount in the regions ~iden1ng
integration with the external market. Consequently9 the
developm2nt of the regional market increasingly dre~ the
commodities from the tnterior to the nat tonal end_ international 176
export.
This tremendous improvement 1n com:nun1cat1ons and the internal
and external trade did not. ho~ever, benefit the ordinary
peasants, for it only enabled the rich peasants, marchants and
traders to control the regional as well as the nattonal ~rkets.
They tJere able to import or export foodgrains from one district
to another or from one provice to another at times of scarcity, 177
and thereby rnakc huge profits. They not only monopolised the
trade at the local, provincial and the national level but also
-----------------------------------------------------------------176. A. Satyanarayana, Ph. D. Thesis. Op. cit., p.
177. See !lev1ew ~:~nd ~eturns of See-Borne Trade and Navigation of the Madras Presidency, for years 1899-1900, 1903-04 and 1915 to 1920i GOM. • G.O. No.ll25., !lev. dt. 5 Nov. 1900; G.O. No.2385, ~ev. dt. 22 June 1918; G.O. No.560 Development Dept. dt. 26 April, 1934; G.O. No .. 1982, ~ev. dt. 24th Sept. 1900; G.O. no.882, ~ev. dt. 11 Sept. 1906; G.O. ~os. 11 and 267 ~nv. dated 9 Jan. and 22 March, 1900; G.O. No. 158 (~ev •. Sep.) dt. 9 August, 1918.
1t5
controlled the marketing condit 1ons and the price levels to their
advantage. tn fact.. the very process of the marketing of the
produce ~as disadvantageous to the poor and middle peasants.
The cult 1vator suffered from many handicaps, 11ke 111i teracy and
ignorance of the price '1tuat1on especially of the co~ercial 178
crops. high cost of transport and indebtedness. The most
important constraint ~as his indebtedness, more often to his
village merchant or rich ryot-credftor. He ~as, therefore, not
free to market his produce to the best advantage. The average
delta ryot did not store his produce but sold soon after the
harvest. usually entering into a for~ard contract vith the sowcar 179
~o patd him a miserably low price. The poorer and middle
sections of the peasantry, pressed by revenue demands, rent and
old debts parted with their produce as quickly as possble which
\1as not to their advantage. These objective economic condit1ons
hardly allo~ed them to store and market their produce at a
favourable t1me and price.
.. The keynote of the system of marketing agricultural produce in
the Andhra distrfcts ttas the predom·1nant part played by the host
of middlemen. The number of tntermediaries var1ed from three to
four, from the travelling agent of the wholesale merchant and the
-----------·-----------------------------------------------------110 • .loyal Commhs·lon on Agriculture, p.267.
179. Banking Committee., Vol .. Jl, p.S9l; It was observed 1n 1899 that •the agriculturist. as a rule, does not sell his crops at the current market prices; he probably contracts ~ith some sottcar 1n advance at a fixed price and, it ·is the sot~car, a Banta. and not the actual agriculturist 1.1tto beneftt from the permanent r1se in the market value of producaa. Letter dt. Znd Oec. 1899 from the H.O. Taylor. pres. dt. 8d., Ganjam in ~. O,s. ~o.235, dt. 21.8.1900. Gen. (VC~). p.16 ..
1 t 6· 180
~ole sale marchant or the local European firm. These host of
middlemen played a larger part in the case of commercial crops .
such as groundnut, cotton and 'Jaggery• tha~ in the case of 181
foodcrops. Their part varied, too, according to the economic
conditions of the cult tva tor. The rich r.vot \1ho had
comparatively large stocks to dispose of, took his produce to the
taluk or district centres and sold it through a •commission 182
agent• locally kno\1n cs the 'dalal merchant•. If the produce
remained unsold. it ~as stored in the dalal's godo\1ns at the
cultivator's expense. But many of the rich agriculturists in
most of the villages ~ned godowns either in the village or in
the to\1n and stored their produce ~ithout dalal's help. This
produce of the rich peasants generally const 1tuted the (1)
produce of their lands cultivated by them; (2) produce agreed to
be given to them by the peasants in discharge of money lent by
them; (3) produce given to them by the subtenants on their lands;
(4) produce sold by needy ryots who \'Jithout sell tng it could not
pay up the land revenue and other demands; (5) produce ~ich they
purchased as part of their trading business in expectation of 183
profit based on the trend of rising prices. They ultimately
sold this produce to the merchant in the to~n ~en the market \185
favourable to them. This class of ~ts were thus able to
largely avoid the middleman/rural merchant's exploitation and -----------------------------------------------------------------180. ~oyal Commission on Agr1culture. p. 298; Sathyanathan
~eport., pp. 18-20.
181. ~oyal Commission on Agriculture, p.268.
182. Ibid; GO~ •• G.O. No.lllO, ~ev. dt. 15th April, 1914; G.O. No.287. !lev. dt. 11 f•1arch 1904.
183. Banking Committee, Vol. 11 p. 593; also Vol.IV, p.74.
11.7
rerefore, able to make large profits 1n the \10ke of a 184
rrise •
.Jr~ng, therefore. rfch ryots the rest we~~ hardly benefitted
~~this morket1ng syr.tem. The middle ryot gnnerally disposed
~f his produce through the same agency of the dalal in the toun,
~ut~ unlike the r~ch ryot, he t~as not free to choose his
~ommis~1on ngent/dalalt for he had i{ rnost likely already taken
advances from a particular dala1 on the cond1t ton that he should 165
hand over his produce to that dahl to sell in tile market. ·~ot
only. therefore, did he sell at an unfavourable rate but also
pa1d a heavy interest • upto 30 per cent or oven n~re - on h1s 186
advances. As his relatton ~ith the dalal were those of debtor
end creditor rather thon of producer and selling agent, he ~as
hardly benefitted from th1s system of marketing even at the tfme
of ~ price rise. The case of the poorer ryots Has even more
heart-breaking. In almost all cases the major portion of produce
passed into the hands of the village rich peasant
creditors'/moncy lenders merchants.
--------M·----··------------------------·------------------------184. Tbid; · Studi~s in Gilbert ~later. op.c1t; P.J. Thomas and
K.C. ilamakrishnan, Op.ctt.t .p.370. It t1as remarked by David ~ashbrook that "the large landholder ~ith. money for processing sod carting and with the market po~er lent him by the tons of cotton Md groundnut tmich he could bring to or ~ithho1d frOG the to~n auction block. was able to naxtmise his profits". 0. Washbrook "Economic Development and Social Stratification 1n ~ur~l ~adras; •The Dry ~egion', 1878-1929" in c. Oe~ey A.G. Hopkins (eds), The tmper1a1 tmpact Studies in the Economic History of Africa and tndh (London, 1978) p.74.
185. ~oyal C~1ss1on on Agriculture~ p.268.
186. Ibid.
11.8'
~~hatavar rzmaincd waa cold to patty traders, t'lho touroo tha
villagos and tho prioo at which tho produce ~ hands ~
m:>stly governed not RO much by the norket ratez as by the ncads 187
of the ryot.s. In tl:¥.l case of tho ~er in thoi.r villaqo, mostly
a norehant, he did not and c:oUld not pay the price at oneo to the
producer. After selling tOO produce to the nearest ta.m merchant
or mill a11ner t:ho used to do rice buninoss, nt n small norgin of
profit for himoolf, tho marcbant then paid out oZ tha sale 188
pr~da to t.00 ~riculturiot. In this systeiil, the villa9e
chalor often used to purchase not only at a la.!.-er rate - if there
\as no ~titian - wt also paid thG amount very late. SO the
poor and middle ryots who ~re usually pressed for immediate
~. often preferred to 2211 their produce for inmadiate ca.oh
payment cwn nt lo\"ler rates, t:hich \r:Ore usunlly offered by StXn9
village ricb ryot or oorchant or by outside {mty traders tJho
toured the villages.
It was thus t."w cultivator • s chronic shortago of mooy that
allO'tlred the. intertrl!!diary to achieve a praninant position in the
marJteting syat.em, exploiting the ryot. But this intermediary
syStem had oot affc::cted th3 cultivators who were tolerably well
off. For instance, in th~ ~ of Kistna and Godavnri <blt.as, in
the caso of a ryot bavin;r 15 acres and nore, if once tha ryot had
paid off his 'kist' he used to st.ore his produce waiting for a 189
good pl:ice. He \\'OUld Jreep a very steady eye on the prevailing ...... .., ....... -·- ~,..... . ......... ·--··-··· ............... ___ _ 187. Ibid. 1 Sathyanathan Report, pp. 18-20.
198. Beniting ~itteo, Vol.Il, p. 593.
189. RO"Jal camdssion an Agriculture, p. 268.
11.9
· prico for rio::l io9ortcd fran Burna and ~s in no haste to co:::3 to
totll'lf.l with tlw ogent or blycr, if the term:J t..~ro not l:l::mof icial 190
to him.
In the caoo of cx:m::nercilll crapo for export, such as groundnut
cotton, to~, turmaric, ate. thoro tan onco ngain a long chain
of int.crircdiarieo ~~en the producer cmd the CJCpOrter. ~
cotton prccoing mills in Guntur end tho tobacco refining mills in
Chirnla (Guntur district), t.'hich ~rc under the J:TOft!J9~t of
Eu:rop:;en ~italisto, tJho had a wry tJi~d orgnniontion,
advMcad ~ through int.erm:ilinrioo at all timgs to ryot • a in 191
diat.ant villages end 'captured' their produce at ~st prices.
In feet, the 'fon:ard ccntracte' had intruded \Cry l.argoly into
th3 mark.oting syste:n of <»tton. ~rally tho produ09ro did not
havo direct contract with tho largo OlepOrtinq firnn. Th'.:!oo
exporting firms"' entered into 'advance contracts• with local
r::erctmnts for th1! t3Uli.?ly of n <bfinite quantity of cotton at a
zpeculetiva price. This introduction of elenrmt of speculation
affected tOO o:rdioory culti w.toro, even though thio hudly
affected tho aub:Jtantial lnnd holdero in the long run, ainca the
low price tm get in !f~P.&rs of heavy out-turn \OS ~ootcd by
tOO higM.r prlee '\>hlich the mrchnnt t!Ould be forced to r;ay in tha
ymrn ':~ t.~ -ere, ~·::1n dlcrt ~d the oontrnct cliff icult to 192
fulfill • ..,_.............,~ ... -~ ... ,.----.... --............................. ,----·-------UI-01111-J ill_, ___ -----------
190. Ibid., p.269.
191. Banking cannit.~, Vol. II., p.593.
192. Roytll Co:mnission on l~icultum, p.269.
120
Ewn in ~ case of groundnut crop, the exporting firms had no 193
direct dealings mth the producer and consequently there arose a
host of mi.ddJ.emgn, ~ shared uost of the profit on ryot's
produce. In the case of suqarcane ~a t-3S n special system in
vogue. '1'h:! suqarcane gr~ gsnerally narketed his produce as
• jaggery • • The firms directly advanced both • satts • and D1:)ney to
the cultivators on the condition that the 'Jaggery' or c:ane 194
txrul.d be sold only to thzm. This system is operating even at
present in many of the costal Andhra districts.
Thus, even though the carmercialisation of agriculture brought
prosperity to the cultivators at a time of sharp. rise in prices,
th9 prosperity was mna:mtrated only in the hands of the
substantial landhold.ai-s and the host of int:ernediaries. OU2 to
tm very cxmditions of the marketing system, the rich peasant
benefitted rrost by bringing his produce directly to the market.
In fact, nest of the patty dealers, tiho brought a large quantity
of produce on a l1UDlber of carts to the principal markets, tere
baing financed either by the dalals of the town based merchants
or by the biq landholders/rich tenants of the village. The snsll
peasants an the othu hand, could not bring their pl"Oduo3
themselves directly to the narket, for the simple reason that as
soon as the crop was harvested they had to sell their produce to
tha merchant - noney lender or the rich ryot - creditor, \'A\0 had --.......... .. __.....,_...._..._......, _______________ ..,_, ___ , ---193. Ibid., p. 268.
194. Ibid., p. 269; also ses T. Adinarayana ~ttiar • s Report on "Marketing of Agricultural Produce in south India" quoted in sathyanathan Report, p.20.
121
advanced the required. capit!ll for th3ir culti vntion. They often
had to part quickly with their produc:':la due to the rev..mue, rent,
and other burdms. ~cover, generally they sold their produce
at n t~ of lo-.., priceo, i.e. at the tim. of harvest, and did
not get the full value of t.heir produce. It was only the big
ryots/rich tenant t.'ho oould afford to \1ait, stock the produce
either in their own or rented qodowns and eell it t!here and \'!hen
the prices W3r~ high. The ccrnmcrcialisotion and marketing
conditions helped, on tM one hand, the morgcnce and
consolidation of a rich pansant class, on tho other, the
rrorchant clasa, due to the trade bocm, not only consolidated but
also expanded their base under the colonial rule. ~se t\~"0
classes played a significant rolo in the political field also,
t:hich ~ will bs discuasing later.
122 6. O!AN51!:5 IN AGRARIAN SOCIAL SrRUCl'ORE
IN THE ~UAL CDNTEXT.
So far we have discussad the factoro,. which m;ought changes in
the agrarian claoo relationn \J11d& colonialism in Andhra. t~
have analysed how the <bvclopx:mt of oormn:xlity production,
mrketing system, price rice, high rentals, unequal revenue
burdeoo, and system of noney landing helped the e;rcrgcnC3 and
consolidation of a rich peasant claso, which in turn tended to
polarise tho egrarian social structure.
Oudnq this poriod there \QS cxpanaion of CC!ltn3rCial nnd
entreprensurial agricultural farming. 'l'h:'! exp:msion of foreign
tra<b led to aignificant changeo in the pattern of agricultural
production. 'l'h3 process of ~rcial.ization brought DOre acrC!S
over to caah-crops, chiefly cotton, groundnut, tobacco and cugar, 195
npart fran rico. With tho co:ning of co.ah-crops and t:h!l
cbvolq:mrmt of ccm:nunication and CX%!:m0t'CO there also grew capital
in the rural ~r. our analysis in tho earlior pagos clearly
snows that this capital was accumulated only in the hands of a
rich peasant class. This transition also involved the axning
into existance of a group of mi.ddletron and ~atbro epecinlioing
in th~ :tr3.rketing of the cash crops. Tro indigonouo m1.ddlem::m
t:>ecam3 a link t:etwzan the petty cultivators in the villaqe and
the urban based export agencies. 'I'tw commercialization of
agriculture was not oonfind to crops, viz., cotton, jute,
sugarcane and the various oil ~, but also opread to the ___ ,...__......,_, ... Is ·-...
I I PY I--· S • -··-- t I •• _.,....__..... _...._,...._....,..._
195. For cbtailed tables S!lO, Aqriculturcl. Stntiotics of British Irdia (Annual R~rts); Soson nnd crop Reports of tho Mcdrno Prcoidency, (Annual Rcportn); Statistical Atlas of t-~as Presidency, 1910-ll and 1920-21 (Madras) ..
123
foodqrains, since an increasing proportion of the totnl
production of all foodgrains in this period passed through the 196
mrket instead of being consutred on the farm. 'Ihe prices of
agric:ultural carmodities mrrc to depend on world prices,.
ooriouslt affecting the fortunes ~ petty landholdars, for ~
paasanta uare made to bear all the unfavourable cx:.msequences of
~ instability to t.'hich tho world trading cyatem in agricultural
prodi.~.G t:aG subjected. Conseqt.Wnt-ly, the poo'C and middln
csctions of the peasantry d2riwd very little b!nefit fran ~
~ialho.tion of agriculture. On the other hand, the burden
on these classes was further increased tecause of tl1e hi.gh o:>st
of cultivation, ruthless exploitation by merchants/rich ryots,
li¥'JOOY lending agencieS 1 SOllfifig rentalS and high rC\fOn\le dsrumd 1
and co on.
On tiY.! other hand, agriculture became the halldrne.iden of tr,ade and
the trader appropriated a large share of whatever gains occured
from agricultural exports or for that mtter also. fran internal
trading. At tl1e same ti~, land ws <JI'adually passing from the
hands of original small landholders into the hands of non
culti vnting classes of DDnaylendars and the bigger landholdars.
Especially the occupancy tenants in the zamindsri areas and
substantial land-holders in the ryotwari areas crystallised into
a 'rich peasant class• in this period, due
..,. ••• -~-----______ ..,_...._,_.....,.____.... 'lli!!'IJII ..... _____ _._ _ _ _.,.._~··-- -· ... __ .,..........,.
196. Ibid., also see, D. Bhattacharyya, A C'alcise History of IndJ..an Economy, 1450-1950 (C&J.cutta, 1972), pp.46-48; and Z.A. Ahmad, The Agrarian Problem in India (A General survey) (AlCC, Allahabnd, 1937).
124
to tbe secular rise in agricultural a:rnmodity prices, the
~of CXl!!l'ltCOdity and labour narket, tha gradual &!c:line of
the revenue demand in terms of the produce alienated and so on.
The poor and to sane extent the middle peasants ware evicted and . 197
turned into nere tenants-at-will and agricultural labourers.
~, t:2 are not arguing here that capitalism developed in
agriculture in a pure form. For that matter there <XJuld not
c:mgrge a sphere of pure cxmtract ~ ~ition under the
prevailing circumstcmc:es during colonialism. But the . emar<jeDCe
of this rich peasant class did nark a tendency towards a
capitalist intrusion in agriC\llture, since this class gradually
acquired wa<h by expcmding production and tas m the tay to
b:eooming "the future capitalists". This chvelopmant, of course,
ultimately depended upon the general historical transformation of
agrarian e.conany into capitalism on a social scale.
'lte excessive cutting up and ooattering of holdings, the conflict
between the peasantry and the oolonial state, betwaen the richer 1
and the landless · ~ntry, between the ()CCup&ncy tenants and
zamindars were aspects of social tension, which ware agqrevated
due to the wry nature of colonial rule. '1tl.s increase of the
..,. ...... 197. Even though the changes that occured under British
imperialism in Andh.ra ware not uniform, the position of the poor and the ]~middle peasants was the same in every region. The Collector of East Gcxta.vari remarked that "the condition of the delta ryot is... generally better off than that of the upland ryots... whether in the upland or delta it is only the capitalist that is flourishing while the ryot lives nDre or less fran hand to muth". Statistical Atlas (1940), q>.cit., p.l6.
125 landlc!la classes from 42eacb to docado, th3 transfer of land to
moneylen&!ro and rich ryots m1d the multiplication of a class of
intermadiarics ~ profited fran tho <XmlPlmdtieo of tho
prevailing land system and marketing conditions, t13ro sytiptans of
an inequitable syflt.aal of distribution, t1hich exploinn tho cocial 198
ba~ for tOO pcnsant/no.tionalist rtD~nta in Andhra.
In brief, ua am list four m!lin 9rievances of ths psasantry in
Andhro in 1920' n and 30 • s: (1) Tho 9t'adual !XlOaing of tho lllnd
fran tha hands of tho origiiUll. z:::r.:Ul proprictoro into th5 hondo
of tOO rich p;;umnts ll1ld nxmeylenders who t.~re non-cultivating
clasoes • ( 2) Exo9Ssi vo burden of indobtednoss. C 3) Th9
consolidation of irrigation oass in irrigated CDE.~stal Andhra
districts and making it obligatory on all farmra in irrigablo
orcas to poy it t:methcr th~ actually used irrigation ~ter or
not. 'Ibis enhanced~ rovcnue burcbn in turn. (4) ~sive
cknands and inelasticity of land revenue which weighed ~avily on
the Sir.!Ul proprietors. High rt\tllls along with number of
unauthorised CGSses in the case of mmindari ryots add3d to the -
bunbn. All these constraints, adtiad to by a hierarchy of
paraoitic middlemen, effectivol'y prevented the accumul.ation of
mpi tal in the hands of the actual cultivator t.heroby oonde.1Mlinq
Andhra agriculture to r<cnain ~rd and unenter,prising. Thio
wicbnln; gulf of tho eoonanic divisions of rnciety, at n ti~ of
cbvclopinq rural prosperity, in turn had its rrocial and political
reparcussions • . ' ....... ....-.-----·------------------··-· ---· -----... ---· ·-· -198. P.adha Ramal MUkherjee obsarved that 8 th3 system of tenuro
have created an Indian eqrarian proble:m \lbieh toilay has its cocial and political repercussions and which has lod tho ~try to enter tJith enthusiasm into the 'no rent' progr~ of tho p;lSoi va resistance nove:m;mt •. R.R. t~rje:), 0 Indian tond Tenure", in Rncyclopnedia of Soc:inl SCiences, Vol.9 <1963), p.ll2.
126
Before taking up the question of changes in tho agrarian class
structure unci& colonialism, it io essentinl to ~tho ~ral
cffccto of ~ Dapresoion in Andbra in tho _1930 • o. The
unprecedented fall in the dat\2stic cxrmxxiity priCGs due to the
~:orld econanic d...o:opression firot of all otnllGd the qra.rth of tho
rich peasant class (in ~ ~ revarsed its fortunos) and
ruined thoDe tAla had direct links with the export trade to
foreign markets. T~ rich pcsaants, wno earlier were
increasingly sinking their capital in cxmnodity production, &D-1
opted for other crops, ~'hare there was eom3 scoptl for getting
back at least the capital, if not for ~rig) profits.
Tro peascmto, ec~ially trn:l rich, resorted to cutting down of
production expsnsss and .tri.Vlf19ed to ~ze through the ruinous ")l..f
affects of tho depression. · Goverrtm1:mt • s restrictive trada p:>licy
and other relief m:;:asurea did to sane extent stablioo danestic
prices in tho second half of the 1930s (not alla-Jing the prices
to hit t.he rock bott.a:n) and halped tho pusant.ry to survive the 199
crisis. ~ually the c.xmoodity prices started moving upwa.rdo
after 1935 end this substantially ~lped. the peasantry to recovar 200
from the depression shock.
199. This account is based c:n A. Satyanara_yana, Ph.D. 'l'hesis, op.cit., Chaptar II: GOI., (D.E.H. ir L) 1\g. So:. dt. April 1931, No.215-242-B (Confd1) (NAl)J dt. Jan. 1931, No.249-2S1-B; dt. Feb.1931, No.2l-22-BJ dt. Feb. 1931, No.23-25-B: dt. March 1931, No.29-30-B; dt. Nov. 1931, No,.l69-203-BJ Ayricultural Section, File No.l78/35-~ 1935; F.No.17-48/35-A, 1935; F.N0.7-53/35-A, 19347 F.No.SJ-l/34-A, 1934~ F.No.SJ-Z/34-A, 1934J F.No.~S/32-A, 1934.
200. season and Crop Raport of the Madras Presidency for the year& 1933-34 to 1937-38; sat.hyanatha.D Report, pp.28-32; T. Praknsnm, Report of the r.".adras estates Land Act can:nittoo, Part III, Price-Imela and Grnphs (Madras, 1938).
./
127
saro of ~ tho agricultural carmoditica from Arldhra - paddy#
rico, cotton, oil seedS, tobaceor ~a able to retain their
·mrkots inspite of depression in prieen and advera~ tiadc
conditions. Enpacially Andhrn dec was abla to retain its
~tic m::1rltet, although imports from Burma and Jc:tpnn into 'tl'w
preoidency had threatened .itt; narkot lnce. Of o:>~rso, tho ahare
. of tho Mdhrn rice in tho <.eylon rico narkct tXlUld not b3 ltept
up, for tho foreign rico nw:;rot ~n monopolioed by Burma rico by
then. Yet .Andhra rica retainod ittJ tasic chare in the foroiqn l-01
rico sn:u:kct. Conseqoont.ly, M-.dhra pczn:santo.ry could sustain its
-ccono:nic position in the 1930 • s _, and thera t:as no tJfljor
dislocation in tho agrarinn ~ of coastal Andhrn. ~
<bpreat')i.C.'1 tlid, how~vor, advaraely nffect the 02ccw1 districts, l.O 2.
for tttre tho peasantry rru.stly produced for the WOrld markot. Par
inotance, cotton c.."ld the oil a..~ produc.tion and marketing had
suffered in t..":e 1930 • s in the· oaocan districts, an it t3S
suggected, duo to tho formation of a powe-:ful Eur~n buying 2.o:;
combine.. In both the ------·--------··-·-··-------------· ·-----.-... .... ~ .... 11 ••
201. Review of Trndl in India 1934-35, in 001., (D.E.H. & L. ), Ag.Sec. P.No.43/35-A, 19357 also sse, P.t-!o. 7-53/35-A, 1935~ F.No.9-l/35-A, 1935.
202. This occount is b.oced on Review ttnd Returns of ~-Borne Trn~ and Navi9at.ion of tha Madras Presidency for the y.mro 1929-30 to 1936-37: oo.t., G.O.t-b.S4S, Developm2nt Dept. dt. 21 April 1932, G .. O. ~ .. 365, O..."'V. ~t., dt. 10 March 1931; tL~rt on the AdministrZttior. of the ~tm:mt of Industritm in the t>!adras Presidency for the years 1928-29 to 1933-34: GOI., (O,.E.R. & L.) Ag. sac. F.No. 65/33-A, 1933; lancashire Indian Cotton C<:zl:nittee (Iat Tour Report) in f .~b.326/35-A, 1935.
203. a:r1., G.O.No.9~8, RZv. ~., 1 Mely 1931: also S...."'J>S, 001., {D .. E.H. & Le l Ag. E",ec. F.No. l7-l7/34··A1 l!\34; 2.No.332/32-A, 1932; dt. Jan. 1932, No.275-BJ F.No.29(1)/32-A, 1932.
regions, ~r, it wao the trading clasces, tmneylenders dalalo
end btdcars in ths rark.eting system and the ryot creditors and
ryot tracbrs t.'ho \":are hit oaverely by the tbproosion. As t:a havo
shmm in ths pr~ing ssctions, it ms thssa ssct.iona who had
invested mst of th3ir capital in the EO far profitnble and stlfo~
aoney lendinq and trad-3, at a time thlen the CXIIiUlCIClity priCGS waro
going up. ~Y hed ~rqed as the rich rural •bosses" by l920'o.
But when the oa::zaodity pricoo crash:!d, neat af the tr£1Cigrs and
spooulntoro ~ b9nkrupt. r.rany of the m:may l.end9rs t:no
advanced crop loons to the ryots incurred hugo lossss. ~
brokero, dalal.s end mnal.l m:mey lenders ware ruinsd. Du3 to
contrnction of th3 credit mrkot, not only the peaSll.llts but also
the P3tty noneylen<brs and trnders tmc> bor~ hugo loans fran
ths big ~cial banks and tM! private lending agencies, ~re 204
pressuri~ to repay trn! loan3. Sam9 was thG case with aany of
the poor and tho middle class p:wsants involw.d in CXlml!Odity . . 205
production. It t:aa reported by the Bathyanathlln camnittea that:
'lb9 direct result of m1 econanic depresoion, given a fairly stable currency, is a marked fall in the val\13 of llll OIX(;nodi.Ues and a pronounced rise in th~ value of I'!Dney. • • • ~ much acra then was the fant".3r atfected, with his poQr business education, want of knowledge of world prioas, and the ignorance of the trend of narket fluctuations. Before the onset of the depression, hs found that
204. 'lbis account is based on Sathynnathan Report, pp.28-30: N.G. Ranga, Agricultural Irmbtedness and. Renedial ~.sasures (TenaJ.i, l93lh o. Rothermund, •The Impact of the Great ~):!pression · on India in ~ 1930's • in Indian History Congress (P~ngs of the 41st Session, Banbay, 1980), pp,.657-6691 cn-1., G.O.No.948, Rev. ~t., dt. l May 1931: GOI., (D.E.H. 6 L.) Ag. see., F.No.l78/35-~
205. Snthyanathan Report., p. 28 ..
129
the prices of his crops ware exoollont llnd cx:mtinuoo to rise. so h3 speculated, often wildly upon land, borra.:~ing at ~vy rates to buy nnre land. SUddenly Cc:ll!e the depresoion. He found to his ba-.rilda1"1TS1t. that his crops ~ fetching less and leso in tems of noncy. HiG carmi ~nts to Gover~nt and others in terms of trnney b::cama har<br and harder to mc:et, no he was, obliged to sell nore and yet mre of his crcrt>S to get the nvney required. The value of the land declined steeply and there were no purchaoers even at la;,~~ current market prices. To add to his difficulties, cheap rico from foreign countries tas flooding India and dcpreosing th9 prico of local rico still furth~r. It io any t«lndor thoo that th~ Indiim agriculturiot today is hsavily involved in dcbt1 obliged to pay in m:mey to Govarnm:ent, znmindars and ot.h-<--rs the oome ao h5 had to do before til:::\ depression and forced, in order to~ thlo demand in rroney, to diapo£e of about wico tho a.munt in hio crop as bafore~ tlt'l&ble to dispooo of his land at even half the price it easily fetched in predepression days; unable, with credit shortened, to bo.rr«J ~ for currant fl:mily .end cultiv<ltion expenses1 compelled, th$refore, to part \"Jith much of his hoard of jewelo end ornarr.:mts in order to get roady money; and hence, left rore nt the m3rcy of unscrupulous nx:meylenders and middlemen than before.
Thus, the onset of depression at one level ruined m:my of the
riqh peasants who had direct links wi tb the trade and also the
petty trade>..rs and money lenders. At another level the fall
.in the ccmnodity prices in tJto mid 1930 • s enhanced tho rent and
revenue blrden on the middle and the poor peasantry Qlld £O also
tho burden of indeb~ss. As a result there originated 1m1ny
~pontaoooos pcaoont proteut~:J in 1930 'tl for ~ reduction of rent
and revanue damands in the i.nmadaite sgnse and for the fixing of
revenue dsmnd forever on the lands so that in future there uould
not bs any revenue ~ts.
We have analysed in the earlier ooct.ions, the position of
different peasant groupo tlithin the spacific production
conditions in agriculture. '1tla nature of control over the~
I I
District ~ Q
Years
I 1910-11 1920-21
VIZAGAPATAH 193Q-3l
BAST GODAVARI
_VEST GODAVARI
KISTNA
GUNTUR
BELLO HI
194-0-'+l
1910-11 l92o-2l 1930-31
194-0-'+l
1910-11 1920-21 1930 ... 31 194-o-4-l
191o-ll 192Q-2l 1930-31 194-0-'+l
1910-ll 192o-21 193o-31 194-o-'+l
1910-ll 192o-2l 1930-31 194-o-'+1
UBLB 2.38
ST.A'l'tJS O.P' P&A.S.ABT P.BOPRIB'lO.BS IIi BI'OTiU.RI VILLAGBS
I Total ll>ow~ Sia or I Percentage or %ota1 liWilber or A Percentage or Bennue Pai.d on I number Q ~ .. 9$ I Bo1d1.nga on vbi.cb tbe .Use .. ment 1a a Bolding• on vbi.cb the Auessment b
f or I ~ Por Jll-10 § BetweeniBetweenGBetweena onr ~ 111.10 hetveenbBetveen Dsetween t Onr I holdi.ngaf Area J Bolding A md 1111.10 &. 111.30 &. I 11.5o &.0 &.100~ and I 11.10 a.J 111.30 & I 11.50 & I as.100 § ~ 0 Assess- A Less I 30 I 5o 0 100 I § Leas 0 30 I 5o I 100 I I ltlcs) hs~•:: p. A I I J I I i I I I
17,74-4-23,398 .31+,12'+
(738) 86,208
65,250• 71,87'+•
107,316 (11,610) 125,381 (10, 552)
116,359 138,279
128,3'+8 155,696 105,289 129,'+32
2lt-51 308 307,211+ 399,179 1+93,599
111,712 118,396 139,601 1t'>9,4-90
9. 94- 26-4---8 7 .Bl+ 2lt--7--4-5-76 17-7--1
(lt-.99) (6 .. 10-8) lt-.02 11-6--4-
8. 7lt- 29-6--9 6.39 26-2--0 lt-.20 17-14--11
(7. 3l) {6-6--4-) 3-65 18-lt---2
(13.57) (9-1lt--2)
lt-.53 17-9--4-3-87 17-12-3
7-71 25-8--7 6.4-5 21-3--1 4-.87 15-3--9 4-.oo 1~t--11-7
7. 39 18-13-0 6.07 15-12-l 4-.80 12-5--2 3.92 10-3--7
lt-5.74-39.89 58.09
69.57
lt0.85 lt'+. 82 59-3
56.53
58.0 56.87
lt2. 57 45.23 63.94 62.0
49.91 54.26 62.92 65.01
7.80 18-8--5 57.0 7.70 17-l'+-11 53.58 b.70 15-8--7 58.64 5.5o 12-14-o 64.1
27.15 31.81 25.27
20.01
)2.1 )l.69 25.63
27.19
26.35 27.26
30.3 3C.5 22.51 25.07
)2.07 29.98 26.1+6 26.26
27.56 29.6 27.21 2lt-.4-
10.87 13-76
7-97
5.91
u.Bl+ 10.71 7.2
8.12
7.61 8.28
12.10 11.86
6.97 6.88
9-58 8.97 6.16 5.52
8.15 8.88 7.76 6.5
10.65 11.34-
6.14-
3-15
9-lt7 7-lt2 5-1
5.33
9.98 8.27 lt-.48 lt.33
6.08 5.08 3-37 2.48
5.0 5.5 4.27 3.1
• Figures ar€ ror United Godavari (i6st and West) District. )• Figures in the brackets are for Agency Area.
5.6 7-13 3.21 7-70 2.54 15.05
1.36 19.12
5.74- 6.39 5.36 7-97 2.77 12.51
2.83 10.92
2.69 13.1'-2.64 11.48
5.05 6.99 4.15 8.32 2.10 16.11 1.72 15.89
2.36 11.89 1.71 14-.61 1.09 19.9'+ 0.74 25.85
2.4-4- 12.06 2.1+5 14-.16 2.12 15.81 1.94 20.1+8
17.4-4-20.02 25.23
25.98
19.40 20.1+8 2lt-.36
24.75
24.7 26.16
21.39 23.71 26.1+3 28.23
28.72 30.15 33.29 )4-. 93
23-53 27.97 27.02 29.56
16.13 22.73 17.0
17.54
14-.80 15.51 14-.67
15.59
16.82 18.52 17.14-17.04-
18.09 18.49 17.10 16.51
17.70 15.88 17.35 15.32
27.54 25.64 20.97
18.02
20.92 21.18 18.87
18.39
17.62 18.72
20.48 19.26 17-79 17.4-5
19.91 19.81 15 .4-lt-12.87
16.84 18.26 16.25 14.05
3l-76 23.91 21.75
19-34-
38.49 34--87 29.59
30.35
29.35 27.32
3lt--32 30.18 22.53 21.38
21.39 16.94-14.23
9-83.
29.87 23-73 23.67 20.59
. ... /~
I I
DLatrJ.ct I I I
KURNOOL
BELLARY
.ANANTAPUR
CUDDAP.AH
CHITTOOR
1910-ll 1920-21 1930-31 194-D-4-1
1910-ll 1920-21 1930-31 194-D-4-1
1910-ll 1920-21 193D-31 19+o-l.t1
1910-11 1920-21 1930-31 194-0-'+1
1910-ll 1920-21 1930-31 194-D-'+1
74BLB 2,38 (Contd,,,)
I Total AAve~ siz.e ofr I hrcentap or 'fo1ial. •uaber or t h~tac• or Jlrnaue h1.4 • I nwaber I Holdi,.,S ! BoldiJll• em llbicb tbe .Uae.-ent la I Bol41111• em Wl1ch tbe .u .. aa.ent la 1 or J J'or 1 111.10 I Betwe~aJBetveenGa.tweeaG OYer f 111.10 taetwe~ala.twe• ~Betwe• I Onr ! boldilli•i .u.a! ;:~ : r.:~~ :~~·~g &: •"·ro 4 ~~~igg a:: IG.loot ~: I"·~ a: I.,·~ a: I ·i~ a: 1"·1oo
I ACAca)las.a.p,, I I i I I I ·1 I I 138,4-25 153,397 187' 1?8 218,9?4
127,630 11+4, 307 164-,297 170,644
118,855 144,315 183,036 195,787
168,607 191,157 224-,231 24-7 T 837
89,4;.::, 130, 2frl 157' 151 179,885
10.13 10-12-ll 68.29 9.5o 9-15-1o ?1.2 8.36 8--8--7 75.89 ?.21 7--4---6 78.?8
14-.69 12--2-11 63.61 13.62 11--1--1 67.87 12.4-1 11--2--0 74.4-5 11.94 10-10--1 71.C
11.71 10.85 10.05
9.61
4-.85 3·79 3-58 3·19
9--1r--1 66.17 7-13--6 71 t 01 7--6--o 79,50 6-14---8 81.29
7--6--2 77.18 6--5-10 80.32 5--9--6 81. 93 5--1r--5 82.56
7--s--7 77 .a2 5-14---2 84. 0 5--3--3 86.2 4---9--4- 83.04
22.9 21.63 18.79 17.16
26.4-6 24.3 19.11 21.4-9
22.17 22.12 15.54 14-.4-7
17.75 15 .1+4 14.81 13-12
17.22 12.l+5 11-31 13.74
5.7 4-.13 3·4 2.66
7.97 4.26 3·03 2.65
3.4-1 2.74 2.1~ 2.96
3.06 2.19 1.57 2.15
2.2-r 2.15 1.4-8 1.13
2.83 2.)4 1.8+ 2.21
2.81 1.9: 1.46 1.23
1.~ 1.22 0.9.:. l.C
l.-+-5 1.1 0.62 0.81
0.87 0.89 o.l.t4 0.27
0.85 0.70 0.72 0.80
0,89 0.70 0.44 0.36
0.35 0.28 0.22 0.35
0.4-+ 0.27 0.23 0.26
24-.93 28 .1+4 33.65 41.?5
22.22 26.56 25.97 26.6+
24.64 26.80 29.97 29.?2
33.09 36.65 37.?0 39.49
32.67 41.58 4-2.93 42,28
31.76 )2.20 33.87 37.28
30.88 29.93 31.15 30.66
34.6C 32.91 33·77 32.25
33-23 28.65 30.26 28.)4
SOUiC:E: A StaUstical Atlas of tbe Ma.d::-as Presid!fcy for the Years_l910-ll 1 1920-.2:, 193C-.)l an£11940 ::...
16.52 14-.37 13.<:4 13.83
16.82 17.96 14.56 15.45
14-.71 13.29 13.58 11.89
13.20 10.74 10.58 12.50
13.49 13.80 11.22 1.01
14.58 12.49 12.22 12.63
14.83 12.81 12.64-13-34
10.91 11.19
9.08 8.19
11.5o 10.30
8.38 8.66
13-30 11.17
8.23 6.14
10.69 9.5.:,
12.24 13.28
12.83 l2.5c
9.68 10.82
6.63 5.96 5.86 It .82
9·33 s.n 7-79 7.21
l32
of production, euploitation of lllbour, debt burden, c.ccuu.ulation
of surplus and th3 investment p3ttern in tro ~ty production
and money londing businoso have been e.nalyrcd in terms of thoir
differential effects on vnrioun sactions of the paasa.ntry. Tto
broad social polarisation thnt mx~ under tho impact of
colonia.liom had, in fact, altered tho agrMian cocial ot.ructuro
in Andhra. In Table 2.38 ~ hovo cl1own th::> changes in tho land
o;.-ming pattern in coastal Andhra and 0::t:con districtn cq;arately
to bring out tho main trendn of thio ct-,.ango. To pin point tho
nctual course of chrulge, detailed raterial on the amount of
revenue paid has olEO been given in this table.
By taking up the average land revenue ratc9 the asS(!Ss,..,......nt
categories can be c:onwrt:cd into the categories of holdings by
avaraga. Broodly, a holding on ~ldl tho asseosment was Ro.lO
nnd less could be convortod into a holding of 3 ceres and lcsa.
Accordingly, the otlwrs would tr! Rs.lO and 30 as 3 to 9 acreo:
Rs. 30 &nd SO as 9 to 15 acres; Rs. 50 and 100 as 15 to 30 ClCres
and abova Rs.lOO as 30 acres and nbove. In 1926 ·. N.G. Rmga
calssifiod the holders of 6 acres ond below as poor paasants1 7
to 9 o.eres na middle p::Ula.tmts; and 10 to 20 acres as big ryots.
H3 further argued tJmt tho unit of 6 to 8 l/2 acres should ba
consi<brad a!l an •a:onanic holding" and a plot of 15 acres as the 206
"OOst payi1'19 holding". COnsidering the nature of the production
conditions in agriculture in the delta region Rnnga's
clansification could b3 easily npplicd to all the ooootal
distJ:icto.
206. N.G. Rangn, Economic Organiantion of Indian Villagoo, Vol.l, (Bo~dn, 1926), p.61.
On the ~ hand V. v. SaynM baLl arg\J!::d for a four fold division
of t:M agrari&n social structure. For him the agricultural
labourero wero ·tho hol<brs af ~ ac:res Q1'ld leaa, for they
cultivated CltClusivoly mth their family labour and also lived on
tll'agos ns OM of the chief source of living. Tho small pgasants
tnrG the holders of 5 acres and belowJ the trCiiiwn psasants h9ld S
to 2S e.cres: ond the big lnndhold~rs \Ot'e the a.m31'S of nore thnn 207
25 acres. This c::ateqorieation of couroo bronclly holdo good in
the mae of the dry o:ecan diotriets. .ApQrt from thoca t.\::0
studies, there are reports by other o::mni ttess or Ccnmissions 208
which mre or less ccnfim the aboVe classification.
Bnsad on all the available information on fertility of the soil
and the varying production CXXlditions in aqricuture in different
districts ue haw broadly classified the agrnr-ian socilll
structure in Andhra as:
coastal Districts . (predaninantly t::lt lands)
Daccan Districts Cpreda:dnantly dry lands)
Land Ollming
1) Perulant proprietors cum - 8el.cw 2 acren agric:ulturnl labourers
2) Small Peasants - 3 to 9 acres
3) Middle Peasants - 9 to lS acres
4) Rich Peasants - 15 to 30 acres
5) Landlords - Above 30 acar:es
Land 0\ining
3to9acros
9 to 30 ncrco
II IWI I I I _._. .... 11 'II If',............. rr•v. r -- .... IP w• A' ·WI·--· f 0. M 1:1• P llf ..................
207. v.v. Sayana, R3adinqs in Rural Problems (Dalbi, 1950), p.l2l ..
208. Sae, Roytll Ccxnmisaion on Agriculture in Indin, VOl.l~, p.268; Sathyanathan Report, pp.42-43: Banking ~ttec, Vol.V, pp.99, 182 & 277; fl::onamic can:nittee, Vol.III, p.9.
134
As brought out above_, during the first two decades of the 20th
century, in the . t;yotwari areas, it were the holders of 15 to
30 acres who consolidated their position econanically due to
favourable production conditions and emet'9ed as a rich peasant
class. In the mnindaries, as we have already demonstrated, it
was the non-cultivating tenants and the cultivating tenants with
good size b:>ldings who e.DWm}ed as a rich peasant class. It was
this rich peasant class wch was in the forefront of peasant
rrovements - both anti-colonial and anti-zamindari struggles in
1920's, 30's and 40's. we shall discuss these struggles in the
subsequent c.ilapters.
11
Ml\NtJPACl'URING INDUSTRIES, ARTISAN .AND CAPITALIST CLASSES UNDER OOI.oNIALIS4
135
As tO have SC""...n in tho earlier cections, the evolution of a nsw
p:1ttern of agrarian r0lationo fostered by tho colonial rule in
Andhra districts W.:l.S .rcgrosoi w in charneter and th~ cource of
ns11 agrarian tenniono. ~The n~4 pattern ~ n9ither copitaliem
nor feudaliom, nor bla.S it a continuation of th~ old t~hal
arrangEll:'ent. It was a ~ otruct.ure that colonialism cvolwd. 209
It WolS semi-feudal and semi-colonial in charactern. 'I'h3
disruptive role of colonial rule ~s not confined just to the
agrari:m econacy in isolation, but it shook tho very foundationD
of the old-oconany through the destruction of the union ~twen 210
agriculture and handicrafts and ortisnn industri~.
209. Bipnn Omndra, et., F~ Struggle (~M'., h.~ ~lhi, 1972) p.l9.
210. For details Sf*!, R.P. Dutt, India To-day (Second Indian edition, 1970 t-mnisha), p:ut II, pp. 79-193: Bipan Chandra, 'l'hs! Rise and Gradth of Econanic nationalism in India (PPH., t.;3-1 Dalhi, 1977) pp.SS-65; D.R. C"~dgil, 'ri'w Industrial EvOlution of India in Recent T.imas 1860-1939 (Oxford university Press, t\~ Delhi, Fifth edition, 1974,) pp.Jl-46 & 169-183; A. Saradn Raju, Economic Conditions in the Madras Prenidency, 1800-1850 CUniveroity of ~...adrns, 194lh B.D. aasu, ~ Ruin of Indian Trnde and Industr len (CQlcutta, Third edition, l935h Art in Industry through the J\9as, Monograph Sories · on Madras J>resi&lncy/SOUthern India, Vol.lii, (Navrang, new Delhi, Reprint 1982)J &igar Thurston, Monograph on the COtton Fabric Industry of the Mlldras Presidency (1-".ad.raa, 1897h A.K. Bt.gchi, Private Invest.ln3nt in India 1900-1939 (~iont Longmen, New Dalhi, 1975); M.D. Y~ris, The Emargence of Industri&l Labour FOrce in India (University of California Press, Bmeley, 1965).
Why did British capitaliom not struct.uro Indian society "aftar
ita own .iml'!ge•? Baaluoe hirrt.orically capitcl.ism in ·~ colony
oporotes \'lith a different economic logic. 0 No doubt capitalism
\09 in~ in India and othar oolonics, but a capitalist
daval~t of the ex>lony failed to nnterialize. capitalism as
colonialism in th3 colony \aG different from capitlll.iom in the
metropolis. The colony was integrated into oorld capitolinm
without enjoyi~ any of tho booofito of C'lpi~lism and, in
partieulllr, without tak.inq part in tho industrial revolution.
(Therefore, Indian) •• • colony turned out to bs not tho sirror
image of the matropolis (of Britain) but its reverse or negative 2.11
~gen. Analysing tho effacto of colonial rule in India it hQs 2l2
~ rightly argued that:
The tsart of thea mtter is that, in India, British rule did dissolve the old economy, the old social formation, but t.h9 ~ economy and social formation t."33'c not more conduc:i va to development, and tJarc also regressive. TM! first half of tOO dual role that earn expected - the annihilation of the old society - was perfo~ in such a fashion as to structure d3cay and lack of progress within the ~ society even as it was baing born. Britioh rule did bring India 'within the mainstream of bourgeois civilization' and created cxmdit1ons for the conquest of India by capit&.lism; it creE:~ted too legal, proporty and other institutions of capitalit:m; it destroyed rural and urban crafts as wall as ths relative salt-sufficiency of tho Indian village, thus widening the internnl zrarket: it ext.anded no.nifoldly India • s e:conanic oontnct trl.th the world mr.ket; it bought India into contact wi.th ntXlern science and technology; by destroying urban tmd rurnl crafts and by separating a larqe number
211. Bipan OVlndra, ".Karl M3rx, his theories of Asinn Sccietien and Colonial Rule•, in Sociological 'lheoriesJ Race and Colonialism (IJNllSCO., 1980), P. 42S .~s~ added(..:
212. Ibid., p.433.
137
of peasants from the land, it crent.ed a larger supply of free labour in tho ei tiaa and the . countrysid3; it developad modern manns of c:cmnunicntion, it introduced modarn mthods of CXJ!t'm'arcial, financial and industrial organisation; it introduced an efficient l~X)C;brn State and administrati vo structure includinq a ~n buraaucracy, judicial system, army and machinery for the enforce:mmt of law and order, it opanoo schools and colleges to impart elG~nSnts of ncdern education, ancl, above all it integrated the Indian econany into the t«lrld capitalist econa:ny. Hol1cvor, it oimul.taneously ctructured colonial iss ~ich was cl.oo :repra!Jsive of productive forces ••• 'l'h3 point in that these iE:olated <i3velopl!2tlts did not cxmere into a capit&list system, that ooloniel social relations nnd not capitalist social relations w.ere fornt'!d, and that colonialism repressed and prevented the growth of capitalism nnd ths forces of production associated mth it.
The result of the colonial rule therefore, \'Sa that "India
continued to oo the classical Jr.OCicl. · of lUl underdeveloped 213
economy•. JiaWavcr, t:a are not arguing here that there was total
absence of gar:mg for the future davelopment of capitalism in
India, nor that there was no naterilll. premises for the future ne\'1
society. What ~ are interested in is that the overall structure
of colonialism trl!S anti-dcveloprrent though ccattered here and
there ware a few elements conducive to capitalist development.
sane small portion of the totcll econanic surplus~ invested in
industry and capitalist agriculture or c:a:cnodity production. But
nost of the surplus was appropriated either by the State or by
foreiqn mrchnnts and rronay lend3rs, and this part waa .not used 214
for the <bvelor;ment of capitalism in India. Only the rich
peasants invested to some extent in oonucr.Uty production.
-----------·------·-··---~------·-··~-·-·-·-·----·-------·-·-------~·-·---,------213. Ibid., p.434.
214. Ibid. ;, , .
138
Agninst this theoritical background I t:euld liko to diGCUSs tho
position of handicrafts and artisan industries and the conditions
of artisana end capitalist classes in Andhrn districts during
colonW period.
Form t.i.ttl3 ~rial till the end of the 18th century, the extent
of South Indian nanufaetures tas conoidsrnble.. South India ho.d
boon ronowned for the Gldl1 of craftsman and tha exoellenca of 215
m:mufacturen. J~ Grant in hin SUrvey of ths r.mthern Circaro
ba!lrn witness to the flourishing condition of industry .and
CO'.T.1J'Orce on tro Coramandal eoaot in g:crr.ttnl and in ths Northern 216
Circars in particular in tho 18th cantury. According to trel
Circuit Ccmni ttoo evan ths peasants supplemented their iraccxn3
fro:n ngriculturo by nanufnct:uring palempores ~ sarie.~, muolins and -------·----·-------~---·----·---~~..-----·--·M-11 ______ .. ~-·-----------------215. Far n Cbt.Gi1cd emperica1 study on the cxmditions of the
craftsmen and monufacturinq industries BeeJ A.v. Raman Rao, Tho Econanic Davel~t of Andhra Pra<bsh 1766-1957 (Bambay,1958), pp.l2-24, ~2-46,106-114,172-187 and 307-332.
I
A,Saro.da Raju, &xmomic Conditions in the Madras Presidency, 1800-1850 (University of Madras, 1941), pp.l.06-182.
And detailed references can also be found: from:
Narayana Rao, Report on tha SUrvey of Cottage Industries in the Modras Presidency Cl929 h Wilks, Ristorial Sketches of South India ( 1810) J B. Balfour, Report on Iron and Coal in the Madras Presidency,.. (Madras, 1855): J.T. l\'heeler, Handbook to Cbtton CUltivation in the v.adras Preoid...oncy <Madrao,l862)J ~11, 'lbe ~1adras Wa!lvers under the ~Y (Indian Hiotorical R=cordo Ca:miosion, 1922).
And Scattered infom.:ltion is available fran:
Phaz:oah & Co., A. Gazetteer of Southern Indian with the Tensserim Provinces and Singapore (Madras, 1855)' D.F. Olrmichael, t4anual of the Vizagapatam District C~.adras, 1868h J. Reloall, Marum of the Bsllery District <Madras, 1872); J.A.c. Boswell, M!:Vlual of the Nallore District (Madras l873h J.B.D. Gribble, Manual of the CUdd.apah District (Madras, l875h H. r-tlrris, ~UAl of the Godnvari District (Madras, 1878).
216. A. sarada Raju, op.eit., p.l47.
139
217 plain cloth for native waar. Fer example, there ware 10,170
looms in the Circnrs alona produci09 cloth wrth 12,204 pa.godas
annually. ~ Dutch used to export from Bhimlipatam alone
annually 1,000 bales. In fact, numbar af varieties of fine
pun jams ware o:mnissioned fran the SOUthern po.rganos of the 218
Circars. Th:l conditions ~re same in the~ D~stricts.
Consi&:lring the whole of Andhra, one can easily point out centres
like Nallore, Ingermn, MaSulipatam, Vizagaps.tmn, Bhimlipstam and
Guntoor as the busiest oantres of waavinq and other CXJttage 219
industries with a flourishing trade. At the beginning of the
19th century, Andhra districts still retained their pre-emin~
in arts and crofts and the conseq1m1t profitable <!lqlOrt business.
But by t~ end of the 19th century a fundarlental change in the
character &nd nature of industrial <indigenous) production h!ld
taken place. SOUthern India from baing an exporter of
manufactured articles had becomo a marketing centre for the
importe~ English cotton piece-goods and other articles.
Especially raw naterials ware gra-m in increasing quantitities
decade by decade for export purpose, and, in fact, replaoad
manufactured Andhra piece-goods in exports to Europe or England. 220
As Raman Rae rightly observes:
the establishment of foreign rule, followad by an economic crisis and changes in the c::cmnerce of the
217. Quoted n number of references fran this report in A.V. Raman Rao, op.cit., p.l4 ff.
218. Ibid.
219. Ibid., pp.l6-22.
220. Ibid., p.l7.
1.40 <Andhra) districts led to tht3 grad:unl. extant ion of the textilo industry in the East Coast.. '!'hare WilB
no capitnl for invcstmantJ nor was there adequate encouragc:.nant for the native producto. As a result a majority of the "teeavera of Bhimlipatem, Viza94.,ootam, TUni, Ncllapally, Bandmr.oorlanka, lngorom, Madapollam amd Ma&ulipatmn ware slowly farced to work ns agricultural labourero.
Too chief industries carried on in the Presidency at the end of
the 19th century ware handicrafts, ootton-weaving and spinning,
coffee-curing, tile-making,
printing, sugar-reiining, tobncco-curing, tanning and rioe-221
drossinq. taathar making:, dyeing, glass-making 1 diaitXmd and
oopper11ining, aaltp&tre mnufacture and iron""'l'Bking and smalt.ing 222
ware alco there among the other induotries. Of these, cotton-
wa.avinc:J and apiMing tare by far the nDSt important wh9fl ll.<a 223
consid:!r tho ni..IXDtnr of oporativeo employed in these mnufactures.
With regard to nnny of these industries very little infornation
ia available officially except fran SCim9 ltOJ'lOgraphs and census 224 .
returns. B!locd on the available data let U.~:J ooe at least in
brief the position of different manufacturing industries, with
special ESI!phasis on cotton tmctilo, dyeing and tanni119
industries • ............................... 1. M II ...... .._.._._ _____ , ______________ ,_,.., _________ ___... .... ._ . a -
221. Report on the .Mministration of the Madrao Prcnidancy during the year 1905-06 (Madras, 1906), p.Sfi (~_realtor a.a Administration Report).
222. A saraoa Raju, op.cit., p.l47.
22.3. Administration Report 1905-06, op.cit.., p.S6.
224. Scms ronographa fran which infonnation ia available m:et
Edgar Thuroton, ~raph on the Cotton Fabric Industry of the Madras Presidency (M.'ldras, 1897 h Henry T. Harris, MOnograph an The Carpet W2aving Industry of SOUthern India (Maaro.s 1908 h &:lwin Holder t Monograph on Dyes and Dyeing In The Mndras Presidency (~as, 1896)' Monograh On the WOOllen Fabrico, (t~cs, l698)J J.A. Dubois, Hindu ~~rn, CUstoms and Coremonics, Tranolatod by a. H. Beauc~ (OXford, 1997) and Art in Industry through tha Ages, op.cit.
141 ' Broadly speaking industries in Andhra can be· classified into
rural and urban, even though often many appeared both in urban
and rural sectors. Howaver, traditionally, the villaqe
carpenter, mason, blacksmith, tanner, ~ver, etc., ware so much
interwoven in the village economy that without their hslp the
tihole villaqa agricultural ~ tJOuld have been paralysed.
'.t'h2 interdeperlcbnce t:Orked smoothly and the artisan classes ware
paid usually in kind at harvest~ at the rate of a certain
numbar of measures of paddy basad on the size of holdings. 'l'h3ir
trades ~re IYOStly carried on 'tlith the h=!lp of !simple and cruds
primitive tools and equipments lik, 11one or two axes, a few saws 225
and plames", ai&d, of <»urse, rrostly by their fpilate skills.
But much of this excellence was, by the middle . of \the 19th \ \
century, a thing of the past. -ially industriesl·l~ •iron\
mining and smelting bad bean completely ruined, while ~ving, . \
' \ dyeing, tanning and other industries t.'are still ~ling\ hard
226 \ \ to continue". At the opening of the last century', 11ir~n""'!lB~ng
and smelting t.ras carried on to a considerable extent, t+, ent~ demand for agricultural implements, carpenters' : and \~ths • tools, iron boilers for sugar naking,
227 being net by the local production 11
•
225. J.A. Dubois, op.cit., p.3S.
\
\ ~tic ute)ll~lsf.i~ etc.,
.. . I .
Tbg iron~t~tis~~s ' ,\ '
226. For details see Pharaoh & co., A Gazetteer India, op.cit., pp.65, 285, 165 and 22.
227. A Sarada Raju, op.cit., pp.lSO-lSlJ also see village $tudies of Madras Presidt!ncy which clearly denalstrated\ \ the deteriorating conditions of the village industries. Gi.li::mt Slater, op.cit., especially pp. lll-122 and 230-244J\ P.J. Thomas & K.c. Ramakrishnan, op.cit., especially w-21•-263 and 377-435. ~
\;
1. 4 2
wiebly distributed in too Andhrc districts at tho c::c:r:lr3n~t of
Britimh rule. But it '4\S completely &:mtroycd by tho 1850s 228
baoically owing to tho foreign 000!,98tition, Tha 11::3thods of mining
oro lll1d urmufa.ct.ure W31'e primitive and not scientific and nechonioad.
COnsequently they led to ~ry lmr yields and inferior quality of . ~9
iron, in spite of the richness of the iron ore. on the ether
hand, tho iron industry was not encouraged by the govarl'lm!nt o:.1ing to
their colonial interests. Evan though St:tt\3 En31ish ca.pital.ists such
QG Heath taera bel~ to oato.blish I:OOdern iron industries, tho
results ~e disappointing ond led to tho ultimate brealc up of tho
SillCJlO .lllldern factory i.e. 1 the nPorto Novo Iron iCorks 0 in 1860-61 1
forcing Andhra to dapend complotoly on ~rted finished foreign 230
iron. As early u 1855 an enquiry by FdWnrd Balfour revealed the
unsatisfactory conditions of tho otato of iron mnufactures and their 231
declining position. For instll.nce, in Ganjam th3 mathod of
manufacture was lost and th3 industry o:maed to mdst; in Rajahmundry
th~e \QS not a oingle furnace in blant in the ~lo area or perhaps
in the tllholo diotrict; and in most of the Andhra districts, there \QS
clmoour for imported iron and steel not only for government use but 232
also for private usage • Evan though the nati vo iron ................ - ··--···...,.·· ,, .... __ .......... .......,., __________ , ____ ,_, __ , ---228. A. Sarada Raju, op.cit., for a detailed history of iron-industry
009 pp. 150-162. 229. Ibid., pp. 152-156: E. Balfour, cp.cit., pp.lB-19. 230. Ibid., pp.lS6-lS9. 231. Ed'.;ard &llfour, op.cit., pp.6-8. 232. Ibid., p.fh P.J. 'J.b:.:mas and K.C. Rmnakrishnan, op.cit., ftiJ.be
blacksmiths... have suffered much ••• because of the eanpotition of nachine m.&t goodo. The nails, bars, locka and knives which they used to mke are not t1ZlDted. ~ blackemitho are bound to fare better if iron ploughs and other implemonts ~ mre popular with the agriGUlturicts as the fitting anc1 repairing of theSQ, if not tho nnking, will hove to be done by them. l\bthing has been done by tOO Dapnrt:ment of Agriculture or Industries or any other organisation to improve the village WC'Itk.shop eo as to increase the efficiency of the blacksmith and reduce hio ~rking coats•. (p.385).
manufacturing industries ware cbstroy'OO, t.M artisan claosss
continued to t«>rk in their ~rkshops, using imported iron
instead. Earlier it used to be, even at tha end of the 19th
Century to some extent, ~ ocst widespread industry after 233
weavi119 t:hen considered in torms of parsons employed. But in
laBl, of a total of 151,414 rmlos engaged in labour connected
with the mtalo, about 90 per cent wxo ~s of ~ Hindu
artisan caotes. And ns a t:mole the natal "'ooh''rkors formed nbol.lt 23-'l
ona p::!I' cent of the entire male population. Hat.'aver, t.ha number
of blncksmiths or iron-workers was only 52, 235 which when 235
ccnnparcd mth the population of Andhra was rather mnall. Lastly,
to quote N.G. Chstty•s remarks U886) about the Nellore iron
industry, it "has of late greatly cLnclincd. 'file furnaces at
R&'n!Allaltota and other placeo on the Erramalas have all been
closed •, the cause being that the iron which ,..;r-s used for
agricultural purposes w:1s largely of English mke. 'l'hus the
characteristic devel.~t was the increased import of British
iron <jOOds, \l.nich was, infuet, stimulated by tho governtn9nt
policy in spite of the adverse effects upon the indigenous iron
industry. Ahrost all British - goods ware admitted duty free, -.---··-~~~ ....... -~ ............. ---........ ------·~...... . ............... ,... .. __ _ 233. Manual of the .Adoinistration of the Madras Presidency,
Vol.l, (M:ltiras, 1885), p. 358 n~arcaftcr as Mc:nual of t'4:!droo 1885).
234. Ibid.
235. Ibidu In 1881 the gold and silver smiths were 76, 469; brass and o:7ppE!r smiths 17,798 and 1110rkers in tin 224.
236. Nar.ahari Gopctlak.rishnamsh Chetty, A Manual of the Kurnool District, in the Presidency of madras (Madras, 1886), p.l7S, J P.J. Thomas & etc., op.cit., p.385.
144
mile the indigsnous producoro wore subjected to various 237
oppmnoivo taxes such M tho •ttturpha8 and the "Transit• duties.
eon~y, within a few ~. i.e., by tha end of tho 19th
~ntury in Andhra Dintricts the indigenous iron ms ·ousted from
tho field and the industry dwindled into an insignificant
poaition. tblever, one Med not taka it as a peculier case. 'll13
iron induat.ry, in fact, nerel.y shored the ~al fate of
Southern Indinn hMQicraft industries, though the b~ to this
induatry ten ~t DDra ruincous t.h1!n tha case of £Cr.ta ottt.::!rs
like waaving, dyeing and tanning.
In too beqiMing of the 19th centUry, tmDll9 the other urbon 238
handicrafts, tanned goods and lcmther articles tmd a uon•s share
in tho prosparouo trads with &Jrope.. Tanning and oxport of skins
had beca:n9 n very l&rqe business in Andhra districts especially
in t.he bc9i.nning of tho 19th century, end MtlClras leather was ml
237. A sarada Raju, op.cit., p.l61. The result of those duties was that •private imports of netal into tho Presidency (t:ll.mo9t entirely iron and steal goods fro:n Britain) roco from Rs.49,4ll in 1811-12 to Rs.7,22,098 in 1830-31 and Rs. 17,09,818 in 1850-Sl. By 1860-61 the imports had b3en rioed to Rs.30,29,989 and the increase tas maintained 1n the subsequent years•. Ibid., w.l6l-2.
238. In 1\ndhra districts, urban industry was rreinly in the nature of h:lndicrafts and the country tes famous for ,sotl'B of the ~rld faux>us lwtury good.q lik.G (X)tton, silk and \CX)llcn fabrics, carpets, rugs, brilliant dyes and dy3•stuffs and so on. ~, oll these ware facing the threat of foreign catq;)Oti tion towards the end of the 19th oontury and in fact ene by one began sinking into oblivion. !his will be discussed in thG sub3equent pngos.
145
kna.m and highly appreciated both in Europe and in Am!ricnn
mukets. '!'he SOUth Indian skins fetched higher prices than those
onippsd nt other ports in India. The salted hicbs ~e 239
transported fran Bengal to b3 tanned and exported fran f.ttdras. ~
Perhspo the superiority of Lleather was reoogniS3d even against
the Buropcsn czoocio, snrtly due to fioo quality of the bark uzed 240
for tanning and puty to t:hs DUp~arior =thodn of manipulation.
'lk:l only drat1bt!ck invol v.:d in thio traditional tzmning oysto \OS
the tiar.e dra"tm proceso. In tho village side much of the
production tats carried on excluoivel.y for nativo cxms\Uq)tion and
hare QUllli ty ~s much superior to urban txmed production. In
fact, in the villages the work "-'ilS carried on vary roughly. 241
aLi.m and t:anqedu bark ware the chief materials used• in the
proceos of tannifl9. Tanning was dons m0sUy in traditional style,
£md technical imprC"VC:n~ents ~re not made OW"ing to the eocial tmd
economic oonditions of the particular class or ca!lte involved in 242
that industry. Tanning and mking of leather goode ware mootly
done by the • Ma.digas • in the Circnrs as wall as in cedad
239. Manual of Madras, 1885, op.cit., p.360.
240. Ibid.
241. N.G. Chatty, op.cit., p.l79. It b'OUld bs vary interesti119 to lc:now the social conditions and constrnints interlinked to the econany or occup.o.tional structure. 1't13 •tangedu' bark t'hich waa used in the tanninq \OS generally cut only by the 'Madigas•, and the other classes cxmsidm"cd it beneath their dignity to do that wrk. since it wtlS considered. to be o. work associated with the notion of pollution, which inturn must b3 cmrricd on only by the low-caste Madigas. Ubid).
242. Ibid.
148
districts, numbering about 750,000 from Nellore to Vizagapat:.nm 243
and tho Ccdad districts. Th9 social and economic cxmditions
(including their obligationo in the villago systc:m) of t.h3 low
c:aote •t-1a,digas ' hnrdly all.a-A3d them to break ~.ay fro:n
traditional mnnufacturing system in Andhra. Generally they ware
attached to the families of tho ryoto in the villages, csp3eially
in Nortmlrn Circnrs, and tero E:ntiUcd to cpt the thad anin'olo of
thoir houoes. Aftor cptting tho dzad anwlo, they UB3d to
follow the indigenous nsthod of tanning i.e., fir.ot. "kc3ping it 244
in lima and by using indigenous h:lrbs and barks of treoa •. OUt
of the finished leather, they wuld J.'I'Bke drutn9, dlappala, .,.
agricultural implcmets, buckets for drawing ~ter and otl'\er
" articles useful for blacksmiths and cnrpanters. '!bey t:aro however
not alla.led to fr·eoly mrkot those articles for their economic
benefitn. Firstly they Mel to supply, in return for the dead
anim:lls, sa.n&.ll.s for the ryota' fnmily, belts for t.mlir bullodca 245
&nd leather for other aqriculturnl imple!1'13nts. Thus in practice
they t:.are loft with little loother to market for their am
bsnefit. On tho other hand the lcathor wrkers ware nocdcd in
agriculture for making and repa.iring of leather tube3 end
buckets used in lift irrigation. But much of their work in this
respact disappeared after the advent of iron buckets, mostly
imported or urban mnufactured, tthich took tho place of leathor 246
in water lifts. Bnrliar, in all the villages, there waro the
243. See for furth3r details, Monograh on 'Amning and M!lking of lllther Goods in the Maclran Presidancy 1 (M:lek.ns, 1903).
244. Ibid.
245. Ibid; P.J. Thomas (et.al.), cp.cit., p.386.
246. Ibid., pp. 386 and 429.
147
ouppllars of Sllfldal.a to tho villllgera, for Which thsy t:Ora
q::nbrally paid in c:ach, and t:hich they \lOild to Dake from tho 2~7
leather loft ovo.r after IJ'!llU.ng tOO articl.co for th3ir eyota.
But tho foroign machino-ntl<b goods b::gan to dri vo t.ho::l cut oZ
this p:!tty employrent also. In ordc!r to improve their condition,
it ms trlCCSsnry that th3 gowrnm::nt should actively tol.p tho
cbvolopm:mt of chro:t9 l.ea~r industry and aako ot~r ~
im_oroV£m!!lltD to the traditionnl aonufacturinq syot.c:n. But,
contrm:y to this, govornm::mt p>licy \'OS aim:ld ct. ancournging
English lectt.hcr gooda in term of placing orcbrs for ita ._1ilitary
Board even at high prices. Thus lnelt of i.ncenti v.a aa the part of 248
govenur:.mt added to foreiqn ~tltion ruined the leather
m.nufactud.nq hnndic:raft industry in Andhra, ~inlly by ~
end of the 19th century.
Anot.OOr important handicraft induotry t'atl that of t.entile fabrics
and the ellied dyeing industry. In 1881, there t:me 742,737
DOles engag2d in textile industry, of whom ~ly thr~fourth 249
In 19th oantuxy the bandloo:n fabrics of Andhr£1 ___ , ____________ . __________________________________ _
247. Ibid., p. 386. Interestingly otill one will find thiG clasn psrfoming its traditional role in nnny typical Andhra villages. The snmo old lmt-castetl•1adiga.CJ ~will bs found living S2pat'ately in tho vil~ mt.h th3ir ego old o:onomic end oocial dcgrcdntion, scanty clothing and food and thatched huta, 93f10rnl:~Y ourrounded by horrible otinky surroundings. ' ·
248. Proceedings, Dapart:n::mt of ~rca and Induotry, Brclnc:h · Industrieo, June, 1919, Nol. 7-22-Port A,. Cbnfi~ntial.p.6l.
249. Manual of Madras .• 1685, op.cit., p.358
250 in groat d5manCl in llll Europ::wl countries,
148
despite sevare 251
~ition from the mchi.rw-aa&l textile:s of England. ~ver,
by the end of 19th century, they began roocdinq into tha
background in the ~ld marketG, as wall as in the heme market
due to tho Induotrial. ReVolution and the consequent ~titian 252
fran too- British cotton pi~.
Toxtilo production in Andhra was wicbly diffused. Th:a axll"OOr
st.uffo, espx:ially those uoed by the poorer classes, ~o 253
~lly of l.ocal ranufacture. Of all the old ootton fabric
handicrafts, the Cl!Oflt important wre 'pal~res • of threo
varieties: (a) Block printed only, (b) block printccl and Mlnd
printed, and (c) hand printed only. In fact, Maoulipatmn t£\..(] th3
only osntrG which produced the • inimitable palen;pores • which had
co much ckmond in Europ3 and Parsia. Ha.vell basing h~f on
tour inspections of ~ industries of tho Madrao Presidancy,
-----·-~-·------~--·--,.·-·-·---·-·~---··-··-----·-*--·----·-----------------------250. 'l'hs Pnl.~reo and chintzes of Masulipotmn, Vizaqapatam,
BantUtmlrlanka and tho white cloth of TUni were vary tough ~titors of the Britioh cotton piece-goods. Especially, tho chintzes of tmulip:1tmn enjoyed a grent mlebrity abroad. ~Y \\Oro oalebrated for tho freshness and pa:rmanency .of their dyas, the oolours baing brighter after washing thM baforc•. Ibid., p.35B; A. Saradn Rnju, op.cit., p.l63; and also ooe algar 'Iburston, op.cit.
251. Sorada Raju, op.cit., pp. 163-165, f):!gar Thurston, ~.cit., pp 3-7. Sir George Blrdwaod observed that a law was pasood prohibiting foreign pieoo-goods in Britain Ufor the protection of the Spi.talfields Silk n:anufacture but proved of little or no avail against the prodigious importntion and ~ing chenpnoos of Indian piece-goods a. • Industrial Arts of India •, quoted in B. Thurston, Ibid., p.l.
252. C.J. CUnningham, GJ:'CXTith of English Industry and Ccl.nm:n'cc, VOl.2, pp.l22-S_, 220, 632; Qalph Fox, The Colonial Policy of Bri tirm It;perio.liem CNGw York, 1933), pp. 34-36.
253. A SoradD. Raju, op.cit., p.l64.
254 observed that tho textile industry in Madrao Prosideney:
Mny bo divi<b:! into two brnnchoo, the first including handkerchiefs nnd turbons, cloths for uales and females (dhotios and caris),tx!d-eloths -all, with the exception of the last, baing for strictly damastic use. Tho second cmbracan cloths of spacial manufacture, nearly alwtlyo hrlndprintcd, used aCJ canopios ovar th~ .im:lges of Hindu godo, tmd at mrriage or othar c:aremonios. '.'fbay ere us~ to drnp tho mr of tho god in oocrcd processions. Th9 different vcriotien in tho firut class of manufncture are uced marly exclusivoly by ~. though in the SOuth of Indi&, the r~dans haw o.snimilatcd nnny of tho custar.o and hnbita of the Hindu, and tho oecond kind, of course, ia md:::l for Hindus only. In the Madras Presidency, ~~ulipatam in the rc:iotna district, Palakollu, Gollapallem mar CXJcannda in ths Godavari district, Naqore and Kumbaltanam in the Tanjore district., and Parmagudi nnd Pmnban in tho t'.adurn district, are the chief placco where tho foil'llCr kindG are mda 1 t:rhile for the oth3r variety, Kal.ahnsti in th9 North Arcot diatrict, Snlem, Palakollu and Maoulipatmn are noted. Ths colours used in the printing are, in all cases, the Glllro 1 though the \'Jhole of thsn aro not ab:ays in use in one place. ·
149
Th3 Jdnd of palempores usually dioplayed at exhibitionn t:3re
large cloths used as ocre!IDS or canopies printed by hand,· with
conventional representations of treeo (the Persian tree of lifo)
covered with flowers, pnrrots, peacocks and other birds perched
or flying among the branches. At the foot sometimsa a flwing
river or tigress and other t.'OUld b::::a&to pzo:.1l round und~roooth
the shnda of the tree. But this type was by no ma.rm the usual
kind made. EVen the limited uenufacture of this kind \l.'aS
~tcriorating. In fact, there w:ue only threo families existing
in 1890s who 1«tro capable of preparing the above said palemporos
25~. written in °Journal of Indian Art", quotad in Edgar Thurston, op.cit., p.l3.
and that too only trilde to order. This <be line ~s psrhaps due to
tba "tedious prOC3SS of rcpetlted boiling which the red · colour
raqul.ras•, i.e. nearly "tt10 m:mths" period llOO required for the 2SS
"preparation of each cloth", end also lack of c.i::mand .and good
business. Moreover, these ~re not able to a:mrpote with the
British goods in the market, owing to the lonqdrmm process of
preparation and the COflSOq1l9nt high cost of the cloth wban
ca.npared with the mcbino-uo.<b foreign goods. '!bus tro artioono,
tdlo could prep!lrO t.hess clcssic cbsigns, which hith3rt.o enjoyed
ovonmelming ~ in P'Alrops Md P3rsia, ware tccoms wry few by 256
th3 end of the 19th cnntury.
Apart from Masullpatam, another ~t t:aaving contr0 w.lS
Ayyampet, wharo not cnly cotton but cl.so woollen and silk rugs
ware ll!!!lnufactumd. ~, the Btmvani tSawrs rranufaetured 257
only cotton rugs on vertical end boriaontal l('XXIO. Th3 Adoni
• \ellVWS on tho other hand n:nnufactured cotton rugs and cnrp3ts on 258
horizontal looms. 'lh:! case of Adoni mavors nuy be taken to
give the g:.meral picture of Andhra in this respect.
As early as 1897, it as oboerved · by Edgar 'Thurston in his 259
mnograph on cotton fabric industry in Madras Pre&i®ncy, that:
255. Ibid.
The waavers are ~. used indigenous vegetable dye:; until about fifteen yenrs ago. 'fh3 yarn is either dyad locally with imported mineral dyes or purchased ready--dy.:!d fra:n Europe. '1bs
256. Ibid., p.l4.
257. Ibtd., p.8.
258. Ibid., p.9.
259. Ibid.
:l51
min2ral dyos are durable nnd brighter than tho wgetable colours. Tiw qrentcst nUl'Dbor of l.oc:z:n!l a:::m2d by n ningle individual is tan. '.['hQy ore not m t=all off oo th9 last generation, as tho numb:lr of ~ro htls increased and ths profits havo ~tly to ba oharcd among a greater fl\JmOOr of housso (since th3re wan no expanoion of buainess). Th:ly hnve ncreover, to c::ampote against chenp ~rted c::::up:::!ts, nnd e&l'psts of ioil uonufoctured t1ith patt.Grns similar to theoo thoy turn out... ~ carp:X.s ore ab:ntrdly chop. 0113 m th p:lr8llel Gtripas 1 8 1 X 3110 " 1 ia sold for Ro.2-8-0. SUCh a mrpet t.llka!l a m::m a t.Orking cmy of 10 hours to taka, and h:l is p:1id a in onnos. Orr;l with diamond p:l.ttorn, 7 1 4° x 4' in cold for RG. 3-4-o end, &fter paying the \":OOV"Or tt.-ol vo anllD.O and deducting the oo::lt of til$ mtaricl, o profit of ol:xlut two annas is left.
Evan tho Kurnool waavers, who used to export carpets in very
largG quantities to Hyd3rabad, Borar, Nagpur, Aqrn, Cswnpore,
Poena, Juhbulpore, Banboy, Rhlmdeah, Go.dnk., Dh:lnmr, HUbli,
Bsnqnlorc, Myoore, Rampli, Madras, CUddapah, Rajahiilundry and
othsr plcooa in r-:ortbem I Central end SOUthern Irxlin, ~"3rO in
ssrious diotresa by the end of the 19th century. Since the 260
dzuand for their products had altogether ~oed. '1'h3 pricon cf
carpets in the local market crashed to such an extent thnt they
barely covered the oont of the ttsist used, end left absolutely no 261
margin for even the cost of lnbour. Basides the loc:ns for oarpst
w.30.ving, there ~ other loans oleo, producing different ltindo
of cloths. All these loa.:ns had provided occupntion to v.ualim ~ ,
~vats aostly gosha females, who could not do .any ~rk other
than W3l1Ving. Tha clooing dtMn of these looms by the end of the
19th -century causi!d loss of occupation and 11 veli.hood to n vory
large number of W3Avers 'Who were reported to ba about· four
-------·····--------------------------------------------·---260. Ibid.
261. Ibid.
152
262 thousarid in Kumool ta.m alone. In Venkata.gir:i also the industry
l'vld &!clim::d a.1ing to bazaar l\'archt'lnto t:nking to eollinq J.mported
mull, book-mw.Jlin and colour-printed fabrics which had tho 263
advanttlgc of cheapness.
Similarly, Manchester goods hod nenrly driven the Andhra products 264
out of the field. Edqar 'Iburoton tt:m1rked in hie nxmograsm
thllt thoro 'lQG •o. mrk.cd <bteriorotion and decline in tho native
dyeing and t:3aving industries, for which b:!o pri.m!iry fnetoro •••
mainly responsible, via., tba importation of milioo and
nlizarine dyas, and of pieco-goods nore espacinlly cheap mlour-265
printed fabriCS 0• on tba other hand, the process of chcay of
265 these industries t.:as furthered by the lopaidad goverl'lm!nt policy.
As O.R. Ga.Ct31l has remarked, 0 ta.rmrds the end of tho (19th) last
oantury the urban industry of India had only two courses
left to foll01o1, either to chango its zrethods and turn out cheap
art wares - products qancrally of a terribly swoated industry -
-------------·-·~~-·*'-··-··*-.. --------·-··-·---------------··-··-·--·--·----------262. Ibid.; N.G. Chatty, op.cit., p.l75. "11le number of weavero
in the district cmcluaiw of \'fC.lm9n wan 15,122. 'l'tr3y do the work in their om bouoes, partly on their ow account, and party on account of trndars "'ho advanced mney for cloths". 'l'hi.s '¥!as the case of ~wrs in every Andhra district. (Ibid.).
263. Ibid., p.ll.
264. Manual of Madras, 1885, op.cit., pp.358-59 and 363; E. 'l'burston, op.cit., pp. 1-11, 15 and l6 .... 17r 1\. sara& Roju, op.cit., pp.l75-l82' A. v. Raman Reo, <:Jp.cit., pp. 184-187.
265. E .. Thurston, op.cit., p.l6.
266. A. Snrada Raju, op.clt., pp. 171-1751 aloo seo ~nt of Cotmm:ce and Industries, Industrioa Brnnch, January, 1919, No.ll5 - Filed and Inchxed; AuJust,, 1919, No.6 - Filed; and June, 1919, Nos. 7-22, Part - A - (Confidential).
of doubtful artistic valoo, but ~rcial.ly p3ying like the art
industries of Japan, .or keep to their old ota.n&rds and face 267
dzcay - sle»1 or rapid0• But the •wry trnditional systen of
268 production' llt1d the lack of capital, added to tho lop.sidad
tariff policy of tho governmnt and the consequent flooding of
'tM Andhra mark.Gts with the English cheap CDtton piece-goods,
added to lnter by the producto of modern Indian textile industry_,
Mrdly all0'43d the textile induotry to mcovar from its ruin.
The o:mt~rary village otudies also strengthen thia fact of 269
'deindustrialisation' in .Andhra districts. •Hand spinning and
267. O.R. Gadgil, Tha Irduotricl Evolution of lndia in Recent 'l'il'n3s 1860-1939 (Delhi., fifth edition, 1972), pp. 4<G-45. Infact a picture of daeay was .reoordad by PMroah & eo., op.cit., pp. 9-10, 53 and 285.
268. Tennant "Indian Recreations •, U803) p. 30, quoted in A. Sarada Raju, op.eit., p. 166t J.A. Dubois, op.cit., pp. 35-36 and 81-82.
~ ~ut.lful fabrica ware manufactured in wretched thatched huts built of mud, bt:Onty to thirty foot long ~ eevan or eight feet broad. In such a 'b'Ork room, the weawr strotc:hes his broms, squats on the ground, and quietly plies his shuttle surroundad by his ft:mily, and his cow and his fa:.tls•. (Ibid.). Ewn tools U'Ore simple and crude. "In the manufacture of fino muslin, in wich ~ excell lll.l tha world, the wheel, the reel, Q.l1d the loom, &re a simple and artistic structure ••• ". (Tennant, Ibid).
269. Gilbert Slater, op.cit., esp3eially Vunngatla, (Kistna District.) Village Study, pp.lll-122. 11At the t.im:e of tOO 1891 census, there ware 69 bl3awrs; in l90l,l7r in 1911, 127 now U918) there are only three. Foreign yarn of 10, 20 and 40 nos. is purchased from fairs held at Nidadavolu, four miles off. 'l'b3 cloth t:oVen is a very rQU9h sort, used by the very poor classes1 75 per o:mt of the people prefer and use foreign goods. 1M implements are of the ordinary country type and of primitivo nature. 'l't13re is no c::IO-q)eration tJm01'l9 the t!3!lvers. IJ.bey are unable to face the mill amrpatition. CAs they find lltUe 6!.mMd for their goods, they are frequently forced to go trtm.y as agricultural labourera, and practise waaving only aa a hobby for leisure hours. A wa&vor with five sons, as a rule, sends four of thom to a<Jricultural wrk and only one to his ow indu..c;try.
154
t:JOOving troro for long the l'IX)Ot importru\t of rural industries and
many a villaqa aire2d at self-sufficiency in respect of clothing
until tOO close of the 19th amtury. By 1900, however, hand
spinning hnd ~ to machill3 cpinning, while hand-tJ3aving
t!:IS holding its cr.m. • • 270
of the villages•.
HDnd spinning tas a mare nenory in mst
"1'h3 position of tho dyo JM.nufacturers, which t:ere very intimtoly
connsctEXi with cotton fabric industry in Andhra, was in no t:OY
b::sttor. In Andhra, d13ing t::JS dono noinly by "cell non in Siall 271
dyc-houseo". 'lbeir individual requirt.!r!enta waro c:::1ll cmd. they
~o highly o:moervatlve. As t#3 b:3vo noted earlier, Anr'Jhra
districts had enjoyed the m:mopoly of producing palempores DJ1d
chintZ<rJ and other colourful fabrics which ware vary famous for
the perma.r1Sr1cy of their colours. For instnnce, the chintzes of
Masulipntam enjoyed a grat celebrity nbroad, chiefly for tho
.. freshness and parmanency of their dyes" and "tho colours baing 272
brighter after t:ashing than baforo•. In fact, tlr.! brilliancy of
the colours could be achiewd only tbrolJ9h a lDngdrnwn process of
dyeing. ~ muslin was cmcecdingly fine and tculd ro otyle:d in Sf W pm'll!ll-.-'11 •IIIJ: ..... I f I b b ·--. ..._._,,_, -M 1-11-------···--111'11--____ ,........._ _____ , __ _
(Continued) 269. Till 10 yoaro back U910) 95 par c:!nt of the {X)PUlation usad
to wear the vills.ge cloth. Ncx1 75 p3r cent profer and use foreign clothing. 1\io W:ltlVing families r:ecently w:mt to P.ajohmundry as factory coolies. Ten years ago (1910), many ~ of l.CM CD.Stes ueed to practise hand-spiMin<J. A little cotton was grown in the villge upto 1912, but latterly it as sold for higher prices than the spinners could payQ. (p.ll5).
270. P.J. 'l"hanas & etc., op.eit., p.387.
211. Departmsnt of Camnerca & Industry, No.llS, Piled and Indexed, January, 1919, •Administrative Report of the O:;:partment of Industries, Madras Presidancy, 1917-18", p.U.
272. Manual of Madras, 1885, op.cit., p. 358.
155 Europe as a CJOSem::!.Or texture; but it wac very rarely liadt::t even in
1880s OJing to the lack of damand and CX!mp3tition from ~ checlp
mnchino-aad$ goods and artificial dyes. Evon tho preparation or
dyeing process wao a long draw ona. 'Jll!l) bleaching process in
this en~ occupied usunl.ly about a IWllth's time. And llfter the
process if a piece of puro t-.'hi te Arnc.e muslin t:as imnersed in
uater it a:>ul~ be reen only with difficulty. Similar brilliantly
d~ fabrics t:::!rO mnufacturcd also in ~lore, Godavari and
other places, blt tho induotry \CD almoat extinct by tho end of 273
the 19th century. Gollapala.'lt ~-ar Coc:Dnda and B3ndmnurlcmka
n2ar Aml.npuram npecialisad in preparation of vaqotable dyeo and
dyeing of a:>tton and silk fabrics. In fact, in each district
thoro ~re ~ oontres or villages which ~inlizod in dyeing 274
cotton, cloth, ~lien and oilk fabrics. In Andhra, ~ dyoing
taa carried on by castos like~Balijno; er4addivnndlu; (.Rangarazuo',
"Malas~ MUsa.lmans, ~Devangio; tPadmasalia' and so on. The stuff
generally used in dyQing was the "mddictlnldta or the Indian 275
mulberry". In ~ral thio plant grow spontaneously and was
available in almost all jungls of the Andhra districts,
especially 1n districts like t<urnool, Vizaqapatam and Godavari. 276
"Its roots, espocially the bark of the roots, yield a red dy.:!".
'l'ho proceos of dy3ing was a tedious and long drawn out
273. Ibid., p. 359.
274. For a cbtailcd history see Edwin Holder, op.cit.; "Vizagapatam had 26 cotton dyeing and l silk dyeing villages; Kurnool 8 cotton dyeing and 7 silk dyeing villages and one woollen dyoing villaga; Anant:apur, 43 cotton dyaing and 3 silk dyeing villages; Cuddapah 36 cotton dyeing and 5 silk. dyeing vi1.\ages1 Ballary 52 cotton dyeing and 80 silk dyeing villages; "while Nallore hod only 36 cotton dyeing and no silk dyeing village•. A. v. Raman Rao, op.cit., p .. 176.
275. N.G. Chstty, op.cit., p.l76.
276. Ibid.
277 ens. It took generally eight days.
1..56
By the end of the 19th
amtury the preparation of vegetable dyes and other forms -were
abarldongd, tJhen it was found to be a.sier and cheaper to dye with
imported mineral dyes and cheaper to weave cloths tlith im.,oorted 278
than with country-dy;ad yarn. lblaVer, the supariority of the
old vegetable and other forms of dyes when ~eel with minsral
<lyas was such that the traditional form still retained same
base in Andhra districts by the end of 19th century. Even the
caste and religious cust.a:ns to same extend hslpad in preserving
the dyaing industry. For example, for marriage cerenonies ~
castes would not waar iri\Ported fabrics and used only locally-279
mven and dyed cloths. ~Ja..~ever, by 1900, cheap foreign dyed
goods and dye stuffs had acquired a ngar canplete nonopoly of the
native bazaar markets. Almost all upper and middle classes and
urban based people beqan to 90 ltl)re for English goods. The only
sections tJhich still patronised the native manufactured cloth
trere the poorer classes, ~e purchasing powar had baen reduced
a lot by this titna. Moreover, by the end of 19th century,
imported cloth exactly similar in appearance to the <XmlDl
oountry-lx>rdered white cloth, usualy used at the t.i1n9 of certain
cerenonies, bad bee~ introduced into Anclhra n.arket. Koreover, it
sold a.t two-thirds of the price or less when cxmpared with native 280
cloth. 'Ibus by l900,like the (X)tton fabrics industries, the
traditional dyeing practices had also receded into
277. For a detailed note on the method of dyeing see Ibid., pp. 176-177.
278. &!gar 'lburston, op. cit., p. 7.
279. Ibid.
280. Ibid.
157
background. This crisis in tho handicraft industries and their 281
gradual Cbelir~ were a cx:mnon ~in all Andhra districts.
In the first two dacades of the 20th oantury, the Madras
Provincial Govemrrent actively encouraged exp:arimental operations
in chrar.a tanning, ~ving, dyeing and other nnnufacturing
sectors. 'lb3 question of governm:mt intervention i.n the fl'.adra.s
tanning industry was firat talum up in January, 1903. At this
t..1.tn3 whan gover~t conoolted th3 ~r of Cl:Jrm$rco for its
opinion on ~ qu2!ltion of govorrmr:mt • n asoiotance, the Ommber • s 282
reply ~s rt39ative. ConS£qUantly, the sta~ follOtled a policy of
non-intervention. 'l11e q\r!Stion was, tn-.--wr, reconsidared in a 283
different mnten. Sans expari.ments ware carried. on in the
School of Art.s in 1903 to improvo chrc:rro leather. Th2 •object in
view being not to nanufacture a leather which ~tes with the
products of Europa and America, blt marely to turn out aal!3thinq 284
superior to tl1e locally mads articles". As a whole, the
provincial qovart~I:tent, Dfter spsnding about Rs.55,000/- over n
p2riod of 7 years mtvoen 1903 and 1910, gave the equip:nzmt,
capital and machinery to an &u:opean firm, Messrs. 0\:nnbera & co. ------··-·-·---·-·-·--·-·-·-----·-----~----·---·--------··-·--,~-------------------.._.-281. Proceedings, Board of Revenue, No.317 1 dated 6th t-:cwember,
1896.
282. Ptooeillngs of Dq>artment of O::llmerce and Industry 1
Industries Branch 1 "Mstorandum on the D!partment of Industries in the Madras Presidency". August 1919 - No.6 -Piled, pp.6•7.
283. Ibid., p. 7. Mr. Chatterton suggested that experimenttt should b9 uade with the object of introducing and pJpuladsinq the nDre enduring d\rane leather 1 since the leather used in naking • Kavalais' or the buckets used by tl1o ryots for the well irriqation was tanned with inferior methods 1 leading to the oonsequent rotting of these buckets after a o:tmparati w1y short period of use. But the.c;e expcrtmcnts ~re abandoned later. (Ibid).
284. Ibid.
to carry on the businens privately in the presidency. By 1918
this firm mployed 1,110 man partly on bark ond partly on .chtoi:n2
taming and had expanded its base osp3eially owing tc the chmanda 28S
for war goods.
In the case of woaving the oxpsriments in improved mthods of
weaving trere OO!lln.enced only in l90l-G2, the oonccmtration being 286
on the popularisation of flyshuttle looms. In February, 1906, a
weaving factory t?as started on exp3ri.m:mtal b:lsis in tho
presicbncy 1 the object!~ baing ato ~in by exp:'!riment
uhether it was pos:Jible to brprove the conditions of the hand 287
uaaver in Southern India". Good wagoo and regular continuous
employment 'l:lare offered, wt, interestingly, ~ffieiont number of
c&pable hand weavers did not turn up to join the factory. The
officials arguSd that ~~vers much preferred working in their
a:m touses assisted by their ~ and childt·en, and evinced
great dislike to the discipline and regular hours incidental to
factory life. Few of them itOreovcr were free agents. Most ot
them ware in the hands of the cloth marchants who viewad the 288
factory with suspicion and directed their influence against it".
H<.'Xtlever, facts seem to be different, the vaakness was ii1Mrent in
the nature of the colonial rule. 'ltlese experim::mta aroused .a
"considerable interest and was the direct causa of numerous small
private factories baing started" by the cloth merchants and other
native capitalists. Soon most of the factories failed in their 289
business, not OOc:ause of lack of capital and skilled labour, T • IS ' WT
28S. Ibid., p.8.
286. Ibid.
287. Ibid., p.9.
268. Ibid. 289. Ibid.
IIIIIJ • .......... ~.,. •a••••-••• *' "'" •••a• ••r ,.~ ...........
159
but due to the mrketing cxmditions -...nich favoured the import of
the British CXltton picca'"'9t'JOds and later thG indigenous textile
factory production. In fact, the t::!&Ving class dosired not m
mueb taCJ3 labour but acti va financial holp 8!l ~11 as protection
for thoir goods in ~ indigenous rrarket. So t:M cause for the
disintegration of the tm!lll scale ~ving industry was not the 290
lack of mpital, skilled labour or market dzmand, but tho
oruilitU9ht of the JllOClorn factory production llbrood m 11:011 as ot
hcr:ts.
Evan the Rice M1llin9 Induntry which developed in the first two
dracndes of the 20tb century, tas hard hit during end after the 291
war years. This industry had been developed mre rapidly after
1910. The g3M!ral feature being the clwelopment . of "sinqle
huller mills•. Before that in the presid311Cy the paddy t:aG
husked by nand. Especially nfter 1910, installation of £mall
rice milling plants dri wn by oil engi009 bacama t1 gezy.a-ral
feature. 'lh3so srzsll mills, or •rural factories•, as tOOy my ba
te~, ware started with tha introduction of ~ machinery,
and in fact cleared the tay for the ootablisl'ml;mt of large scale 292
central factorieo in J'l.'lany of the Andhra dintricts. 9c'l:leVer, the ~ ltll lill II IIIIP ,.. ......... "*'a----- .............. I £ a • • ..... I 1M~.-..
290. Interestingly the use of flyshuttlo loans spread with considerable rapidity. In mnsus taken in 1911 after enquiring into 89 to.ma and villages, in the presicbncy, not lc~~ than 6,529 ~a out of 15,500 1oom3 wore fitted tiith flyshuttlo slays. It ws estimated that in coastal districts north of Madras mughly 4011 of the t.~vors had adopted the now method. A similar adv.anO'.KI'lent in Northern eircars (1914 survey) and l<istna district <1915) t:as estimated. But this m.ldernisation hardly ~rowd their amditions 0:1ing to unfavourable marketifl9 oonaitions. August, 1919# No.6-PUed, op.clt., 10-11.
291. January, 1919, No.llS, op.cit., pp.6-7; and also sea ibport of .l.atxNr Conditions in the Rice Mills - RqxJrt of tbs LQbour Invastigation · cat:nittee (Govarnmant of India, 1946) pp. 10-28.
292. Jnnua.ry 1919, No • .l15, op.clt., pp.6-7.
16t>
<bvalq:mant of these • rural factories • in Andhra districts
proceeded on ~t different lines when cnnpared with Tc:mil
districts like Tanjore. In Kistna district a considerable number
of large scale stea!rt drivan mills ,.'are evolved direct fran the
hand milling stage without the introduction of small self
contained hullers driven by oil-engines as an intermediate stage 293
of cl3wlop:mmt as happened in the case of Tanjore. Even though
several af the em.Ul mills were installed at Masullpata.lfl and
~_r places in ltistna district, the installation of lllrge scale
mills operating on the Rangoon system W3S the rule and not an 294
exception in this district. Another interesting feature of these
'rural factories' ms their ~lete ncnopol.y by the rich peasant
class. Tim newly energed rich pssant class, consisting IB)Stly
of • Kamma • and • Reddy • castes, invested nost of their agrarian
surplus in this industry basically owing to the lack of options
to invest their capital in other profitable industries. ~
development of these rice mills was conditioned by the mad of
the rich paasants to invest their agrarian capital and was not an
outcan!! of the goverrment •s p:>licy of encouragenant. In fact,
the provincial goverlll1'ent did not help either by providing
financial help, or by providing srachinery. '!'be mills ware not
thus equippad tlith D'!aChinery made by any of the recognized
&1ropean manufacturers, neither had they been amstructed under
the sup2rvision of ~t engineers. They WKe bullt by local 295
'mistris' who worked without any standard dasign or plan. In
293. Ibid., p.6.
294. Ibid., p.7.
295. Ibid.
161 spito of difficulties and anxiety caused during the t:ar pariod
thin induotry continued to develop on its oon, cmvelopinq into 296
one of the major rural induotrial rector after 1920s.
Thus an interesting feature of this pariod W::ls the chV0lopm:mt of
a potential Andhra.capitalist class though not in a pure fo~
since it was hardly united or rather crystallised into a oinqlc
class. Moreov~r it \QS confined to small industria like tile
factories, rico mills, prir;ting prcooeo, t.nnnaries, cotton
prcasing.. ~ bigger industries like Railway workshops and
coffea plantations ware danina.ted or rather uxmopolised by the 297
British capitalist class. In any case, in terms of factory •• $ T ---IIIF 6 • •• _.., __ , __ ·-··-· -·-r -------·-· .. -· ___ ._,1_1 ·---_, ·-· ____ ... ..,._. ·--
296. Ibid.r and Rgport of tm! Labour Investigation C'a1lmittce, op.cit., pp.l0-28.
297. C.H. Philips (et.al.), ~ EVolution of India and Pakiotan 1858 to 1947, Select DocutJr.mts, (london, 1962), pp.683-692.
1tr.l O':mership and Manaqement of tho More Important Industrial COncerns, 1911 Cin ~as Province). ________ ...._..._... ... ,..,_..,.......__.
Nature of N\lll'lber 'Number a.;rrod by companies l'JUmt'x:tr privately Number aenagad factory of fact- of \'Jhich the Directors are a.-.med by by et.c. ories. ......__. ... _ - ···-I'll- --- ...... -..... · ·-·
Coffee 104 Plantation Tile 40 Factories Rice Mills 81 Railway 23 Workshops Printing 51 Presses TanMries 66
Govt.. Europe- Indi- Of ans & · ans both Anglo Indians
30 6 l
7 g
2 23 23 -
3 ll 16 1
3 26
Emopaans InU- Europeans Inciiand Anglo nns nnd Anglo ans Indians Indians
56 ll 86 18
2 23 10 30
57 3 78 23
1 19 15 36
l 36 3 64
_.... 1!11 .... ,. ..
Sources . Census of India, 1911,· Part 1, p.446. •
162
industrieo, tho Andhra districts conotituted a coot bae~rd
region. And honc0 P.ndh.ra: continued it!l colo in th3 colonial
structure no a l!iljor ex,portcr of raw matorinls at t:h!l cost of its
intcrMl ca.>nG:lic dovolop;nmt.
'thu..ll, to t'lUm up, the deelino of Andhra •n traditional handicraft
inf~otrics couscd acute d!strosn ~ng tho artisan clanzos. T~
m1t'V3'Y of the conditions in th3 19th end tho firot two dccadon of
tho 20th c::nturios cloa~ly da!.nonstratan that not only thero ms
little cco.ncmdc icprovc:::cnt in the conditiono of tho articon
claoe~o but thoro ~s marked dotorioration of certain clansco
liko w:m.wro, blnckc:oi tha and tlmnel"o. It may bo that a c:t:1ll
porccntogo of a p::articular artiDanal elasa opponrcd to oo Cltning
tt fair inc.."'.ti'r.), but thoy \mro not in any W3'J roprosontntiva of tho
artisano C10 a tiholo.. While tho 1ncrCilso in tho n~r of tho
nrtico.nal calssoo cnhanood tho nupply oido, ~ more emphatic
brerut up of the celf -suff icicnt ccona:ny of tho village chccltcd
tho exptmsion on tho ~nd sic.1o.. Th:l rooult wao a great
pressure on tho artisanal clasoos oither driving them out
~etoly or EOking ~ cling to hio oostn - calling by Sheer
inertia or hslple:.Jnncns and forcifl9 then to follow it only an o
ouboidiary occupation - a kind of lost refugo.
A l.Drgo ~r of ortinorw t:::lro forced to ~Jt thoJ.r li vclihood
ol thor in egriaulture or or.li<Jrato nn eoolios to Ceylon, Duma Emt'J
oven Bourbon nnd Mouritiouo or to the noighbouring Urbtm arcaa to
wrk as tS\)e labourers. Th:l number of personG; nbsorl:tld by the
urban and cc:ni-urban induotd03 'W:lO wry aoll on is brou;;ht. out
298 by table No.2.39 bel~.
Table 2.39
PERSONS f.MPWYED IN DIPFERBNr INDtJSTRI~
Name of INdustry 1911 . -- -
163
1921
Males Fanales Males Females •• a I - --
Cotton 515 374 6787 5075
Cotton & Other Mills 16658 2966 23439 6167
Oil Mills 1585 503 2114 414
Flour & Rice Mills 3209 1457 7364 3442
SUgar· Factories 1462 216 1007 195
It tas observed that, "misery and disolation prevailed everyWere
and that thousands of weavers ware dyeing of hunger in the 299
different districts of the pr<!sidency". These econcmde
conditions explain to soma extent the support by the artisan and
nerchant classes to the Congress-led novements against colonial
rule in Andhra.
298. Census of India, 1911, w.247-259 and 1921, pp.291-300.
299. J.A. Dubois, op.cit., p.95.
164
III
~..,ur •••-•-
In the end, let us exmnina in brief the dsvelopttrent of English 300
'educated class •. This social stratum fran which came the
mdorn intelligentsia acted os the 'vanguard' of the nationalist
This class was of course in no way a
"revolutionary intelligentsia• that 'declasses• itself. It \14S
in many t!llys very much self-~ing, c:pportunistic and uprooted
from the colonised society. Yet, at this spscific p:>int of tine
and stage of the struggle, it 9ained the oonfidence of the
masses, i.e., the agricultural lat:ourers, peasants and artisans,
as tN!ll as the capitalist and rich peasant classes, to lead them
into anti-Ittperialist action. we are, however, not arguing here
that without English education and the consequant emergence of a
new 'cl.Qss • there \\Ould not have baen any kind of nationalism in
Andhra. In fact, nationlll.ism in Irdia or in Andhra was an outcaoe
of the colonial impact - social, economic and political. Hence
the e.ctivitios of this relatively small class are not to be
exa99erated, nor csn it be seen separately fran the totality of
the colonial. rule.
300. 'the term 'educated' class is used here not to emphasize that the English educated fot'm'.9d an absolute hottv;)geneous group, but to signify the emergence of new groups of persons who received higher education in English nedium and engaged in various professions. And they did have a cert.ain cxmnonality of outlook and interests \to'hich basically emerged out of a cx:mnon educational background. This uniformity in educatiOn broke dawn to a certain extent provincial jealousies, caste feelings and religious dogmatism. tl'..otoover, as they became painfully aware of their own deprivations and degradation, they begon to form into a group with. carmon feelings and. even interests.
1. 6 5
In the Madras Presidency &\glish education was first J.ntroc:lucx;Ki
by John sullivan towards the end of the eighteenth o:mtury, Which . 301
was later furthered by the 01ristian missionaries. But the
development of English education el .. .-•a in this prelSidency r
was rather slow as a whole. 'Itlis perhaps waa due to official
vacillations in introducing the ini tiel educational sche:ne in the 302
presid3ncy. '1b9 aarked tendency of development can b3 eaan only
after 1910, especially in the Andhra diatricts.
Due to the ec:onanic and political a:>nsidarations, the colonial
rulers evolved an educational p:llicy, mich resulted in the
emergence of a pJWerful 'educated middle class'. This education 303
'taS of course, limited to the upper and middle classes.
In 1901 nearly 6Vi of the Hindus, 7Vs of the Muslims and 14t of the 304
Christians t:rere literate. JmDng the Hindus, the Brahmin cnste
had the highest literacy, i.e., over 300 lmll for every thousand 305
could read and write. TOO progress of English education was,
howeVer, rather slow in the Madras presidency, ~ially in
301. For details see,
Manual of the Administration of 'llle Madras Presidency (Madras, 1885), Vol. I, Footnote No.2, pp.S65-74; H. Sharp, Selections fran aiucational Records, Part•I, 1781-1879, pp.3-4, 45 and 194-S; S. SBthianadhan, History of Education in the Madras Presidsncy (Madras, 1894 ); Bruce T. McCully, En;Jlish aiucation and the Origins of Indian Nationalisam (Gloucester, Mass. Peter Smith, 1966) pp.SS-58 and 124-129.
302. Manual of Madras Administration (1885), Ibid; Bruce T. McCully, op.cit., pp.ll-37 and 118-124.
303. Sharp, op.cit., Part-1, p.921 B.a. Mishra, ~ Indian Middle Classes, Their Growth in MOdern Times, (Delhi, Reprint, 1978>, .. pp.l47-2l0 and 282-3017 Aparna Basu, 'llle Growth of Qiuc:ation and Political D!Yel~t in Dldia, 1898-1920 .~ (OXford University Press, 1974). .. .
304. Census of India, 1901, Madras, Part I, Vol.XV, P. 74.
3~5. Ibid., p.78.
306 Andhra districts. (See tables 2.40 and 2.41 bel~).
Tablo - 2.40
Literacy in Erglish par 10,000 males (all ages) in satra Andhra districts.
~- .. --·------------Districts 1901 1911 1921 ........... 1. Godavari 94 137 201 2. I<ist.na 69 114 151 3. Guntur 47 7l lll ------ . "- 'IIIII --
SOurces : Census oi.: India, 1921, Madras, Part I Vol.XIII, p.126.
1. 6 6
The growth of education was rrore rapid after 1911. Hc::Jwsver, it
was still slower than at the All India level. 307
TABLE- 2.41 ----•• a -•
Growth of En;Jllsh Education in the Fl'.adras Presidency, 190l-o2 to 1916~17
,.. ___ .............._
Number 1901-02 1906-Q7 1911-12 ~--~-~~~~-------·
..... ... ,-secondary 648 464 375 SChools Pupils 74,514 89,390 102,886 Art COllages 40 36 32 Pupils 3,779 4,687 4,939 -· . __ ...._-..,..,.... ......... __ ,., ................ __.. __
.......... __ 1916-17
377
139,796 34
7,724
In this situation the m::mopoly of education by high castes,
especially Brahamins, was strengthened. '!be absence of unaided t 1 I Xll.lt:odlli ..... Ill I J
306 .. Report of Public Instruction in Madras Presidency for 1901-02 and for the quinqU2nnium 1897-98 to 1901-02, Vol.t p.la., for 1921-22 and for the ~nquennium 1916-17 to 1921-22, Vo1.II., g;>.2-3.
307. All India figures ares English secondsry schools and. Arts colleges in 1901-02 ware 3,099 and 140 respactivelyJ pupils in the same year in schools and colleges ~re 4,22,107 and 17,148 respectively. Whereas these figures increased to 4,465 school with 8,72,945 pupils and 125 colleges ~th 46,437 pupils in 1916-17.
Based on, 6th QuinqU3nnial Review of Education in Imia 1907-12, ~.II, p.231J 7th Quin: Review •••• 1912-l7, ~.II and 8th Quin. Review ••• l917-22, VOl.I, w.67 & 96.
308 schools, with low fees also developed this trend. Conseque.ntly
the English education was continued as a virtual lTDllOpOly of tho
Brahmin caste. In Bellary there ~re 23 schools exclusively for
Brahmins, whereas almost all colleges were daninated by pupils 309
fran this caste. This UDnopoly w.as, however, not a new
phel'lCXtl1!IlOn. It was observed that in the 1820s in oartnin
districts ~ding and \iX'iting wore almost entirely confinsd to
Brahmins and the mrcantile claoa. '11lis danination of education
by Brahmins was even uore striking if examined in terms of ths
lkahmins • proportion in the total {X)Ptllation. Th9 Brahmins
formed only 3.% of the total a·indu population in 1881: yat in
1896-97, out of 16 Hindu studento in colleges nearly 15 ware
.Brahmins, and of 197 Hindu students in high schools, 167 were 310
Brahmins. 'Itle total numbar of graduates belonging to Brahmin
caste was 7, 013 or 71 t of the total graduates between 1886 l.md 311
1910. This Brahminical monopoly of modern education, however,
began to dscline especially in the 1920s in the face of the stiff
competition from the newly emerging rich peasant class, mostly
oonstituted of high middle castes likee~<cmmas' and 'Reddys; as
brought out in table 2.42 below • ...-.-.....-..------------------·.-...------· ,, -.... ~-~. -• .. . ........ _... .. 308. Report m Public Instruction in Madras Preaidency for the
year 1891-02 (Madras, 1892) p.39.
309. Sharp, op.cit., Part I, p.6S.
310. 3rd Quin. Review of Education of India, 1892-97, Vol.l.
311. Report of the Royal Camli.ssion on Public Services, 1914, Vol.l and Vol.II. Between 1903 and 1913, 3,676 Brahmins were B.A. degree holders and the number of non-Brahmins \li:3S
only 1,151.
TABLE- 2.42 ------- ........
Years M:Jmber of Number of Brahmins non -Brahmins
_.. I'P ill I
f IJ _____
Arts Law Arts :raw Colleges Colleges COlleges Colleges
···- -·· ... _,, ... . ··- . . 190l-o2 2, 708 290 666 78
1906-07 3,275 302 890 69
1911-12 3,334 383 1,01~ 53
1917-18 5,163 429 1,518 lOS
1921-22 4,789 N.A. 2,119 N.A • .......................... ____ ........., __ -~---·
II ··~__...,.. ..... ·-sources : Based on Report on Public Instruction
in Madras for years 1901-02 to 1921-22.
1.68
Thus. E'lrjlish · education was spreading rather fast am::mg non
Brahmin castes especially after 1918. eetween 1906-o7 and 1911-
12 when the non-Brahmin students increased by 3lt., the Brahmin 312
pupils increased only by 19~. Whereas bettiaen 1912 and 1917,
when the 'Panchamas' increased by 67ts, growth of Brahmins and 313
non-Brahmins students tias only 20% and 30' respectively.
Proportionate decrease of Brahmin caste pupils was mre striking
between 1917 and 1922. In this period when the numl:er of 'Adi
Dravidas • and '.Ad.i -Amhras • students increased by lOll and that of
non-Brahmin caste Hindu students by 8\\, the increase was only 3~ 314
in the case of Brahmin students. 'ltle spread af education am:mg
312. Report on Public Instruction for Madras Presidency for 1911-12 and for the quinquannium 1906-07 to 1911-12, Pe4.
313. Ibid., for 1916-17 and for the quin. 1912-17, vol.I, p.S.
314. Ibid., for 1921-22 and for the quin, 1916-17 to 1921-22, Vol.I, p.6.
a 'Adi.-Dravi~' and 'Adi-Andhras•, who "ttSre qeneraly described as
'Panchamas' in Andhra districts, in turn, had political and
social repercussion. As early as 1905-o6, an Official report
observed that in the schools, "the landholdillCJ class... supplied
the largest number of pupils, the percentage for the year (1905-
06) being 42 against 41.3 in 1904-65. The c:coly class <aostly
Pancbamas) came next with 23.1\\ while traders, officials and 315'
artisans supplied 13.1\\, 11.9, and 7.6\\ respectively". In the
Agency division, however, the davelqment of education was below
even this (see table 2.43 below). 31G.
TABLE- 2.43
Number of literate per 10,000.
-------------·-----------
Years East Coast North Agency
-----------·------------·-·-----------·------------Males Fenales Males FEmales .Males Females
----------·-----··-·-·~-----·-·-··-·--·--·-·---------·-··-----------------------~~~ 1891 1901 1911 1921
1118 1112 1305 1444
49 74
127 216
1220 1070 1235 1417
35 51 71
127
254 244 311 330
Sources : Census of India, 1921, Val. XIII, Madras, Part I, Report, (Madras, 1922), p.ll6.
8 13 20 40
·--..
----------------------------------------------~~-·----------315. Report on the Mministration of the Madras Presidency During
the year 1905-06 <Madras, 1906), p.9l.
"E.Ven the number of pupils receiving instruction in the Telugu Vernacular has been increased nearly by 2. 7~". (Ibid).
316. For :aore details of the developnent of literacy and English education among different eastes and as well as in the different Andhra districts, see .Appendix .•
• Caste • • populc-: tior. t • ' • • • - .8
460819
112,095
2611925
498295
4872,1
807.986
151131.2
!,6~LE. -.2.':_44- .,..
LI T~HACY BY CA§TE IN ~NQH~d. DIST!iiCTS
- IC 19~d • a ..
1911 • ' • t ........- .. i ' t • • ' • • • • literate: " in :English~ in • Ceete !Lito~:-.:~ in :English~ in ~Neamo of • • caste :Liter- :.caste •· Popu-. ·~eta :centu ''Liter- 'caste 'tho • .. ' . ' • popu- tate fpopu- • letiorq :popu- :ate :po PlJ- :caste
' t
leticno: 'J.. t. ' ' :lation ~. P,eti-: • ,al.On, t • • ' ' • • • :-on • • t t. t • _I ' ' • ... JW¥L ·-
1J· a~ -•il I _. 11 Ill , L • ' • ...... - ........ 4 .. ~· ... ......., I ·~-(!ft;l
179305 38.~U 34393 7.44 5.11830 1 ,,306 37 .. 47 47900 9.01' ffiataun (.-tal Ylj u)
72.S7J 6.47 1172 Oo10 1160984 88226 1.6 2763 0.24 Ka•ii 12517~ 4e67 29St!i o .. 11 2631479 141 635 5.39 5468 0.2-t Ke.po
1Jatto• 27 .. 4f 3802 oiD7a 393772 1144-'~ 29.06 5917 S.11 Koasti ,.
9920 2,04 1005 o-.2t 514.1.24- 2053l 3.99 1742 0 .. 3.4. Velevo;~
-3611 0.45 42 o·.of 737427 3736 o. 51 2'05 0.28 M_r.figa
10856 o.12 254 o.oi 149312, 13129 o.as 515 o.o4 Malt!
..
SOurces Compiled fro~ ~~;un-2f_!nd!~.1211• Madras, PP• i0-82 end 1921, pp .. 118-123.
171 The develop;nsnt of education was thus concentrated in the East Coast
North Oi vision and in the Daccan, the fortm!r possossinq the two lnrge
irrigated areas in the d9ltas of the Godavari and Kistna. These, ln
fact, \2re the centres of the militant non-tax oarpaigns in 1920-22
and salt satyagrahas in 1930-31. As wa have already explained in our
earlier e::lCtions, the Fast Coast North Division was precisely the
division Which emarqed as a richly irrignted area with expanding
cx:mnodity production by 1910. In this division one CX)Uld see the
G1'19rgence of a rich peasant class, a:msti tut:ed by high culti vatinq
castes likecKmnmE.ts: cKapus• and "velamas·. 'ltlese castes with thsir sscure
economic conditions began to t.ake to education in order to avail of
the naw opportunities which opened up in the urban centres due to tho
introduction of the new colonial adndnistrative infra-structure,
which was hitherto mnopolised by the Brahmin caste.
Brahmins • daninance in the educational arena W3s parallel&d by their :?>tr
daninance in the public ssrvices and urban professions (see table
2. 45 bslow). TABLE - 2.45 --·-----·-
Public Sorvices held by Brahmins and non-Brahmins. --------------------·-----------•-•-••-n-u-••----·-·---~n-•-•-----•-•-••-•-••--•--•-
Name of the service Percentage of total Percentage of male population appointm2nts held. ....... . ...... ......,... . . ,, .... __ Census of 1911 1896 1913 ------------··---- ..... _______________ _
Executive Branch I Brahmins I Daputy Collectors . N:'Jn-Brahmins
3.2 85.6
53 ss 25 21.5 -··II qr _____ _.._ ......... f -- -..I-·-· ---··-·t-ill--__ -.........,_. --- Mal • L .....
Ju.U- I Sub- Srah.'Dins cial JUdges Nan-Brahmdns Branch (Hindus)
3.2 85.6
71.4 83.3 21.4 16.7
) , ....... __..____...._ ......,__...._..,.,_, __________ ,,.______________ ............,. ___ -.-....... ...........
I. Distri- Brahmins ct Ncn-Brahmins Muncifs (Hindus)
3.2 95.6
66.4 72.6 21.2 19.5
---· ·------------SOurce : Report of the ~al Cormission on Public
services, 1916, Vbl.II, pp.l03-4.
317. History of the Froodan ~nt Unit, Region VIII, File No.l6/2 (private papers, NAI) (hereafter HFM.U), pp.44-4S.
1.72
As long as Brahmins retained their nonopoly of education, their
lead in the professions, such as the Bar, and the bureaucracy taa
not dlallenged. But once English education bsgan to spread among
the non-Brahmins, esp2eially in Kistna ~ Guntur and Godavari
diatricts Un fact OOr'e the non-Brahmins got an edge over the
Brahmins by 1920), they baqan to challenge their m:mopoly .in the
b.lrea.ucracy.
a The c.xmseq~s of English education tJCre ~r ffJr n-ore
Oon'plex and had other socio-cultural and political consequgnces.
Ckl the socio-cultural level it had one serious consequence. ".t'h:9
SOUth Indian society had formed into a multi-caste society with
one dominant caste - the Brahmins - prior to tns 20th century.
Still there ware inter-caste relations and exx>peration on eocial 318
level and the tipper castes together shared the local o::mtrol. As
early as in the 14th century, there ware alliances and close
cooperation between Brahmins and the "reop3Ctable cultivating n9 .
groups". Stein reports that the uost important land aminq
castes - thee Vellalas: c Reddiars;- and t ttammas' - sought to remain
above end apart from other non-Brahmin groups, and they "acquired
---- ---·-· -·-----·------~-... -·--.. -·,-· ·---·-.................... .... . . . . ..... 318. H.R. Barnett, The Politics of CUltural Nationalism in South
India (New Jersy, 1976 l, p.l6. ~ argues that relatione betwa2n Brahmins and dominant non-Brahmin castes, •involved competition, conflict, and cooperation between or among jatis (endogamus caste units) in localized village or district areasD. (Ibid).
319. Burton Stein, 'Brahmin and peasant in Early South Indian History', Dr. v. Raghavan, Felicitation Volune of the Adyar Library Bulletin 31-32 (1967-68), p.244, Quoted in Barnett, op.cit., p.l6.
a special relationship with Bratunino based upon ritual 320
opportunities not. shared by other non-Brahmins". But the advent
of the British, and the c:onsequant change of relations in
land, bcought strains into these traditional relations.
Brahmins• bold upon the village adudnistration was continued,
even though they lost economic hold especially in the 19th and 321
20th centuries. Thus there e:nsrqed a oontradiction, \1hich was
forcibly brought to surface in the urban centres. In fact,
urbanisation and Brahmin dani.nance w:ero inter-related features of
the 19th and 20th century social change, resulting in the
•d.ichotanbation• of soc:io-econcxnic elites into Brahmin and non-322
Brahmin eagnents. In Andhra, at the village level, by virtue of
the high economic status in the rural side, the caste Hindu non
Brahmins wre respact.ed by poor Brahmins. 'l.'ha Brahmins ~ 323
even "mncomitant respect and dsfcrence". But in the ritualistic
........ -............ ...,_ ____ - •• IFITMI _,__.., _____ 'V1F_t __ , -· --O-Itl-lk-1 ·-·-----.. ---·-
320. Barnett, op.cit., p.l6.
321. J.B.tJ. Dykes, Salem, an Indian Col.lectorate U.fadras, 1853), p.324: Robert Eric Frykenberg, Guntur District, 1788-1848& A History of Locol Influence and Central Authority in. SOuth India (OXford, 1965) pp. 13-14: ~~ Region VIII, File No.l6/2.
322. Barnett, q;:~.cit., p.l7J and also see Ka.thelene Gough, 'The SOCial Structure of n T&n jore Village • , in Kckim Marriot (ed), Village India: Studies in the Little C'atmunity (Chicago, 1955).
323. Barnett, op.cit., w. 24-25.
174
324 aspect they were l1'0Stly looked down upon by the Brahmins. This
I
non-Brahmin daaincmce was challenged in thg urban centres, ~ere
valua began to be attached to education and other occupational
skills, which ware nonopolised by Brahmins. Moreover, in the
urban areas, all non-Brahmins ware treated as part of the
undifferentiated low category of the • Sudras •. Traditionally,
the term • .5\xira' hEld got different cxmnotations. But in this
a::mtext the fl!39lltive o:mnotD.tion i.e. social dsgradation, eas 325 .)(
popUlarised. So, for non-Brahmin high-caste elite groups
(educated), rural-to-urban D'OVell'lent meant not only a transition
fran a secure transactional system to a system in flux, but alao
to a system where deference patterns below Brahmins and above
untouchables ware baing looked dawn upon, in spite of their -------·---•-• -·----·-·--.. r-- ----------324. In Ardhra class relatioqo ware peculiar. The kisan (ryot.)
class of 'Kammas, Reddis, Telagas, Yadavas' and others ware looked down up:m by the socially ascendent Brahmin class but they in their turn looked do'wn upon the Harijan kisan class of 'Malas and Madigas ' • 'Ib9 mrchant class of • Vnisya • used to be treated as second only to the Brahmins although the locally ascendent kisan class w:>uld get on with them aore or less as equals. The artisan classes were treated with consideration but their position was below the high caste kisan groups. see N.G. Ranga, Fight for ~,
. (Autobiography) (Delhi, 1968) p.3.
325. Coosequently, the English educated caste Hindu non-Brahmins started a m:>vement first against social <hgradation. 'l'h2y called a conference in Kollur (Guntur district) to dt.-cicb the meaning of the term • SUdra' in 1916. 1hey \'13nt so far as io qU9Stion the symbols of Rama, Krishna and other epic heroe.cs • - - _ In the process · of defining 'Sudra' category as a socially hiqher category than the Brahmins~ they re-interpreted the epics, errpbasizing social and ritual injustice Cbne by Aryans to the Dravidians. ConsCQ1J3ntly,for them 'Ravana' and 'Duryodhana' became heroes. See SUryadevara Raghavayya Chowdary, Brahmanetara Vijayamu CTelugu, l<ollur, 1925), especially Introduction 1 Tripuraneni Ramaswami Chowdary • s llll 'l«>rk.s in Teli¥JU•
175 326
econcxnically ~uro position. Hooco in spite of their rt3Wly
acquired English education, urbanisntion was necP..ssarily a social
strain to the \lle8lthy educated nenbers af the non-Brahmin caste
Hindus, since the non-Brahminn position, unlike the Brahmins •,
wao dependent upon very apecific localized transactional
relationships end defference J;atterns. Thus tb:l contrast with
Brahmins can be ~tly statedr for Brahmins their position and
status was i~t of thoir residence in any given area; for
non-Brahmins, high& rank wan dirccUy depandant on villnge
econanic dominance or relationo on land, and ritual dominance,
transactionally corroborated.
The davelopment of education thus brought not only new
opportunities, but also social conflicts. '.l'trere Ellt!!rged a tussel
betw3en Brahmins and non-.Brahmins on caste lines. 1hi.s cxmflict
my perhaps also be defined as a social conflict betweoo land
a.ming non-Brahmin elite groupo with a history of rural dominance
and their recent c:onsolidation as n rich psasant class with its
firm hold on land, on the one hand, and a nascent urban Brahmin
educated elite group that bnd used the opportunities presented by
the net1 educational system, on the other. In other
--· - ... _. .. ,_ 1 ....... • ... .... _______ , ____ .. _, _____ , -··-··-· __ ,_ .. _..._ ___ ·-··-· -·-··-···---
326.
;j-
For a general analysia of transition in the Indian village, see Milton Singer and Bernard Colin Ced) Structure and Change in Indian Society (Chicago, 1969), pp.423-52; Barnett, cp.cit.; Girl Raj Gupta (eel), Main CUrrents in Indian Sociology-III, COhesion and COnflict in MOdern India (Vikas, 1978>; Jmnes Selwrberq Ced), Social Mobility In the caste System in India (An Interdisciplinary ~ium) <Netherlands, Paris, 1968 h Andre B::!teille, Studies in Agrarian SociJ:ll Structure (OXford Uniwrsity Pre.oo, Second Inpression 1977·>; for other t.'Orks of various authors S3e BibUography ..
176
words this conflict was the direct nanifestation of the changes
in the agrarian social structure in the colonial context which
were reflected in this caste oonflict. As t.:e have seen earlier,
the newly emerging rich peasant class, after its economic
consolidation by 1915, began to strive for social and political
begemny. But the rigid hold of • Varnashrama dharma • hardly
all<»Jed these non-Brahmin castes • social hegerony. SO the
traditional tr.a9emony structure had to be rejected or rather
replaced by the non-Brahmin caste elite groups. This conflict
becam9 rore sharp in the light of the fact that Brahmins not only
OOninated the Educational, administrative and sc.x:ial f lelds but
extended their hold on politics also. After the formation of
Bane Rule teague by Mrs. Besant in 1916, the fears of non-327
Brahmins resulted in the creation of the JUstice party. This
conflict ~s further developed with the politicisation of caste
politics by the ~rrmt3nt.
The roots of the concept of non-Brahmin ware intrinsically tied
to the idea of a cultural unity and integrity of South Irrlia
based on a Dravidian past. Paradoxically this Dr.avidianness was
first postulated by Europeans to divide the emgrging social and 328
political forces on the basis of casteism. In particular tho -327. The Non-Brahmin Manifesto • December 1916, in RNNM, 1916,
pp.ll0l-ll03J E.F. Irschik, PoLitics and Social COnflict in South Irxiia (California, 1969) J Justice Party7 Goldan Jubilee Souvenier n~as, 1968) t;p.29-41: HFMU, Region VIII, File No.l6/2(NA1).
328. Barnett, c:p.cit., p. 171 HFMU, Region VIII, File No.l6/2.
. '
177
329 imperialists ware keen eo split tho nationalist political forces
which ha.d to soma extent acquired a nass base by 1920. To split
the Muslims and Hindus in Andhra had becare difficult not only
bacause of the demonstrated c:xmmunal harmony during the IOlilafat
and Non-(;qlperation Mc:'JVem.<mt, but also becuase the fact that the
number of f..1USlims was very small. So the only alternative was
division mrgng the Hindus themselves en .caste lines. ibus
originated governm2nt support to politicization of caste in tho
Madras Presidency.
At th.e same time, during this period, political awakening among
the non-Brahmin educated groups, especially of the middle 330
classes, was taking place. As wa have seen earlier, with the
imposition of colonial rule by British, social stratification was
affected. In the process of urbanization, education had beoane
the central criterion of status determination. ·'Ihis completely
changed the attitude of the non-Brahmin castes, ating t.o the fact
that only an educated class could possibly play a prominent role
in political, social and economic fields in the
329. Anahra Patrika, January 15, 1920, p.St Feb. 4, 1920, see the article • Panchamulu-Pancbameetarulu • (Panohmas end non• Pan...""hrumln), p.l1 October 25, 1920, 'Editorinl' p.7, R!\"NPMR. No. 24, p.l200. Reports fran : '1.tle Venkatesa Patrika • (Chi ttor) of the 2rd Oct., and ''.the Golava:ri Patrika' (Rajahmundry) of the 21st September, 1920; the file No.l6/2 of fll'MU - Region VIII, gives further information regarding this matter.
330. I nave shown the difference between Justice Party's social base and the non-Branmins movement in Ardbra led by SUrya~yara Raghavayya Chowdary and Tripuraneni Ramaswami eoowdari, in my paper "Brahmanetarodyamum - o:ta Pariseelana" Un Telu:JU) (Non-Brahmin Movement - A critical view), 'ttlieh was published in Andhra Pradesh History Congress Proceedings, 1\avali , 1976.
178
colonial context. Thin resulted in a self-respect l.lDvem::mt which 331
aimad to uplift non-Bramins culturally and educationally.
Earlier this ncvenent was started as a part of the 'Library
~nt •. As early as 1910, there ware widespread libraries
containing books in Telugu and Sanskrit; end these had also
organised Sanskrit colleges to teach Sanskrit to non-Brahmins, 332
who hitherto had been cxmsidered unfit to learn Sanskrit. 'Ibis
mo~t 1as further encourag3d by the new ideas originating in
that extraordinary period of intellectual growth and social
reform mvemants. Great writers and social reformers, especially
t<andukuri Veeresalingam, and their teachings tere wielding great 333
infl~ over the youth of Andhra. They began to search for 334
new education to uplift ·themselves from backwardness. Thu.c; the
sgcond d2cllde of the 20th omtury became ths era of the awakening
of uany hitherto socially depressed castes into political and
social eelf.-realisation. Cnste conferences, <XmiiOl'l at th9 ti.m3,
ware then serving a progressive purpose in Andhra, by trying to
reform and uplift the masses by mking education popular mrong
------~----------------------~-----~~
331. See 1 Kaviraju Darsanemu•, (Telugu), (Kaviraja sahiti Ssmdti, Vijayawada-2, 1964) 1 SUryaCL.wara Raghavayya ~, 'Brahtnan3tara Vijayamu• CTeh'gu, Kolluru, 1925) Jaggaiah t<anneganti, • AryUl.a Rllhasyamulanu Velladinchina Ohirulu' (The Heroes who Revealed the Secrets of Arynno) (TelUJu, 1973) J Gepichand, 'Chikati Gadulu' (TelUJU novel).
332. Ranga, N.G., 'Autobiography', op.cit .. , p.l3.
333. Ibid., p.25-26; v. Ramakrishna, SCx:ial Reform in .Arrlhra ( 1848-1919) (Vikas, 1\'ew Oslhi, 1983); Andhra Patrika, 21 June, 1919.
334. N.G. Ranqa, op.cit., pp. 16 ff1 ArXJhra Patrika, 4th July, 5 Sept. 19171 19th June, 1929.
179 335
them. All this also took the form of a fight against Brahminism
at tho socio-cultural level. Sans hiqh caste non-Brahmin group -
feudal el.Enents end rich landlords - ~e encourwgsd by the
British to establish a separate political party to fight ~ainst
the <l:Jn9ress. Thus the JUstice Party was originated, ~ich 336
attacked the nationalists. 11le lenders of the party b:!lieved
that Ban!l Rule or the non-cxx>poration deMand of self -government
would cbgcnerata into Brahmin rule and thus the intercats of the 337
non-Bmhmins wuld b9 adversely affected t.1t1der nationalist rul.o.
The Justice Party even tried to influence the Muslims. e&~ Qaumi. ,,
Report of the 6th February 1917 reported about a nmw rrovement
which had ~ started in Madras by the non-Brahmins, who \":3re
endeavourin~ to cxmvince Musnl.rnnns that the latter also ware non
Brahmins and should, therefore, join tho party to fight against
the 'Brahmin-daninated' nationalist politics. 'ltds attempt, 338
however, was rot successful. EVan though tho Justica Party
succeeded in winning over soma sect.iono of the non-Brahmin
---~·-·_..........__..._..., ........ __._._ ..... II • ----·------------
335. Ibid., And also sse s. Raghavayyn Olowda.ry, op.cit., 'Viqnapt.i • (Foreword). Between 1915 and 1930 • s rowrCll castes like K&n:nas, Reddin, l(apus and Adi-Andhras, held their conferences to systematise the mrk of spreading education among their ca..nte groups. 'J.'he Andhra Sachitra Vara Patrika (special num.bsr) of 16 SEptember 1983, hos reproduced ~ of the reports on these caste oonfercncoo published iri oontemporary Ardhra Patrika daily.
336. For a brief history see article by N. Innayya, • Justice Party', in Pra.sarita, <Telugu Quarterly), April-June, 1975, pp.61-65J HFMtJ-Region VIII, 16/2 (NAI).
337. HF:Mu-Region VIII, 16/2, (F.N.l; pp.4: 72-79; 81-82.
338. Ibid., pp. 92-87J 91~96, 108.
:180
groups en caste lines to fight against the nationalist ncement,
it was limited in its strength and influence and virtually failed
in .AOOhra against the militant no-tax ooopaigns during 1920-22
and civil disobedience m:wement during 1930-34.
On the other side, the self -respect JIDVement in Andhra, which was
started by the suryadsvara Raghavayya Chowdary of Kollur, in
Guntur District (in Kul.lur village), with the help of same
praninent non-Brahmin middle clss intellectual groutJ; one year
34-0 before the establishment of the JUstice Party, made same
headwa~ 1 by uplifting the non-Brahmin middle classes
u-educationally and socially. For the leaders of this ItDVement Lwa.s
a self-:cespect mvement and for them the social uplift was rore
. . 1.342.. J-....::1 • l.mpOrtant than econanlc up lft. They said that the .a.uam::ulate
need for the non-Br.ahmin castes was educational upliftment
through which they \!X>Uld be able to get a proper share in
339. 'Jhg self-respect rovenent in AR:ihra was a cultural response of the non-Brahmin intellectuals to the superior Brahmin cultural and spiritual danination. The Brahmin cultural world views, which ItDstly structured the particular values, beliefs and religious systems, were challenged. '!hls challenge was structured in a local cultural idian. '!bey reinterpreted the sacred literary "t«>rks, which ware the basis of the Brahminical culturo-ici..oological danination, and tried to put forward an cpposit world view by using the sane literary source naterial. In other w:>rds, the intellectual leaders of this rrovement in rural Andhra, \·Jho were rostly rooted in the preceeding_ cultural renaissance, embarked upon the reinterpretation of the sacred texts, in which they changed 11a11es, mre sacred thread, J;UrSued both
. English and Sanskrit learning and started 'swasangha pourohityam'. In that sense it was not actually represent sanskritisation, rut a cultural rovement structured in the old terminology of the non-Brahmin intelligentsia. Good exarrples are Tripuraneni Ramaswami Chowdary 's \WOrks.
340. s. Raghavayya Cl'lowdary, q;>.cit., see 'Forward •.
341. N.G. Ranga, 'Autobiography', op.cit., t;p.25-30.
342. Ibid.
1. 81
343 political, economic and social fieldo. 'l'h3y ware against
Bmhminism and thi'3ir spiritual daninntion, wt not aqnin~t the 3~4 345
Brahmin caste. r-u wero they anti-natioooliots. In fact,
Tripuraroni Ro=nammrui ~, the loacbr of this ~t, t:aa 346
o ~11 known nationalist. Th3 non-cooperation and civil
disob:!dicnce nove:zcnts in Andhra durir19 1920-34 sscured a strong
eocial base t.mDn9 these middlo claa!! non-Brahmin intollect.Wlls,
mich in turn cxmtribubd positively to th3 nationalist mvcmant.
Educational advance was aloo M importMt fnctor in cxmtdbutinq
to the riso of critical socinl thinking, wich broke t:tw
traditional intellectual oonopoly of the Brahmins. By ~ing
doors to all classes or castes it (th9 new education) al.co
created n particul.llr 'clans• which had ito ideological root.a in
~rn liberalism. on the oth:!r hand it alco sat in mtion
occupational DDbility which in turn cut across caste and reqional
343. Ibid., Andhra Patrik.a, Jnnuary 20, 1920, pp.. 2-JJ ~ Region VIII-16/2 (Filo NO.), p.25.
344. Tripurarrmi Gopichnnd, op.cit. : s. Raghavayya ChCTddary, op.cit. J also see otfi4-r \tto'Orks of Tripuraneni RamaS\Iv'Omi Chowdary, who clearly indicated that h3 t.-ae not interested in attacking the Brahmin caste, but the Bmhmin ideology of cultural and spiritual danination.. See nloo N.G. Ranga, op.cit., p.2B; Kaviraju Darsanamu, op.cit. J Unl Ramaswamy, .,Tho Bolief SystC!m of tOO t!on-Brruunin t~t in Irrlia: Tho Andhra Caoe", in Asia Survey, Vol.l8, b.'o.3, 1978, pp.290-300.
345. In fact, Tripuraneni playc!d a dominant role in Krishna and GUntur districts after 1920s.· He ~s ~~us for his role in <hvoloping inter-caste and widati uarriages, • S;tasangha Purohityam' and inter-caste (non-Brahmin) dinners. See s. Ragani, q>.cit., p.ua.
3-G6. Ibid.; t<aviraju oaraunmnu, op.cit.J G. Venkata.subbaiah, gaviraju Jeevithamu - sahityamu (•Lifo of Kaviraju and Literature", Telugu, Vijaym"i<lda., 1970 ).
182
loynl.tics. No doubt, in an D.tt.clq;)t at breaking up Brahmins•
oocinl hegcsony, there emerged caste p:>litic:o and
Hcr.13ver, one should not
owrloo!t tOO fact that in epite of the politicisation of caste by
t.h!l colonial rulers lind othero, tho bulk of the non-Brahmin
intellectual SJl"oups supported tho national uove:t'Cnt. · 'l'ro
political conflict represented by the Juatice Party took place wi t.~in
a limited araa nnd t::ta limited in ito £Oei.al b:mo, b:ling o:mflncd
to feudal and big landlord mcial cl.&sooo. tastly, there t:aa a
close o:>nnection oot\::eOn tho gr~ of cduccltion and y;olitieal
activity. In Andhra tho educationally advQJ'lCed castes and
districts pione.ered tho no.tionnl ll'.OVement •. castes like c.~<amnao;
e ' c. , Brahmins and Rsidis, who had a lend in ErJ3lioh education, ware
politiauly DX>re advllflOed end provid::'!d the JQ1 style politiO;'ll
lcad3rship. It was this educated intalligontsia which
fir at p:lrcei ved the basic c:xmtrttdietion 'tlith a>lonialism,
formulated the nntionaliat i~l09Y, and structured the initial
politico-cultural response to colonial domination.
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