Discuss the indigo rebellion in brief
Answers
The Indigo Rebellion (Neel Bidroho) took place in Bengal in 1859-60 and was a revolt by the farmers against British planters who had forced them to grow indigo under terms that were greatly unfavorable to the farmers.
"Causes of the Indigo Rebellion/Revolt"
Indigo cultivation started in Bengal in 1777.
Indigo was in high demand worldwide. Trade in indigo was lucrative due to the demand for blue dye in Europe.
European planters enjoyed a monopoly over indigo and they forced Indian farmers to grow indigo by signing fraudulent deals with them.
The cultivators were forced to grow indigo in place of food crops.
They were advanced loans for this purpose. Once the farmers took loans, they could never repay it due to the high rates of interest.
The tax rates were also exorbitant.
"Indigo Rebellion"
The indigo farmers revolted in the Nadia district of Bengal by refusing to grow indigo. They attacked the policemen who intervened. The planters, in response to this, increased the rents and evicted the farmers which led to more agitations.
In April 1860, all the farmers in the Barasat division of the districts Nadia and Pabna went on a strike and refused to grow indigo.
The strike spread to other parts of Bengal.
The farmers were led by the Biswas brothers of Nadia, Rafiq Mondal of Malda and Kader Molla of Pabna. The revolt also received support from many zamindars notably Ramrattan Mullick of Narail.