Explain the reason behind the indigo rebellion
Answers
Answer:
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.
The farmers were brutally oppressed if they could not pay the rent or refused to do as asked by the planters.
They were forced to sell indigo at non-profitable rates so as to maximize the European planters’ profits.
If a farmer refused to grow indigo and planted paddy instead, the planters resorted to illegal means to get the farmer to grow indigo such as looting and burning crops, kidnapping the farmer’s family members, etc.
The government always supported the planters who enjoyed many privileges and judicial immunities.