Question

hello! plz help me in this question-why were the planters reluctant to expand area under nij cultivation

Answer 1

Nij Cultivation:

In this system, the planter produced indigo on those lands which were under his direct control. The planter either bought the land or rented it from other zamindars. He directly employed labourers to produce indigo.

The problem with nij cultivation

Indigo could only be cultivated on fertile lands. But these areas were densely populated and hence, only small plots could be acquired. This made it difficult to expand the area under nij cultivation.

They attempted to lease in the land around the indigo factory. While doing so, they evicted the peasants from the area. Peasants’ eviction always created conflict and tension.

A large plantation required a large number of workers. Work at indigo plantation coincided with the time when peasants were busy with rice cultivation. Hence, mobilizing the labour for indigo cultivation was a difficult task.

Large scale nij cultivation also required many ploughs and bullocks. It was a big problem to bur and maintain the ploughs. Since the ploughs and bullocks of the peasants were busy in rice cultivation hence it was not possible to hire from them.