Question

how were unwilling cultivators made to produce to grow opium in india ?

Answer 1

How were unwilling cultivators made to cultivate opium in Colonial India? (i) Unwilling cultivators were made to produce opium through a system of advances. These loans tied the peasant to the headmen and through him to the government. (ii) By giving advances the cultivator, was forced to grow opium on a specified area of land. The farmers were bound to hand over his produce to the government agents and accept the low price offered. (iii) He had no option of planting the field with a crop of his choice or selling his product to anyone but the government agent. (iv) The cultivator also had no choice but to accept the low price offered for the practice.

Answer 2

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(i) The crop had to be grown on the best land, on fields that lay near villages and were well manured. On this land, villagers usually produced pulses. If they planted opium on this land, pulses could not be grown there.

(ii) Many cultivators owned no land. To cultivate, they had to pay rent to the landlord for the lease land. And the rent charged on good land near the villages was very high.

(iii) The cultivation of opium was a difficult process. The plant was delicate and the cultivators had to spend long hours in nurturing it.

(iv) The price government paid to the cultivators for opium was very low. It was unprofitable for cultivators to grow opium at that price.