What factors led to the commercialisation of agriculture under the British
Answers
The British rule had pronounced and profound economic impact on India. The various economic policies followed by the British led to the rapid transformation of India’s economy into a colonial economy whose nature and structure were determined by needs of the British economy. One important aspect of British economic policy was commercialization of agriculture.
The commercialization of agriculture means that the agricultural crops and goods are produced by the peasants for sale in the market and not for their own consumption. Commercialization of agriculture in India began during the British rule.
The commercialization of Indian Agriculture took place not to feed the industries of India because India was far behind in industrial development as compared to Britain, France, Belgium and many other European countries of eighteenth century. The commercialization of Indian agriculture was done primarily to feed the British industries that it was taken up and achieved only in cases-of those agricultural products which were either needed by the British industries or could fetch cash commercial gain to the British in the European or American market.
For example, several efforts were made to increase the production of cotton in India to provide raw and good quality cotton to the cotton-textile industries of Britain which were growing fast after the Industrial Revolution in Britain. Most of the plantations for commercial crops were controlled by the English. The commercialization of India agriculture was initiated in India by the British through their direct and indirect policies and activities.
Firstly, the new land tenure system introduced in the form of permanent settlements had made agricultural land a freely exchangeable commodity.
Permanent settlements, by giving ownership right to the zamindars created a class of wealthy landlords; could make use of this ownership right by sale or purchase of land. Agriculture, which had been a way of life rather than a business enterprise, now began to be practiced for sale in national and international markets.
Moreover, crops like cotton, jute, sugarcane, ground nuts, tobacco, etc. which had a high demand in the market were increasingly cultivated. The beginning of the plantation crops like tea, coffee, rubber, indigo, etc heralded a new era in agricultural practices in India.
Social and Economic Effects
The commercialization of agriculture had many results. It was beneficial to the British planters, traders and manufacturers, who were provided with opportunity to make huge profits by getting commercialized agricultural products at throwaway prices.
The commercialization of Indian agriculture also partly benefited Indian traders and money lenders who made huge fortunes by working as middlemen for the British. In this regard, they acted as conduits delivering the products from peasants to the British company from where it was taken abroad. Moreover, Indian money lenders advanced cash advances to the farmers to cultivate the commercial crops and if the peasants failed to pay him back in time, the land of the peasants came under the ownership of moneylenders.
Most of the people suffered miserably due to the British policy of the commercialization of Indian agriculture. It resulted in a reduced area under the cultivation of food crops. The net result was that the Indian cultivators failed to produce even that much food which could provide two square meal
The poor peasant was forced to sell his produce just after harvest at whatever prices he could get as he had to meet in time the demands of the government, the landlord, the money lender and his family members’ requirements. This placed him at the money of the grain merchant, who was in a position to dictate terms and who purchased his produced at much less than the market price. Thus, a large share of the benefit of the growing trade in agricultural products was reaped by the merchant, who was very often also the village money lender.
Further, by making agricultural land a tradable commodity, the peasant lost his security feeling. High land revenue demands forced him to take a loan from the money lender at high-interest rates. The failure to pay debts in time meant the loss of land to the money lender at high-interest rates. It led to land alienation and an increase in the number of agricultural laborers whose conditions, especially in the plantation industry,
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