Verarmung der Bauern in Nordindien im 19. Jahrhundert

Abstract

When the British annexed the North Indian Doab at the beginning of the 19th century the land was said to be exhausted due to war, the previous indigenous anarchy and, above all, the inefficiency of Indian agriculture. But the Report of the Revenue Commissioners in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces of 1807/08 proved the contrary. The economic situation in the countryside was, in general, stable, especially in the riverine areas. The Doab, once the core of the Mughal Empire, was still a major agricultural region in North India. British rule on Indian soil changed the situation within a few decades. Besides the well-known effects of British revenue policy in India, the transformation of the indigenous agricultural system was another main reason. The extension of the cash crop area, accompanied by an increase in the population up to 1830, led to a proportional decrease in per capita food production. The third reason is the social deprivation of the rural population due to the alienation of customary rights, landed property and the destruction of tribal structures. To a large extent Ahirs, Gujars, Jats and Rajputs lost a great many of their former social and economic positions. This mainly happened along the Jumna and the Ganges, the hinterland being less affected by this development. After 40 years of British rule the Doab was economically impoverished, the soil exhausted and a large part of the population deprived.