Question

“Agricultural stagnation in colonial India was not only due to the use of backward techniques of production, but also a result of exploitative land settlement systems and policies adopted by the British.”

Defend or refute this statement giving valid arguments.

Hint:

Defend the statement. Name two causes: backward techniques with poor irrigation, and exploitative land settlement such as the Zamindari system where rent was collected irrespective of the cultivators condition.

Answer 1

Step 1: Read the statement carefully:
The statement gives two causes of agricultural stagnation in colonial India.
Cause one is backward techniques of production. Cause two is the exploitative land settlement systems and policies of the British.
We are asked to defend or refute it, so we must test both causes.

Step 2: Test the first cause: backward techniques:
Indian farmers used wooden ploughs and old methods. Irrigation was poor, and fertilisers were rarely used.
Most farmers were poor and had no savings to buy better seeds or tools. So yield per hectare stayed very low.
This part of the statement is correct.

Step 3: Test the second cause: land settlement systems:
The British introduced the Zamindari system in large parts of the country. Zamindars were made owners of the land.
They paid a fixed amount to the British and collected rent from the cultivators.
Zamindars collected the rent irrespective of the economic condition of the cultivators. Even in a year of crop failure the rent had to be paid.
This added to the plight of the cultivators and left them with almost nothing to invest in the land.

Step 4: Test the policies adopted by the British:
Zamindars cared only for rent. They did little to improve land or to build irrigation works.
The British wanted revenue and raw material for their own industries. Cultivators were pushed to grow cash crops such as indigo in place of food crops.
Such policies kept farm income low and discouraged any step to raise output.

Step 5: Judge the statement:
Backward techniques were one reason for stagnation. Exploitative land settlement and British policy were an equally strong reason.
Both parts of the statement are supported by facts, so the statement is defended.

Final Answer:
The statement is correct. Agricultural stagnation came from backward techniques, lack of irrigation and low technology, and also from exploitative systems like the Zamindari system, where rent was collected irrespective of the cultivators condition.