Colonial Rule and Its Effects on India's Rural Economy

Indian agriculture began around 9000 BC due to the fertile land availability and the cultivation of crops, and the domestication of animals. In view of favorable conditions, the nomadic way of life for the hunter-gatherers slowly gave way to a settled form of life in villages and the use of tools and technologies which enabled agriculture and allied activities to flourish. Favorable monsoons from the South-West and North-East, helped in double-cropping and animal husbandry. Fishing and domestication of the humped wild ox (dairy industry) and the jungle fowl (poultry industry) and domestication of sheep and goat, were important occupations, wheat and barley were the major crops with cotton in 5000 BC while paddy farming started in 7000 BC.

From 9000 BC to 8000 BC, agriculture had yet to be a settled form of livelihood and many innovations were done such as threshing, planting in rows (two or six), storing grains in granaries, and setting aside seeds for the next crops. Farmers learned by innovating and passing on improvements in techniques to the entire community and to the succeeding generations. With cotton cultivation in the Indus valley and innovations in cotton spinning and cloth fabrication with handlooms, the development of the cottage handloom industry began and exports of cotton fabrics began from Harappan ports to the Middle East.

By 2000 BC, extensive rice cultivation and horticulture had started with mango, musk melons, and dates. Hemp was domesticated and gave rise to narcotics, fiber, and oil while jute was first cultivated in India as also sugarcane. Irrigation was also developed in the Indus Valley civilization by 4500 BC which led to a sophisticated system of drainages. Quality irrigation and water storage systems were developed by the Indus valley people and artificial tanks and reservoirs were created by 3000 BC and canal irrigation by 2600 BC.

Animal-drawn carts date back to 2500 BC and the segregation of Kharif and Rabi crops which was due to excessive moisture-resistance was rendered possible. By 1000 BC, the use of iron and the cultivation of cereals, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits were routine. Irrigation was widely practiced by 350 BC and the construction of dams and their maintenance is mentioned in the Arthashastra of Kautilya. On hilly slopes, fruit orchards abounded and in the plains, rice, wheat, millets, barley, oilseeds were cultivated. To retain soil fertility, mixed cropping and rotational cropping was resorted to and keeping fields fallow by rotation. Pulses too made an appearance.

In the areas below the Vindhyas, sustained agricultural practices, such as ploughing, manuring, weeding, irrigation and crop protection, was practiced and water storage in tanks. The Kallanai dam was built in 150 B.C on the Cauvery River. It is the oldest dam in the world that is still in use. Spice trading (cinnamon and black pepper) had also begun by 850 A.D. The crystallisation process of sugar (khandsari) was discovered and China sent two official missions to India (642 and 647 A.D) to obtain India's sugar-refining technology. Chinese silks were prized in India as was camphor by 150 AD.

During the Chola regime (650 AD to 1600 AD), collective holding of land by village communities vanished and was replaced by individual ownership of land and plots with individual irrigation by wells or tanks. The Cholas had water regulators (Neer-Kattis) for the irrigation systems (dams) as part of their bureaucracy.

But India also learned much from the Persian irrigation techniques including the Persian waterwheel and hydel power. Another important innovation that helped horticulture was the use of grafting techniques which Central Asia introduced to India during the medieval period. The advent of the Portuguese saw a huge infusion of fruits and vegetables from South America, including potato, tomato, chilies, maize, and fruits such as pineapple, papaya, and cashew-nut. The quality of mango, oranges, and limes improved with grafting techniques. 

Cultivation of vegetables was encouraged in peri-urban areas. The Portuguese began cultivating tobacco and introduced rubber as a cash crop in India. The British introduced tea from China in 1860 but the Indian tea industry was born when they discovered tea was growing wild in Assam. Coffee was imported from Ethiopia and then grown in Karnataka from Arabian coffee seeds. Indian crops such as cotton, sugar, and citric fruits spread to the entire Islamic world and the quality of fruits was improved with the Central Asian expertise in grafting.

During the medieval period, Indian handicrafts, textiles, and cottage industries (carpet weaving, etc.) became famous with diverse cultural infusions and music, painting, and book printing, all flowered. Land revenue was a taxing problem for the peasants. The villages were largely self-administered and the revenues paid by the village collectively and not individually, depending on value of crops produced.

The standard revenue was six annas for every rupee (16 annas) produced and various kings who tried to exact more revenues to fund their stupid wars, found that the villagers chose to vote with their feet and migrate far away from these rulers. Any revenue exaction above 30% of production was strongly resented by the farmers. But under Akbar's wise rule, the Todarmal land revenue system became more scientific and farmers could implement elaborate schemes for agriculture management on a rational and scientific basis.