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Ruling the Countryside
Question
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Why were ryots reluctant to grow indigo?

Answer

The ryots were reluctant to grow indigo for the following resons:

(i)Under the ryoti system, the planters forced the ryots to sign a contract, an agreement (satta). At times they pressurised the village headmen to sign the contract on behalf of the ryots.

(ii)Those who signed the contract got cash advances from the planters at low rates of interest to produce indigo. But the loan committed the ryot to cultivating indigo on at least 25 per cent of the area under his holding.

(iii)The planter provided the seed and the drill, while the cultivators prepared the soil, sowed the seed and looked after the crop When the crop was delivered to the planter after the harvest, a new loan was given to the ryot, and the cycle started all over again.

(iv)Peasants who were initially tempted by the loans soon realised how harsh the system was. The price they got for the indigo they produced was very low and the cycle of loans never ended.

(v)The planters usually insisted that indigo be cultivated on the best soils in which peasants preferred to cultivate rice. Indigo, moreover, had deep roots and it exhausted the soil rapidly. After an indigo harvest the land could not be sown with rice.

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