IN MEMO RI AM

William Norian (1894-1958)

Eli Kling (1903-1963)
The Blue Mutiny
The Indigo Disturbances in Bengal
185Ç-1862

by Blair B. Kling

Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania Press
© ig66 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

Published in Great Britain, India, and Pakistan

by the Oxford University Press
London, Bombay, and Karachi

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-24507

7475
Printed in the United States of America
 Preface

The silent millions who bear our yoke

have found no annalist.
— S I R W I L L I A M WILSON HUNTER, 1868

T h e cannonades of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58 had

hardly been stilled when the Government of India was con-
fronted with a new "mutiny" within earshot of Calcutta
itself. In the autumn of 1859 the humble cultivators on
the extensive indigo plantations of Lower Bengal 1 defied
their European masters and refused to sow indigo. Each
day, as the disturbances spread and the excitement intensi-
fied, the Government was besieged with grim reports from
its district officers and desperate petitions from the British
mercantile community of Calcutta.
T h i s grave threat to Bengal's largest private industry
brought the rulers of India face to face with a fundamental
policy decision. Should the Government suppress the revolt
and administer Bengal as a vast estate reserved for the
benefit of British settlers and British capital? Or should
the Government's principal concern be the welfare of the
peasant masses? Policy was not decided in one edict. During
the indigo disturbances it was laboriously hammered out
1
Lower Bengal was the administrative term for Bengal proper,
largely coterminous with the present states of West Bengal and
East Pakistan.
8 PREFACE

on all levels of government, from the halls of Parliament

to the tents of the district officers.
In Bengal the indigo disturbances are a well known
event celebrated in drama, poetry, and popular history.
They occurred at a time when the Indian community of
Calcutta was awakening to the first stirrings of national
sentiment. Events in the countryside infected the public
life of Calcutta where the Bengali community united with
sympathetic officials and missionaries in a political struggle
against the British mercantile community. From this con-
test the Bengalis emerged with a heightened political
awareness that prepared them, in the succeeding decades,
to lead the rest of India in nationalist agitation.
Behind these political and administrative developments
less spectacular social and economic forces were at work.
T h e indigo disturbances originated, on the one hand, in
the rise of new social classes in rural Bengal, and on the
other, in a deterioration in the economic position of a
once-mighty industry. Our concern will be to show the
interaction of politics, economic and social change, and
administrative practice. For this purpose the vast literature
on the indigo disturbances provides us with a penetrating,
many-sided view of the fabric of mid-nineteenth century
India.
My research in India was made possible by a United
States Government Fulbright grant. I am grateful for the
assistance I received in Calcutta from the Keeper of the
Records of the Government of West Bengal and from
the staffs of the National Library of India, the Geological
Survey, the Asiatic Society, and the Bangiya Sahitya Pari-
shad. In London my research was aided by the librarians of
the Commonwealth Relations Office, the British Museum,
and the Church Missionary Society.
Among the individuals in Calcutta whose generous help
 PREFACE g

facilitated this work were Mr. Satyajit Das of the National

Library, Professor Ν. K. Sinha of Calcutta University, and
i\lr. K. L. Mukhopadhyay, publisher and "living bibliog-
raphy." I was first directed to and intrigued with the his-
tory of modern Bengal by Professor Richard L. Park, now
at the University of Pittsburgh. Professor W . Norman
Brown of the University of Pennsylvania, who read an
early version of the manuscript, has been my constant
teacher and benefactor. I have been truly fortunate in my
long association with Professor Holden Furber, my mentor
at the University of Pennsylvania, who has given me un-
sparingly of his wide knowledge and original insights into
British-Indian history.
For their careful reading of the manuscript and helpful
suggestions I am indebted to Professors Herbert H. Kap-
lan and Robert A. Friedlander of the University of Illinois,
and Professor Ainslee Embree of Columbia University. I
wish to thank Dr. Muzharul Islam of Rajshahi University,
East Pakistan, for his generous assistance in the selection of
the Bengali folk proverbs at the head of each chapter. And
to my wife Julia, who shared with me each step, from the
inception of the idea to the completion of the work, my
enduring gratitude. T h e errors in fact and in judgment
are, of course, my own.
Blah B. Kling

Champaign, Illinois
June 1964
 Contents

Frontispiece—Map of Bengal
Preface 7
I The Seeds of Contention 15
II The Interlopers 38
III The Lieutenant Governors 63
IV The Conspirators 84
V Race, Commerce, and Politics 103
VI Act X I 125
VII The Magistrates 147
VIII "Ki Hookum?" 172
IX NilDarpan 196
X Conclusion 21 g
Bibliography 225
Index 235
 Abbreviations

C. M. S.—Church Missionary Society, London

C. R. O.—Comonwealth Relations Office, London
H. P.—Halifax Papers
J . P.—Judicial Proceedings, Government of Bengal
R. I. C.—Report of the Indigo Commission, i860
The Blue Mutiny
If any one thinks that such a demonstration of
strong feeling, by hundreds of thousands of peo-
ple as we have just witnessed in Bengal, has no
meaning of greater importance than an ordinary
commercial question concerning a particular
blue dye, such a person, in my opinion, is fatally
mistaken in the signs of the time.

JOHN PETER GRANT

L i e u t e n a n t G o v e r n o r of B e n g a l
December 17, i860
 I
The Seeds of Contention
Taka taka taka Money, money, money!
gaer rokto pani korao Even if you work till your
hater muthi phaka1 body sweats blood,
your fist remains empty.

" T H E STORY OF T H E INDIGO INDUSTRY IS M O R E INTERESTING

historically and more pathetically instructive than that of
almost any other Indian agricultural or industrial sub-
stance." 2 T h u s Sir George Watt, distinguished botanist
and official Reporter on Economic Products to the Govern-
ment of India, observed with a sentimentalism not com-
monly found in a prosaic dictionary of economic resources.
Reviewing the turbulent history of the blue dye, Watt
concluded that from the time it was first undertaken by
Europeans early in the sixteenth century the indigo trade
had been plagued by one adversity after another.
T h e original enemy of indigo was the powerful, well-
entrenched woad industry which for over a century ob-
structed its acceptance in Europe. From the seventeenth
to the twentieth centuries indigo was a fugitive among
industries, wandering from Gujarat in western India to
the West Indies and then back to Bengal in eastern India.
1 Bengali proverbs at the head of each chapter except C h a p t e r V I I
are from the unpublished collection of Dr. Mazharul Islam.
2 George Watt, The Commercial Products of India (London,
1908), p. 668.
16 THE BLUE MUTINY

In Bengal the industry met with such hostility that it was

forced to take refuge in Bihar, its ultimate home. At the
very time Watt was writing, early in the twentieth century,
indigo was entering the final struggle of its unhappy career.
Just as it had once ruined the woad industry, indigo, in
turn, would soon find its markets captured by German-
invented synthetic aniline dyes. Although Watt exaggerates
his case, one can indeed term indigo the pariah of Indo-
European commerce.
Since prehistoric times indigo had been grown and
processed in India, and during the R o m a n Empire and
Middle Ages small quantities had been exported to Europe.
Indigo was one of the rare tropical products which first
attracted European traders to India, and after the Portu-
guese discovered the sea route to the Indies they began
to import indigo in quantities sufficient to supply the entire
European market. In the seventeenth century the Dutch
successfully destroyed the Portuguese monopoly of the
indigo trade. T h e English followed closely on the heels
of the Dutch, and soon the English East India Company
numbered indigo among its most profitable imports. 3
Most of the dye carried to Europe by these early traders
came from western India where it was manufactured ac-
cording to primitive indigenous methods. 4 Nevertheless,
it gradually displaced European-grown woad dyes and
brought such handsome returns that it attracted the West
3
On some of the first voyages of the English East India Company
to Surat indigo consumed the entire investment and earned the
Company a profit of over 400 per cent on its investment. S. A . Khan,
East India Trade in the iyth Century (London, 1 9 2 3 ) , pp. 12, 158.
4
William Finch described how the growers of Rajastan combined
inferior second and third year growths with good first year leaves
"and steepe them together, hard to be discerned, very knavishly."
William Foster (ed.), Early Travels in India (London, 1 9 2 1 ) , p. 154.
T h e early indigo was formed into balls or flat cakes and adulterated
with clay, sand, and oil. See George Watt, Pamphlet on Indigo
(Calcutta, 1890), p. 12.
 T H E SEEDS OF CONTENTION »7
Indian planters into the market. As early as the middle of
the seventeenth century high-quality West Indian dye,
grown and processed by Europeans under rigorous stand-
ards, began to drive Indian indigo from the European
market. In 1724 the East India Company, no longer able
to compete with the West Indian planters, abandoned the
indigo trade.6 Not long after capturing the European
market, however, the British West Indian planters volun-
tarily abandoned indigo in favor of a more profitable
cultivation of sugar and coffee. From the mid-eighteenth
century the British cloth maker was forced to depend upon
Spanish Guatemala and French Santo Domingo for su-
perior and on southern Carolina for middling grade in-
digo.® During the American Revolution, when the British
found all their sources of the dye in enemy hands, the East
India Company was once again encouraged to import
indigo from India.
T h e Company mismanaged its first attempt to revive
the trade. From 1779 to 1788 it entered into contracts with
a number of private traders who, instead of setting up
European supervised factories, supplied the Company at
exorbitant prices with inferior Indian manufactured dye
from Agra and Oudh. T In 1788 the Company terminated
these contracts and gave its support to eight or ten pioneer

5
J . C. Sinha, Economic Annals of Bengal (Calcutta, 1 9 2 7 ) , p. 178.
As early as 1648 the trade had been threatened and thought "likely
to decline yearly because of the quantities made in Barbadoes, etc."
William Foster (ed.), The English Factories in India, 1618-1669
( 1 3 vols., Oxford, 1926-27), Vol. 1646-1650, p. 179.
8
William Milburn, Oriental Commerce (2 vols., London, 1 8 1 3 ) ,
II, 213-14; and David Macpherson, History of European Commerce
with India (London, 1 8 1 2 ) , p. 200.
7
T h e first of these traders, John Prinsep, tried to start a factory on
the West Indian model but failed to obtain a crop. Holden Furber,
John Company at Work (Cambridge, 1 9 5 1 ) , p. 291. See also N . K.
Sinha, Economic History of Bengal (2 vols., Calcutta, 1956-63), I,
87, 197.
ι8 T H E BLUE MUTINY

European planters in Bengal who were attempting to

manufacture indigo by West Indian methods.8 The Com-
pany had discovered that, when manufactured under Euro-
pean supervision, the indigo of Bengal could equal in
quality the finest West Indian product. T h e Government
of Bengal helped these planters with advances,9 and the
Directors of the East India Company sent them samples of
fine West Indian dye for their emulation and letters of
instruction on processing indigo. They also encouraged
experienced West Indian planters to establish indigo plan-
tations in Bengal. 10 In 1796 the Governor General, John
Shore, carried out a highly effective measure to improve
the quality of indigo exported from Calcutta and to stimu-
late the industry in Bengal. He placed a 15 per cent duty
on all indigo brought into the province from Agra and
Oudh, areas which until that time had supplied four-fifths
of the indigo shipped from India to London. 1 1 At the end
of the century the amount of indigo imported into Great
Britain from Bengal was more than double that from all
other sources,12 and in 1802, with the industry well es-
tablished, the Company stopped its advances to the plant-
ers. Thus, by the beginning of the nineteenth century the
East India Company had brought to life a major planta-
tion industry in Lower Bengal.
8
Furber, John Company, pp. 291-92.
9
East India Company, Reports and Documents Connected with the
Proceedings of the East-India Company in regard to the Culture and
Manufacture of Cotton-wool, Raw Silk, and Indigo in India (Lon-
don, 1836), Court to Governor General, 25 June 1793, Indigo, p. 32.
10
Robert Heaven, who had cultivated indigo for thirteen years
in the West Indies, was licensed to settle in Bengal for five years to
produce indigo. Ibid., Court to Governor General, 27 March 1787,
Indigo, p. 6. A letter of instruction is contained in ibid., Court to
Governor General, 8 April 1789, Indigo, p. 12.
11
Ibid., Court to Governor General, 28 August 1800, Indigo, p. 58.
12 Pari. Papers, 1826-27, X V I I I , 149 ff.
 T H E SEEDS O F C O N T E N T I O N 19

Nevertheless, the future of the thriving industry was less

than auspicious. From the earliest days there were con-
flicts between European indigo planters and Indian land-
holders. One source of conflict was that in Lower Bengal
the indigo industry never developed a conventional planta-
tion system. Until 1829 European indigo planters were
forbidden by the Government to lease or purchase lands
outside their immediate factory grounds. Instead of culti-
vating indigo on his own land with hired labor the planter
was forced to advance money to nearby peasants to induce
them to plant the crop. T h e problem of protecting his
advance and of acquiring raw material from a peasantry in
varying degrees beyond his control brought the planter
into continual conflict with his Indian neighbors.
Another far reaching problem affecting everyone con-
cerned with indigo was the discrepancy between the supply
and consumption of the dye. T h e amount of indigo pro-
duced in Bengal was determined not by the needs of
European cloth makers but in response to the demands of
the remittance trade. Both the East India Company and
the private traders under its aegis were interested in indigo
primarily as a means of remittance. T h e Company's reve-
nues, derived largely from the land tax of Bengal, were
consumed in the many wars fought by the Company in
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Since
even this revenue was insufficient, the Company borrowed
large sums for extraordinary expenditures from the private
traders of Bengal. T o pay the Company's debts and enable
Company servants and private traders to transfer their
personal funds from India to England export commodities
were needed for sale in Europe. In 1795, because of its
need for remittances, the Company quintupled its advances
to the indigo industry. Although a slave revolt had elim-
inated Santo Domingo indigo from the European market,
20 THE BLUE MUTINY

India supplied Britain with almost two million pounds

more of indigo than it could consume or re-export. In the
next year repercussions were felt in India, and production
fell by one-half. 13 After 1802 the Company discontinued
its advances and from 1807 until 1830 bought indigo for
remittance purposes on the open market in Calcutta.
These purchases artificially raised the price of indigo,
stimulated overproduction, and perplexed the private
traders who could never be certain how much the Company
would decide to buy in any given year. 14
Indigo was even more important to the private traders
as a means of remittance. In the late eighteenth century
almost all the private trade, shipping, banking, investment,
and insurance in Bengal was controlled by a group of some
fifteen Calcutta firms known as agency houses. By borrow-
ing money the Government of India became so dependent
on these houses that it "always felt their hands at its throat
in any political or financial crisis." 15 One major problem
faced by the agency houses was the transfer to England of
the profits of their partners and clients. In 1802 the private
export of indigo, capitalized by the agency houses, was
already more than three times as great as that financed by
Company advances. 16
The agency houses were imprudent with their funds,
and at the first sign of a good European market risked
their borrowed capital in long-term investments in indigo
factories. T h e number of indigo plantations capitalized by
these houses increased steadily until 1820. By that time
India had become a cloth importing instead of cloth ex-
13
East India Co., Reports and Documents, Court to Governor Gen-
eral, 27 July 1796, Indigo, p. 37.
14
Pari. Papers, 1831-32, X , Pt. I, 1 3 1 .
15
Amales Tripathi, Trade and Finance in the Bengal Presidency,
¡•¡93-1833 (Calcutta, 1956), p. 1 1 .
16
East India Co., Reports and Documents, Indigo, p. 88.
 T H E SEEDS OF CONTENTION 21

porting country, and Indian exports were needed desper-

ately to balance this trade and provide remittances. An
indigo boom ensued. In the 1820's new indigo concerns,
many of them on marginal land, were constructed
throughout Bengal and production reached a high in
1826. 17 One year later a depression in England led to a
collapse of the market and indigo production in Bengal
fell 50 per cent. By 1834 all the largest agency houses had
gone bankrupt and the few survivors ceased to provide
funds for long-term investment.18
During the next two decades the task of providing
capital for indigo as well as other enterprises was assumed
by a new group of Calcutta mercantile houses closely
associated with mercantile firms in Britain. They acted as
agents for indigo concerns by advancing capital for the
purchase of factory blocks and for monthly expenses. Os-
tensibly the new houses had entered the indigo field at a
propitious time; except for temporary slumps in 1837 and
1841 the industry in Lower Bengal experienced its greatest
prosperity between 1834 and 1847, years during which
Europe and America doubled their consumption of the
dye. Although the Charter Act of 1833 had opened the
interior of India to British capital and led to some diversi-
fication of industry, indigo remained the most important
private export of Bengal. In the peak year of 1842 indigo
accounted for 46 per cent of the value of goods exported
from Calcutta.19
But behind this façade of prosperity the industry was
as unsound as ever. Because indigo remained the safest

11
Asiatic Journal, N. S., I, (January-April 1830), 201-20».
ls
T r i p a t h i , Trade and Finance, pp. 210 ff.
19
Kissen Mohun Mullick, Brief History of Bengal Commerce
1814-18J0 (Calcutta, 1 8 7 1 ) , Pt. 3. See also Calcutta Review, L X , 1848,
163-89.
22 THE BLUE MUTINY

article to secure a favorable remittance to London, the

amount of capital invested in it still had little relationship
to its consumption. Improved means of communication
between Calcutta and London further served to encourage
speculation. T h e price of indigo in London now depended
not upon stocks on hand or current deliveries, but upon
reports of the subsequent year's output. In addition many
foreign firms without indigenous textile markets to supply
bought indigo to hold for speculation. While the price in
London depended upon production in Bengal, the reverse
also held true. A slump in London prices over consecutive
years led to a scarcity of credit in Calcutta and a conse-
quent failure of marginal concerns. In almost every year
from 1839 to 1847 the price of indigo declined. 20
T h e mercantile houses which acted as agents for indigo
concerns were in turn supported by a new bank, the Union
Bank of Calcutta. It had been founded in 1829 by a group
of local Indian and British businessmen as a joint-stock
bank to afford facilities to commerce. T h e bank did not
become involved in indigo until 1839 when its capital in-
creased by 20 per cent and its directors were hard put to
find an area for new investment. T h e y reluctantly decided
to invest in advances to indigo factories on deposit of title
deeds and assignment of the year's produce. T h e bank
would loan a planter up to two-thirds the value of indigo
in his godowns and the full value of his factory, house,
lands and buildings. In 1841, when indigo production
dropped 57 per cent from the previous year's output, there
was a strong move among the directors of the bank to
terminate its indigo investments. But the move failed and
after two of the largest indigo agents went bankrupt, the
Union Bank found itself with at least 90 per cent of its
capital tied up in indigo concerns. There was no way to
recover the debts except to operate the indigo concerns
20Economist (London), February 15, 1845 and May g, 1846.
 T H E SEEDS OF CONTENTION 23

it had acquired, which entailed an enormous outlay for the

annual expenses of cultivation. 21
The Union Bank consolidated its indigo concerns under
the name "Big Union," but did nothing to reform their
management. By accepting the planters' estimates of ex-
penses without thorough investigation, the bank squan-
dered large sums of money, especially in Nadia and Jessore
Districts. An Indian landholder told the Indigo Commis-
sion of i860 that in the days of the Union Bank money
was plentiful in the indigo districts and planters had no
qualms about writing off the ryots' debts and disbursing
fresh advances each year. Finally, in 1847 its indigo losses
caused the Union Bank to fail and the bank brought down
with it about thirty Calcutta agency houses.22
T h e fall of the Union Bank had profound repercussions
on the indigo industry, altering its financial framework
and influencing the system of operation which would exist
in the decade leading to the indigo disturbances. Before
1847 almost every factory had been purchased with bor-
rowed capital; after 1847 a large number of the concerns
that failed, especially in Nadia and Jessore, were bought
cheaply and paid off rapidly, leaving the planters relatively
independent. The number of European planters managing
small marginal concerns decreased, while the remaining
concerns established "local indigo seignories" 23 and ex-
panded their operations. T h e additional underpaid Indi-
21
Charles Northcote Cooke, The Rise, Progress, and Present Con-
dition of Banking in India (Calcutta, 1 8 6 3 ) , pp. 177-200.
22
Report of the Indigo Commission (Calcutta, i860), Answers
1 7 4 fi. Hereafter the Report of the Indigo Commission will be cited
as R . I. C . and the answers given as testimony in Parts 5-7, Minutes
of Evidence, will be cited as " A " followed by the answer number.
R . I. C . is also available as Pari. Papers, 1861, X L I V , 335 ff.
23
J . P. Grant, "Minute by the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal on
the Report of the Indigo Commission," reproduced in full in C. E.
Buckland, Bengal under the Lieutenant Governors (a vols., 2d. ed.,
Calcutta, 1902), I, 238 ff.
24 THE BLUE MUTINY

ans and Eurasians hired to supervise production increased

the burden of extortion on the peasants while the owners
demanded greater economies and authorized less liberal
advances to the cultivators. In effect, the fall of the U n i o n
Bank led to a more oppressive system of indigo planting
in L o w e r Bengal. 2 4
In the dozen years between the fall of the U n i o n Bank
and the onset of the indigo disturbances more planters
failed than succeeded. 25 A l t h o u g h the price of indigo on
the London market almost doubled between 1847 a n c *
1857, this was of little benefit to the planters. Most of the
gain was offset by world-wide inflation which resulted
from the discovery of new gold fields and the outbreak of
the Crimean W a r . By cutting off the supplies of linseed
and jute formerly imported from Russia, the war had di-
rect repercussions on the economy of Bengal which was
now called upon to supply these two items to the Euro-
pean market. 26 Between 1855 and i860 prices in the m a j o r
indigo districts rose 50 to 100 per cent. T h i s inflation was
caused not only by the new exports, but also by the Sepoy
Mutiny, the b u i l d i n g of the Eastern Bengal Railway and a
sharp increase in population. 2 7
A drop in production further annulled any gains which
the high price of indigo might have brought the planters.
T h e principal reason for this decline was the capricious
weather of Bengal which had always been responsible for
wide fluctuations in the supply of indigo and had con-
tributed to the crash of the agency houses in the 1820's and
1830's and to the fall of the Union Bank in 1847. Between

21 R . I. C., A. 1470-71 and Pari. Papers, 1857-58, VII, Pt. I, 60, 98,
142, igo, 209-13.
Pari. Papers, 1857-58, V I I , Pt. I, 241.
26 Daniel H. Buchanan, The Development of Capitalist Enterprise
in India (New York, 1934), p. 242.
R . I. C., A p p e n d i x III.
 T H E SEEDS OF C O N T E N T I O N 25

1848 and 1858 production averaged 23 per cent less than it

had in the previous decade.28 In the two major indigo dis-
tricts, Nadia and Jessore, floods and hail storms lowered
production another 15 per cent in the five years preceding
the indigo disturbances.29 Though the price per pound
might be high, in order to receive an adequate return the
amount delivered had to be enough to cover expenses.
This uncertainty of production injured the ryots even
more than it did the planters and was responsible for
much of the discontent leading to the indigo disturbances.
In a good year a ryot could produce enough indigo to re-
pay his advance and collect a small profit; in a bad year his
expenses exceeded his advance. One fault of the indigo
system of Lower Bengal was that the risk of crop failure
fell directly upon the ryot.
In the five years preceding the indigo disturbances an-
other new development undermined the economic posi-
tion of the indigo planter of Lower Bengal. For thirty
years, from 1826 to 1856, indigo was surpassed as an export
only by opium, whose trade was a Government monopoly.
In the late 1850's the total value of exports from Bengal
continued to rise, but the value of indigo remained much
the same. The new item which preempted its rank as an
export was food grains of which Bengal supplied over
half. In the decade before 1859 indigo accounted for only
10 per cent of the total exports of Bengal. 30 This decline in
the importance of his product led to a corresponding de-
cline in the status of the indigo planter. When the Govern-
ment was no longer dependent upon a single industry for
28
From production figures given in W . M . Reid, The Culture and
Manufacture of Indigo (Calcutta, 1 8 8 7 ) , pp. 163-65, and Economist
( L o n d o n ) , 1846-66, passim.
20
Bengal District Gazetteers·, Nadia (Calcutta, 1 9 1 0 ) , p. 74 and
Jessore (Calcutta, 1 9 1 2 ) , p. 77.
30
Statistics compiled from Economist (London), passim, and
Bengal Commercial Reports (Calcutta, 1 8 5 1 - 5 8 ) .
26 THE BLUE MUTINY

the economic well-being of Bengal, it was less hesitant to

support the peasants in their struggle against the industry.
In 1859 there were approximately 500 indigo planters
in Lower Bengal. They staffed the 143 indigo concerns
producing for export. Those firms which would become
involved in the indigo disturbances produced the finest
indigo in the world, accounting for 60 per cent of the
value of the dye exported from Calcutta and half the value
of indigo imported into Great Britain. Almost half the
production of Lower Bengal came from two districts,
Nadia and Jessore. 31
The ownership of indigo concerns in Lower Bengal was
widely distributed. Most of the planters owned only one
or two concerns, but a handful of important proprietors
stand out from the others. One of these was James Hills
who owned eleven indigo concerns in Nadia District. He
had come to Nadia in 1815 and acquired his first factory,
the Nischintipur, in semi-official partnership with the East
India Company. 32 The largest indigo proprietor was the
Bengal Indigo Company which owned factories in Nadia,
Murshidabad, and Barasat. Indigo production in Dacca
and the neighboring districts in eastern Bengal was all but
monopolized by J . P. Wise. Robert Watson and Company,
the largest planter in the area north of Nadia, owned seven
concerns in Murshidabad, Rajshahi, and Pabna. Four con-
cerns which produced indigo for export in addition to
many small factories which produced an inferior indigo
for the local market were owned by Indians. 33
31
R . I. C., Appendix 17.
32
Henry Cotton, Indian and Home Memories (London, 1 9 1 1 ) ,
p. 80.
33
New Calcutta Directory (Calcutta, 1 8 5 7 ) . According to one re-
port Indian-produced indigo accounted for two-fifths of the dye
produced in Nadia District in 1854. Government of Bengal, General
Dept., No. 69, "Report of W . Jackson on Zilla Nuddea," 16 March
1854. In addition to being used locally, some of it was exported to
other parts of Asia.
 T H E SEEDS OF CONTENTION 27

An indigo concern was composed of from five to ten

factories. Around the factory clustered a number of out-
factories each of which was an indigo-producing unit. T h e
indigo concern was headed by a manager, and about one-
fourth of the concerns were managed by their proprie-
tors.34 The two most influential managers in Lower Bengal
were Robert T . Larmour who was General Mufassal Man-
ager for the Bengal Indigo Company, and James Forlong
who managed the concerns belonging to James Hills and
Company. These two men were responsible for the welfare
of millions of people and the security of thousands of
rupees invested in land, buildings, and machinery. Forlong
was a man of liberal views who knew the value of com-
promise; Larmour unbendingly opposed any concessions
to the peasants.
A manager was invested with the legal and executive
power to make every ultimate decision over the operation
of his concern. He kept the proprietors informed on all
matters of importance and sent his agent in Calcutta a
monthly abstract of expenditures, orders for stores and
seed, and an estimate of the next year's outlay. He was
responsible for the successful manufacture of indigo in
every factory and out-factory of his concern. When leasing
land from a zamindar he also leased villages and became
responsible for the collection of rents and the accounts of
each village. T h e manager was aided by European assist-
ants, usually hired directly by the proprietors and sent by
the manager to supervise production in one or more fac-
tories of the concern. 35 In its five concerns the Bengal
Indigo Company employed eleven managers and assist-
ants. The managers received 400 rupees per month and
5 per cent of the profits. Assistants earned 50 to 250 rupees
per month. Both were provided with housing and horse
34
New Calcutta Directory, 1857.
35
Reid, Indigo, Ch. 4.
28 THE BLUE MUTINY

allowances. 8 8 E u r o p e a n planters were usually English or

Scotch and occasionally French or Eurasian; an Indian
never held the position of manager or assistant in a
European-owned concern.
T h e I n d i a n employees of an indigo concern were
g r o u p e d into three separate divisions according to func-
tion—administration, production, a n d police. In adminis-
tration the leading Indian employee was the diwan w h o
was in charge of l a n d h o l d i n g and factory accounts, legal
matters, and leases. H i s salary in the Bengal Indigo C o m -
pany ranged f r o m 25 to 30 rupees per m o n t h and a com-
mission of 1/2 to 1 anna per rupee paid to the ryot for
indigo plant. H e was assisted by clerks and writers, edu-
cated m e n of the B r a h m a n and Kayastha castes, w h o
received 5 to 9 rupees per month. 3 7
T h e chief Indian employee in charge of production was
the gumashta or steward w h o supervised the cultivation of
indigo. His salary ranged f r o m 12 to 20 rupees per month
and he was assisted by overseers w h o earned 3 to 4 rupees
per month. T h e meager salaries of these employees were
augmented by unauthorized commissions exacted from the
cultivators. 3 8 T h e police or military division of the staff
consisted of lathiyals, bands of professional warriors armed
with lathis or sticks. T h e majority were natives of
Faridpur and Pabna where entire villages hired out as
lathiyals,39
T h e remaining Indian factory servants included the
planter's personal assistant and general overseer; and

36 R. I. C „ A. 2088 ff.
Ibid..
38 R. I. C., A. 2092.

39 W. S. Seton-Karr, "Indigo in Lower Bengal," Calcutta Review,

VII (Jan.-June 1847), 186-219, and Lai Behari Day, Bengal Peasant
Life (London, 1909), p. 327.
 T H E SEEDS O F CONTENTION 29
skilled workmen such as carpenters, gardeners, masons,
and messengers. During the manufacturing season buna
coolies, brought by contractors from the jungle tribes of
Manbhum, Singhbhum, and Midnapur, were employed.
Some buna coolies brought their families with them, and
the larger factories settled them on the factory grounds. A
large factory like Mulnath, headquarters of the Bengal
Indigo Company, would employ one hundred of them
each manufacturing season, paying them 3 or 4 rupees per
month. Local labor was employed during the manufactur-
ing to operate the pumps, boilers, cutting machines and
other equipment. Cartmen and boatmen were hired to
bring the indigo plant to the factory. 40
In Lower Bengal there were two types of indigo cultiva-
tion, nijabad and raiyati. In nijabad, as in a conventional
plantation system, the factory supplied the land and seed
and hired the cultivators, usually along with their plows
and bullocks. Nijabad cultivation took place only on lands
adjacent to the factory and on chars, muddy flats formed
by the changing course of the rivers. T h e greater part of
the land given to indigo cultivation was under raiyati cul-
tivation on partially inundated highlands lying outside the
factory grounds. Raiyati land might belong to an Indian
zamindar (be-ilaka) or the planter himself might be the
zamindar (ilaka). It was cultivated by ryots who had cer-
tain tenancy rights in the land and sowed indigo along
with other crops. It was when cultivated on raiyati land
that indigo conflicted with the interests of ryots and Indian
zamindars. In concerns bordering the great rivers of north-
ern and eastern Bengal where char lands were more plenti-
ful, there was a higher proportion of nijabad, but in

R . I. C., A. 1940 ff.; [Colesworthy Grant], Rural Life in Bengal

(London, i860), pp. 114-15.
30 THE BLUE MUTINY

Lower Bengal as a whole almost three times as much land

was cultivated under raiyati as under nijabad.41
T h e seed for char cultivation was obtained from plant
grown in the Agra area. It produced a hardier type of
indigo than did local seed, and was able to withstand ex-
tremes of inundation and dryness, though the indigo pro-
duced from it was not as good and its plant produced only
half as much dye as did local seed. T h e muddy chars were
usually sown in October by cultivators who moved in rafts
over the soft slimy surface and scattered the seeds by hand.
T h e seed sunk about two inches into the mud and flour-
ished until the dry winter season approached. T h e plant
then appeared to wither and the ground became hard and
cracked, down to the roots of the plant. In spring the rains
penetrated directly to the roots; the plants again came to
life and were ready for reaping in J u n e , J u l y and August.
T h e cultivation itself was simple, but the problem of
weeds was great. Before the plant was high enough to be
damaged, the planters allowed neighboring ryots to graze
their cattle on the weeds.
In cultivation on the highlands, the land had to be
plowed and the clods broken by harrowing before the
ground was sown with seeds broadcast. Highland indigo
was usually sown in April, watered by the spring rains,
and then harvested along with char indigo. Sometimes in
less fertile highlands indigo was also sown in October to
give it the advantage of being rooted in the ground by the
time of the spring rains. But the indigo sown in April and
harvested in J u l y and August was of the highest quality. It
was this spring sowing which most antagonized the cultiva-
tors who wanted to sow their rice at the same time. 42

« R . I. C „ Appendix I.
42
R . I. C., A. 359, i486. Watt, Pamphlet on Indigo, pp. 21-22.
Reid, Indigo, Ch. 9. [C. Grant], Rural Lije, pp. 91 ff.
 T H E SEEDS O F CONTENTION 31
Certain other agronomical characteristics of indigo en-
larged the area of conflict between planter and ryot. First,
enlightened planters took pride in allowing for the rota-
tion of crops, alternating indigo with rice, tobacco, and
other crops. Once a peasant had grown rice on his plot he
was reluctant to return the land to indigo. T h i s usually
gave rise to a controversy over whether a given plot was
"indigo-land" or "rice-land." Second, indigo required
scrupulous attention to weeding. T o perform this labori-
ous and time-consuming task the ryot needed constant
prodding. Finally, indigo culture called for meticulous
timing. It had to be sown immediately before the spring
rains and reaped at the moment of perfect maturity before
the autumn rains. Nor could it be permitted to lie on the
ground after reaping; before indigo began to ferment it
was necessary to cart it immediately to a factory for proc-
essing. It was because all processing had to be done within
one or two days' journey of the reaping that each factory
had a number of out-factories. Since it was believed that
only Europeans were willing to take the care necessary to
produce high quality dye, isolated Europeans were scat-
tered in out-factories throughout Lower Bengal. Isolation
often bred fear, and this in addition to the heavy strain of
his responsibilities transformed many an ordinarily good-
natured planter into a petty despot.
Along with the indigo disturbances there were natural
causes for the decline of the indigo industry of Lower
Bengal in the 1860's. For the past several hundred years
the rivers of Bengal had been shifting eastward. A t one
time the Hugli and later the Bhairab River flowing
through the center of the province carried a high propor-
tion of the Ganges through the delta into the Bay of
Bengal. Today most of the Ganges empties into the Padma
32 THE BLUE MUTINY

and Meghna Rivers on the eastern border of the delta. 43

T h o u g h this change in the topography had been going on
long before i860, a stage was reached in that period, in
Nadia District in particular, when the soil was becoming
too high for the proper inundation of indigo. 44 Gradually,
Jessore and Faridpur were also affected. In all probability,
even if there had been no indigo disturbances, the industry
would have died out in Lower Bengal.
T h e successful manufacture of indigo was no less pre-
carious than its cultivation. Because the first prerequisite
for manufacture was an abundant source of clear fresh
water, indigo factories were always constructed on rivers.
"Chinese pumps" operated by manpower lifted the water
from the river into aquaducts which carried the water into
the first of a series of well-constructed open-air vats. A
small factory was equipped with about six pairs of vats
and a large one with as many as fifteen pairs. Each fac-
tory was also equipped with a large boiler made of copper
or cast iron. Altogether, an indigo concern invested be-
tween fifteen and thirty thousand rupees in each factory
block, which included buildings and machinery. 4 5
When a ryot brought his plant to the factory it was first
measured by a muscular factory servant who placed an
iron chain six feet in length around its girth. If given the
proper douceur by the ryot, the measurer would pull the
chain less tightly. A ryot was given one rupee for either
four or six bundles, depending on the quality of the plant
and the generosity of the planter. 48 A f t e r measurement of
13
Nafis Ahmad, Economic Geography of East Pakistan (London,
1958), pp. 32-33; S. P. Chatterjee, Bengal in Maps (Calcutta, 1949),
pp. 8-11.
« R. I. C., A. 2011-13.
4S
Estimated from evidence given in Pari. Papers, 1857-58, VII,
Pt. I, 176, and R. I. C., A. 78-79, 2895, and Q. 842.
R. I. C., Appendix I.
 T H E SEEDS O F C O N T E N T I O N 33

the plant, coolies carried it into the upper of each pair

of vats where it was stacked with the leaf up and down.
When the vat was filled to overflowing, the plant was
pressed down by bamboo shafts. T h e vats were next filled
with clear river water until the plant was covered, and the
plant was allowed to ferment overnight, for ten to twelve
hours. In the morning the planter examined the surface
of the vat for the correct hue of purple and copper with
blue froth, and dipped a thermometer into the water to
check the temperature. If he considered the plant steeped,
he ordered the plug pulled out of the upper vat. T h e
liquid, now of an orange color and disagreeable odor, was
run off into the lower vat where through oxidation it took
on a greenish color with a yellow froth. T h e leaves and
stalks were removed from the upper vat and later used to
fertilize the fields and provide fuel for the boilers.
When the liquid had been drawn into the lower vat, ten
coolies jumped into the vat up to their hips and, arranging
themselves in two rows, began to stir and beat the liquid
with bamboo paddles. This process continued for about
two hours, with the men arranging themselves in various
formations in the nature of a ritualistic dance, accom-
panied by chanting. When the planter considered the liq-
uid to be sufficiently oxidized, he signaled the coolies to
jump out of the vat; they did this one at a time after run-
ning in a circle to give the liquid a final swirl. T h e liquid
was allowed to stand until a fine blue grain separated out
and settled to the bottom of the vat. T h e brownish waste
water was drawn off the top and the sediment-filled liquid
at the bottom was pumped into the boiler, located in an
enclosed building. While being boiled the thick mixture
was occasionally stirred by a mechanical apparatus. After
boiling for about two hours, the liquid was run off onto
sheeting which had been spread across a shallow vat, leav-
34 THE BLUE MUTINY

ing the sediment which had been strained out. T h e sheet-

ing with the sediment was then doubled over and placed
into pressing boxes which were screwed down to press out
all excess moisture. T h e compressed sediment, now in the
form of large rectangular blocks, had the consistency of
bar soap. T h e blocks were cut into long bars and these
into 3 or inch square cakes of indigo. Each cake was
stamped with the initial of the manufacturer and a num-
ber indicating the day of its production. Next, the indigo
was taken to a drying room, neatly arranged on shelves,
and left to dry for about three months. In drying the
weight of each cake was reduced from about 24 to 8
ounces. Finally, the indigo was packed into boxes and sent
down the river to Calcutta where it was sold at auction.47
T h e entire process was closely supervised by the European
planter; each stage was carefully timed and after each step
samples were tested. Either too much or too little time
spent in any stage would have resulted in the spoilage of
the entire batch.
Almost 2,000 square feet of land were required to pro-
duce one 8 ounce cake of indigo, equivalent to eight cakes
from every bigah48 of land sown with indigo. At the pre-
vailing price of 200 rupees per maund49 in Calcutta, a
bigah of land cultivated with indigo brought the planter
about 12 rupees. For one bigah's production of indigo
plant the ryot received an average of 2 rupees 8 annas. The
cost of manufacture according to one estimate was about
50 rupees per maund,50 or roughly 2 rupees per bigah of
indigo. Thus, the total cost to the planter to purchase and
47
[C. Grant], Rural Lije, pp. 114-36. Grant gives an eye-witness
description of the manufacturing process at Mulnath Factory well
illustrated with line drawings.
48
A bigah in Lower Bengal was equivalent to one-third of an acre.
49
A maund was a unit of weight approximately equal to 75 lbs.
avoir.
50
Watt, Pamphlet on Indigo, p. 56 and R . I. C., Appendix I.
 T H E SEEDS O F C O N T E N T I O N 35

manufacture the indigo was about 4 rupees 8 annas per

bigah.51 In a good year the return to the concern was
7 rupees 8 annas per bigah. Out of this was paid the land
rent, legal expenses, interest on loans and costs of capital
expansion, as well as salaries, wages and repairs. Usually
expansion entailed, not money invested in new works,
but money spent to increase zamindari rights, to ensure
thereby a more secure supply of indigo plant. Such invest-
ments yielded no long-term gain in profits and became
increasingly burdensome when the ryots became more con-
tentious or when the zamindars raised their rents to force
the planters to purchase rather than lease under-tenures.
In those years when production was lower than usual, from
1855 to 1858, the fixed charges devoured most of the prof-
its. During the indigo disturbances many concerns were
sustained only by loans from their Calcutta agents.
When we analyze the cost to the ryot of producing a
bigah of indigo, we can understand why it was so unpopu-
lar a crop. T h e following are three sample estimates of the
cost per bigah of growing indigo given before the Indigo
Commission of i860:
r. as. P·
Rent 0 10 0
Seed 0 4 0
Cultivation I 0 0
Sowing 0 4 0
Weeding 0 8 0
Cutting 0 4 0
Stamp (for contract) 0 2 0
3 0 0 52

« R . I. C „ A . 2895.
52
R . I. C., A . 604. T h i s is from testimony given by R . P. Sage,
planter of Nadia and Jessore Districts. Sage testified that in addition
to being paid 2 rupees for the indigo plant the ryot would receive
4 rupees per maund for indigo seed taken from the stumps of the
plant. Therefore, the ryot's total profit from the bigah would be 1
rupee.
3« THE BLUE MUTINY

(2) r. as. P·
Plowing 0 4 0
Sowing 0 2 0
Harrowing 0 2 0
Hoeing 0 2 0
Cutting 0 5 0
Cartage 0 4 0
paid by
ryot)
Seed 0 8 0
Rent 0 8 0

(3) Plowing ι 14 o
Weeding 1 0 0
Cutting 0 6 0
Seed 0 4 0
Rent 0 5 4
3 13 454

In i860 the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal calculated

that the ryot lost 7 rupees per bigah when he cultivated
indigo in place of another crop.55 Along with the ryot's
expenses of cultivation must be placed the various bribes
which he was obliged to give to every factory servant with
whom he came into contact, to the head ryot who arranged
with the planter for cultivation in his village, and later,
contributions for lawsuits and other expenses incurred
extricating himself from the indigo contract.
Nevertheless, the ryot continued to live and to support
his family. He managed to maintain himself because he
sowed rice and other crops in addition to indigo, and be-

53
R . I. C., A. 2049. Testimony of R . T . Larmour, Mulnath
Concern.
64
R . I. C., A. 3270. Testimony of a ryot of Nischintipur Concern,
Nadia District.
55
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 24g.
 T H E SEEDS O F C O N T E N T I O N 37

cause he was sometimes given his advance in spite o£ debts

to the factory incurred in previous poor years. The bal-
ances against him on the factory books continued to mount
and eventually were written off as bad debts. The planter's
object in maintaining the debt was to use it as a threat to
force the ryot to cultivate indigo. T o the planter every
other consideration was secondary to obtaining as much
indigo plant as possible.
 II
The Interlopers
Bherar rrwddhe bagh To prevail among sheep
hak dake bajimat a tiger need only growl.

THE POLEMIC LITERATURE OF THE INDIGO DISTURBANCES RE-

introduced into current usage the old epithet "interloper."
T h e term originally referred to the private traders who, in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, dared to intrude
into the commercial monopoly of the East India Company.
Indian officials of 1859-1862 would have been reluctant to
acknowledge any similarity on the question of private
trade between themselves and their mercantilist forebears.
Nevertheless, there was a certain validity in the planters'
complaints of a renewed hostility toward private enterprise
in high places. In some respects official attitudes toward
the "interloper" had, by i860, come full circle since the
early days of the East India Company.
Before 1813 the majority of administrators of the Com-
pany's government were strongly opposed to the settlement
of private British subjects among the peasantry. Feeling
none too secure in their position, the Company's officials
feared that Europeans of the "lower orders" would under-
mine the Company's supremacy by offending Indian sensi-
bilities, sullying the reputation of the British, and causing
dissatisfaction with British rule. In addition, they were
apprehensive lest private British subjects would follow
 THE INTERLOPERS 39
the American precedent and try to establish a settler-
dominated government in Bengal. 1 However, because they
badly needed Indian products f o r remittance purposes, the
officials granted licenses to indigo planters and subsidized
the industry.
Considering the private planters a necessary evil, the
Company restricted them in two ways. First, through
Regulation 23 of 1795 private entrepreneurs licensed to
settle in the mufassal (the countryside, as distinct from
Calcutta) were permitted to hold no more than fifty bigahs
of land. Second, the Company's government endeavored to
bring the planters under the jurisdiction of its own courts.
T h e parliamentary Regulating Act of 1 7 7 3 had limited
the jurisdiction of the Company's courts to the indigenous
population and placed British subjects under the Supreme
Court in Calcutta, appointed by the Crown. But Lord
Cornwallis, while liberally dispensing licenses to planters,
brought them under the jurisdiction of Company courts in
civil cases involving less than 500 rupees. T o evade the
Regulating Act he invested the Company's district judges
with the powers of Justice of the Peace under the authority
of the Calcutta Supreme Court so that in theory the
planters remained under the King's justice. 2
T h e early planters were no sooner permitted to settle in
the mufassal than they began to abuse their powers. One
example found in the records of the year 1796 for the chief
revenue court of Bengal, the Sadr Diwani Adalat, tells of
two Muslim zamindars who complained that a planter for-
cibly plowed up a half-grown food crop and sowed indigo
in its place. T h e planter also beat the ryots to extort agree-
ments from them and carried off their bamboo, toddy

1
Pari. Papers, 1 8 3 1 - 3 2 , V I I I , 339-467.
2
M . N . G u p t a , Analytical Survey of Bengal Regulations (Cal-
cutta, 1 9 4 3 ) , pp. 25, 3 1 5 - 1 6 .
40 T H E BLUE MUTINY

trees, and straw. When the indigo was delivered the plant-
ers refused to pay the full amount stipulated in the con-
tracts. T h e two zamindars complained that many of their
ryots had fled to the hills leaving them without tenants,
and that neither the district judge nor collector would
heed their petitions. 3 T h e Indian Government was well
aware of the abuses of the planters. In 1810 the Governor
General, Lord Minto, observed that the planters had made
"a habit" of forcing the ryots to receive advances and cul-
tivate indigo. He revoked the licenses of four planters and
instructed his magistrates to restrain planters from the
illegal detention and flogging of ryots, engaging in affrays
with other planters, and other acts of violence. 4
From the time of Lord Minto in 1810 to that of Lord
Canning in 1859 the Government of India issued no fur-
ther strong statements condemning the behavior of the
indigo planters. T h e oppression and violence continued,
but after 1813 the Government was less concerned with
Indian sensibilities. In addition, the planters benefited
from public enthusiasm for free trade and evangelicalism
given official recognition in the Charter Act of 1813 which
ended the commercial monopoly of the Company and leg-
alized missionary activity in India. T h e Charter Act re-
quired a British subject who wanted to proceed to India
to apply, as before, to the Court of Directors for permis-
sion. But as an accommodation to private adventurers the
Act ruled that if the Directors refused permission the ap-
plicant might appeal to the Board of Control which could
override the Directors. Once in India a British subject
needed the approval of the Governor General if he wished
to reside outside Calcutta, Bombay or Madras, and the
Governor General was empowered to deport him if he mis-

3 Sinha, Economic History of Bengal, I, 209-210.

* Pari. Papers, 1812-13, V I I I , 387 ff.
 THE INTERLOPERS 41

behaved. British subjects who resided in the mufassal were

subject to the C o m p a n y courts in civil suits b r o u g h t
against them by Indians; but, where Indians could appeal
decisions only to the Sadr Diwani Adalat, the settlers re-
tained the right to appeal their cases to the Calcutta
Supreme Court.
A few years later the planters received their first impor-
tant concessions f r o m the Government of India. In 1823
L o r d Amherst, the G o v e r n o r General, enabled planters to
recover by summary suit advances made to ryots. T h e
planter was also given a lien on any crops produced o n
land for w h i c h he had given indigo advances and was pro-
tected against the interference of zamindars d u r i n g the
selling and delivery of the indigo plant. In an even more
unprecedented decision, Amherst first opened the doors
to the leasing of lands to Europeans in 1824 w h e n he
authorized coffee growers, and soon afterwards, cotton and
sugarcane planters to lease lands. 5
In London, however, those Directors at India House
w h o were hostile to European settlement were k e e p i n g a
watchful eye on the proceedings of the liberal Governors
General. W h e n L o r d Ellenborough became President of
the Board of C o n t r o l in 1828, he joined these critics in
their attack against the new Governor General, W i l l i a m
Bentinck. 6 O n A u g u s t 6, 1828 the C o u r t of Directors wrote
Bentinck that it had been receiving reports of plunder,
affrays, confining and assaulting cultivators, and seizing of
lands by planters against w h o m the local courts had
proven ineffective. W h e n Indians complained, wrote the
Directors, their petitions had been set aside for months.
B u t w h e n agency houses complained about certain suits
g o i n g against planters, their petitions were acted u p o n

5 Pari. Papers, 1831-32, VIII, 271.

" Tripathi, Trade and Finance, p. 228.
42 THE BLUE MUTINY

immediately and the Government had gone so far as to

interfere with the courts in their cases. T h e Directors in-
structed Bentinck to enforce the laws with greater strict-
ness and called for a full report on the conduct of the
planters. 7
Bentinck at the time was trying to save from bankruptcy
the Calcutta agency houses which had most of their money
tied up in indigo concerns. In 1829, a t request of these
houses, he extended to indigo planters Amherst's regula-
tion giving coffee planters the right to lease lands. By
Regulation V of 1830 he went even further and authorized
the summary criminal trial and imprisonment of ryots
who broke indigo contracts. T o extricate himself from
indigo planting a ryot was now required to furnish proof
that his contract had expired, pay up outstanding balances
on his advances, and, if the planter refused to accept these
balances, seek his remedy in a civil suit. T h e law effec-
tively bound the ryot to indigo cultivation. 8
In defending his regulations Bentinck wrote the Court
of Directors that if the Government removed their dis-
advantages the indigo planters could become a blessing to
India. Planters holding lands in their own names would
take an interest in improving the condition of their ten-
ants. Conflicts between planters over disputed crops would
cease, and healthy competition take its place. Fundamen-
tally, he argued, the presence of Europeans in the mufassal
would help "civilize" the Indians by diffusing European
arts and sciences among them. Bentinck envisioned the
rise of a new India with religious sects incorporating
Christian ethics and a populace demanding European
luxuries and English education, inaugurating new com-
mercial enterprises, and cooperating with Europeans in

7 Pari. Papers, 1831-32, V I I I , 374-77.

β Ibid.
 THE INTERLOPERS 43

business. Nor did the Governor General neglect to men-

tion the importance of encouraging indigo production for
remittance purposes. In reviewing the reports from his dis-
trict officers on the conduct of the indigo planters
Bentinck concluded that the occasional misconduct of the
planters was more than offset by the benefits they brought
to the countryside. In spite of the fact that the planters
had labored under severe legal handicaps, every factory
was "a circle of improvement." 9
T h e Court of Directors read Bentinck's arguments with
obdurate skepticism. T h e y disallowed his criminally en-
forceable contract act, but reluctantly confirmed his reso-
lution on the leasing of lands by indigo planters, though
they shortened the legal duration of such leases from sixty
to twenty-one years. T h e Directors wrote that in giving
weight to the reports of his district magistrates on the con-
duct of the planters the Governor General had been less
than judicious. "It is obvious that such accounts must be
received with some allowance for the delicacy of the in-
quiry, and for the disposition men naturally feel to speak
favourably of those with whom they are in habits of fa-
miliarity and of social intercourse." In refutation they
quoted at length from other reports telling how contracts
were forced on unwilling ryots by planters' lathiyals or
forged by Indian factory servants. 10
In contrast to Bentinck's liberalism and faith in British
character, the outlook of the Directors was conservative
and timid. Typical of Bentinck's major opponents in the
Court of Directors was Neil Benjamin Edmonstone who
had served the Company in India as Persian translator and
as a member of the Governor General's Supreme Council.
From 1818 until 1834 he was a prominent member of the

»Ibid., 273-84.
10 Ibid., 334-40.
44 THE BLUE MUTINY

Court of Directors. In his opinion the Company had b e e n

able to hold India only because it had never interferred
with the people's full exercise of their own religions and
laws. Indians, he felt, should not participate in any way
in the Government. T h e y should be tried under their o w n
laws in separate courts and never be called upon to serve
on juries to judge Englishmen. Because of differences in
character, religion, habits, and language, their association
with Europeans as equals would lead to continual strife.
Edmonstone resented that the "momentous question o£ ad-
mitting Europeans and allowing them to become land-
holders" had been settled by the Governor General
without prior consultation with the Court of Directors. 11
T h e issue between Lord William Bentinck and the
Court of Directors was resolved by the Charter Act of 1833
which confirmed the East India Company as the Govern-
ment of India for another twenty years. After collecting
evidence for three years the parliamentary select com-
mittee which prepared the Act reported that, for the most
part, the introduction of British capital and its employ-
ment in the districts had been beneficial. But, in view of
the defective state of the judicial establishment, the com-
mittee recommended that admission of Europeans into the
mufassal be carefully controlled. By the Charter Act Brit-
ish subjects were permitted to settle in any territory which
had been under the rule of the Company in 1800. T o
counterbalance the opening of India to British settlers the
Act greatly enhanced the powers of the Governor General
in Council. He was provided with a Legislative Council
whose laws were to have "the same force and effect within
and throughout the said territories as an Act of Parlia-
ment." T h e Charter Act also provided for the appoint-

11 Ibid., 1831-32, IX, 803-26.

 T H E INTERLOPERS 45

ment of a Law Commission to enquire into the courts and

the operation of the laws. 12
T o head the Law Commission the Company appointed
Thomas Babington Macaulay. He arrived in India in 1834
to serve as the first Legal Member of the Governor Gen-
eral's Legislative Council. Macaulay shared the Utilitarian
conviction that legal codes should be constituted along ra-
tional and functional lines, and as a liberal he believed
that the major role of government should be to administer
justice purely and cheaply. As an advocate of "westerniza-
tion" he saw that only when the people learned to place
more confidence in the courts and to face tyranny without
fear would their "national character" improve. 13
One of Macaulay's major assignments, and one most
congenial to him, was to accomplish what Bentinck had
suggested but postponed in 1829, formulation of equal
laws for Indians and Europeans. Accordingly, he drafted
Act X I of 1836 which removed the right of Europeans to
appeal to the Supreme Court in civil cases. It is note-
worthy that the principal opponents of his proposal were
not the indigo planters but the British barristers who
practiced before the Supreme Court in Calcutta. Macaulay
defended his measure on grounds that the Government
should not support the special privileges of any group, but
should act as a firm and impartial despotism and do justice
to all without distinction of race. In a caustic minute on
the measure he denounced the attempt of the Europeans
in Calcutta to form a racial oligarchy. 14
W i t h the exception of Act X I of 1836, the application

"Ibid., 1831-3«, VIII, «6-27.

1 S C . D. Dharker, Lord Macaulay's Legislative Minutes (Madras,
1946), pp. 272 ff. See also Eric Stokes, The English Utilitarians and
India (Oxford, 1959).
1 1 Dharker, Macaulay's Minutes, pp. 182-196, 272 ff.
46 THE BLUE MUTINY

of Macaulay's principles to the Bengal mufassal was, like

his draft of an Indian penal code, set aside for over
two decades. Nevertheless, the twenty years between
Macaulay's departure from India and the Sepoy Mutiny
were not uneventful in the shaping of policy toward Euro-
pean settlement in India. T w o movements were at work in
widely separated places, each of which would profoundly
influence thât policy during the indigo disturbances.
The first took place in England. Here evangelicals and
humanitarians united with Lancashire cotton interests in
the British India Society formed in 1839 and in the Indian
Reform Society organized in i853· 1 5 T h e evangelical-
humanitarian wing wanted to diffuse British civilization
and Christianity in India; one important medium of this
diffusion would be British settlers living among the peo-
ple. T h e Lancashire wing was interested in the growing
of cotton within the Empire, best accomplished under the
supervision of British settlers. Other business interests
wanted to increase the production and export of Indian
raw materials, especially tea, sugar, wool and iron. The
politically oriented wanted to protect India against Rus-
sian expansion by colonizing the northwest frontier and
fostering Indian trade with Tibet and Central Asia. 16
In 1858 the movement favoring European colonization
in India reached its climax. In Parliament it was led by
the humanitarian elder statesman William Ewart, sup-
ported by other humanitarians as well as by representa-
tives of the Midlands manufacturing areas. Its opponents
were the "Indian authorities," shareholders and officials of
the East India Company and men with experience in the

16
S. Maccoby, English Radicalism, 1853-1886 (London, 1938), pp.
16-17, 364-
16
3 Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, C X L I X , (16 March
269-93.
 T H E INTERLOPERS 47

Company's Indian service. Parliament, on Ewart's motion,

appointed the Select Committee on European Coloniza-
tion and Settlement in India which collected evidence for
two years. In its report the committee called on the Gov-
ernment of India to encourage settlement by reforming
the administration of the judiciary and police, improving
roads and communications, and removing all doubt about
the right of Europeans to settle in India. 17 T h e only sour
note against colonization was that sounded in the testi-
mony on the behavior of the indigo planters of Bengal.
These testimonies, the committee reported, were "painful
to read." If treated in a "just and temperate" manner the
Indian would cooperate with and form an attachment to
the European. T h e report concluded with an appeal to
every settler to conduct himself with a deep sense of re-
sponsibility to the natives and to his own country. Thus,
at the onset of the indigo disturbances public opinion in
England, though critical of the indigo planters, generally
favored European colonization in India. 18
T h e second movement which would affect the status of
the European settler took place in India. A new attitude
toward local administration was spreading through the
ranks of the Company's service. In the North-Westem
Provinces Robert Bird and James Thomason in the 1830's
and 1840's introduced a system of district government
known as "authoritarian paternalism." It was later intro-
duced into the Punjab by John Lawrence. In Bengal the
Governor General, Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856), took pre-
liminary steps to reorganize the internal administration
which had been virtually neglected since the days of Lord
1 7 Although Act IV of 1837 gave British subjects unrestricted right

of entry, there was a provision in the Penal Code referring to

unauthorized entrance which threw doubt on the status of immi-
grants.
18 Pari. Papers, 1859, Session II, V, 276.
48 T H E BLUE MUTINY

William Bentinck. When, during the Sepoy Mutiny, the

Punjab remained loyal to the British the success of the
new school was considered proven. After the Mutiny its
influence was brought to bear on Lower Bengal where it
became the policy of the Government to concentrate and
increase its authority on the district level. 19
Macaulay in his day had compared the hostility of the
new "paternalists" to that of the old administrators of the
East India Company:
It is impossible that any rational person can be so prejudiced
against the Company and its servants as really to believe that,
having given up all connexion with trade, they are still jealous
of all other traders.
But there is a jealousy, widely different from the old com-
mercial jealousy, of which the Company is invidiously and un-
foundedly accused by the petitioners—jealousy which it is their
duty and that of all who are in authority under them to enter-
tain. That jealousy is—not the jealousy of a merchant afraid
of being undersold, but the jealousy of a ruler afraid that the
subjects for whose well-being he is answerable, should be
pillaged and oppressed.20
T h e fortunes of the indigo planter depended even more
upon his immediate relationships with local officials,
zamindars and peasants than it did upon Government
policy. Until well into the nineteenth century the private
planters benefited from the presence in the mufassal of the
East India Company's commercial residents, business
agents who were provided with large amounts of capital to
purchase local products for the Company's investment.
Commercial residents were also permitted to do business
on their own account, and many manufactured indigo to
sell to the Company and private traders. T h e y assisted the
private indigo planters with loans, frequently allying with
19
Stokes, English Utilitarians, pp. 240-46.
20
Dharker, Macaulay's Minutes, p. 196.
 THE INTERLOPERS 49
them against the collectors and joining with them in ar-
rangements for mutual profit. When the office of commer-
cial resident was discontinued after 1834, the planter lost
a valuable ally in the mufassal.21
The collector, who was responsible for the welfare of the
local inhabitants as well as for that of the East India Com-
pany, found himself in an ambivalent position when try-
ing to deal with a commercial resident who abused his
powers. In 1789 the Commercial Resident at Goamalti,
Henry Creighton, was reprehended by the Collector of
Dinajpur, George Hatch, for forcing the local zamindar to
supply him with boats for the indigo harvest. Hatch
warned Creighton that if he continued his high-handed
behavior the authorities in Calcutta would be informed.
On the other hand, Hatch promised to help him in his
business if he could do so "without putting any restraint
upon the inclinations of the inhabitants," and to inform
the ryots that "it is expected of them to contribute their
aid in furthering the culture and manufacture of in-
digo." 22 In general, the Board of Trade encouraged and
supported the planters while the Judicial Department
maintained a careful watch on their abuses.
21
William Wilson Hunter, Annals of Rural Bengal (7th ed.,
London, 1 8 9 7 ) , pp. 349-68, gives an account of the relations between
a commercial resident, a collector and a private adventurer. Charles
Grant served as a commercial resident and planted indigo on his
own account in Malda District from 1 7 8 0 to 1787. In 1788 as a
member of the Board of T r a d e in Calcutta he continued to help his
fellow planters by loaning them money and assuring that indigo
remained on the list of Company investments. Ainslee Embree,
Charles Grant and British India (New York, 1962), p. 84. Another
important commercial resident planting indigo was George Udny
who employed William Carey as his assistant before the missionary
joined W a r d and Marshman at Serampore to perform his momentous
educational work. George Smith, Life of William Carey (London,
Everyman Ed., η. d.), pp. 58 ff.
22
Bengal District Records: Dinajpur (Shillong, 1 9 1 4 ) , I, 309 ff.
50 THE BLUE MUTINY

T h e relationship between planter and district officer

varied with the individuals concerned. It depended on the
social status of the individual planter, his "breeding," and
his bank account as well as on the maturity, experience,
and sense of mission of the official. T o a lonely magistrate
the home of a wealthy planter must have seemed a para-
dise in comparison to the neglected, rambling and
crowded homes of the Indian zamindars. T h e feelings of
Colonel Gastrell, a settlement officer assigned to Jessore
soon after the indigo disturbances, were probably typical.

T h e numerous indigo . . . factories . . . impart an air of

civilization to and greatly enliven the scenery whenever they
appear. . . . There is an appearance of solid and unmistakable
comfort about them generally, that is exceedingly refreshing
and delightful. Always built in the most open spots, they stand
boldly out and offer a striking contrast to the neighboring
Bengalee habitations, which are so buried in jungle as to be
barely visible until arriving within a few yards of them.23

Yet the planters often felt they were being abused by

the officials. "If the planter has good pig-sticking ground
around his factory, he is not under a social ban, but he is
very often very ill-used," reported one planter. 24 T h e
Secretary of the Indigo Planters' Association, William
Theobald, told the Committee on Colonization that the
young, inexperienced civilians who were flooding India
since the examination system had been instituted in 1854
were more biased against the planters than their prede-
cessors. T h e y were in the power of their Indian translators
and were "earwigged by worthless natives to prejudice
against their own countrymen." 2 6 Against these testimonies

23
J . E. Gastrell, Report on the Districts of Jessore, Fureedpore and
Backergunge (Calcutta, 1868), p. 7.
" Pari. Papers, 1859, Session I, IV, 1 7 1 .
25 Pari. Papers, 1857-58, V I I , Pt. I, 60.
 T H E INTERLOPERS 51

must be placed the conclusion of the Indigo Commission

of i860. "If anything, the bias of the English Magistrate
has been unconsciously towards his countrymen, whom he
has asked to his own table, or met in the hunting field, or
whose houses he has personally visited." If this had not
been the case, reported the Commissioners, "a cultivation
of the character which we have clearly shown indigo to be
would not have gone on for such a length of time."2®
Along with their complaints about the bias of the civil
service, the planters objected to the conduct of the local
courts. Although in criminal matters the planters were ex-
empt from the jurisdiction of any court below that of the
district magistrate, in civil matters they were under the
jurisdiction of all mufassai courts. T h e three lowest courts,
those of the munsifs, sadr amins and principal sadr amins,
were predominantly staffed by Indians. In prosecuting
minor cases against ryots and small landholders, the plant-
ers left the court work to their agents, either factory serv-
ants or Indian mukhtars (attorneys). T h e corruption of
the courts was universally acknowledged, not because the
judges themselves were corrupt, but because the minor
court officials could be bribed and the witnesses were un-
trustworthy. T h e courts were frequented by the most
venal members of mufassai society, semi-literate mukhtars,
vakils (pleaders) and court clerks. Respectable Indians
considered it disgraceful to attend the courts and avoided
it whenever possible.

T h e major problem of the judge was to learn the simple

truth of the matter at hand, buried as it was beneath a
mass of perjured statements and forged documents. 27 A n

2« R . I. C., Pt. I, Report, p. 30.

27 Hodgson Pratt, Articles and Letters on Indian Questions (Lon-
don, 1857).
52 THE BLUE MUTINY

old mukhtar admitted to the planter James Forlong, "I am

obliged to get all the witnesses, and, worst of all, forge all
the documents." 28 Because the courts were alien to Indian
tradition and usually outside the village area, there was
none of the restraint of peer-approval which supported vil-
lage morality. Instead of bringing to the mufassal the high
judicial standards of England, the planters were satisfied
to "play the game" according to Indian rules. During the
indigo disturbances the courts became the principal battle-
ground between the planter and his opponents in the
mufassal. The role of the Government in the disturbances
was to increase the number of district and sub-district
courts and to staff them with magistrates imbued with
rigid judicial standards.
In the days before an effective administrative system
was introduced into Bengal, the Indian zamindars were
the only other powers in the mufassal able to restrain the
planters. The zamindari system, as reformed and regulated
by Cornwallis, had both advantages and disadvantages for
indigo planting by Europeans. One disadvantage was that
the peasants who cultivated indigo were not free to con-
tract with the planters; there was always a third party
interested in what the ryot grew whose tacit agreement was
necessary. On the other hand, once he had appeased the
zamindar, it was possible for the planter to contract for
thousands of bigahs of indigo at one stroke. In those early
years the planters often found the zamindar strongly op-
posed to his ryots taking advances and cultivating indigo.
T h e zamindars objected mainly because indigo was not a
profitable crop, and they had great difficulty in realizing
their rents. The planters often went with bands of
lathiyals to establish their right to sow; when zamindars
28 R. I. C., A. 3172.
 T H E INTERLOPERS 53

themselves tried to manufacture indigo, the planters ruth-

lessly tried to prevent them. 28
Before 1829, when the planters were limited by the
Government to holding only enough land for their fac-
tories and grounds, almost all cultivation was theoretically
be-ilaka, that is, on land controlled by an Indian land-
holder and not by the indigo planter. T h e major concern
of the planters was to increase their power over the peas-
ants, first through the expediency of holding leases in the
names of their Indian servants (banami), and after Febru-
ary 1829 in their own names. But because Bentinck's regu-
lation of 1829 extending to indigo planters the right to
lease lands was so overburdened with restricting condi-
tions, only a handful of planters took advantage of it.80
T h e planters' position was greatly improved when, in
1837, c he Government enacted that any subject of the
Crown could acquire and hold in perpetuity, or for any
length of time land in any part of the territories of the
East India Company. 31 Thenceforth, the major objective of
the planters became to increase their ilaka cultivation.
T h e early restrictions had forced the planters to lose irre-
trievable opportunities to acquire land cheaply in the early
nineteenth century, and now they were obliged to spend
much of their resources on acquiring zamindaris through
purchase and on holding them with litigation. Neverthe-
less, by the time of the indigo disturbances most of the
cultivation in the large concerns of Lower Bengal was
ilaka, in which the concern was the landlord. T h e Bengal
Indigo Company grew indigo on only 17,000 bigahs of
be-ilaka land out of its total cultivation of 75,000 bigahs.

28 Hari Ranjan Ghosal, Economic Transition in the Bengal Presi-

dency, 1793-1833 (Patna, 1950), pp. 82-87.
30 Pari. Papers, 1831-32, VIII, 431-33.
81 Act IV of 1837.
54 THE BLUE MUTINY

In James Hills' concerns, only 14,000 out of the total

67,000 bigahs of indigo cultivated were be-ilaka.S2
In the lawless condition of Bengal before the improve-
ment of administration under the lieutenant governors,
planters and zamindars frequently settled their quarrels in
battle. T h e affray between bands of lathiyals had been an
institution in Bengal long before the arrival of the Euro-
pean planters, and planters soon learned to follow the ex-
ample of neighboring zamindars and retain large numbers
of lathiyals and spearmen. T h e permanent force could be
increased by hiring levies from the surrounding villages,
especially in east Bengal. Free lance lathiyals were always
available for employment. One planter testified before the
Committee on Colonization: " I quarreled one evening
with a zamindar and before 24 hours were over 400 of
these men offered me their services." 83
During the thirty or forty years preceding 1847 every
one of the more than fifty concerns in Lower Bengal had
been involved in an affray. Whenever a planter proposed
to establish a new factory, the ryots in the neighborhood
would appeal to their zamindar for protection and hostili-
ties would ensue. T h e principal movers stayed behind the
scenes and the opposing forces were led by their head serv-
ants. There were also cases of affrays between planters, but
the usual contest was between planter and zamindar. From
about 1845, a n d especially after the formation of the In-
digo Planters' Association in 1851, encounters between
planters had ceased. Affrays between planters and zamin-
dars were greatly curtailed by the passing of Act IV of
1840 which increased the powers of the magistrate in deal-
ing with disputes over land and water rights. The ryot was
the chief victim of these contests. Whoever won, his
32
R. I. C., Appendix I, A. 2895, and A. 661 S.
33 Pari. Papers, 1859, Session II, V, 272.
 THE INTERLOPERS 55

crops were destroyed, his villages looted, and his cattle

driven off. 34
Gradually the struggle for rights over land shifted to the
courts and the b a r g a i n i n g table. A l t h o u g h the planters
complained of zamindari opposition due to jealousy or
political and social rivalry, the Indigo Commission re-
ported that the only difficulty experienced by the planters
in acquiring land had been that of "settling the pecuniary
terms." T h e zamindar asked exorbitant prices for leases
a n d sometimes led his ryots against indigo sowing in order
to force the planter to negotiate for a lease. 36
T h e zamindar had other less material rights in the
mufassal f o r w h i c h he considered the planter a rival. In
Nadia, where by i860 the planters were in practice land-
lords of two-thirds of the district, 3 8 the zamindars felt their
"rank and authority in society" c r u m b l i n g and were jeal-
ous of the planters on that score. 87 T h e y objected to the
planters' negotiating directly w i t h their ryots for indigo
w i t h o u t asking f o r the zamindar's mediation. W h e r e the
zamindari had been in one family for generations, the
ryots w h o had come u n d e r the concern's estate may have
felt a loyalty toward their old zamindar. B u t in Nadia, at
least, most of the zamindars were themselves newcomers,
and the planters had little trouble in this respect. 88 In
addition, the zamindars were o f t e n absentee landlords,
whereas the planters lived a m o n g the people.
T h e planters held lands u n d e r almost every type of
tenure, from zamindari d o w n to sub-tenancy of a ryot. As

34 W. S. Seton-Karr, "Indigo in Lower Bengal," Calcutta Review,

VII (1847), 186-219.
35 R . I. C., Pt. I, Report, p. 13.
36 Englishman (Calcutta), Jan. 24, i860. Letter from James For-
long.
37 R. I. C., A. 2912 (Testimony of James Forlong).
38 R. I. C., Pt. I, Report, p. 13 and A. 2914-15 (Forlong).
56 THE BLUE MUTINY

a zamindar his rights were limited by a peculiarity of the

land-tenure system of India. H e may have been the pro-
prietor of the land under the Permanent Settlement, but
land already occupied was beyond his management. H e
was allowed to lease his land and collect rent, but not to
dictate what crops were to be cultivated. If, however, his
tenants objected to growing indigo, he could, until the
R e n t A c t of 1859 (Act X), evict them for non-payment of
rent. (Certain resident ryots were theoretically exempted
f r o m eviction, b u t their rents were liable to enhancement
if they fell below certain obscurely determined prevailing
rates.) B u t under the Permanent Settlement, lands oc-
c u p i e d by cultivators were to be let. O n l y reclaimed
wastelands and chars within the planter's estate could
legitimately be cultivated as nij or "home f a r m " lands
w i t h hired labor. 38
U n d e r an Indian zamindar the planter might hold a
patni taluk, a lease with all the rights of the zamindar,
transferable and heritable and with permanently fixed
rent. U n t i l the passage of Act X I of 1859 patni leases as
well as most other leases were automatically dissolved
w h e n a zamindari was sold for arrears of revenue. Beneath
the patni tenure were various levels of under-tenancy with
fixed permanent rents called as a general class dar-patnis;
below these a planter could acquire a temporary lease sub-
ject to enhancement on renewal. 4 0 W h e n the planter
f o u n d that he could not control production from above,
he sometimes tried to obtain a khartouli lease, or sublease
from a ryot. 4 1
U n t i l the passage of A c t X of 1859 the planters, along

39 Β . H . Baden-Powell, Land-Systems of British India (3 vols.,

O x f o r d , 1892), I, 166-68, 628.
*o Ibid., pp. 543-46.
4 1 B u c h a n a n , Development of Capitalist Enterprise in India, p. 49.
 T H E INTERLOPERS 57

with other zamindars, had an almost unlimited right of

enhancement. Usually the tenants of planters paid less in
rent than did those of Indian zamindars, the difference
being made up because indigo did not pay as well as rice
and other crops. But the threat of enhancement was ready
for use at any time against ilaka ryots who were backward
about sowing indigo. During the indigo disturbances the
planters fell back upon these powers of enhancement, only
to find that by Act X of 1859 they had been stripped of
much of their power as landlords.
Those planters who held lands under Indian zamindars,
including many who had their own zamindari estates in
neighboring areas, were constantly threatened by another
law peculiar to the Permanent Settlement. Whenever a
zamindari estate was sold for arrears of revenue, all the
numerous under-tenures, except those of certain resident
ryots, were cancelled. Lands leased by Europeans for
homes, gardens or manufactories were exempted, but all
the other lands which a planter had leased were cancelled
and liable to rent enhancement, or to non-renewal by the
new owner. 42 T h e Sale Laws of 1841 and 1845 removed
any doubt that the new purchaser could enhance the rents
of all under-tenants and eject tenants.43 One of the major
objectives in the formation of the Indigo Planters' Associa-
tion had been to urge the passage of a new sale law to
protect undertenures. Revenue officers, missionaries and
the lieutenant governors of Bengal all favored a new sale
law. It was opposed by the Indian zamindars who con-
sidered it to be special legislation in the interest of the

42
Reg. X L I V of 1793, sec. 5; see also Baden-Powell, Land Systems, I,
437. Sometimes a zamindar re-purchased his own estate banami after
having allowed it to be sold at Government auction in order to wipe
clean all leases and to enhance or evict at will as the " n e w " owner.
43
Baden-Powell, Land Systems, I, 148.
58 THE BLUE MUTINY

Europeans. 4 4 Finally, Act X I of 1859 provided for the reg-

istration of undertenures, the protection of undertenure
rights, and the separate payment of revenue by share-
holders in estates. 45
W i t h the gradual improvement of administration in
Bengal, the relationship of the planter to the ryot also
changed. T h e early accounts are filled with stories of per-
sonal cruelty and violence by planters to force ryots to sow
indigo. 4 8 A l t h o u g h in the years immediately preceding the
indigo disturbances somewhat more subtle methods were
used to coerce the ryots, they now had fewer opportunities
to escape the grinding tyranny of the indigo system. T h e
planters organized themselves and no longer competed
with one another for the ryot's crop. As the planter im-
proved his land tenure position, the ryot found it more
difficult to free himself f r o m indigo. Although the planters
were now a more civilized body, they were also more effi-
cient and forced cultivators to take greater pains to pro-
duce the fine quality indigo in which they took such pride.
Accounts of oppression by the planters should be viewed
in relation to prevalent mufassal morality. T h e planters
were probably no more oppressive than the Indian zamin-
dars, though they may have seemed so to a peasantry who
were unaccustomed to their novel demands. Furthermore,
ryot-planter relationships were not unremittingly hostile.
T h o u g h exaggerated, the planters' claims that they saved
many ryots f r o m starvation in times of drought and pro-
tected them f r o m rapacious zamindars had some founda-
44
Pari. Papers, 1857-58, V I I , Pt. I, 60. C. D. Field, Introduction
to Regulations of the Bengal Code (Calcutta, 1897), P- Hindoo
Patriot, February 5, 1857.
45
Field, Bengal Code, pp. 122 ff. T h e act opened the door to the
multiplication of sub-tenancies which has plagued Bengal to this day.
46
See, for example, J o h n G. Reilly, Journal of a Wanderer (Lon-
don, 1844), pp. 65-74.
 T H E INTERLOPERS 59

tion in fact. A few planters, like Thomas Savi of Moisganj

and N. Pogose of Dacca were apparently innocent of any
oppression. Others assauged their consciences with good
works. According to the inscription on his tomb Henry
Creighton, the commercial resident and planter of the late
eighteenth century, built vernacular schools for the poorer
children in his district.47 H. Mackenzie of Jingergattcha,
whose oppressive behavior precipitated the indigo disturb-
ances in Barasat, liberally dispensed medicine and sup-
ported a school for one hundred boys.48 T . J . Kenny of
Pabna49 and the planters of Magura Subdivision in
Jessore50 built charity hospitals.
The "white sheep in a black flock,"51 however, was
James Forlong, the moral leader of the planters during the
indigo disturbances. Forlong first came to Lower Bengal as
a young assistant planter in 1830 and by 1836 was placed
in charge of Mulnath, an indigo firm then belonging to
Messrs. Hills and White. At Mulnath Forlong became
known for his responsible behavior, bringing "quietness
and peace" to an area once filled with "turmoil and
trouble." In 1842 he built the only hospital between Cal-
cutta and Krishnagar and employed a well-trained Indian
doctor to direct it. He supported two schools; one for
lower caste children and one for the higher caste students
for whom he hired a teacher from Calcutta to give instruc-
tion in English. By 1854 Forlong was already manager of
twenty-three indigo factories with which were associated
300,000 people.
At Mulnath he built an English-style country mansion,
47
Bengal District Records: Dinajpur, I, 309 ff.
48
R . I. C., A. 870 (Rev. J . H. Anderson, Baptist Missionary So-
ciety, Jessore).
49
Englishman, January 13, i860.
60
J . Westland, Jessore (2d ed., Calcutta, 1874), p. 2 1 1 .
51
Hindoo Patriot, October 10, i860.
6o THE BLUE MUTINY

furnished it elaborately, and surrounded it w i t h land-

scaped parks. His workday usually included a tour of his
factories, fields and villages. O f t e n he w o u l d stop to settle
a quarrel b e t w e e n t w o ryots over a field b o u n d a r y or hear
a grievance against one of his factory servants. W h e n he
visited the village school " a b o u t one h u n d r e d little dark
urchins, with pens and p a l m leaves in hand, a n d w i t h
school master at the head . . . make their salam to the
sahib, their friend and patron." 5 2 In 1856 he left M u l n a t h ,
w h i c h had been sold to the Bengal Indigo C o m p a n y , and
was employed by Hills and C o m p a n y as general mufassal
manager w i t h headquarters at N i s c h i n t i p u r where he
lived d u r i n g the indigo disturbances. In N o v e m b e r i860,
i n the midst of the disturbances, he resigned and moved
to C h a m p a r a n District in Bihar where he continued his
career as an indigo planter a n d leader of the planter
community. 6 3
A conscientious planter like James Forlong was closer to
the people than their district magistrate, and to them he
represented the g o v e r n m e n t of their distant rulers. B u t
fundamentally his position in the mufassal was as unten-
able as that of his less h u m a n e and less scrupulous fellow
planters. T h e entire indigo industry of L o w e r Bengal ulti-
mately rested on a foundation of coercion and intimida-
tion, and changes were taking place in mufassal life w h i c h
w o u l d make the system intolerable. O n e of these was the
growth of Calcutta and its increasing influence on all
classes of mufassal society. Calcutta in the 1850's was seeth-
ing with political and intellectual activity. M u c h of the
excitement was communicated to the mufassal through the
rural upper classes w h o sent their sons to be educated in
the city and through villagers w h o had migrated to Cal-
cutta and returned to their village homes for holidays. In

62 [C. Grant], Rural Life, p. 39.

53 Hindoo Patriot, Oct. 10 and Nov. 14, i860; Reid, Indigo, p. 155.
 T H E INTERLOPERS 6l

the indigo districts themselves colleges offering Western

curricula were being established—at Dacca in 1841, at
Krishnagar in Nadia District in 1845, and at Berhampur in
Murshidabad District in 1853. Between 1852 and 1854
English secondary schools were founded in many of the
indigo districts.54
Other events of a political nature excited the peasantry.
One of these was the Farazi disturbances which reached
their height in the 1830's and 1840's. T h e Farazis were a
tightly organized puritanical sect among the Muslims of
eastern Bengal. They collected funds, refused to pay rents,
administered their own justice, and attacked and plun-
dered the estates of Hindu zamindars and European indigo
planters. Though the movement was checked by 1859,
many of the peasants who participated in the indigo dis-
turbances were Farazis, skilled in military organization
and the use of arms. 55 A second was the Santal Rebellion
of 1855-57 in which the aboriginal tribal peoples of west-
ern Bengal rebelled first against Hindu moneylenders,
then against zamindars and indigo planters. 56 T h e third
was the Sepoy Mutiny. Though it hardly touched the
indigo districts of Lower Bengal, it heightened racial ten-
sion by reminding the planters of their isolation and giv-
ing them an opportunity to exercise emergency police and
magisterial authority. T h e people lived in fear of violence
from both sides—from stray bands of north-Indian sepoys
and from newly organized European "volunteer" forces.
One such force, composed of discharged seamen and loaf-
ers, was assembled in Calcutta and sent to Jessore where it
intimidated the surrounding villagers. 57
Finally, and of greater consequence in the mufassal,
64
See relevant Bengal District Gazetteers.
" " F a r a i d i Sect," Encyclopedia of Islam (London, 1927), II, 57-59.
M
K. K. Datta, The Santal Insurrection of 1855-57 (Calcutta, 1940).
57
See W . S. Seton-Karr, Sepoy Mutiny . . . in . . . Jessore (London,
1894).
62 THE BLUE MUTINY

were the steps begun under Lord Dalhousie to improve

the internal administration of Bengal. Among these were
the undertaking of a revenue survey, the organization of
an effective police corps along the Bengal section of the
Grand Trunk Road, and the appointment of a special
commission for the suppression of dacoity. Collectors
were urged to tour among the people of their districts, and
measures were taken to raise the standards of the mufassal
courts.58 These were small beginnings, but the pace of re-
form would accelerate under Lord Canning, so that by the
time of his departure from India in 1862 Bengal had be-
come one of the better administered provinces of British
India.
Above all, Lord Dalhousie strongly advocated that the
home government sanction the appointment of a perma-
nent Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Before 1854 the
Governor General had been responsible for the internal
administration of Bengal in addition to his heavy all-India
duties. Dalhousie's recommendation was incorporated into
the Charter Act of 1853 and in 1854 he nominated for the
new post the leading member of his council, Sir Frederick
Halliday. 59
58
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, xxxi ff.
50
Ibid., XV ff.
 III
The
Lieutenant Governors
Rajar gune rajyabas The virtues of the king
rajar dose sjrbonas bring happiness to the realm.
His sins bring utter destruction.

AFTER HE TOOK OFFICE AS THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF

Bengal, Sir Frederick Halliday's responsibilities were sur-
passed only by those of the G o v e r n o r General himself. His
authority extended over Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, and
contiguous states, an area of 253,000 square miles with a
population of forty millions. T h e five years d u r i n g w h i c h
Halliday held the office were momentous ones in the his-
tory of Bengal. T h e y included the Santal R e b e l l i o n and
the Sepoy M u t i n y , the Education Despatch of 1854 w h i c h
provided for the establishment of Calcutta University, and
the H i n d u W i d o w ' s Remarriage Act, a landmark in social
reform. A l t h o u g h H a l l i d a y did not take the leading role in
any of these events, he invariably supported the side of
progress and order.
Halliday had a direct influence on the formulation of
four other measures w h i c h were of more consequence to
the Bengal mufassal. T h e first was police reform. A l t h o u g h
most of his recommendations were enacted under his suc-
cessor, d u r i n g his o w n administration a corps of 7,000
64 T H E BLUE MUTINY

military police, about half of whom were mounted, was

established in Bengal. A second reform which made head-
way under Halliday was the improvement of criminal jus-
tice. In 1843 Nadia Division, which included the largest
indigo producing districts of Lower Bengal, had only four
magisterial courts. By the end of Halliday's term there
were thirteen. Of still greater importance was the Rent
Act of 1859 which curtailed the powers of zamindars and
improved the tenure status of ryots.1 Finally, in April 1859
the offices of district collector and magistrate in Bengal
were united. T h i s step, which had been advocated by Lord
Dalhousie, followed from the enhanced influence of the
school of "authoritarian paternalism" after the Mutiny.
T h e highest district official remained, as before, the civil
and sessions judge. But the executive po\vers, which had
previously been divided between a collector in charge of
revenue and a magistrate in charge of police and origi-
nal criminal jurisdiction, were now united. T h e new
magistrate collector became the center of power in his
district. 2
Only when one turns to his policies toward indigo plant-
ers and cultivators, does one find blots on his distinguished

1 H a l l i d a y was e x t r e m e l y u n p o p u l a r w i t h the H i n d u community

of C a l c u t t a w h i c h r e f u s e d to sign the customary eulogistic address
on his d e p a r t u r e f r o m I n d i a . T h e Hindoo Patriot c o m m e n t e d that
his career was " r e m a r k a b l e f o r selfishness a g g r a v a t e d by intense
meanness, for i n s o l e n t b l u n d e r s , systematic insincerity a n d a n u m b e r
of hasty doings w h o s e p e r n i c i o u s effects it w i l l take a q u a r t e r of a
century to u n d o . " H a l l i d a y was d e n o u n c e d for his g e n e r a l inactivity,
his s u p p o r t of a p r o p o s a l to i n t r o d u c e B i b l e study i n t o G o v e r n m e n t
schools, his i n d u l g e n c e of the i n d i g o planters, a n d , a b o v e all, his
s u p p o r t of the R e n t A c t of 1859. T h i s the Hindoo Patriot called an
a t t e m p t to l e v e l the n a t i v e aristocracy " t o o n e s t a n d a r d of social
e q u a l i t y w i t h the r u r a l classes." Hindoo Patriot, M a y 5, 1859.
2 T h e career of H a l l i d a y is s u m m a r i z e d i n B u c k l a n d , Lieutenant
Governors, I, 1-64.
 T H E L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 65

record. His partiality toward the planters emanated from

a conviction that the economic future of Bengal depended
on the enterprise of Europeans in the mufassal. He be-
lieved that if they were given responsibility for their own
good behavior and shown respect by the Government, the
indigo planters themselves would curtail their excesses and
reform the system.
When Halliday first toured Bengal in August 1854, the
zamindars, vakils, and mukhtars of Nadia District peti-
tioned him for relief from the "tyranny and oppression"
of indigo planters which, they wrote, was a "topic of indig-
nant animadversion in every rank of native society." They
protested that the indigo planters were tried by different
laws from the natives and that the police were partial to-
wards the planters and coerced the zamindars and ryots
into subservience to them. The planters compelled the
ryots to grow indigo on land previously devoted to food
crops and then underpaid them for the indigo plant de-
livered. In addition, they complained that the ferry funds
had been taken from the control of the zamindars and
were now administered by ferry fund committees domi-
nated by indigo planters who used the funds to build roads
to benefit the factories and not the people. The petition
also pointed out that half the land in Nadia District was
virtually in the hands of the indigo planters; for, although
the zamindars were the legal landowners, they could not,
as a conquered race, reject the applications of the planters
for patni leases.
Halliday called the petition "vague and probably not
credible" and did nothing to investigate the grievances.3
But the Hindoo Patriot, the leading English-language
Indian-published newspaper of Calcutta, hailed the peti-

3 J. P. 117-28, Oct. *6, 1854.

66 THE BLUE MUTINY

tion as evidence of the d a w n of political consciousness in

the Bengal mufassal. " T h e y are learning to exercise the
privileges of British subjects to meet together in public,
discuss questions of p u b l i c importance and to convey full
expression of their opinions thereupon to their rulers." 4
In contrast to the m a n n e r in which Halliday treated the
petitions of the natives, he devoted a good deal of atten-
tion to the complaints of the planters. Foremost a m o n g the
planters' requests was a law to enforce indigo contracts in
the criminal courts. Bentinck's government had passed just
such a law, R e g u l a t i o n V of 1830, w h i c h the C o u r t of Di-
rectors overruled in 1835 o n the grounds that it could not
sanction special legislation in favor of one class to the
detriment of another. Halliday studied the p r o b l e m for
almost two years, called for the opinions of his district
officers on the matter, and concluded that special legisla-
tion was necessary to prevent indigo disputes. B u t his in-
tention to seek such legislation was set aside d u r i n g the
tumultuous events of 1857. a
T h e anxieties accompanying the Sepoy M u t i n y led
Halliday to take a step w h i c h d i d m u c h to provoke the
crisis in the indigo districts a few years later—he invested
a large n u m b e r of planters with the powers of honorary
magistrate. H e did this over the objections of two-thirds
of the indigo planters, all the zamindars except one, half
the district officers and the organized protest of the British
Indian Association w h i c h represented the leading Hindus
of Calcutta. Between his first appointments on A u g u s t 1,
1857 and the withdrawal of their powers on February i,
1859, twenty-nine European planters and one Indian
zamindar were appointed honorary magistrates. A l t h o u g h
the honorary magistrates seldom overtly abused their

4 Hindoo Patriot, August 17, 1854.

J. P. 26-28, June 12, 1856 and 71-84, Oct. 2, 1856.
 T H E L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 67

powers, the very existence of those powers did much to

intimidate all sections of Indian society in the mufassal.
The peasants expressed their indignation in popular songs
and sayings, among them, " J e rakhak se bhakhak," ("the
man appointed our protector is our devourer"). 9 James
Forlong, who had served as an honorary magistrate him-
self, and who had originally favored the policy on grounds
that the planters should be made responsible for bringing
order and civilization to the mufassal, believed that Indian
zamindars also should have received appointments as hon-
orary magistrates. T h e Indian gentleman, he thought,
would have appreciated such a compliment from the
Government and fulfilled his duties honorably. Their
snubbing by the Government, Forlong believed, later led
the British Indian Association to take up the cause of the
ryots against the planters.7 T h e native editor of the weekly
Calcutta newspaper, the Indian Field, wrote that "the sys-
tem of Honorary Magistrates . . . has irritated the people
of Bengal to an extent compared with which the greased
cartridge of Hindoostan is a trifle." 8
It was in Barasat District, the nearest indigo district to
Calcutta, that the events were to occur which touched off
the indigo disturbances throughout Lower Bengal. Three
outstanding civil servants in the district dared to stand up
to the planters. Halliday transferred two of them and the
third was vindicated only after Halliday's successor, John
Peter Grant, took office. T h e ryots of Barasat had a long
6
R. I. C., A. 1628 (Rev. James Long) . On honorary magistrates
see J . P. 18-ig, April 17, 1856; 229-31, Nov. 5, 1857; 28-31, June 1858;
and 243, Aug. 19, 1858. Also, Hindoo Patriot, Mar. 4, 1858; R. I. C.,
Pt. I, Report, p. 36 and Appendix X X V ; and C. R . O., Judicial and
Legislative Despatches to India, original drafts, Vol. 2. Nos. 21 and
59 of 1859.
7
R . I. C., A. 3184-86 (James Forlong).
8
Indian Field, November 27, 1858.
68 THE BLUE MUTINY

history of organized opposition to indigo cultivation. In

1832 Barasat had been a center of the Farazi disturbances,
which included the burning of indigo factories along with
the nonpayment of rents to Hindu zamindars. Ashley
Eden, one of the magistrates of Barasat, testified before the
Indigo Commission that the ryots of Barasat District were
the most intelligent he had encountered. Living near Cal-
cutta and in constant communication with city merchants
these Barasat ryots were politically sophisticated. As
Farazis they were well organized and frequently met to-
gether to exchange ideas. T h e military stations at Dum
Dum and Barrackpur increased the value of their produce;
jute manufacturing and railroad construction raised the
prevailing wage rate. With three subdivisional magistrates
in addition to the sadr magistrate the police were well
supervised and justice readily available.®
Because of its proximity to Calcutta, Barasat was a
choice plum for the civil service and was usually awarded
to influential and independent young officers. One of the
first officials in the district to incur the wrath of an indigo
planter was Abdul Latif, Deputy Magistrate of Kalaroa.
On May 9, 1854, W. F. Fergusson, a Calcutta merchant
and proprietor of the Jingergattcha Concern, complained
to the Government of Bengal that though never before
had there been any complaints in any of the concern's
ninety villages, "no sooner does Abdool Luteef [sic] obtain
power than the ryots in the whole of that part of the coun-
try refuse to sow and to fulfill their contracts." T h e man-
ager of Jingergattcha, H. Mackenzie, complained that
Abdul Latif stopped the sowing of indigo whenever a ryot
presented a petition, but told planters to present their
grievances to the civil court for redress. Mackenzie also
complained that the deputy magistrate had ignored his
» R. I. C., A. 3629.
 T H E L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 69

charges naming certain "ringleaders" who agitated against

the factory, had sent police to stop factory people from
entering villages, and had been disrespectful in his form
of address toward the planter. His habitual refrain from
the bench, said Mackenzie, was: "How well known is the
oppression of the indigo sahibs!" After an investigation of
Abdul Latif's behavior by the Commissioner of Nadia,
Halliday transferred him to a less important and sensitive
area. 10 A t the time Abdul Latif's career was just beginning.
Under subsequent Lieutenant Governors he was to serve
with distinction on the Bengal Legislative Council, the
Calcutta Corporation and the Income T a x Commission. In
time he became the leading Muslim of Calcutta and his
community's spokesman to the Government. 11
A second remarkable officer to serve in Barasat was
J. H. Mangles. In 1855, in a dispute between the ryots and
the Barasat Concern of the Bengal Indigo Company,
Mangles ruled in favor of the ryots saying that they had
been forced illegally to take indigo advances. As a result
the ryots renounced the cultivation of indigo that year and
the output of the Barasat Concern was negligible. Mangles
was reprimanded by Halliday himself. 12 In the following
year in response to the request of the Lieutenant Gover-
nor for reports on indigo disputes, Mangles was one of the
few officials who forthrightly condemned the system.18 As
a result of pressure on the Government by the planters,
Mangles was transferred to another district.
Ashley Eden, his successor as joint magistrate, was the
nephew of the Earl of Auckland and later himself held

10 J. P. 124-31, June 15, 1854.

11 F. B. Bradley-Birt, Twelve Men of Bengal in the Nineteenth
Century (4th ed., Calcutta, 1927), pp. 111-39.
1 2 R . I. C., A. 3608 and 3626 (Ashley Eden).

13 J. P. 26-28, June 12, 1856 and 71-84, Oct. 2, 1856.

ηο THE BLUE MUTINY

office as Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Before coming to

Barasat he rendered valuable service to the Government
in the Santal Rebellion. Exhausted from that experience,
he went to Mauritius for a rest, and while there took time
out to expose the oppression of the Creole planters toward
their coolies. 14 In Barasat, however, Eden did not at first
show any evidence of prejudice against indigo planters.
On the contrary, he later admitted having "favored my
own countrymen in several instances." 15 Eden's immediate
superior was Arthur Grote, Commissioner of Nadia Divi-
sion. Apparently it was the planters who first antagonized
Eden by complaining to Grote about some minor rulings
he had made under the impression that it was his duty to
dispense even-handed justice. Urged by the planters, one
of whom was R . T . Larmour, Grote had ordered Eden to
reverse some judicial decisions. T h i s experience, in addi-
tion to his inherent sense of justice, brought about a
change in Eden's attitude—never again would he abandon
his principles to placate his superiors.
In February 1859 Messrs. Prestwich and Warner of the
Hobra Concern in Barasat asked Eden to persuade their
ryots to take advances as he had done for another planter
two years earlier. He refused to oblige them, and suggested
that their only solution was to offer the ryots a better
price. Eden issued a rubakari or statement on the Hobra
case which became known to Larmour's villagers in the
neighboring Barasat Concern, who soon petitioned him
for help against the forced cultivation of indigo. On
March 16, 1859, Eden issued the following orders to his
assistant, the Deputy Magistrate of Mitterhaut:

14
Sketch of the Official Career of the Honorable Ashley Eden,
C. S. I. (Calcutta, 1 8 7 7 ) .
15
R . I. C., A. 3602 (Eden). See also R . I. C., A . 47a and 3576.
 T H E L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 7 I

Since the ryotts can sow in their lands w h a t e v e r crop they

like, no one can w i t h o u t their consent a n d by violence sow
any other crop. O r d e r e d therefore T h a t the original petition
be sent to the D e p u t y M a g i s t r a t e of M i t t e r h a u t in order that
he may send policemen to the ryotts' lands to p r e v e n t any
disturbances that are likely to ensue f r o m any compulsory
cultivation of their lands a n d instruct t h e m not to allow any
one to interfere w i t h that if the l a n d is really that of the
ryotts'. If the ryotts w i s h to sow i n d i g o or a n y t h i n g else the
policemen w i l l see that there is n o disturbance.

One month later Larmour wrote Eden a personal letter

asking him to modify his order. Eden's reply was that this
communication should have been sent in the form of a
petition on stamped paper, "as I do not consider that it is
desirable to carry on a correspondence with a party to a
suit in my Court on subjects connected with the case." He
said that he had nothing to do with either the civil or
moral obligations of the ryots to fulfill their contracts.
Whenever he had advised them to carry out their obliga-
tions, they invariably had denied entering into engage-
ments voluntarily. If his ryots break their contracts,
Larmour should take his complaint to the civil court. On
March 28 Larmour wrote to Commissioner Grote that
Eden's proceedings had been prejudiced and unfair, that
the presence of the joint magistrate in Charghat had re-
sulted only in encouraging more petitions from ryots, and
that Eden had done "all in his power to instigate the ryotts
not to sow." He appealed for Grote's help, without which,
he said, he could not hope to grow indigo.
Grote sent Larmour's complaint to Eden and ordered
the joint magistrate to explain his "non-interference prin-
ciple." Grote accused Eden of imprudently allowing the
latter's subordinates to believe that he opposed the exist-
ing system of indigo planting, and further expressed his
disappointment to find the magistrate "again falling into
72 T H E BLUE M U T I N Y

a mistake that I had to correct last year." Grote suggested

that instead of instructing the police to protect the ryots
Eden should have warned the police to be especially alert
against any disturbance by the ryots. He accused Eden of
giving the darogha (superintendent of police) too much
responsibility in deciding which lands were really the
ryot's own and said that such questions of ownership could
only be settled in the revenue and civil courts. Eden, in a
letter to Grote on April 18, protested that if all parties
admit that the land is really that of the ryot, the question
of land ownership is then put aside and the question of
forced entry on the ryot's land is the one before the
darogha. By bringing up the matter of ownership Grote
had avoided the main issue. Eden believed that it was not
the function of the police to protect the servants of plant-
ers who trespass on the property of ryots. It had been cus-
tomary, when giving advances for indigo, for the planter
regularly to inspect the ryot's crop, to make certain that it
was being weeded and otherwise cared for. But Eden felt
that the ryot, when entering an engagement, agreed only
to sow the lands himself, and that the planter had no right
to inspect the crops.
Grote sent the complete record of his correspondence
with Eden to the Lieutenant Governor for a final decision.
T h e decision was one of the first made on an indigo sub-
ject by John Peter Grant, less than two months after as-
suming office. Grant agreed entirely with Eden, saying he
defended his actions with "much intelligence and force."
T h e question was whether or not the police could protect
ryots from the physical interference of strangers on their
undisputed land. T h e darogha, Grant ruled, had the duty
to prevent a clear case of trespass; and if the planter felt
himself wronged, he could go to court. Indigo "cannot be
supported at the expense of justice." 16
i e j . P. 156-64, July 21, 1859.
 THE L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 73

O n August 17, 1859, Eden sent extracts from the Gov-

ernment letter to the three deputy magistrates of Barasat.
He left the district a few days later and, without his knowl-
edge, Hem Chandra Kar, Deputy Magistrate of Kalaroa,
published the following proclamation:
T o the Darogah of Thanna Kalarooah . . . in cases of dis-
putes relating to Indigo Ryots, they shall retain possession of
their own lands, and shall sow on them what crops they please,
and the Police will be careful that no Indigo Planter nor any-
one else be able to interfere in the matter; and Indigo Planters
shall not be able forcibly to cause Indigo to be sown on the
lands of those Ryots on the ground that the Ryots have con-
sented to the sowing, etc., of Indigo. If Ryots have so con-
sented, the Indigo Planter may bring an action against them
in the Civil Court. T h e Criminal Court has no concern in
these matters because, notwithstanding such contracts, or such
consent withheld or given, Ryots may urge unanswerable
excuses against the sowing of Indigo. 17

A knowledge of this parwana along with Eden's ruba-

kari of February 1859 spread throughout the district. As
Eden testified before the Indigo Commission, "Ryots came
from Jessore and Kisnaghur and took authenticated copies
of my order, knowing that the effect of the intimation
would be, to spread gradually throughout Bengal, a knowl-
edge of the fact that it was optional with ryots to enter into
contracts or not, as they thought fit."18 T h e circulation of
this proclamation followed a tour made by John Peter
Grant to Krishnagar by only a week or two and undoubt-
edly reinforced the beliefs of many ryots and their leaders
that the time for action was ripe, and that now there was
hope for Government support in throwing off the hated
system.
John Peter Grant (1807-1893) had taken office as the
second Lieutenant Governor of Bengal on May 1, 1859.

" J . P. 232-39, Sept. i860.

1 8 R . I. C., A. 3626 (Eden).
74 THE BLUE MUTINY

H e came to the office after thirty-one years of service in

various official posts, most of which were at the head-
quarters of the Government. Under L o r d Dalhousie, from
1848 to 1852, Grant had served as Secretary to the Govern-
ment of Bengal. Because of Dalhousie's absence from Cal-
cutta d u r i n g this period, Grant was the de facto ruler of
L o w e r Bengal, and many of the G o v e r n o r General's rec-
ommendations for reforming the administration of Bengal
were implemented by Grant. Grant is described as com-
b i n i n g "an indolent sleepy manner" with "extraordinary
activity of m i n d , " and of having "large and liberal views"
but "retiring and inaccessible habits." His outstanding
ability was his skill in argument. Grant's reports were
filled with "touches of quiet h u m o r or subdued sarcasm"
and were considered the "best state papers recorded by the
G o v e r n m e n t of the day." 1 9 H e was able to uncover the
questions which lay at the heart of c o m p l e x issues and to
argue his case with irrefutable logic.
A p p a r e n t l y Grant's views had been strongly influenced
by those of A l e x a n d e r Ross who was a M e m b e r of the
Supreme Council when Grant first came to Calcutta to
assume a post with the Board of R e v e n u e in 1834.20 Grant,
like Ross, believed that "law was to be the sole instrument
of change." 2 1 W h i l e proponents of the "paternalist" school
advocated a strong district executive, G r a n t argued that
the power of the district should reside with the district
judge. W h e n Dalhousie, and later C a n n i n g and Halliday,
advocated the union of the offices of collector and magis-

19 Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 166-67, q u o t i n g Sir John

Kaye.
20 In his " M i n u t e on the Report of the I n d i g o Commission"
Grant wrote of A l e x a n d e r Ross: ". . . then, as always, a man of large
mind, remarkably free from all prejudice. . . ." Buckland, I, 242.
21 T h e views of Alexander Ross are summarized in Stokes, English
Utilitarians, p. 235.
 T H E LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS 75

trate in Bengal, Grant stood alone in opposition. He ar-

gued that the new magistrate-collector would outshine the
district judge in importance and that the Government
would be hard-pressed to find good men to take the office
of judge in preference to that of magistrate-collector. A
strong paternal executive might have a place in more
primitive areas, but, Grant reasoned, "in Bengal, as in all
other wealthy and highly civilised countries, the prosperity
of agriculture and commerce depends more on the judge
than on any other single office. . . . The Government looks
to the Magistrate and Collector, the people look to the
Judge." 22
As a liberal, Grant believed that the role of government
should be to remove restrictions on the individual and
enable him to enjoy the results of his labor. In one official
paper he argued that compulsory labor on irrigation
works, such as had occurred in Madras, was unwarranted
and "is no more necessary in India than in England." 28
Government, on the other hand, had an obligation to do
what the "people themselves would do if they had the
necessary organization and resources."24 In India this in-
cluded the construction of public works and laying the
foundations for industry. In 1854 he strongly recom-
mended that the Government support practical education
at Presidency College, particularly engineering, and physi-
cal and biological sciences.25 In a remarkable minute writ-
ten in 1855 supporting canal construction in Bihar, Grant
argued in part that transport canals would enable the
assembly of locally mined coal, lime, and iron ore and

22
W. S. Seton-Karr, Grant of Rothiemurchus (London, 1899),
pp. 130-31.
28
Ibid.., p. 124.
24
Ibid., p. 120.
25
Ibid., pp. 127-28.
76 T H E B L U E MUTINY

would "lead to the opening of iron works in the

country." 29
Nor did Grant oppose the indigo planters on any doc-
trinaire principle. He believed that if their system were
more sound they could, like the planters of Benares, be-
come a blessing to the surrounding country. His major
complaint was that they restricted the freedom of enter-
prise of the ryots.
From the first, Grant's decisions on indigo subjects more
than fulfilled the expectations of those who suffered from
the system. On J u n e 3, 1859, he vetoed a proposal of the
Magistrate of Rajshahi for special legislation in favor of
indigo planters. On July 21 he overruled Arthur Grote in
favor of Ashley Eden. In August and September he toured
eastern Bengal by water, touching at Krishnagar and
Berhampur. At Berhampur he was presented with five
petitions against the abuses of an indigo planter by persons
who had followed him from Krishnagar. 27 Five years ear-
lier Halliday on his first tour had also been presented with
a petition by the people of Krishnagar. While the petition
of 1854 had been presented by zamindars, vakils and
mukhtars and the complaints were of a general nature, the
petitions of 1859 were presented by ryots and small-
landholders and were specific in their charges. T o the sur-
prise of the petitioners, Grant paid close attention to their
complaints.
T h e petitions were from the inhabitants of Haudeah,
Meherpur and Hanskhali Thannas in Nadia District com-
plaining of the oppressions of William White of the
Bansbaria Concern and charging him with plunder, cut-
ting down their trees, taking lakhiraj (revenue-exempt
lands) title deeds from ryots, digging up lands in the vi-
se Ibid., p. 142.
27
J . P. 232-39, Sept. i860.
 T H E L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 77

cinity of their houses and the kidnapping and illegal im-

prisonment of two petty landholders, Okhil Chandra
Biswas and Situi Tarafdar.
On August 15 the Lieutenant Governor ordered Mr.
Reid, the Officiating Commissioner of Nadia Division, to
report on the investigation of the complaints. Reid re-
ported on September 9 that Cockerell, the magistrate, had
dismissed the plunder charges as not proved, though his
deputy magistrate, Dwarkanath Dey, had recommended
fines and the imprisonment of factory servants on those
charges. In the case of the kidnapping and imprisonment
of Okhil Chandra Biswas, who had once been an employee
of Bansbaria and was now a moneylender and petty land-
holder, Howell, the deputy magistrate, had allowed the
case to be settled out of court. Biswas now renewed his
charges claiming that he had been flogged and confined for
one month for not taking indigo advances, and his case was
now brought to trial. In the case of Situi Tarafdar six fac-
tory servants were convicted of kidnapping, but Situi was
still missing. It was later proved that he had died in
July 1859 while imprisoned in a factory godown. On re-
ceiving these reports the Lieutenant Governor replied 011
October 23 that he had "derived an unfavorable impres-
sion of the magisterial authorities protecting oppression"
and that the people's complaints of a lack of protection
by the Government appeared to be only too true. He
called for more active and intelligent measures and a full
accounting by Howell and Cockerell.28
Although Grant's resolution was blunted by the incom-
petence of his district officers, there was at last reason to
believe that the planters would soon be curbed, and Grant
28
Letter from Government of Bengal to Commissioner of Nadia
Division, October 23, 1859, reprinted in Indian Field, December 17,
1859. Also, J . P. 73-77, Dec. 1859 and 60-67, Nov. 19, 1859.
78 THE BLUE MUTINY

was not long in finding officials who would make his will
felt. The Indian Field commented on the affair of the
petitions saying that the ryots were astonished at getting
justice done after all these years and had begun to ques-
tion the assertions of the planters that the Government
favored the growing of indigo against the will of the ryots.
The ryots had even believed that one of the great indigo
concerns nominated the officials of Nadia. They remem-
bered how Halliday had been taken on an elephant to the
scene of some of the greatest outrages by a planter and had
"acted the part of an hysterical Marius and laughed with
the manager over the ruins of Goaltollee and admired the
indigo sown where a prosperous village once stood." They
had seen their oppressors made honorary magistrates and
good deputy magistrates removed. There was nothing new
in these petitions; similar ones had been presented to
Halliday on his first tour and according to the Indian
Field, they were never unfolded.29
The indigo disturbances began in the autumn of 1859.
Grant's visit and news of Eden's parwana had spread to the
area around Krishnagar, the capital of Nadia District
north of Barasat and a communications center between
Calcutta and Murshidabad. In the autumn of 1859 the
peasants in the area refused to take advances for the spring
sowing. Other disturbances reported in the fall of 1859
include one in Pabna, a district northeast of Nadia. Here
disturbances in the Sirajganj area were related to old
zamindar-planter conflicts while the peasants were under
Farazi influence.30 Peasants near the town of Murshidabad
refused to take advances from Watson and Company in the
autumn of 1859, and an armed attack by the planters was
repulsed by the bellicose villagers.31 It is not improbable

29
Indian Field, December io, 1859.
30
J. P. 90-93, June 25, 1858 and 105-11, Feb. i860.
31
J. P. 82-87, April i860.
 THE L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 79

that the disturbances in Murshidabad were produced by

the events in Krishnagar which is linked to the northern
town by the Hugli River. Jessore District, which in i860
became a center of unrest second only to Nadia, was rela-
tively calm in 1859. T h e early disturbances of the autumn
of 1859 were followed by a quiet winter season. But with
the approach of the sowing season in the spring of i860
disturbances flared up once again, now encompassing the
entire delta area. T h e y were temporarily quelled only by
the enactment of a criminally enforceable contract law in
April i860.
In dealing with these early disturbances John Peter
Grant's major problem was to inculcate his district officers
with his own ideas of justice. In one case Grant admon-
ished the Commissioner of Rajshahi, F. Gouldsbury and
the District Magistrate of Murshidabad, Beaufort, for tak-
ing the side of Watson and Company against a Hindu
widow. In the autumn of 1859 the villagers of Kalinagar,
about eight miles east of Murshidabad city, had refused to
sow indigo and resisted the company's armed retainers
with lathis. O n January 7, i860 the villagers petitioned
the Lieutenant Governor against the collector's having
awarded a one-year lease of a Government-owned estate to
Watson and Company. T h e company had outbid the pre-
vious farmer, a Hindu widow, who had an option to re-
ceive back the lease at the end of the year in May i860.
T h e ryots, in their petition, protested against a series of
outrages committed by the concern, including the forging
of indigo contracts and the looting of their village. T h e y
also accused the magistrate of assisting the planters to force
them to sow indigo in the char. H. Kean, the Assistant
Magistrate of Murshidabad, investigated their claims and
reported that the ryots had not protested the lease when it
had been filed, nor had they ever before denied the va-
lidity of their contracts, and that their complaints against
8o THE BLUE MUTINY

the concern were exaggerated. In addition, he said, the

ryots themselves had never seen the petition w h i c h had
been presented to the L i e u t e n a n t Governor. It had been
drawn u p at B e r h a m p u r by the widow's agent, and all the
signatures were in one handwriting.
B o t h Beaufort and G o u l d s b u r y recommended that the
lease be renewed in favor of W a t s o n and C o m p a n y w h e n
it should come d u e in M a y i860, a n d that the widow's
option be cancelled on grounds that her agent had been
inciting the ryots. G r a n t took a different view of the mat-
ter. O n sending the case to the Board of R e v e n u e he com-
mented that he saw no reason to withhold the lease f r o m
the widow only because she had quarreled w i t h W a t s o n
and C o m p a n y , and he recommended that the officials re-
main neutral in the dispute. It appeared to h i m that the
lease had been given to the indigo concern at a rack-rent
bid without reference to the rent paid by the ryots, and
that the company probably had intended to make u p the
difference by sowing indigo. In that case the objection of
the ryots was legitimate. T h e f a r m i n g out of Government-
o w n e d estates w i t h o u t reference to the lawful rights of the
ryots, he held, was not in accordance with the principles
adopted by his Government. 3 2
In another case, in the subdivision of J a n g i p u r in the
extreme northwest of Murshidabad District, Charles B.
Maseyk of the K u d u m s a r Concern attacked the home of
Jaggobandha Dutt, the proprietor of a mahal which had
been leased in previous years to Maseyk. D u t t had trans-
ferred the lease to another farmer w h o offered h i m a
higher rent. A c c o r d i n g to a petition f r o m D u t t to the
L i e u t e n a n t Governor, Maseyk attacked h i m w i t h f o u r hun-
dred armed men, pushed in a wall of his house with an
elephant, dragged out the w o m e n and children, sacked
32 Ibid.
 T H E L I E U T E N A N T GOVERNORS 8l

their jewels and one lakh of rupees and kidnapped him

and another man, holding them for ten days. Dutt's
brother petitioned the Assistant Magistrate of Auranga-
bad, J . W. Furrell, for help, and Maseyk was summoned to
court; but before appearing he arranged with Dutt to call
off the complaint on condition that the stolen money be
returned. Dutt agreed to the compromise, but not long
afterwards was again captured and confined by Maseyk
until released by a darogha. After waiting in vain for ac-
tion from the magistrate at Berhampur, Dutt petitioned
the Lieutenant Governor who called upon the Commis-
sioner of Rajshahi for an explanation. Finally, the crime
was investigated and Maseyk was convicted and sentenced
to one year's imprisonment and a fine of one thousand
rupees. Furrell was called upon by the Government to ex-
plain his laxity in the case.38 In this instance, as in others,
the Lieutenant Governor repeatedly cautioned his officers
against accepting compromises and the withdrawal of
charges by Indian plaintiffs against criminal acts com-
mitted by indigo planters. He realized that the great power
exercised by the planters discouraged the Indians from
prosecuting their cases through to the finish, both out of
fear of retaliation by the planters and a belief in the
futility of bringing suits before biased magistrates.
T h e most reprehensible official during the indigo dis-
turbances, C. B. Skinner, Joint Magistrate of Jessore, was
more than once admonished for his partiality, not only by
the Lieutenant Governor but also by W. S. Seton-Karr, at
that time a sessions judge. One celebrated case involved
Campbell McArthur of the Mirganj Concern on the
Jessore-Faridpur border. In 1859 the Government pro-
posed to locate the headquarters of a new subdivision at
83
J . P. 406-408, April i860; and C. R . O., Jud. and Legis. Letters
Received from India, Nos. 56 of i860 and 21 of 1861.
82 THE BLUE MUTINY

G o p a l g a n j near a factory of the concern. M c A r t h u r wrote

to the G o v e r n m e n t protesting that the ryots w o u l d be only
too prone to litigation " w i t h the means at their doors." 3 4
T h e planter's protest was taken under consideration, and
while the case was pending, A . J. Bainbridge, the deputy
magistrate, on g o i n g to dine with M c A r t h u r , was met by a
ryot w h o led h i m to the factory godown. T h e r e he dis-
covered at least three ryots w h o had been held as prisoners
for two months for not agreeing to cultivate indigo. Bain-
bridge set them free, and C . B. Skinner p u t M c A r t h u r and
five factory servants on trial. M c A r t h u r was fined 500
rupees, his servants were imprisoned. In the appeal, Seton-
Karr, the sessions judge, took the occasion to criticize the
laws which virtually exempted Europeans from mufassal
criminal jurisdiction:

Looking to the difference of the Laws for Englishmen and

Natives, and to the particular circumstances of this case, I
cannot altogether reconcile myself to a decision by which the
owner of the factory, an Englishman, should leave the Court
with a fine, though a heavy fine, while the servant, a Native
and an old man to boot, should leave the Court, not under
fine, but for the Jail, under a peremptory order of imprison-
ment. 35

Soon afterwards, G o p a l g a n j became a subdivisional head-

quarters.
In spite of the allegations of the planters, J o h n Peter
Grant was not an inveterate enemy of indigo planting.
W h e n the ryots w h o cultivated indigo for T . E. O m a n of
the Sinduri C o n c e r n in Nadia petitioned the Lieutenant
Governor for the redress of a list of grievances which in-
cluded forced cultivation, the necessity to bribe factory
servants, and fear of attack by planter's lathiyals, G r a n t re-

34 Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 245.

ss J. P. 321-23, June 30, 1859.
 THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS 83

plied that the complaints were too general, that hereafter

they should petition through the proper channels, that
they were free to enter contracts or not of their own free
will, and that they were wrong in offering bribes to factory
servants.36 T h e Hindoo Patriot commented that the Lieu-
tenant Governor's reply was proof that, notwithstanding
the complaints of the indigo planters, the Government was
not allying itself with the peasantry; but, after years of
pampering the indigo industry, it "has simply desisted
from zealously siding with the planters and interfering
with the operations of the law." 37 »This editorial shows an
intuitive grasp of Grant's official position. He was not tak-
ing the side of the peasants against the planters. Fre-
quently he rebuked his district officers for their bias in
either direction. T h e Government in his view must remain
entirely neutral. T h e ryots and planters were both capi-
talists; the ryots were responsible for the contracts they
had entered into even under duress. T o Grant the greatest
abomination was violence; the greatest virtue, the legal
process.

86 J. P. 146-47, March 22, i860.

87 Hindoo Patriot, March 10, i860.
 IV
The Conspirators
Gaer morol deser neta The village headman looks after
tare koo moner kotha the people.
To him take your troubles.

GOVERNMENT ACQUIESCENCE HAD BEEN THE MAINSTAY OF

the indigo system in L o w e r Bengal. N o w that John Peter
G r a n t had proclaimed a new role for the Government, the
peasants seized the opportunity to free themselves f r o m
indigo planting and looked for support to the other classes
in the mufassal—the zamindars, the petty landholders and
moneylenders, and the substantial ryots and village head-
men. O f the zamindars few actively participated in the
indigo disturbances and those few did so to settle personal
feuds w i t h planters. A more active leadership was provided
by the petty landholders and moneylenders, a group that
held leases under zamindars and in turn subleased lands
to ryots. M a n y had connections with indigo concerns, and
some had accumulated small fortunes while serving as fac-
tory gumashtas and clerks. Some of them, recognizable by
their surname "Biswas," belonged to the Kaibarta caste.
O r i g i n a t i n g as a low caste of agriculturalists and fisher-
men, Kaibartas were employed by indigo planters to per-
f o r m tasks considered unsavory by Brahmans and
Kayasthas b u t requiring administrative ability. Sometimes
they led the ryots against their former European em-
 T H E CONSPIRATORS 85

ployers, but not infrequently could be induced by the

planters to desert the ryots and return to the factory with
lucrative appointments.1 The cultivators were used as
pawns in the competition for better positions on the
factory staff.
The most active and numerous group of peasant leaders
were village headmen and substantial ryots. As spokesmen
for the villagers they were approached by the planters to
contract on behalf of the cultivators to supply indigo. If
they refused they were taken hostage by the planters and
confined in factory godowns.2
Many of the peasants themselves were potential fighting
men. Among these were members of a caste called Aguri,
traditionally believed to be manly, hot-tempered and in-
dependent. In Lai Behari Day's novel, Bengal Peasant Life
(1909), the leading character is an Aguri who fits well the
caste description. Lai Behari writes that "there is amongst
them a sort of esprit de corps which is hardly to be found
in any other class of Bengalis." He describes them as
stronger, more industrious, wealthier and more independ-
ent than the average peasant. In one episode of the novel
the hero tries to convince his more timid friends to organ-
ize a combination against their zamindar who has been
demanding illegal exactions. In a neighboring village the
hero's brother-in-law, another Aguri, persuades the village
headman to take arms against an oppressive indigo

1
Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects (Calcutta,
1896), pp. 279-80. In the play Nil Darpan the planter reprimands
his diwan, a Kayastha, for being too lenient with the ryots. H e tells
the diwan: " T h e business of the Dewan is not that of the Kayt
caste; I shall drive you off and give the business to a Keaot
(Kaibarta)." T h e diwan answers: " M y Lord, although I am by
caste a Kaystha, I do my work like a Keaot." Dinabandhu Mitra,
Nil Durpan (3d. Indian ed., Calcutta, 1958p]), p. 10.
2 R . I. C „ A . 581-83 (R. P. Sage, planter).
86 T H E BLUE MUTINY

planter. They enlist the aid of their zamindar, but the

zamindar's lathiyal force is beaten. 3 Another caste which
may have been a chief participant in the indigo disturb-
ances was the Chandal, a low caste of cultivators and
boatmen also characterized by an unusual amount of self-
reliance. Men from a Chandal subcaste called the Pod,
numerous in Jessore District, were employed as lathiyals *
Muslim ryots were not as active against the planters as
were Hindu. But the Muslims were imbued with a spirit
of fellowship lacking in many of the Hindu cultivators.
James Forlong testified that a leading Muslim ryot who
wanted to abandon a league against his factory was not free
to do so because everyone in the league had pledged his
loyalty by kissing the Koran.®
Outside rural Indian society there were two other
groups which provided leadership. One consisted of a
small number of Calcutta-educated mukhtars and journal-
ists who took up the cause of the ryots in the mufassal
courts and sent reports on the plight of the peasantry to
the Calcutta Indian press.6 T h e second was the missionary
group. In the mufassal the missionaries were not too effec-
tive; their reports, however, brought results when pub-
licized by the missionary and humanitarian societies in
Calcutta and London.

3 Lai Behari Day, Bengal Peasant Life (London, 1909), pp. 278,
323 ff·
4 Englishman, April 14, i860, and H. H. Risely, Tribes and Castes
of Bengal (2 Vols., Calcutta, 1891), I, 183 ff.
»R. I. C., A. 2213.
β A public-spirited mukhtar "with a good English education" ad-
vertised in the Hindoo Patriot of April 21, i860 for employment by
a zamindar or other suitors in the courts of Nadia and Jessore,
saying he would perform for comparatively little remuneration in-
stead of the "illegal exactions of the present uneducated and badly
trained mukhtars." See also Chapter V., below.
 T H E CONSPIRATORS 87

The handful of prominent zamindars who aided the

peasants worked through their agents who organized and
instigated the ryots and harassed the planters in the courts.
Foremost among these zamindars was Ramrutton Roy,
head of the senior branch of the Narail family of Jessore.
His vast holdings, enlarged at the expense of lesser zamin-
dars, extended from Jessore into Nadia, Pabna and
Faridpur Districts.7 In him the indigo planters saw only
"a grasping, deceitful and turbulent neighbor." 8 But to his
countrymen he was a generous, scholarly man who lived a
simple orthodox Hindu life amidst great wealth.® Ram-
rutton Roy had two motives for supporting the peasants
against indigo planters. First, by using the threat of peas-
ant disturbance he could force the numerous planters who
held patni leases under him to pay higher rents. Second, he
opposed the encroachment of the Europeans on principle,
because he resented the alienation of his land and the cur-
tailment of his power over the peasants. His opposition to
the planters took several forms. T h e zamindar's lathiyals
met those of indigo planters in the fields of Jessore,
Faridpur and Pabna. His mukhtars and vakils used every
opportunity to pursue litigation with planters over leases,
some held since the i84o's. 10
One of Ramrutton Roy's agents, Mohesh Chandra Chat-
terjee, was considered by the district magistrate to be the
most dangerous agitator in Nadia. 1 1 By i860 Mohesh
Chandra was a venerable English-educated man of 59
years, wealthy in his own right. In his youth he had
7
Westland, Jessore, pp. 167 ff.
8
Government of Bengal, General Dept., No. 164, "Report of J.
Dunbar on Tour of Jessore District," 29 April 1854.
9
Hindoo Patriot, April 28, i860.
10
R. I. C., A. 3347-51 (George Meares, planter) and J . P. 90-93,
June 24, 1858 and 170-74, Oct. 21, 1858.
11
J . P. 259, March 29, i860.
88 THE BLUE MUTINY

worked as a writer for various European indigo planters.

After 1848 he left the service of the planters and was em-
ployed as an agent for certain great zamindars, then as an
official in the magistrates' courts in Hugli and Serampore,
and finally as manager of Ramrutton Roy's estates in
northwest Jessore.
Mohesh Chandra had first come into conflict with an
indigo planter in 1839 when he was employed by James
Hills. Hills wanted some property belonging to Mohesh,
which was reluctantly leased to Hills; Mohesh then left the
planter's service. In 1859 he refused patni leases to two
other planters, James Tissendie and Archibald Hills of the
Katchikatta Concern. 12 In mid-February i860 the ryots of
Katchikatta, under Mohesh Chandra's influence, lodged a
complaint with the magistrate against the concern. 13 In
retaliation the firm brought suit against Mohesh Chandra
for holding nightly meetings during which he exhibited
parwanas hostile to indigo planting and encouraged the
ryots not to sow. 14 T h e case was dropped for insufficient
evidence, but Mohesh, fearing further litigation, left the
mufassai and lived in Calcutta until the summer of i860. 16
In August 1860 he is reported to have organized a demon-
stration by thousands of ryots on the riverbank alongside
John Peter Grant's boat during the Lieutenant Governor's
tour of Pabna. 16 Mohesh Chandra is also said to have sup-
ported Narayan Chandra Mukherji, an English-educated
mukhtar who aided the ryots with legal matters and served
as a correspondent of the Hindoo Patriot.1'' Although it

12
R . I. C., A. 3 5 1 8 (Mohesh Chandra Chatterjee).
« R . I. C., A. 3 1 1 1 (Archibald Hills, planter).
14
R . I. C., A. 3071 (A. T . Maclean, Dep. Mag.).
15
R . I. C., A. 3 5 1 6 (Mohesh Chandra Chatterjee).
16
G. G. Morris, Report of the Special Rent Commissioner (Cal-
cutta, 1861), part 2.
17
Hindoo Patriot, June 30, i860.
 T H E CONSPIRATORS 89

cannot be known how much of Mohesh Chandra's activity

was performed on orders from Ramrutton Roy, as the
great zamindar's agent there is no doubt that he at least
had his tacit support.
Two other prominent zamindars who discreetly took
part in the indigo disturbances were Srigopal Pal Chaud-
hari and his brother, Sham Chandra Pal Chaudhari. They,
like Ramrutton Roy, were scions of a family of "new"
zamindars whose estates had been acquired in the nine-
teenth century. The Pal Chaudhari family had reached its
apex in 1840; by i860 it had lost much of its wealth
through intrafamily lawsuits. Through careful manage-
ment, however, Srigopal and his brother preserved and ex-
tended their own estates which were centered in western
Jessore.18 Srigopal's home in Ranaghat was a meeting place
for other landholders with anti-planter sentiments includ-
ing his brother and Ramrutton Mullick. 19
Srigopal also owned indigo factories, but they were op-
erated with less efficiency than European factories. He
claimed to have purchased a factory at the solicitation of
the ryots to prevent it from falling into the hands of a
European planter. According to his testimony before the
Indigo Commission his own ryots sowed indigo volun-
tarily, and if the plant delivered by a ryot fell short of the
amount for which he had contracted, the shortage was
overlooked. From fear of affrays and lawsuits with Euro-
pean planters, he frequently gave them leases, claiming
that "if an European assistant planter who holds a lease
from us is summoned into court, he will get a chair near
the Magistrate while we, the zemindars, who created the
lease, will have to stand at a distance."20

18
Westland, Jessore, pp. 146-47.
19
J . P. 259, March 29, i860.
20 R . I. C., A . 3 5 5 1 (Srigopal Pal Chaudhari).
90 THE BLUE MUTINY

Sham Chandra Pal Chaudhari was less cautious than his

brother about involving himself in conflicts with the plant-
ers. His major opponent was Robert T . Larmour of
Mulnath, General Mufassal Manager of the Bengal Indigo
Company. After losing a lawsuit to Larmour over certain
land tenures near Mulnath, Sham Chandra refused to sur-
render the land, and in January 1858 his lathiyals attacked
one of the planter's assistants. T h e zamindar was ordered
by the magistrate to put up a recognizance of 5000 rupees
to keep the peace. In January and again in February i860
Sham Chandra's lathiyals, led by his gumashta, Nobin
Biswas, attacked another European assistant of the Mul-
nath Concern and, although there was insufficient evidence
for any convictions, the Magistrate of Nadia ordered Sham
Chandra to be carefully watched and arrested at the first
sign of intrigue. 21 By the summer of i860 Sham Chandra
gave up the struggle and negotiated a truce with
Larmour. 22
Larmour had to contend with still another zamindar,
Brindaban Chandra Pal Sarkar of Sibnibas. For many
years the family of the zamindar had been embroiled in a
dispute with Larmour over the ownership of Sibnibas Vil-
lage. In 1859 the Sadr Diwani Adalat ruled that the village
belonged to Larmour. 23 But his possession was shortlived;
in i860, taking advantage of the weakened financial condi-
tion of the concern during the indigo crisis, the zamindar's
father purchased the village. 24 Larmour testified before the
Indigo Commission that Brindaban Chandra secretly in-
cited the ryots, who collected in great numbers at his

21
R. I. C., App. X I ; J . P. 92-95, April i860 and 259, March 29,
i860.
22 R. I. C., A . 2834 (W. J . Herschel, Mag.).
23
R. I. C., A . 2 1 7 3 (R. T . Larmour).
24
Bengal District Gazetteers, Nadia, p. 191.
 THE CONSPIRATORS g1

place, to reject the cultivation of indigo. He also aided the

ryots with money and advice, and even paid up their dam-
ages decreed under the penalty clause of Act X I of i860.25
Although the hard-pressed ryots and the minor land-
holders looked to the great zamindars for their initial en-
couragement, not infrequently the zamindars lost control
of the movement as it progressed, and the initiative de-
volved to the lower classes. By the time of the rent dis-
turbances of 1861 the zamindars were cool toward the
movement. This devolution of initiative is illustrated in a
series of disturbances taking place in February and March
i860 involving indigo concerns in the northwest corner of
Murshidabad. T h e ryots of one concern, the Aurangabad,
were instigated by a neighboring zamindar, Jadbandhu
Ghose, whose objective weis to force the manager to
appoint his brother, Dwarkanath Ghose, as gumashta.
Jadbandhu in turn worked through three minor land-
holders in direct contact with the ryots—Morad Biswas,
Sauhaus Biswas and Lallchand Saha. T h e ryots, on their
part, had genuine grievances against the concern but
patiently endured their oppression.
T h e manager of Aurangabad Concern was A. D.
McLeod, who was assisted by a Mr. Rice and a gumashta,
Mir Tufazil Hussein. T h e proprietor, David Andrews,
who lived in Calcutta, had left orders that the production
of indigo be increased by several hundred bigahs. Since
the cultivation of the concern was ilaka, the concern was
also the landlord of the cultivators, which put the ryots in
a poor position to refuse the concern's demands. Mir
Tufazil Hussein was an unusually venal gumashta, intent
upon taking advantage of the new demands to line his own
pockets. Neither McLeod nor Rice could restrain the Mir:
McLeod was influenced by his mistress, Purno Bibi, who
2'R. I. C., A. 2172-74 (R. T. Larmour).
92 THE BLUE MUTINY

was bribed by the gumashta with gifts and cash. R i c e , a

man of sixty years, was afraid of jeopardizing his j o b by
interfering with the gumashta. A l l this gave the M i r a free
hand for extortion. H e informed the ryots that the lands
they now sowed with rice would be p l o w e d u p and sown
with indigo unless they paid him a bribe. T h e ryots were
further exasperated when he sowed p u b l i c thoroughfares
with indigo and charged them for access to the b a t h i n g
ghats and the river. H e infuriated a village of Muslims by
threatening, if he were not paid a bribe of eighty rupees,
to force their women to weed indigo. W h e n the villagers
agreed to pay half of what he demanded, b u t n o more, he
sent his men to capture the village spokesmen.
It was through the rescue of these captives that the ryots
first displayed their fury. O n February 23, i860 the M i r
went to measure some village lands and became involved
in an argument with the villagers. Realizing that they were
not in their usual docile mood, he galloped back to the
factory pursued by hundreds of ryots, w h o dragged h i m
from a shed in which he had hidden and beat h i m se-
verely. By the end of the day over three thousand ryots had
joined in a march on the factory, while the police stood
by afraid and helpless.
T h e men responsible for organizing the ryots were
Morad Biswas, Sauhaus Biswas and Lallchand Saha. T h a t
night they planned an attack on the Kalapani Factory
where Rice and his family lived. T h e next m o r n i n g the
ryots gathered to the beat of a d r u m and five h u n d r e d
moved on the factory to force Mrs. Rice and her daughters
to weed indigo. But the Rice family had been w a r n e d and
had narrowly escaped the night before. T h e ringleaders
continued to flaunt their power by calling out the ryots for
further attacks and lathiyal battles and then dismissing
them before the battles materialized. Ultimately, the con-
 T H E CONSPIRATORS 93

cern was so intimidated that the proprietor arranged a

compromise which included the dismissal of the M i r and
the appointment of Dwarkanath Ghose, the zamindar's
brother, as gumashta.
T h e three ringleaders and the zamindar were now satis-
fied with the settlement and tried to pacify the ryots. But
the cultivators felt that the amount of indigo to be sown
was still too burdensome, and demanded further resist-
ance. In addition, the other factory servants employed by
McLeod encouraged them to continue the disturbances,
hoping that Andrews would eventually dismiss McLeod
himself. A t this stage the ringleaders found themselves
borne along by the torrent which they had set loose; they
were no longer in control of the ryots, but prisoners of a
movement which they still appeared to direct. T h e ryots
finally decided to renounce the cultivation of indigo alto-
gether. A s Browne Wood, the special investigator ap-
pointed by the Lieutenant Governor, reported:

A regular league was now formed against indigo cultivation,

oaths were subscribed to by both Hindoos and Mussulmans,
Ryots of one village were called upon, by beat of drum, to
assist those of another, if molested by the planters' servants,
etc., and if pressed to cultivate indigo by such servants they
were to resist; signals were made and given, subscriptions
raised; villagers turned out by the beat of drum and proceeded
in large bodies armed to any alleged threatened spot; in fact,
they had it all their own way, the Police were afraid and had
been bought over by the Ryots.

T h e disturbances spread across the Ganges into Malda

District where David Andrews owned another factory, the
Bakrabad. On March 20 some three hundred ryots at-
tacked the factory, entered the office and destroyed the
ledgers. T h e y next attacked the residence of the manager
94 T H E B L U E MUTINY

and carried off some of his belongings including several

guns and a sword.
In the meantime the leaders, in order to distract the
boisterous peasants from further attacks on Andrews' con-
cern, began to plot an attack against a neighboring factory
managed by a Mr. Lyons. Lyons' ryots had never brought
any complaints against the planter, though some cases of
petty oppression had been charged against his subordi-
nates. The main instigator of the attack on Lyons was
Morad Biswas, who had once served as a rent collector for
Lyons and whose own tenants included many of the Mus-
lims who cultivated for Lyons. By threatening Lyons with
an attack he almost forced the planter into agreeing to
appoint him gumashta, as Andrews had appointed Dwar-
kanath Ghose. Now, when the other ringleaders wanted to
continue with their plans to attack Lyons' factory, Morad,
on the point of reaching an agreement with the planter,
wanted to withdraw from the league.
But the ryots were determined to prevent him from
deserting them as had Jadbandhu Ghose, and they invited
him to attend a meeting on the evening of March 19 when
the most influential men of the league met at Momrezpur.
Morad attended and was probably asked his intentions.
Although he kept in the background while the leaders
planned their attack, to prove his loyalty he offered the
services of his son, Kutub Biswas.
Early the next morning a large number of ryots, includ-
ing many from Andrews' concern, armed with spears and
swords, attacked Lyons' factory. Lyons had with him only
a handful of guards, and in panic opened fire on the mob,
killing two and wounding five. Fortunately for the planter
a Government steamer, the H. M. S. Pioneer, arrived at a
point opposite the factory and, as a party from the ship
rescued Lyons, the ryots dispersed. Morad was arrested,
 T H E CONSPIRATORS 95

put on board the Pioneer and taken to Berhampur for

trial. Lallchand Saha and Rutton Mandai, another leader,
were arrested at Berhampur where they had gone to pre-
sent a petition. Altogether, twenty-four principal assailants
in the attack were apprehended. By March 26, i860,
Browne Wood reported to the Lieutenant Governor that
all was quiet in the neighborhood.2®
Two other minor landlords and moneylenders who be-
came leaders of the peasants have become legendary heroes
in Bengal.27 They were Digambar Biswas and Bishnu
Charan Biswas, leading Indian employees of the Bansbaria
Concern in Nadia District. The proprietor of the concern,
John White, a benevolent old man, had retired to England
in 1858 leaving in charge his son, William White. Young
White ran the concern along harsher lines than had his
father, holding court, administering corporal punishment
and using his friendship with the Magistrate, F. E.
Cockerell, to convince the villagers that the officials had
an interest in the concern. Under his father the output of
indigo had declined, and William was determined to in-
crease it at the expense of the ryots.28 Perhaps this change
in policy caused Digambar and Bishnu Charan Biswas to
leave his service. White used his influence to prevent the
ryots of Digambar's village, Poragaccha, from repaying
their loans to Digambar. Known as an enemy of the con-
cern, Digambar attracted complaining peasants from differ-
ent parts of Nadia, and after consulting with his co-worker,
Bishnu Charan and with others of his class, he sent mes-
sengers to various villages to encourage the ryots to re-
26
J. P. 211-29, 242, 248, March i860; 99-100, April 2, i860; 66-67,
79-80, 88, 102-104, 425-33, April i860; Β 432-35, June i860; 402-404,
Nov. i860.
27
They were immortalized by Sisir Kumar Ghose in his Indian
Sketches (Calcutta, 1898), pp. 140-47.
28
Hindoo Patriot, Aug. 26, 1858.
g6 THE BLUE MUTINY

nounce indigo. Only the people of Govindapur near

Hanskhali agreed to follow his plan. On September 13,
1859, White sent more than a hundred lathiyals, some
mounted on elephants, to attack Govindapur. But they
were beaten off by spearmen hired by Digambar who were
aided by the villagers. After an investigation by the Mag-
istrate of Nadia, L. R. Tottenham, the judge fined White
three hundred rupees for the attack.29
Digambar Biswas' own village was attacked several
times, but gradually he acquired a force of lathiyals to
protect it. T o enlist more peasants to his cause he paid
their debts to the planters, spending the enormous sum of
17,000 rupees. Digambar received protection for his family
from the Zamindar of Ranaghat, Srigopal Pal Chaudhari,
and continued to lead the peasants in presenting petitions
and organizing resistance. Eventually his funds were ex-
hausted and he died a poor man. 30
Still another example of landlord leadership was the
Mullick family of talukdars who owned the village of
Jayrampur. T h e Mullick brothers, Ramrutton, Ram-
mohun and Girish, were middle-class Brahmans who had
been employed as factory diwans and gumashtas and had
leased lands to the neighboring Lokanathpur Concern. 31
Girish Mullick had been diwan of the concern's Bir-
kistapur Factory until removed from employment in
March i860 on a charge of dacoity. 32 T h e manager of the
concern, George Meares, accused the Mullick brothers of
instigating his ryots to refuse to sow indigo, and in March

28
Letter from Tottenham published in Hindoo Patriot, J a n . 2 1 ,
1860.
30
"Indigo in Nadia," Bharatbarsha, Magh 1326 B. S. (Jan.-Feb.
1920).
31
Hindoo Patriot, March 24, i860 and J . P. 259, March 29, i860.
32
R . I. C., A . 1386-87 (Fakir Mahomed, ryot of Nadia).
 T H E CONSPIRATORS 97

i860 the Joint Magistrates of Jessore, Molony and Skinner,

issued warrants for their arrest.
In a letter to the Hindoo Patriot, Girish Mullick told of
his harassment by the planters and the Government and
blamed it on the collusion of Meares with Joint Magis-
trate Skinner. Girish wrote that he had been illegally con-
fined by Meares until discovered and released by the
darogha. When the darogha reported this to Skinner, the
magistrate, instead of bringing Meares to account, fined
Girish's mukhtar, Gopi Chatterji, for contempt of court.
T h e darogha himself was later fined and transferred. Mul-
lick's case against the factory was dismissed, and instead a
warrant was issued for his arrest and that of his two broth-
ers as disturbers of the peace. He was captured and taken
by Herschel, the Magistrate of Nadia, to Krishnagar where
lie had to furnish a bail of 4000 rupees. Even after raising
the money, he was sent back to Jessore, tried by Molony
and convicted. Molony's decision held Girish Mullick re-
sponsible for "exciting the people's minds and giving bad
counsel. . . ," 3 3 His brothers remained at large, and the
head of the family, Ramrutton Mullick became known by
the people as the "Indigo-plant destroyer" and "the Nana
of Bengal." 3 4
T h e village headmen or mandais whose names appear as
leaders in the records of the indigo disturbances are too
numerous to recite. 35 Whether or not they acted on their
own initiative without the prior support and approval of
their zamindars and landlords is a matter for conjecture.
T h e best informed district magistrate, William J .
Herschel, was asked by the Indigo Commission whether he

33
J . P. 223-25, March 29, i860 and Hindoo Patriot, May 19, i860.
34
Hindoo Patriot, March 24, i860 and J . P. 386-92, April i860.
35
J . P. 264-66, Mar. 29, i860; 92-95, April i860; 11-14, Mar. 1861;
Hindoo Patriot, July 4, i860.
g8 THE BLUE MUTINY

knew of any head ryots with "sufficient resolution and

knowledge" to agitate their own ryots and form inter-
village combinations. He replied that he could "point out
hundreds such." These village headmen were the ones who
suffered most directly from indigo planting. T h e y were
forced by the planters to take advances and contract to
grow indigo on land which they cultivated with hired
labor or leased to landless tenants. When the value of
crops other than indigo increased, they were the group
that sustained the financial loss of indigo cultivation. N o
particular mandai, however, stands out as a leader. As
Herschel testified: "Leaders have sprung up in one village
who have, in an incredibly short space of time, gained an
enormous influence in numbers of adjacent villages, and
have lost it almost as quickly." 3 6
T h e group of leaders towards whom the planters were
most hostile were the missionaries. T h r e e of them, the
Reverends Christian Bomwetsch, J . G. Lincke and Fred-
erick Schurr of the Church Missionary Society %vere sta-
tioned in Nadia District among the ryots cultivating for
James Hills and Company. T h e y were German Lutherans
who had been brought to Lower Bengal to staff mission
posts when not enough British missionaries could be found
to live under the primitive conditions of the mufassal,37
T h e planters' newspaper, the Englishman of Calcutta,
more than once vented its spleen upon these dedicated
men:
"Where is the German's fatherland?" is a question we have
heard with all sorts of replies. . . . the wandering German of
the very lowest class being nearly as unwelcome an intruder
upon strange soils as the Chinaman and for very much the

3«R. I. C., A. 2832 (W. J . Herschel).

37
Julius Richter, A History of Missions in India (New York, 1908),
p· 193·
 THE CONSPIRATORS 99
same reasons. . . . [Some] seem to have established themselves
with great effect in the benighted district of Kisnaghur. Schurr,
Lincke, Bomwetsch and Blumhardt are names long known
and far famed among the oppressed of the land. . . . Germans
have no right to conspire against the Englishman, particularly
the English settler. . . . 38

Of these missionaries Bomwetsch was the most active. In

the early 18.50's the zamindars in the area of his mission,
Balabhpur, had been selling and leasing their lands to the
Ratnapur Factory. T h e village headmen came to Bom-
wetsch pleading with him to lease the land himself to save
them from indigo cultivation. Minor landlords had asked
him to take over their lands, and the peasants were willing
to raise half the purchase price themselves. T h e ryots of a
nearby Christian village believed Bomwetsch was espe-
cially obligated to protect them. Bomwetsch sent them
home saying he could do nothing for them and advised
them to compromise with the planters. When the planter
threatened to destroy their village, they agreed to sow.89
Bomwetsch left the mission in 1855 but returned in 1859
to prevent his converts from joining a Roman Catholic
priest who, with the aid of the indigo planters, had begun
to work in the area. After a protest from the Bishop of
Calcutta, the concern's general manager, James Forlong,
refused the priest a site for his church. 40 O n his return to
Balabhpur Bomwetsch was surprised to find the condition
of the ryots worse than it had been in 1855. Because of the
low price of indigo the ryot was now forced to spend more
time weeding and plowing and to sow more land for the

38 Englishman, June 8, i860.

39 Letter from Rev. Christian Bomwetsch in Indian Field, April 21,
i860.
40 C. M. S., letter from Rev. James Long to C. M. S. London,

May 17, 1859, and R. I. C., A. 925-26 (Rev. Lincke).

lOO THE BLUE MUTINY
41
planters. On the other hand, the peasants had heard that
the Government of India had lately been taken away from
the East India Company and placed directly under Queen
Victoria. T o their new queen they attributed supernatural
powers and believed that, at last, relief was at hand. 42
In 1859 Bomwetsch was caught up in the atmosphere of
defiance. T h e ryots considered him their advocate, and he
freely gave them advice. In one case he took a petition on
behalf of some timid villagers and presented it to Officiat-
ing Commissioner Reid. 4 3 He also launched a campaign of
letter-writing in the two pro-ryot newspapers of Calcutta,
the Indian Field and the Hindoo Patriot, condemning
the indigo system and specifically the oppression of the
Nischintipur Concern with which he was intimately ac-
quainted. James Forlong and a number of anonymous
writers answered his charges with attacks in the columns
of the Englishman. Some unsigned letters insulted him for
his marriage to a Bengali girl; others cast aspersions on his
nationality:

This creature of circumstances, who has arisen . . . as the

scarfoeus emerges from his native dung, is not an Englishman;
his name bespeaks him a denizen of the filthy juden-strasse
of some obscure little German Dorf where he fattened upon
rye bread with occasional feasts of sour-krout and a stray taste
of greasy wurtzel. . . ,44

In reply to the more serious letters, the missionary denied

that his aid to the peasants was in any manner inflamatory,
admitting only that he told the ryots there was no law to
force them to plant indigo, that they were free to refuse

41
R. I. C., A. 781 (Bomwetsch).
42
R. I. C., A. 918 (Lincke).
43
Indian Field, Jan. 21, i860.
44
Englishman, June 5, i860.
 T H E CONSPIRATORS ΙΟΙ

advances, and that the new Lieutenant Governor was the

embodiment of justice itself.4®
While Bomwetsch was absent from the Balabhpur Mis-
sion between 1855 and 1859, his post ivas held by the
Reverend J . G. Lincke. Lincke bore the brunt of peasant
complaints arising from the expansion of the Nischintipur
Concern during those years. In 1857 the Christian village
of Meliapatta fell into the hands of the planters and
Lincke took into court a case of oppression committed by
the factory people against some of the villagers. The plant-
ers retaliated by severing communication with the mis-
sionaries, refusing to hear any more complaints presented
by them, and trying to wean their Christian ryots from
them by encouraging the peasants to refuse to repay their
debts to the mission loan fund. Lincke, in a state of pro-
found despair, predicted the eventual dispersal of his
impoverished and oppressed congregation.48
In 1858 Gow Smith, the manager of Ratnapur Factory,
attacked Bhobayparah Village whose possession was being
contested in court between the concern and a zamindar.
Smith's lathiyals looted and burnt the village and molested
the villagers, who complained to Lincke: "We have no rest
day or night. Our zamindar is not strong enough to pro-
tect us." When the planter's lathiyals lingered in the
neighborhood robbing, disrupting trade, and attacking
women, Lincke asked the Church Missionary Society in
Calcutta to notify Halliday of the attack. The Lieutenant
Governor ignored the Society's petition.47
Between the assault on Bhobayparah in 1858 and the
45
Indian Field, Dec. 3 1 , 1859.
46
C. M . S., Annual Report of the Balabhpur Mission Station (J. G.
Lincke) to C. M . S. London, Sept. 30, 1857.
47
C. M . S., letter from Lincke to Cuthbert, April 10, 1858. See
also J . P. 243, Aug. 19, 1858; Hindoo Patriot, Sept. 2, 1858; and
R . I. C., A p p . X X I .
102 THE BLUE M U T I N Y

next attack, which occurred early in i860, a change had

come over the villagers in the area of the mission. T h e
people had learned to rely upon themselves rather than on
the hired lathiyals of their zamindar. In the winter of i860
the ryots cultivating for the R a t n a p u r Factory refused to
take advances and enter into contracts, and the factory sent
hundreds of lathiyals to surround Balabhpur Village and
intimidate the villagers. T h e lathiyals met with unex-
pected resistance. T h e villagers had organized themselves
into "companies" each specializing in the weapon it f o u n d
most suitable—bows and arrows, slings ("like D a v i d of
old"), bricks, bale-fruit, brass plates thrown horizontally
("which does great execution"), earthen pots thrown by
the women, lathis, and finally, the fiercest of all, a dozen
men armed with spears. Bomwetsch, w h o heard of these
preparations from some of his students, reported that one
skillful spearman had routed a hundred lathiyals. T o the
delight of the missionary and the villagers, the lathiyals
retired and the village freed itself from the b u r d e n of
sowing indigo in the spring of i860. 48
W h i l e the planters contended with zamindars, ryots and
missionaries in the mufassai, other struggles were taking
place in Calcutta and London. Here the proprietors of
indigo concerns, and British merchants and barristers
clashed with the partisans of the cultivators—the Bengali
intelligentsia, the missionaries, and the humanitarians.
T h e victories of the cultivators in the mufassal would, i n
time, be engulfed in a sea of poverty, but the victories of
the intelligentsia would form the basis of a new political
order in India.
48 Letter from Bomwetsch in Hindoo Patriot, Feb. 11, i860.
 ν
Race, Commerce,
and Politics
Casa more kaj furi While the peasants work
babur mukhe kothar tubri. themselves to death,
the gentlemen mouth
galaxies of words.

NEWS OF THE INDIGO DISTURBANCES REACHED CALCUTTA IN

the late summer of 1859. T h e exploitation of the indigo
cultivators had already become the central political issue
in the capital of India. Now emotions quickened as the
proprietors of large indigo concerns along with indigo
brokers, agents and merchants enlisted the support of the
entire British commercial community in defense of the
indigo planters. In opposition, Government officials and
missionaries joined with Bengali merchants, landholders
and intelligentsia in support of the peasantry. One effect
of the controversy was to rekindle the racial antagonism
which had been smouldering during the thirteen months
following the brutal Sepoy Mutiny. T h e new wave of
racial discord brought on by the indigo dispute climaxed
a decade of bitter conflict between the Bengalis of Calcutta
and the European business community.
Significantly, relations between the races in the 1850's
stand out in sharp contrast to those of the preceding
104 THE BLUE MUTINY

twenty years when political, cultural and commercial har-

mony characterized the public life of Calcutta. From 1830
to 1846 the leading advocate of cordial relations between
the Bengalis and the European commercial community
was Dwarkanath Tagore. Following the lead of Ram-
mohun Roy, he tried to synthesize the best features of
Western and Indian culture. In 1830 Tagore succeeded
Rammohun Roy as patron of the Brahmo Samaj, a mono-
theistic religious sect. A few years later he established the
firm of Carr, Tagore and Company, proprietors of coal
mines and silk, sugar and indigo factories—the first equal
business partnership between Bengali and Englishman.
Tagore was also the secretary and guiding spirit of the
Union Bank. Disregarding the custom of social exclusive-
ness prevailing among the Brahman community, he in-
vited to his home not only European men, but also their
wives to mingle with Bengali merchants and intellectuals.
He was the first high caste Hindu after Rammohun R o y to
visit the British Isles where he was cordially received by
leaders in Government and business. 1
Dwarkanath lost no opportunity to win friends among
the Europeans. When Act X I was enacted in 1836 remov-
ing the special privileges of indigo planters and making
them equally amenable with Indians to the jurisdiction of
the mufassal civil courts, the European community rallied
to protest the so-called "Black Act." At a mass meeting of
Europeans Dwarkanath told his audience how indebted
the Indian community was to the non-official Englishman
for its prosperity and progressive views. He accused the
Government of trying to "degrade the Europeans by lower-
ing them to the state of the Natives." 2 At a second mass

1
See Kissory Chand Mittra, Memoir of Dwarkanath Tagore (Cal-
cutta, 1870).
2 Ibid., pp. 53-57.
 R A C E , C O M M E R C E , A N D POLITICS IO5

meeting he further justified his support of the Europeans

by pointing out that it was the "interlopers" and not the
officials who had most consistently concerned themselves
with the welfare of the Indians. He cited as examples their
aid in the repeal of the Press Act, their stand against the
resumption of revenue-free tenures, their support of
Hindu College, their help in obtaining for Indians the
right to sit on juries and their opposition to the barbaric
coolie trade to Mauritius and Bourbon. 3
In 1837 a group of progressive zamindars and Indian
merchants organized the first purely political society in
Bengal, the Zamindari Association. Its purpose was to rally
the landholders against a Government proposal to resume
revenue-free tenures which had been farmed out to zamin-
dars in a more open-handed era. In 1838 Dwarkanath
Tagore entered the association and soon became its lead-
ing spirit. T o further conciliate the European community
the zamindars elected as Secretary W. C. Hurry, a British
merchant.4
Tagore was also instrumental in rousing the youthful
graduates of Hindu College in Calcutta to political ac-
tivity. This group, which styled itself "Young Bengal,"
cherished the European connection in the realm of intel-
lect rather than in politics or commerce. Inspired by the
French Enlightenment, the writings of David Hume and
Thomas Paine, and by their gifted young teacher Henry
Derozio, they had accepted the West enthusiastically and
wholeheartedly. In the 1830's their activities were re-
stricted to forming debating societies and publishing liter-
3
Report of a Public Meeting Held at Town Hall, Calcutta, on the
24th November 1838 (London, 1839).
4
Bimanbehari Majumdar, History of Political Thought from Ram-
mohun to Dayananda, Vol. I., Bengal (Calcutta, 1934), pp. 163 ff.;
Mittra, Dwarkanath Tagore, pp. 29-34. T h e Zamindari Association
was alternately referred to as the Landholders' Society.
ιο6 THE BLUE MUTINY

ary periodicals. When Dwarkanath T a g o r e returned from

his first trip to England in J a n u a r y 1843, he was accom-
panied by George Thompson, a leading anti-slavery and
free-trade advocate. T h o m p s o n was a prominent member
of the British India Society of England, an organization
which united Manchester manufacturers and humani-
tarian Quakers to encourage the development of India as
a market for British manufactures and a source of non-
slave grown cotton. At Dwarkanath's request Thompson
won over the intelligentsia from literary to political ac-
tivity, and in April 1843 " Y o u n g B e n g a l " formed the
Bengal British India Society. L i k e the Landholders' So-
ciety, the new organization included among its members a
number of prominent Europeans. 5
Dwarkanath T a g o r e died during his second visit to Eng-
land in 1846. Within four years a lifetime of work devoted
to promoting racial harmony lay in ruins. T h e turning
point came in 1849 when the Legal Member of the Gov-
ernor General's Legislative Council introduced a measure
designed to place European mufassal residents under the
jurisdiction of mufassal criminal courts, as the earlier
"Black A c t " had made them subject to the civil jurisdic-
tion of these courts. T h e European community, particu-
larly the indigo planters, protested vehemently. T h e
measure was withdrawn, but the controversy it provoked
inflicted irreparable damage to relations between the races.
In response to European agitation the Bengalis disbanded
their two political societies and united their wealth and
talent in the exclusively native British Indian Association
on October 3 1 , 1851.®
Although it was the " B l a c k A c t " controversy that led to
5
Majumdar, Political Thought, p. 1 7 1 .
6
Dharker, Macaulay's Minutes, pp. 58-59; Majumdar, Political
Thought, pp. 174 ff.
 RACE, C O M M E R C E , AND POLITICS IO7

the final estrangement of the two communities, the under-

lying causes were deep-seated. By the 1850's the alumni of
"Young Bengal" had become disenchanted with European
culture and increasingly appreciative of their own. T h e
opposition to the Europeans was led by Ramgopal Ghose,
a "Young Bengal" who had worked his way up from rela-
tive poverty to become a wealthy merchant. He wrote a
widely circulated pamphlet on the "Black Acts" advocat-
ing equality of all before the law, and, as the most effective
orator of his day, he incited his countrymen to action. 7
The 1850's also witnessed the birth of the Bengali novel
and the revival of the Bengali theater. T h e new leader of
the reform movement was Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, a
learned Sanskrit pandit with a profound respect for his
own heritage. He based his arguments for social reforms
on the Hindu scriptures, thus freeing the reform move-
ment from its dependence on Western thought. 8
As the work of the British missionaries became more
effective, Hindus and Brahmos rallied in self-preservation.
The Reverend Alexander Duff shocked Bengali society by
converting a score of high-caste young Hindus to Chris-
tianity.9 In 1839 Dwarkanath's own son, Debendranath,
responded to the missionary challenge by organizing the
Tattvabodhini Sabha. This organization published a news-
paper devoted to the defense of Hinduism, sponsored
translations of Hindu classics, and opened a school to offer
Hindu boys a Western education equal to that of the
mission schools but free from Christian domination. 10
7
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, II, 1025.
8
Atulchandra Gupta, ed., Studies in the Bengal Renaissance
(Jadavpur, 1958), pp. 47-55.
9
Roper Lethbridge, Ramtanu Lahiri (London, 1907), p. log;
George Smith, Alexander Duff (2 Vols., London, 1879), I, 159 ff.
10
R . C. Majumdar, Glimpses of Bengal in the Nineteenth Century
(Calcutta, i960), p. 47; Gupta, Bengal Renaissance, pp. 34 ff.
1θ8 THE BLUE MUTINY

Economic conditions had also changed by 1850. T h e

agency houses in Calcutta, w h i c h had financed indigo
p l a n t i n g and other mufassal industries with local Indian
and European capital, had failed o w i n g to the financial
crisis of 1830 and the crash of the U n i o n Bank in 1847.
T h e i r place was taken by trading firms based in L o n d o n
and L i v e r p o o l w h i c h channeled British capital directly
into indigo and other industries. 1 1 T h e h a n d f u l of progres-
sive zamindars w h o had been proprietors of indigo con-
cerns had sold out by 185ο. 12 T h u s , with few exceptions,
indigo concerns were n o w financed with European capital,
and the system could be attacked by the Indians without
financial risk. T h e promising partnership of Carr, T a g o r e
and C o m p a n y proved to be not only the first, but also the
last significant example of an equal business partnership
between the races.
In the 1850's a poisoned atmosphere of racial bitterness
permeated the p u b l i c life of Calcutta. O n l y a small num-
ber of British officials and humanitarians joined with the
Bengalis against the European merchants, planters, bar-
risters and editors. M a n y Britishers w h o had once be-
friended the Indians n o w became their worst enemies.
A m o n g these was W i l l i a m T h e o b a l d , a barrister w h o m
" Y o u n g B e n g a l " had elected the first chairman of the
Bengal British India Society. 1 3 A f t e r 1851 he devoted his
f u l l energies to his work as Secretary of the Indigo Plant-
ers' Association. T h e leading Calcutta barrister, Longue-
ville Clarke, w h o m T a g o r e had once praised for his fight

11 "Commercial Morality and Commercial Prospects of Bengal,"

Calcutta Review, LX (1848), 163-89.
12 A m o n g these were Prasannakumar T a g o r e and D i g a m b a r Mitra.
See R . I. C., A. 3748 ff. and Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, II, 1043.
13 Jogesh Chandra Bagal in an unpublished paper on the British
Indian Association (deposited at the headquarters of the Association
in Calcutta).
 R A C E , C O M M E R C E , A N D POLITICS 109

against the coolie trade, led the Calcutta Europeans during

the Mutiny in the anti-native Indian Reform League. 1 4
Another was the English journalist Alexander Forbes who
in 1843 had been brought to the home of Dwarkanath
Tagore as a private secretary and had later managed in-
digo and sugar factories for the Indian leader. 15 Now, as
proprietor of the scurrilous Dacca News, and after 1860 as
editor of the equally abusive Bengal Hurkaru, Forbes took
every opportunity to vilify the Indians.
Calcutta's T o w n Hall, where Dwarkanath Tagore had
once praised the European settler, now resounded with
malicious recriminations as first the Europeans, then the
Indians gathered there for mass meetings. W h e n the Euro-
peans met, "everything native was denounced in terms and
with an earnestness that would be sublime were they not
ridiculous. Native judges were accused of corruption, na-
tive palkee bearers were known to be refractory, even
native ayahs were suspected of poisoning European ba-
bies." 16 T h e Indians replied with equal bitterness. A t a
meeting held early in 1857 sober young classicist,
Rajendralal Mitter, voiced the feelings of his countrymen
toward the settlers:

Devoid of the merits which characterise a true Englishman,

and possessing all the defects of the Anglo-Saxon race, these
adventurers from England have carried ruin and devastation
to wherever they have gone. Ask the red Indian in the prairies
of South America and he will say that the antagonism of the
Anglo-Saxon adventurers has within a hundred years reduced
their number from half a million to forty thousand. What is
it, but the antagonism of the sweepings of England and Hol-
land that has driven the Bosjeman and the Caffre to the in-

14 Public Meeting, 24th November 1838; Hindoo Patriot, Septem-

ber 24, 1857.
15 Pari. Papers, 1859, Session I, IV, 141.

16 Hindoo Patriot, Feb. 19, 1857 and March 11, 1858.

1 IO THE BLUE MUTINY

hospitable sands of Central Africa? In Australia and New

Zealand the battle is still being fought, and ere long the na-
tives of those places will be numbered with the things that
were; and yet it is these adventurers who pretend to dread
the antagonism of the Hindoo, these are the men who having
made England too hot for their residence, come ad misericor-
dium to complain of our rivalry. They talk of their energy,
education, and high civilization. They boast of the capital
that they bring to India, and the vast number of men who find
employment from their wealth. Surely never was there a more
consummate case of making a mountain of a molehill. . . .
The country could not have a greater curse than the Anglo-
Saxon planters, who have been by their own missionaries de-
nounced as the greatest tyrants who have ever been permitted
to fatten on the ruination of the inoffensive and helpless
peasants, men whose like can be had only in the slave owners
of Virginia. 17

T h e Sepoy Mutiny of 1857-58 intensified these racial

animosities. News of the atrocities in the northwest and
the presence of several disaffected sepoy regiments in
nearby Barrackpur brought a crescendo of anxiety to Cal-
cutta. On J u l y 13 the Governor General, after much hesi-
tation, finally gave in to the demands of the European
community and allowed it to form a Volunteer Corps
which terrorized the peaceful Indian populace by parading
the streets at night, searching, insulting and bullying the
natives. T e r r o r reached its climax on "Panic Sunday,"
J u l y 14, 1857. 1 8
17
R a m Gopal Sanyal, Reminiscences and Anecdotes (2 vols., Cal-
cutta, 1894), I. 39. Because of this speech Rajendralal Mitter was
expelled from membership in the Photographic Society by the ma-
jority of its European members. T h e European minority who ob-
jected to his expulsion were all officials and included Cecil Beadon
who later succeeded J . P. Grant as Lieutenant Governor. Hindoo
Patriot, Oct. 15, 1857.
18
C . B. Malleson and J . Kaye, History of the Indian Mutiny (6
vols., 2d. ed., London, 1892), II, 84-85; Hindoo Patriot, July g and
July 25, 1857.
 RACE, C O M M E R C E , A N D POLITICS 111

While the rowdy European element enlisted in the

Volunteer Corps, the respectable barristers and business
leaders joined the Indian Reform League. T h e Bengal
Chamber of Commerce united with the League in peti-
tioning Lord Palmerston for the abolition of the East
India Company and for the recall of Governor General
Charles Canning, who favored clemency toward the rebels.
The petitions were signed by 682 "Christian inhabitants
of Calcutta." Palmerston stood fast in his support of Lord
Canning, but the petition calling for the transfer of India
from the Company to the Crown gave additional strength
to the anti-Company forces in England. With the end of
the Mutiny in August 1858 British India came under the
direct rule of the Crown. 19
T h e passions of the Mutiny had hardly begun to subside
when the contest over the fate of the indigo industry
added fresh fuel to inter-racial bitterness. During the in-
digo controversy in Calcutta three interest groups stood
out as protagonists—the Indigo Planters' Association, the
British Indian Association, and the missionary societies.
Attempts had been made to organize the indigo planters
since 1816, 20 but it was not until 1851 that the able bar-
19
Pari. Papers, 1857-58, X L I I I , 93. According to one pro-Company
periodical, "Those documents arrived in the nick of time . . . . It
would be impudent to pretend that the transfer of authority to the
Crown was determined upon grounds quite independent of the Cal-
cutta Petitions." Saturday Review, May 1 , 1858, p. 437. A n editorial
in the Hindoo Patriot indicates that progressive Indian opinion,
which until then had favored direct rule, now changed sides. "India
House, whatever may have been its other faults, has always cherished
a strong phil-Indian feeling." A politically appointed Secretary for
India would "have to do one thing to conciliate Manchester, another
to conciliate Exeter Hall, and a third to appease Lord Ellenborough's
opposition, a fourth to please the tea-pounders—and all in disregard
of the feelings and interests of the people of India." Hindoo Patriot,
Sept. 24, 1857.
20
Asiatic Journal, Sept. 1816.
112 THE BLUE MUTINY

rister, William Theobald, created an effective organization

from the disparate elements with indigo interests in
Bengal. As Secretary of the Indigo Planters' Association
from 1851 until his resignation in i860, Theobald organ-
ized the planters in the mufassal and united them with the
proprietors of large concerns, indigo brokers, partners in
mercantile houses and barristers of Calcutta. Theobald's
major task was to maintain an equilibrium between the
Calcutta group and the planters. But while the twelve-
member Central Committee included representatives of all
these groups, the planters, busy producing indigo dye, vis-
ited Calcutta and sat on the Central Committee only in
December. 21 T h e planters were, for the most part, narrow
in their interests and indifferent to larger political issues.
The city members, on the other hand, were interested in
the problems of all European settlers and anxious to
broaden the organization to include all Europeans en-
gaged in enterprise in the mufassal.22
Among its political activities the Indigo Planters' Asso-
ciation supported two daily newspapers, the Englishman
and the Bengal Hurkaru,23 presented petitions to the Gov-
ernment of India and tried to win over the Cabinet and
members of Parliament. Soon after John Peter Grant as-
sumed office as Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, the Asso-
21
Englishman, J a n . to Dec. 1860, passim·, New Calcutta Directory,
i860.
22
Hindoo Patriot, March 10, i860; Englishman, April 24, May 4
and Nov. 1, i860 and April 16, 1861. For example, the indigo
planters of the mufassal remained aloof from the Indian Reform
League while their Calcutta agents were the League's mainstay. See
J o h n Dickinson, Reply to the Indigo Planters' Pamphlet (London,
1861).
23
T h e most influential newspaper of Bengal, the Friend of
India, published weekly by the missionaries at Serampore, straddled
the indigo issue during the disturbances.
 RACE, C O M M E R C E , AND P O L I T I C S 113

ciation petitioned C a n n i n g f o r his removal. A l t h o u g h

G r a n t successfully parried their charges they did cause
the Secretary of State f o r India to doubt f o r a time the
prudence of the L i e u t e n a n t Governor. 2 4
T h e Indigo Planters' Association supported a number of
lobbyists in Britain, and in 1857 the Association sent
William Theobald himself to London to plead its case
during a parliamentary debate on the Indian Penal Code.
While in London he testified before the Select Committee
on European Colonization and Settlement in India. On
his return to Calcutta he reported that the indigo planters,
heretofore considered a very insignificant group of men
enjoying "a certain repute," were now "justly appreciated"
in England. 25
Representatives of the indigo interest in London fre-
quently presented their grievances directly to the Secretary
of State for India, Sir Charles Wood. One of these so im-
pressed Wood, whose own sympathies were pro-ryot, that
he wrote to Canning he was "not at all sure that it is wise
or politic to provoke [the planters] . . . T h e y are losing
money, and will lose I fear more severely yet. T h e y require
all the soothing they can get, wrong and unreasonable as
they may be on many points." 28 In the fall of i860 a group
of influential London residents with indigo interests
formed a permanent committee and engaged a member of
Parliament to act on their behalf. When, in 1861, a depu-
tation from the committee called on Lord Palmerston, the
Prime Minister gave them no encouragement, and in fact,
embarrassed them by mentioning the forgery of indigo

24
H. P., W o o d to Canning, Nov. 9, i860.
25
Indigo Planters' Association, Central Committee Proceedings
(Calcutta, Aug. 25, 1 8 5 6 ) ; Indian Field, Nov. 27, 1858.
26
H. P., W o o d to Canning, Nov. 19, i860.
114 THE BLUE MUTINY

contracts which had been revealed by the Indigo Com-

mission.27
It was with great interest that the cotton manufacturers
of Britain followed the indigo controversy. They were
anxious to develop India as a source of raw cotton and
favored, along with the indigo planters, a permanent law
to make the violation of a contract by a ryot a criminal
offence. 28 But all their remonstrances had little practical
effect on the policies of the Secretary of State.
T h e parliamentary critics of the indigo planters ques-
tioned Wood even more vigorously. When Arthur F.
Kinnaird, a humanitarian connected with the Church
Missionary Society and the Liberal Member for Perth, at-
tacked the Secretary of State for his approval of a tempo-
rary criminal contract act, Wood had to defend a law
which he himself opposed wholeheartedly. 29 When later
questioned on the same act, Wood replied that the bill had
rightly been attacked and expressed strong views against
giving special privileges to the planters.30 In May 1861
Wood still expected opposition from supporters of the
indigo interest in Parliament, but by July the danger had
passed. "We have avoided an indigo debate here," he
wrote, "as those who are for the planters are ashamed of
the case." 31

27
T h e London committee, led by R . Thomas, a former Calcutta
indigo broker, arranged with R . W . Crawford, M. P. for the City
of London, to act on its behalf in Parliament. Englishman, Nov. 28,
i860. On Palmerston's attitude see H. P., Wood to Canning, Feb. 1 1 ,
1861 and Englishman, April 10, 1861.
26
C. R . O., Jud. Dept., Home Letters Sent, Orig. Drafts, March 26,
1861 and October 1861.
29
3 Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, C L V I I I , (4 May i860),
700-701.
3 0 I b i d . , C L X I I , (19 April 1 8 6 1 ) , 818-821.
31
H. P., Wood to Grant, May g, 1861 and Wood to Canning,
J u l y 3, 1861.
 R A C E , C O M M E R C E , AND POLITICS 1 15

Wood was concerned less about a clash with the com-

mercial interests than he was about the possibility that
John Bright would bring his oratorical powers to bear
against the Government on the indigo question. Bright
had a long-standing interest in Indian affairs and was
chairman of the Indian Reform Society of London. T h e
Society had been formed in 1853 by John Dickinson, a
humanitarian, and its membership included thirty-nine
Radical members of Parliament. The chief purpose of the
Society was to persuade the Government to assist British
enterprise in India, especially for the production of non-
slave grown cotton.32 Although Dickinson had on occasion
been critical of the indigo planters, they were, after all,
fulfilling a major objective of the Indian Reform Society
by applying British capital to the development of Indian
resources.
There was no guarantee that the influential Society
would not take the side of the planters in London politics.
In the summer of 1859 Dickinson had given the Indigo
Planters' Association an opportunity to unite with the So-
ciety in a campaign to reform the Indian judicial system.
T h e humanitarian leader apologized to the planters for
denouncing them in the past and now invited them to join
with him in supporting a plan to remove the judicial sys-
tem of India from the control of the executive and to place
it under independent Queen's justices nominated in Lon-
don. If William Theobald subscribed to his plan and sent
financial support to the Indian Reform Society, Dickinson
implied that he would represent the Indigo Planters' Asso-
ciation in London. Theobald, however, could not bring
himself to contribute money to an organization with hu-
manitarian sympathies, nor could he agree to Dickinson's
32
Maccoby, English Radicalism, pp. 366 EE. See also Evans Bell,
Last Counsels of an Unknown Counsellor ( L o n d o n , 1 8 7 7 ) .
1 16 THE BLUE MUTINY

judicial plan which, he felt, would flood India with bar-

risters unfamiliar with the unique Indian conditions. Be-
hind Theobald's opposition was his fear that Dickinson's
plan would bring an influx of barristers from London to
compete with Theobald's colleagues for the legal business
of Calcutta. Dickinson bitterly denounced Theobald and
thereafter became an implacable enemy of the indigo
planters. 33
T h e Report of the Indigo Commission, which reached
London in November i86o, further undermined any sym-
pathy the Radicals may have had for the planters. When,
early in 1861, the indigo interest published in London an
abusive pamphlet maligning the Lieutenant Governor of
Bengal, J o h n Dickinson, now president of the Indian Re-
form Society, effectively answered its charges in a pam-
phlet of his own. 34 J o h n Bright and the Radicals now
unequivocally supported the Secretary of State against
the indigo interests. But for the obstinacy of William
Theobald the outcome might have been different.
Wood wrote to the new Viceroy, Lord Elgin, in August
1862:
You must not suppose the [pro-settler group] are strong here.
. . . The only Government suitable for such a state of things
as exists in India is a despotism controlled from home. . . .
Whatever may be the result, our course ought to be the same;
to improve the native, reconcile him if we can to our rule,
and fit him for ruling himself. 35
By the 1860's several groups of Indians were already
gaining the political experience which would in time fit
33
Indian Field, March 26, 1858 and July 2 and 9, 1859.
34
H. P., Wood to Canning, March 11, 1861. T h e two pamphlets
were, Brahmins and Pariahs (London, 1861) and John Dickinson,
Reply to the Indigo Planters' Pamphlet "Brahmins and Pariahs"
(London, 1861).
35
H. P., Wood to Elgin, Aug. 28, 1862.
 R A C E , C O M M E R C E , AND POLITICS II7

them for self rule. One of these was the Hindu Bengali
community of Calcutta, organized after 1851 in the British
Indian Association. The objectives of the Association de-
noted it as an uneasy union of progressive intelligentsia
and conservative landlords. In i860 half of its sixteen-
member executive committee were alumni of "Young
Bengal" or in sympathy with them.36 In the name of the
Association these progressives petitioned for improved
educational facilities, the holding of Indian Civil Service
examinations in the major cities of India, and increased
Indian representation on the Calcutta Municipal Com-
mission. The landlord faction sponsored resolutions favor-
ing an extension of the Permanent Settlement, and
opposing an income tax law and the resumption of rent-
free tenures. Both parties united, however, in calling on
the Government to subject indigo planters to criminal
jurisdiction in mufassal courts and to appoint a commis-
sion to investigate the condition of indigo cultivators. T o
avoid internal dissension, the Association remained silent
on the most significant law passed in 1859, the Rent Act.
Like its adversary, the Indigo Planters' Association, the
British Indian Association maintained agents in England,
and on one occasion at least obtained the services of John
Bright in presenting one of its petitions to Parliament. 37
Although a handful of Indian zamindars were involved
in personal feuds with indigo planters, the majority of
zamindars in the British Indian Association profited by
leasing lands to indigo planters at excessive rents. There-
fore, from the point of view of economic self-interest the
zamindars might well have remained aloof from the indigo

36
British Indian Association, Ninth Annual Report (Calcutta,
i860).
37
Ibid., see also First through Eighth Annual Reports, 1852-59.
1χ8 THE BLUE MUTINY

disturbances. 38 But two important factors account for the

hostile attitude which the Association did, in fact, take
toward the planters. First, the zamindars, in order to pre-
serve the unity of the Association, were obliged to follow
the lead of the intelligentsia. 39 Secondly, the zamindars
were no less sensitive than were the intelligentsia to the
racial bigotry kept alive by the Calcutta press.
Members of the British Indian Association supported
two English-language weekly newspapers whose editors en-
gaged in verbal duels with the editors of the Englishman
a n d Hurkaru. T h e Hindoo Patriot, the most important
Indian-published newspaper of its day, was owned and
edited by Harish Chandar Mukherjee from 1856 to 1861. 4 0
Although the Hindoo Patriot was from the first hostile to-
ward indigo planters, it did not engage in a systematic
campaign against indigo until 1858. Its correspondents
roved the indigo districts publicizing the incompetence
and partiality of the district officials, and frequently the
Lieutenant Governor acted upon abuses first brought to
light in the pages of the Hindoo PatriotIn its anti-
38
T h e Hindoo Patriot, in an editorial lauding the zamindars for
taking the side of the ryots against the planters, quotes one zamindar
as saying, "Sir, we would undoubtedly benefit [by renting lands to
planters] but what will become of our ryots?" Hindoo Patriot, A u g .
26, 1 8 5 8 .
39
I n professing their sympathy for the ryots the intelligentsia of
1 8 5 9 were following the precedent of R a m m o h u n R o y , Rasik Krishna
M u l l i c k and Akshoy K u m a r Dutta. See Bimanbehari M a j u m d a r ,
Political Thought, pp. 68, 103 and 1 2 5 .
40
Manmathanath Ghosh, Lije of Grish Chunder Ghose (Calcutta,
1 9 1 1 ) , pp. 80-83.
41
A m o n g the correspondents was Sisirkumar Ghose, later to f o u n d
a n d edit the Amrita Bazar Patrika. H i s letters to the Hindoo Patriot
are collected in Jogesh C h a n d r a Bagal, Peasant Revolution in Bengal
(Calcutta, 1 9 5 4 ) . A second correspondent was M a n m o h a n Ghose
w h o later edited the Indian Mirror. His reports were influential in
the appointment of the Indigo Commission. Buckland, Lieutenant
Governors, II, 1087.
 R A C E , C O M M E R C E , AND POLITICS 1 19

planter campaign the Hindoo Patriot followed the lead of

the Indian Field, founded in March 1858. T h e Indian
Field, owned by an Armenian merchant, Seth A. Apear,
had a number of liberal Britishers on its editorial staff. Its
political editor was Kissory Chand Mittra, a disciple of
Rammohun Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore, who was intel-
lectually interested in improving the lot of the peasantry.42
Both Harish Chandra Mukherjee and Kissory Chand
Mittra were members of the Central Committee of the
British Indian Association. A Bengali weekly, Som
Prakash, also took an active role in campaigning against
the planters. Long after the other two newspapers had lost
interest in the peasantry, Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan, the
editor of Som Prakash, continued to champion the peas-
antry and remained their ally during later disputes be-
tween ryots and zamindars.43
T h e planters, through their newspapers accused the
"Anti-British Association," 44 as they called it, of instigating
the ryots to combine against indigo cultivation. Undoubt-
edly, individual members of the British Indian Association
did assist the ryots by supporting mukhtars in the mufassal
courts and by sheltering those ryots who came to Calcutta
to present petitions. But, as Harish Chandra Mukherjee
once wrote, the actual aid afforded fell far short of the
clamor which was raised about it on all sides. " T h e bal-
ance of trade in public spirit and political agitation is in
favor of, not against, Calcutta." 45
T h e District Magistrate of Nadia, William James
Herschel, asserted that "by common report" mukhtars
pleading for the ryots were receiving salaries of 100 rupees
42
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, II, 1077. After 1862 the Indian
Field was incorporated into the Hindoo Patriot.
43
See Chapter V I I I , below.
44
Englishman, Aug. 2 and 9, i860.
45
Hindoo Patriot, March 24, i860.
120 T H E BLUE M U T I N Y

per m o n t h from the British Indian Association. 46 But the

Association was quick to deny any "connection whatever
with any such Mooktears, agents or emissaries. . . . and
deep as is the interest which in common with others the
Association feels in the question, it has felt it its duty
to rigidly abstain f r o m taking a part in the present move-
ment." 4 7 Other than presenting petitions to the Govern-
ment opposing legislation designed for the exclusive
benefit of the indigo planters, the Association did not
officially aid the ryots. O n the other hand, members of
the Association acting independently furnished the peas-
ants with considerable aid. Of these Harish Chandra
Mukherjee was the most effective, and his editorials raised
the indigo disturbances f r o m the level of a labor dispute
to that of a political contest. O n e of his eulogistic edi-
torials reads:

Bengal might well be proud of its peasantry. . . Wanting

power, wealth, political knowledge and even leadership, the
peasantry of Bengal have brought about a revolution inferior
in magnitude and importance to none that has happened in
the social history of any other country. . . . With the Govern-
ment against them, the law against them, the tribunals against
them, the Press against them, they have achieved a success of
which the benefits will reach all orders and the most distant
generations of our countrymen. And all this they have done
by sheer force of virtue, by patience, perseverance and forti-
tude, without committing a single crime—almost a single act
of violence.48

46
R . I. C., A . 2820-27. Herschel added that the new mukhtars
" h a v e certainly not abused their position; on the contrary, I think
they have done good by controlling their clients; a n d on the whole,
I was glad to have them, as without them I should have been in a
very disagreeable position on the b e n c h . " Ibid., A . 2828.
47
Englishman, J u l y 16 a n d A u g . 9, i860; British I n d i a n Associa-
tion, Monthly General Meeting (September 6, i 8 6 0 ) .
48
Hindoo Patriot, M a y ig, 1860.
 RACE, C O M M E R C E , A N D POLITICS 12 1

The activities of Harish Chandra are a landmark in

the history of Indian political development. In addition
to publishing stirring editorials, Harish Chandra freely
gave advice and encouragement to the scores of peasants
who came to visit him at the Hindoo Patriot office in
Calcutta. He helped support mukhtars in the mufassal
courts by paying them for their services as newspaper
correspondents.49 Here, for the first time, an Indian of
the urban middle-class was acting as a spokesman for the
peasantry. The indigo disturbances mark the beginning of
a contest for the political leadership of rural India between
the paternalist British district officer and the middle-class
urban Indian.
T h e missionary bodies of Calcutta were slower to com-
mit themselves on the indigo issue, but once they did so
the planters' cause was hopeless. T h e first impulse for ac-
tion came from missionaries stationed in the mufassal in
daily contact with indigo cultivators. In 1853 the Rev-
erend Frederick Schurr of the Church Missionary Society
in Nadia District wrote his Society's secretary in Calcutta:
"Surely it is time that the Indian Government put a stop
to such inhuman and cruel proceedings. Every indigo
factory deserves to be closed, yea, utterly abolished." 60
In the years before the Sepoy Mutiny Frederick Schurr
tried to convince the general body of Calcutta missionaries
to take a stand against the oppressions of the indigo
planters. In 1855, after hearing a paper he delivered
arguing that the behavior of the planters had retarded
the spread of Christianity in Nadia, the General Confer-
ence of Calcutta Missionaries agreed to publish a pamphlet
whose effect on public opinion would equal, they hoped,

49 R . I. C., A. 3871-86 (Harish Chandra Mukherjee); Hindoo

Patriot, April 21, i860.
5 ° C . M. S., Schurr to Cuthbert, April 17, 1853.
122 T H E BLUE MUTINY

that of Uncle Tom's Cabin.51 But there for several years

the matter rested. Schurr and the Germans in the mufassal
were treated as voices in the wilderness, and were some-
what suspected of being political agitators by their less
sanguine British colleagues. When in 1856 the missionaries
petitioned the Legislative Council against the abuses of
Indian zamindars, they evoked an angry editorial comment
from the Hindoo Patriot: "not a word occurs, not an
allusion is made, to the effects of the planting, mining
and other industrial systems . . . upon the condition of
the ryots." 62
T h e Mutiny brought with it a change in missionary
attitudes. In Calcutta the missionaries found themselves
allied with the zamindars against the European com-
munity with its rabid attacks on Canning and the Indians.
A section of the missionary leadership in Calcutta now
began to defend missionary interference in social and
political issues.
Of all the British missionaries the one who most
vigorously championed both the ryots and the German
missionaries was James Long. Since his assignment to India
by the Church Missionary Society in 1840 he had divided
his time between bringing vernacular education to the
villagers and stimulating social consciousness among the
Bengali youth of Calcutta. In 1859, a s a advocate of
political action, he urged the Church Missionary Society
Central Committee in London to go before the Parliamen-
tary Committee on European Colonization in India and
expose the tyrannical conduct of the indigo planters of
Bengal. 53
A t a general meeting of missionaries in Calcutta in

51General Conference of Bengal Missionaries (Calcutta, 4-7, 1855).

52Hindoo Patriot, April 16, 1857.
« C. M. S., Long to C. M. S. London, April 8, 1859.
 RACE, COMMERCE, AND POLITICS 123

April i860 a heated debate took place on the extent to

which they should become involved in the indigo issue.
James Long and the Reverend Alexander Duff of the
Scottish Church Mission led the faction which advocated
involvement. By citing such precedents as missionary
struggles against the slave trade, the Jamaica planters and
the settlers' treatment of the Maoris in New Zealand, they
carried the majority. A committee was appointed which
included Long and Duff as members to observe the indigo
disturbances as they affected missionary work. 54
Until late in April i860 L o n g knew of the misery of the
indigo cultivators only from the reports of others. T h e n ,
one morning while he was studying Sanskrit with his pan-
dit, fifty ryots appeared at his door. T h e y had fled from
Nadia and Jessore Districts to escape oppression and had
brought with them a letter from the Reverend Christian
Bomwetsch. L o n g immediately called a meeting of the
leading missionaries of Calcutta, including the Reverend
Alexander Duff. As he reported to the Church Missionary
Society in L o n d o n -
The men, Musulmans and Hindus, gave their evidence before
us and we were all struck with the straight forward and honest
tone—the evidence has been taken down in Bengali. Dr. Duff
will have it translated into English and copies will be sent to
England. You must prepare for this question as it is assuming
large dimensions.65
Soon afterwards Long called on the Lieutenant Gover-
nor and found him "most anxious to ameliorate the social
conditions of the ryots." T h e y discussed plans for the
Indigo Commission which was about to be appointed. 56
Once they had committed themselves, the missionaries
54 Ibid.., A p r i l g a n d J u n e 18, i860.
55 Ibid.., A p r i l 23, i860,
se Ibid.
 T H E
124 B L U E MUTINY

became the most effective "interest group" in both Cal-

cutta and London. In 1862 Wood wrote to Elgin: "In
England, the feeling is on the native side. The missionaries
influence large bodies—people who form aborigines protec-
tion societies and the like are always ready to press the
Government." 57 The missionaries had the channels of com-
munication and the functioning organizations in England
that neither the planters nor the Indians could hope to
equal. In 1861 the trial of the Reverend James Long for
the translation and publication of the anti-planter Bengali
drama, Nil Darpan, was to destroy the last vestige of pub-
lic sympathy for the indigo planters and their supporters.
57
H. P., Wood to Elgin, Nov. 17, 1862.
 VI
Act XI
Ν osto acar dusto riti Corrupt customs and wicked laws,
e due jimer priti these two delight the
god of death.

ON M A R C H 1Ο, 1 8 6 o , J O H N P E T E R G R A N T R E T U R N E D TO C A L -
cutta from a ten-week tour of Bihar. He found his desk
piled high with accumulated reports from his district offi-
cers telling of the indigo disturbances which had erupted
in Nadia District during his absence. At once Grant dis-
patched military police to Nadia to forestall a possible out-
break of widespread violence by the ryots. But he also
feared increased violence from the planters and to avert
this contemplated some kind of official measure to enable
them to carry out their spring sowings. 1
The matter was decided on March 13 when he was vis-
ited by a delegation from the Indigo Planters' Association
led by J . P. Wise, the largest planter of east Bengal, and
including F. A. Goodenough, Secretary of the Bengal In-
digo Company and Alexander Forbes, editor of the Bengal
Hurkaru. T h e delegates called for two measures: first, a
notification from the Government to impress the ryots
with their duty to fulfill their existing contracts and to
belie the rumor that the Government opposed indigo
planting; and second, a law to make a breach of contract
1
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 186 fif.
126 THE BLUE M U T I N Y

to cultivate indigo punishable summarily by a magistrate.

Although Grant argued that the complaints of the ryots
were just and that he was opposed to the "principle of spe-
cial legislation," the delegates persisted, and after an
hour's discussion the Lieutenant Governor yielded. 2
On the following day Grant sent a notification to the
Commissioner of Nadia ordering him to impress upon the
ryots their duty to fulfill their contracts. On the other
hand, the officials were to explain that it was always op-
tional for a ryot to enter into a contract or not according
to his own interest. In his covering letter he cautioned the
Commissioner, " I t is not intended by this Notification that
the police should interfere for the purpose of enforcing
any civil contract. Breaches of contract between indigo
planters and ryots can be remedied only in the manner
authorized by law." Following this the Lieutenant Gover-
nor assigned four detachments of military police to the
Commissioner to be used to quell any disturbances by the
ryots on their hearing the notification. 3 T h e notifica tion
failed either to appease the planters or to restrain the ryots.
T h e planters considered it too ambiguous, and the ryots
seized upon those parts which emphasized the volumtary
nature of the contract. 4
T o the second request of the delegation, i.e., for a crimi-
nally enforceable contract law, Grant acceded even rmore
reluctantly. In his younger days he had been instrumemtal
in repealing a similar law and as late as J u n e 1859 had
recorded strong views against special legislation to enftorce
2
J . P. 174, March 29, i860.
3
Ibid. Also reported in Hindoo Patriot and Indian Field, Mlarch
17, i860.
4
Letter from A. Forbes to Grant, March 2 1 , i860 in Selecctions
from the Records of the Government of Bengal, (Calcutta, 11860),
Part II, pp. 349 ff. See also R . I. C., A. 2 1 5 9 ( R . T . Larmour)) and
A. 3068 (A. T . Maclean, Assis. Mag.).
 A C T XI 127

indigo contracts. 5 A l l existing British contract laws which

treated breach of contract as a misdemeanor related to
contracts between w o r k m e n and capitalists,® whereas in
Grant's opinion ryots and planters were both capitalists. 7
Undoubtedly, however, G r a n t realized that if he did not
do so C a n n i n g himself w o u l d take the initiative and
sponsor a criminal contract bill, one w h i c h would, per-
haps, take less care to safeguard the rights of the indigo
cultivators.
In theory the indigo contract was an agreement entered
into by a ryot with a factory to (1) permit factory servants
to measure his lands, (2) p l o u g h the land measured, (3)
purchase the seeds f r o m the factory, (4) sow the seeds,
(5) weed the g r o w i n g crop, (6) cut the crop, and (7) cart
the plant to the factory at his o w n expense. 8 Contracts for
the spring sowing were made in October, the season w h e n
the ryots needed cash f o r rent and pujas or religious cele-
brations, and in return for his agreement the ryot was
nominally given an advance of a b o u t t w o rupees per
bigah. T h o u g h there were cases of single engagements cov-
ering as l o n g as twenty years, the usual duration of a con-
tract was f r o m one to five years, w i t h advances renewed
each year. If the a m o u n t of plant delivered was valued in
excess of the original advance, the ryot w o u l d receive fazil
or money paid in excess of the advance.
In practice the system was m u c h abused. Initially the
ryot accepted an advance o u t of dire necessity or was
forced to take it either by the planter, if he were the ryot's
landlord, o r by the head ryot w h o usually kept all or part
of the advance for himself. O n one p r e t e x t or another the

5 C. R. O., Jud. and Legis. Des. Reed, from India, June 1859.
6 R. I. C., Pt. I, Report, p. 42.
7 J. P. 232-39, Sept. i860.
8 R. I. C., App. X gives sample contracts.
128 THE BLUE MUTINY

cash advance was seldom repeated, though occasiona ly a

planter paid an installment to placate his ryots. Usially
only be-ilaka ryots were obliged to sign contracts, vhich
consisted merely of the signature of the ryot affixed to
blank, stamped paper. T h e planter would fill in o n h the
contracts of head ryots who controlled village cultivation
or of those ryots suspected of being dishonest. T h e stamp,
a G o v e r n m e n t tax of two annas, was paid annually bv the
ryot; b u t in the case of contracts covering more than one
year it was customary for the factory to take the ryot's
money without bothering to purchase a new stamp. T h e
planter held the blank paper as a threat over the ryot, but
seldom took a ryot into the civil court on the basis of the
contract, which, because it did not specify precisely which
fields were to be cultivated, had n o legal validity. Con-
tracts were usually witnessed only by lower-caste factory
servants, since the more respectable servants were appre-
hensive of being required to take an oath in court at some
future date.
T h e factory kept account of the advances paid to and
the amount cultivated by each ryot, b u t the ryot seldom
knew how he stood in the factory books. W h e n the indigo
was delivered, its value would be deducted from the ryot's
balance and usually, after a year of cultivation, it was the
ryot who owed the factory money for seed, stamps, rent
and advances. T h e s e balances mounted until most of them
were considered unrecoverable; and the ryots, even if they
had the cash, were n o t allowed to pay off their balances
and free themselves from debt. T h e ryots believed that the
balances and the contracts were heritable from generation
to generation, though this was, of course, legally unen-
forcible. Seldom did more than one-third of the ryots re-
ceive fazil, and on receiving it, a ryot was usually m u l c t e d
of it by the factory servants and head ryots. T h e o p e r a t i o n
 A C T XI 129

of the indigo contract system was revealed in all its stark-

ness by the evidence of the I n d i g o C o m m i s s i o n later in the
year, but enough was suspected to hold those responsible
l'or the enactment of an indigo contract e n f o r c e m e n t law
guilty of gross injustice.
When the Governor General's Legislative Council met
on March 24, A . Sconce, the member for Bengal, intro-
duced Grant's bill "to enforce the fulfilment of Indigo
Contracts." As judge of Nadia in 1854 Sconce had boldly
attacked the indigo system in a letter to Halliday. Now he
argued that "it was incumbant on the Government to pass
a law to meet the emergency which had arisen." Following
his introduction he read a message from the Lieutenant
Governor stating that if the ryots had "desired to break off
their connexion with that system, they should have done so
before receiving the season's advances." In the future "it
will be monstrous if they are not allowed . . . to exercise
their legal and moral rights" to refuse advances. But at
this time they have no moral or legal right "to turn sud-
denly round upon the planters, and, with nothing to com-
plain of now more than they had before, to refuse to do
what, up to this moment, they have led the planters to
expect that they would do according to custom and agree-
ment." For the purpose of saving " a great commercial in-
terest" a law to inflict penal damages on the party, who,
after a fair trial is found to have wilfully broken engage-
ments is "both justifiable and proper." But the law should
expire after six months and during that time there must
be "a thorough enquiry into the whole system," and the
future enactment of a law which will afford "equal and
complete protection to the ryot as well as the planter." 9

Grant was asking the ryots for six months of grace, and
9
Proceedings of the Legislative Council of India (7 Vols., Calcutta,
1856-62), Vol. V I , proceedings of March 24, i860.
13O THE BLUE MUTINY

though they were bitterly disappointed, the majority re-

sponded to the wishes of the Government. What nobody
foresaw was that the contract bill, amended by the Legisla-
tive Council into an instrument of oppression and admin-
istered by highly incompetent magistrates, would end
forever any hope of reconciling the ryots to indigo.
T h e Legislative Council which now considered the bill
was dominated by two men, Sir Barnes Peacock and James
Wilson. Peacock, was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
and, as Vice-President of the Council, was in the chair dur-
ing Canning's absence in Simla. He was a proficient jurist
who had been appointed to the Legislative Council in
1852 after twenty years of experience at the English bar. 1 0
In Calcutta he had joined with those who favored giving
special privileges to the European merchants and settlers.
James Wilson, a man of far different disposition, had ar-
rived in India in November 1859 to take up the n.ewly
created post of "finance minister" on the Council after
establishing a reputation in England as one of the fore-
most economists of his day. He had served as Joint Secre-
tary to the Board of Control, then as Financial Secretary
to the Treasury and Vice-President of the Board of Tirade.
He was founder and editor of the Economist and a le;ader
of the free-trade movement. In accepting the job oif re-
organizing Indian finances he had given up a promiising
parliamentary career. A believer in the development of
Indian resources by the encouragement of private capital,
his arrival was hailed by both Indian and European (com-
mercial groups in Calcutta. His income tax bill ;later
alienated the Indians, but he remained a favorite off the
European community and was considered by the mer-
chants as their chief advocate in official circles suppossedly
10
C. E. Buckland, Dictionary of Indian Biography (London, 11906),
P· 33'·
 A C T XI 131

dominated by bureaucrats who held merchants in disdain.

Though in the prime of life, he died of dysentery only
nine months after his arrival in Calcutta. 11 Perhaps, if
Wilson had been thoroughly familiar with the true char-
acter of the indigo system, he may not have taken the
side of Sir Barnes Peacock in subsequent debate on the
contract bill.
Another prominent member of the Council was Bartle
Frere who later admitted that at the time he "had much
sympathy with the planters." 12 Other members of the
Council included General James Outram, an indolent leg-
islator, 13 not particularly interested in civilian matters, and
Charles Jackson, a Calcutta barrister and racial bigot who
believed that no Indian could be trusted with arms or pub-
lic office. 14 Henry B. Harington, an experienced civilian
representing the North-Western Provinces, was the only
Council member who opposed the contract bill.
As introduced by Sconce, the bill was quite moderate.
T h e preamble called for the appointment of a commission
of enquiry into the practice of indigo planting after the
close of the present season. T h e bill provided that, if after
March 24, i860 a ryot wilfully delayed or omitted to cul-
tivate indigo according to his agreement for which a cash
advance was made, the magistrate, on the oath of a planter
or agent, could summon the ryot to appear before him and
investigate the complaint. On sufficient evidence the ryot
could be made to pay damages amounting to five times the
advance or to suffer imprisonment for a term not exceed-
ing three months. Another section provided for the fine
11
Richard Temple, Men and Events of My Time in India (Lon-
don, 1882), pp. 186 ff.
12
John Martineau, Life of Sir Bartle Frere (2 Vols., London,
1895), I» 36 1 ·
13
H. P., Canning to Wood, June 18, i860.
14
Indian Field, Sept. 3, 1859.
132 THE BLUE MUTINY

and imprisonment of any person attempting to intimidate

a ryot to break off an agreement or for conspiring vith
others to cause a breach of contract. Other provisions in-
cluded penalties for wilful destruction or damage to indigo
crops, the denial of an appeal from the decision of the
magistrate and the expiration of the act within six mor.ths.
Peacock, in arguing that he saw no reason for enforcing
only agreements for which cash advances had been given,
at once attacked the fundamental safeguard of Sconce's
bill. Even an advance of seed appeared to him sufficient
grounds for prosecution, since the planter would be in-
jured in any case by non-fulfilment of the contract.
Wilson disagreed with Peacock, stating that if a cash ad-
vance were received under false pretences it "assumed
rather a criminal character," but if no cash advance was
received, non-fulfilment would be a purely civil act. He
supported the bill as read believing that it would induce
the "disaffected ryots to return to their loyalty." Wilson
believed that the interests of the ryots would suffer if the
indigo industry were driven from Bengal and hoped that,
if the system were corrected, the law of supply and de-
mand would make its operation satisfactory to all parties.
Along with passing the bill he felt that "we ought to be
extremely anxious to impress upon the minds of the ryots
that we were as much their friends as we were of their
employers." 15
T h e Council then adjourned for one week during which
the Lieutenant Governor appointed six special magistrates
for the indigo districts and instructed all magistrates to
carry out the provisions of the bill as introduced. During
this same week an inexplicable change occurred in the
opinions held by James Wilson. One can only conjecture
that Wilson was persuaded by Peacock and some of his
15 Proc. of Legis. Council, M a r c h 24, i860.
 ACT XI 133

mercantile associates to reverse his position on the cash

advance. At the Council meeting of March 31 Wilson
moved that the cash advance should not be considered the
essential ingredient of the contract and that the ryot
should be obliged to cultivate the entire plot of land con-
tracted for, not only the part for which he had received a
cash advance. He even included in his amendment land
cultivated to pay off old debts owed to the factory. Sconce
and Harington objected strongly to the amendment, but
Frere and Peacock supported Wilson, and the amendment
carried. Wilson then suggested another amendment which
proved to be only slightly less detrimental to the ryots. He
moved to omit the clause limiting the damages to five
times the amount of the advance and to substitute the
words damages "sustained by reason of the breach of con-
tract." Wilson contended that if the maximum penalty
were stipulated in the law the magistrates would be in-
clined to inflict damages to the maximum permissible
limit, and that under his amendment they would fine the
ryots less heavily. But in actual practice the magistrates
used their additional authority to inflict fines far in excess
of five times the amount of the advance.
Peacock in turn added two amendments which were to
place additional burdens on the ryots. One permitted the
magistrate to attach the ryot's crops in default of payment;
the other permitted him to decree specific performance of
the agreement. 16 Altogether the bill as passed was far more
stringent than the original proposed by Grant and Sconce.
On April 4 the Lieutenant Governor, obviously displeased
with the amendments of Wilson and Peacock, notified the
Commissioners of Nadia and Rajshahi of the changes in
the bill and cautioned them that "these changes add mate-
rially to the responsibilities of the Officers vested with
16
Ibid., March 3 1 , i860.
IG4 T H E BLUE MUTINY

magisterial powers under the A c t . " G r a n t urged them to

be equitable in their application of the Act, to give careful
attention to the facts in each case and to be certain that a
contract actually existed. T h e Commissioners were to keep
themselves well informed on the activities of their district
officers. H e concluded:

These powers, and the opportunity of acting upon them, must

not be retained for a day in the hands of any Officer who may
show himself not competent to exercise them in such a manner
as to do full and substantial justice to all parties. 17

O n A p r i l 9 the G o v e r n o r General gave his assent to A c t X I

of i860, " A n A c t to enforce the f u l f i l m e n t of Indigo con-
tracts, and to provide for the a p p o i n t m e n t of a Commis-
sion of E n q u i r y . "
L o r d C a n n i n g wrote to W o o d that W i l s o n "did not
quite know what he was about. I should have disallowed
it if I had been on the spot, b u t the w h o l e bill came u p
for my assent w h e n I was at Simla, and a veto w o u l d h a v e
been so sure to be mischievously interpreted, and have de-
layed action so long, that against my will I let it pass." 1 8
W h e n W o o d read the account of Wilson's role in f r a m i n g
the act he wrote to C a n n i n g :

I am afraid that Wilson has been run away with his English
notions, and by the English community in Calcutta, and the
support of the English press in India. . . . Other Indians say
that he has overpowered his colleagues, is supposed to possess
some undefined authority from home and that they dare not
gainsay him. So he is said to have overruled Grant. . . . I meed
not tell you how untrue the authority from home is. 19

T h e provision for a commission of e n q u i r y made the

law, in part at least, acceptable to the Indian c o m m u n i t y
17 J. P. 380, A p r i l i860.
18 H . P., C a n n i n g to W o o d , J u n e 4, i860.
19 H . P., W o o d to C a n n i n g , M a y 18, i860.
 A C T XI 135

of Calcutta. The Hindoo Patriot commented that the Gov-

ernment took the only course possible under the circum-
stances and that in calling for an enquiry Grant had acted
in a statesmanlike and vigorous manner.20 T h e Indian
Field editorialized that any hardship Act X I would inflict
upon the cultivators would be offset by the great benefit to
them of a commission of enquiry. Commenting on the
roles played by Grant and Sconce the editorial observed,
"the names of those who drafted and introduced it are
sufficient security of the good and honest intentions with
which it was laid before the council." 21
In the mufassal the ryots did not understand that the act
was temporary.22 After seeing a ray of hope for a brief pe-
riod, they now felt betrayed by the Government. They
were more determined than ever not to sow indigo,28 and
Wilson's belief that it would induce the "disaffected ryots
to return to their loyalty" was a miscalculation. T h e "ryot
coercion act," as it was called by the Indian newspapers,
only served to intensify the disturbances. James Long later
testified that because of the law the ryots had become ex-
ceedingly embittered and exasperated. Even in Calcutta
feeling was "stronger against certain classes of English than
I have seen even during the Mutiny." 24
T h e British Indian Association and the missionaries
both petitioned the Government against the act. On
March 22 the British Indian Association wrote the Lieu-
tenant Governor:

Much as your Petitioners value British enterprise in India-

much as they hope for the introduction of British capital,
20
Hindoo Patriot, April 28, i860.
21
Indian Field, March 31, i860.
22
R . I. C., A. 165g (James Long).
23
Hindoo Patriot, April 14 and June 2, i860.
24
R. I. C., A. 1645 a n d A · l 6 6 1 ·
136 THE BLUE MUTINY

energy, and skill into this land as the pioneer of progress—

much as they look to European science and its application for
the development of the inexaustible resources of this country—
they would yet reckon it as humiliating and discreditable to
British Settlers, and unfortunate for the people, if those excel-
lent advantages, which cannot be undervalued without gross
positive injustice, could not be obtained without the aid of
"special legislation." 25

When on March 30 they petitioned the Legislative Coun-

cil against specific sections of the bill, the Indian Field
commented: " I t affords us sincere pleasure to see the na-
tive nobility and gentry come forward as the champions of
the rights and privileges of the peasantry." 2 6 On A p r i l 21
the Calcutta Missionary Conference wrote a letter to the
Bengal Government giving its opinion that the contract
law was one-sided. T h e missionaries were especially critical
of the Government's holding the ryots to old debts many
of which were supported by forged contracts. 27
Nor were the planters entirely enthusiastic about the
proceedings of the Government. T h e y objected to Grant's
instructions to the Commissioners of Nadia and Rajshahi
on the administration of the act, calling it executive inter-
ference with the judiciary. 2 8 T h e y were dissatisfied with
the provision for the expiration of the act at the end of six
months, 29 and were apprehensive about the effect of the
commission of enquiry, though now they could hardly ob-
ject to one. 30 A t a planters' meeting at Nischintipur on

-''British I n d i a n Association, Monthly General Meeting (June: 13,

i860).
26
Indian Field, March 3 1 , i860.
27
J. P. 538, M a y i860.
28
Indian Field, A p r i l 14, i860.
29
Englishman, A p r i l 24, i860.
30
H . P., C a n n i n g to W o o d , March 3 1 , i860.
 A C T XI 137

April 26 they proposed postponement of the e n q u i r y until

a more t r a n q u i l time. 3 1
T h e principal adversary of Act X I was Sir Charles
Wood. Writing to Canning that he was "uneasy" about the
legislation which gave "criminal jurisdiction to Magis-
trates in civil cases of breach of contract," he warned that,
since "Indigo Cultivation is practically forced labour, we
cannot pass strong enactments to enforce its perform-
ance." 32 T o Wilson he wrote: " I must warn you that you
were supposed to take too English and planter-like a view.
. . . You must beware of a danger . . . of attempting to gov-
ern too much on English principles and ideas." 33 In his
official despatch on the act Wood objected to a civil con-
tract being made the ground for a criminal prosecution,
but allowed the act to stand because it was limited to six
months and was intended to meet an emergency. 34
As the Hindoo Patriot pointed out, it was not the law
itself but its administration that was crucial. 36 T h e respon-
sibility for its administration devolved upon the magis-
trates, who now were armed with extraordinary powers.
T h e operation of Act X I in the mufassal was an acid test
of British district administration. H o w this responsibility
was performed will be reviewed in the next chapter.
Section X I I of Act X I provided for the appointment of
a commission of enquiry and thereby fulfilled a need
which had been recognized by the Court of Directors as
early as 1832, but had been postponed for fear of precipi-
tating disturbances. 36 Even before signing the bill Canning
31
Englishman, May 7, i860.
32
H. P., Wood to Canning, May 3, i860.
33
H. P., Wood to Wilson, May 10, i860.
34
C. R. O., Jud. and Legis. Des. to India, Orig. Drafts, Vol. 3,
Jud. No. 84, July 24, i860.
35
Hindoo Patriot, April 28, i860.
36
R. I. C., App. X V I .
138 THE BLUE MUTINY

wrote to Wood that the result of the enquiry would be

"very damaging to the planters, and that it will disclose an
amount of coercion, if not of oppression of the Ryots
which as yet is only suspected." 37 The Lieutenant Gover-
nor intended that every interest be represented on the
commission, and on May 2 the Government of Bengal re-
quested both the Indigo Planters' Association and the
British Indian Association to nominate representatives.
The planters had wanted to nominate James Forlong, the
planter most highly regarded by all sections of society, but
evidently he pleaded lack of time.38 Alexander Forbes may
have been their second choice, but according to the Indian
Field, he preferred to remain an "irresponsible editor"
rather than become a "responsible commissioner." 39 The
planters finally nominated W. F. Fergusson, who was well
qualified by position, ability and sympathy to represent
them.40
Wood was apprehensive about arousing the zamindars,
since the enquiry could hardly fail to touch upon their
rights, and he recommended that Canning pledge non-
interference with zamindari rights.41 But Canning dis-
agreed and replied that the zamindars welcomed the com-
mission, were well represented, and therefore not uneasy
about their rights.42 T h e British Indian Association nomi-
nated Chunder Mohun Chatterjee, a nephew of Dwar-
kanath Tagore, who had once accompanied his uncle to
Europe, had managed his uncle's indigo factory, and in
1849 had been the only Indian who had joined the Euro-
37
H . P., C a n n i n g to Wood, March 3 1 , i860.
38
Friend of India, M a y 10, i860.
39
Indian Field, M a y 6, 18Ö0.
40
Hindoo Patriot, M a y 12, i860.
41
H . P., AVood to C a n n i n g , J u n e 1 1 , i860.
42
H . P., C a n n i n g to Wood, J u l y 27, i860.
 A C T XI 139

pean community in opposing Bethune's "Black Acts." T h e

Hindoo Patriot wrote: "Race antagonism, an element not
entirely out of the question here, is utterly absent in
him." 43
T h e problem of representing the ryots was more diffi-
cult. Canning first thought that the responsibility would
fall upon the Government itself, 44 but later he wrote that
the missionary representative on the commission, the
Reverend J. Sale, "is, or is supposed to be, the nearest ap-
proach to a champion of the Ryot interest." He reassured
Wood that the Baptist missionary was a sensible, quiet and
inoffensive man, 45 and a Calcutta Missionary Conference
in April declared that Sale's membership would raise the
question from that of mere rupees to hearings on the so-
cial, intellectual and religious elevation of the down-
trodden ryot. 48 T h e two officiai nominees were W . S.
Seton-Karr, who served as President, and Richard T e m p l e .
In 1847 Seton-Karr had written an article for the Calcutta
Review somewhat critical of the planters, especially of
their violent affrays. 47 T e m p l e was Chief Assistant to
James Wilson and shared many of the economist's views
on the value of indigo enterprise. T o all appearances, the
Commission was dominated by men sympathetic to the
planting interest. T h e Englishman considered it "fair";
however, the Hurkaru called it "packed," with two
officials, a zamindar, and a missionary pitted against
Fergusson. 48
T h e Indigo Commission was officially appointed on

43 Hindoo Patriot, M a y 12, i860.

44 H . P., C a n n i n g to W o o d , M a r c h 31, i860.
45 H . P., C a n n i n g to W o o d , J u l y 17, i860.
46 Indian Field, J a n . 5, 1861.
47 Vol. VII, 1847.
48 Englishman, M a y 17, i860.
140 THE BLUE MUTINY

May 10 and held its first p u b l i c meetings in Calcutta on

May 18. From July 6 to 19 the Commission held hearings
at Krishnagar, then returned to Calcutta and held the last
hearing on A u g u s t 4. T h e p u b l i c hearings were "daily
crowded to excess." O u t of a total of 134 witnesses ex-
amined there were fifteen officials, twenty-one planters or
former planters, eight missionaries, thirteen zamindars and
talukdars, and seventy-seven ryots. Hundreds of ryots came
to Calcutta from Jessore, Nadia, Barasat and Pabna, be-
lieving the Commission to be a court of appeals. T h e i r
testimony was translated by Seton-Karr, Sale, and C h u n d e r
M o h u n Chatterjee. In Krishnagar the Commission visited
the jail and heard the testimonies of sixty ryots imprisoned
under Act X I .
T h e commissioners covered every point connected with
indigo planting as practiced in Bengal, Bihar and the
U n i t e d Provinces. T h e y investigated the relations of the
planters toward zamindars and ryots, the economic aspects
of the cultivation, the conduct of the police and authori-
ties, the w o r k i n g of the laws, land tenures, and the "gen-
eral condition, advancement, and social prosperity of the
country." O p i u m cultivation was examined for compara-
tive purposes. 49 W h e n published in N o v e m b e r i860 the
c o m b i n e d volume, including the Report, Minutes of Evi-
dence and Appendices, contained 762 pages of valuable
information on conditions in rural Bengal in i860. T h e
testimonies of the ryots are perhaps the only authentic
words extant of that class of people. Forlong, Larmour,
Meares and other planters disclosed details of their opera-
tions; numerous zamindars told the Commission how they
reacted to the favored treatment given their European
rivals; the R e v e r e n d James L o n g reported on vernacular
publications and the dissemination of political informa-
49 R. I. C., Pt. I, Report, passim.
 A C T XI 141

tion among the peasants; and Ashley Eden gave his ac-
count of the origin of the disturbances in Barasat. 50 Ex-
cerpts from the open proceedings appeared in all the
Calcutta and in many British newspapers.
A l t h o u g h the findings of the commissioners surprised
no one, the judicious moderation of their language gave
their judgments an aura of conclusiveness. Fundamentally,
the commissioners found that " A l l the defects of the sys-
tem . . . may be traced originally to one bare fact, the want
of adequate remuneration." T h e conclusions and recom-
mendations of the majority were signed by Seton-Karr,
Sale, C h u n d e r M o h u n , and, with certain reservations, by
Temple.
W i t h regard to planter-zamindar relations the majority
wrote: " W e cannot subscribe to the o p i n i o n that there is
a n y t h i n g in the conduct of native zamindars w h i c h evinces
hostility to the cultivation of indigo, o r w h i c h places a bar
to the investment of E u r o p e a n capital." T h i s conclusion
was based on the testimonies of the h a n d f u l of zamindars
w h o appeared before the Commission. B u t there is e n o u g h
evidence in the records to indicate that, although only a
few zamindars took overt action against planters, feeling
against the planters ran high. A closer investigation of the
relations between zamindars and planters m i g h t have
proven that they were far f r o m satisfactory. B u t the C o m -
mission assumed that, if the planters improved their rela-
tions with the ryots, their settlement in the countryside
w o u l d benefit all classes. T o deny this w o u l d have been to
rule o u t the ability of British and Indian landlords to
coexist in peace, and thus to deny any secure f u t u r e to
British enterprise in the mufassal.
Secondly, the relations between planter a n d ryot, wrote
the commissioners, "are not satisfactory, and require con-
so R. I. C., Pts. V-VII, Minutes of Evidence, passim.
142 THE BLUE MUTINY

siderable changes." T h e Commission reported that cases

of kidnapping, carrying off cattle and rooting up gardens
of disobedient ryots are "numerous" and "well authenti-
cated" and that imprisonment of individuals in factory
godowns was of "common occurrence." Of the system of
advances they report: "It matters little whether the ryot
took his original advances with reluctance or cheerfulness,
the result in either case is the same; he is never afterwards
a free man." N o mention was made of forged contracts.
Referring to the indigo system itself, the Commission re-
ported "violent individuals can only work such a system by
oppression and ill-usage. . . ." T h e commissioners opposed
the compulsory registration of contracts as well as any
special laws, such as Act X I , to enforce contracts.
In discussing the treatment of planters by local officiais
the Commission reported: " T h e r e has been no general
bias exerted against planters by either the Magistrates or
the Police." In fact, the commissioners found that the re-
verse was true, and they urged a multiplication of sub-
divisions presided over jointly by well-paid Indian and
European officers. T h e y opposed the appointment of a spe-
cial commissioner or special magistrates to investigate and
settle indigo disputes, since this would result in over-
lapping jurisdictions. T h e y did, however, recommend an
increase in the number of officers appointed to try rent
cases, because Act X of 1859 had impeded the collection
of rents by some of the zamindars and planters.
Of the role taken by missionaries in the disturbances
they wrote: " T h e conduct of the Missionaries, as a body,
during the late controversy and crisis, is not blameworthy,
and that of many has been straightforward, manly, and
considerate. . . ." T h e Report concluded " T h e residence
of Europeans in the interior, and their embarking on mer-
cantile pursuits is to be encouraged by all legitimate
 ACT XI 143

means, for political a n d social reasons, consistent w i t h the

welfare of the mass of the p o p u l a t i o n . " 5 1
A l t h o u g h T e m p l e a g r e e d w i t h the r e m a i n d e r of the Re-
port, he wrote a separate M i n u t e , c o n t e n d i n g , astonish-
ingly e n o u g h , that if the i n d i g o industry w e r e to be driven
f r o m L o w e r B e n g a l , the p r o d u c t i o n of rice w o u l d increase
b e y o n d the capacity f o r its c o n s u m p t i o n a n d rice w o u l d
consequently fall in price. A n y m a j o r r e f o r m s in the in-
digo system he w o u l d leave to the planters w h o w o u l d
"consult their o w n interests as w e l l as benefit their ryots."
T h e G o v e r n m e n t ' s r e m e d y s h o u l d be to r e f o r m the police,
w h i c h he considered the " r o o t of the m a t t e r . " H e d i d not
t h i n k it necessary to s u b j e c t the planters to the same
mufassai law as the Indians, a n d he w o u l d disarm all the
Indians b u t n o t the E u r o p e a n s , " o f c o u r s e . " H e recom-
m e n d e d that A c t X I of 1860 b e m a d e p e r m a n e n t , that con-
tracts be registered a n d , if v i o l a t e d , c r i m i n a l l y e n f o r c e d .
H e b e l i e v e d that A c t X of 1859 h a d d e p r i v e d the land-
holders of too m u c h p o w e r a n d r e c o m m e n d e d that "ade-
q u a t e m a c h i n e r y m a y b e a v a i l a b l e f o r e n s u r i n g the
e x p e d i t i o u s r e c o v e r y of rent. . . ." A n d finally, he recom-
m e n d e d special officers b e d e p u t e d to the t r o u b l e spots a n d
that a special i n d i g o c o m m i s s i o n e r b e a p p o i n t e d to inspect
conditions.

Fergusson c o n c u r r e d in T e m p l e ' s M i n u t e a n d w r o t e an
a d d i t i o n a l o n e of his o w n w h o l l y dissenting f r o m the Re-
p o r t of the m a j o r i t y . H e f e a r e d t h a t the R e p o r t w o u l d
" o p e r a t e o n the m i n d s of an i g n o r a n t p e a s a n t r y " to the
d e t r i m e n t of the planters. A l t h o u g h h e a d m i t t e d that the
planters s h o u l d h a v e p a i d a t t e n t i o n to p r e v a i l i n g e c o n o m i c
conditions a n d " m e t the r y o t w i t h a m o r e p r o p o r t i o n a t e
r e m u n e r a t i o n , . . . e v e n as to those points the truth of
w h i c h I d o n o t d i s p u t e . . . I . . . dissent f r o m the l a n g u a g e
51 R . I. C., Pt. I, Report, pp. 46-47.
 T H E
144 BLUE MUTINY

and tone of the Report . . . [which] . . . tend to give a

coloring, and to lead to conclusions not proved from the
facts." 5 2
Although T e m p l e and Fergusson had found it necessary
to write dissenting opinions, the conclusions reached by
the majority were certainly not excessive in condemnation.
In the judgment of the British Indian Association the
Indigo Commission had been fair, but the "moderation of
its tone has been mild to a fault." 5 3 It was not the conclu-
sions of the commissioners which gave the Report its force,
but the Minutes of Evidence, which spoke for themselves.
T h e most eloquent analysis of the evidence and lucid
critique of the Report was written by the Lieutenant
Governor in a Minute dated December 17, i860. 54
Grant opened his discussion with a statement that from
its inception the system of indigo production in Lo\ver
Bengal had been unsound. "Whilst in all other trades all
parties concerned have been bound together by the usual
commercial ties of mutual interest, in this one trade, in
this one Province, the indigo manufacture has always been
a remarkable exception to this natural and healthy state of
things." T o maintain this unsound system the planters had
turned to coercion. Not only had the ryots suffered under
it, but the system had prevented the spread of a genuine
plantation cultivation. Raiyati cultivation practiced under
coercion had harmed nijabad cultivation just as bad
money drives out good. He found that the ryots objected
more to the harassment than to the loss of money entailed
by indigo cultivation. For the long history of this harass-
ment he blamed not the individual planters, but the sys-

52 R . I. C „ Pt. I, Report, passim.

53
British Indian Association, Ninth Annual Report (Dec. 29,
i860).
54
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 238-71.
 ACT XI 145
tem and, in particular, the biased administration which
upheld it. " A country where . . . these offences are com-
mitted habitually and for the most part with impunity, is
a country in which the law affords the weak no protection.
T h e fact is a disgrace to the Administration."
" The root of the whole question," wrote Grant, "is the
struggle to make raiyats grow indigo plant, without paying
them the price of it." T h e ryot must be free to sell at his
own price, and if the planter could not afford to pay, "it
cannot be helped" and the industry must move to another
part of India. T o attempt to do otherwise is "to waste the
resources of the country and to fight against nature."
Grant concluded his Minute with recommendations for
the improvement of local administration and with a com-
pliment to the commissioners for the "careful impartiality
with which they conducted their inquiries . . . at a moment
of passionate excitement."
Thus, Grant opposed the indigo system of Lower Bengal
because it violated a fundamental law of free enterprise,
the right of the seller to determine the price of his goods.
"These raiyats are not Carolina slaves," he wrote, "but the
free yeomanry of this country . . . and the virtual owners
of the greater part of the land."
After reading the Minute W o o d wrote to Grant:

It is a most able document, and completely establishes the case

as between Planter and Ryot. I am very sorry for the individ-
ual planters who will suffer by the change of system; but that
such a system should go on is quite impossible.55

T h e scope of the Indigo Commission extended far be-

yond its stated purpose of inquiring into and reporting on
the system and practice of indigo planting. It proved the
adage that to define a problem is partly to solve it. T h e

s5 H. P., Wood to Grant, Feb. 4, 1861.

146 THE BLUE MUTINY

simple ryots were not mistaken in t h i n k i n g of the Com-

mission as a court of last resort; in effect, the powers of the
Commission exceeded even those of a high court. Its opera-
tion modified the very system which it was appointed to
investigate.
 VII
The Magistrates
Rokkhoke bhokkhon kore If the man appointed
ke tare rakhte pare1 protector devours,
who is able to shield the
people?

THE "SENSE OF APPROACHING FREEDOM" WHICH HAD SWEPT

the indigo districts earlier in the year gave way, with the
enforcement of Act XI, to bitterness and despair.2 Heavy
rain in the second week of April made sowing necessary at
once, and when ryots scattered throughout Nadia District
refused to sow, the planters were forced to take action. At
first most of the planters were reluctant to test the new
law. For one reason, to jail their own ryots would have
precluded the sowing of any indigo; for another, they
feared that the magistrates would not accept their ques-
tionable contracts as legal evidence. Instead, they tried
such direct methods of coercion as evicting ryot-tenants
and withholding from them grain collected as rent.8
But the planters soon discovered that the magistrates
had little interest in legal veracity. Toward the end of
April, following the example of James Forlong the plant-

1 Sushil Kumar De, ed., Bangla Probad (2nd. ed., Calcutta, 1952),
p. 694.
2R. I. C„ A. 2819 (Herschel).
3 J. P. 386-92, 396-97, April i860.
148 THE BLUE MUTINY

ers began to institute hundreds of contract violation suits.

T h e magistrates themselves joined the planters in terroriz-
ing ignorant ryots into planting indigo and even into sign-
ing new contracts. It was common practice for them to
arrest the village headmen and sentence any who refused
to sow indigo to a stiff fine and three months imprison-
ment. In jail the ryots were brutally treated by the guards
until they agreed to sow. T h r o u g h o u t the district rumors
were spread that the "cavalry would cut down and the
Gurkhas shoot down every man who will be found plow-
ing his [rice] land unless with a magistrate's order and the
bullocks will furnish beef to the sahibs." In spite of their
fears the majority of ryots at first stubbornly refused to sow
indigo. 4
By April 25, 279 men had been imprisoned in Nadia
District, two-thirds for breach of contract, the balance for
acts of violence, destruction of indigo plant, cattle trespass
and intimidation of other ryots. T h e Commissioner of
Nadia Division, Arthur Grote, suspected that the number
of convictions was too high, reasoning that if a man were
really under contract to sow he would hardly refuse and
suffer a jail sentence. Many ryots went to prison because
the law was unprecedented and the illiterate populace
could not be taught without numerous examples the
change in their legal status. Others refused to sow because
they were not aware that Act X I was temporary and de-
cided that a few months in jail was preferable to a lifetime
of indigo cultivation. 5
Most of the ryots whom the Indigo Commission inter-
viewed in the Krishnagar jail were respectable villagers
who claimed that they had not been aware they were un-
der contract to sow and had been willing to go to court
4
Hindoo Patriot, April 28, i860.
6
J . P. 396-97, April i860.
 THE MAGISTRATES 149

because they believed in the justice of the Government.

They were convicted on false evidence and ruined with
huge fines.® T o console these ryots the Lieutenant Gover-
nor issued a proclamation assuring them that the act
would remain in force only until October 4 and that on
the report of the Indigo Commission the Government
would frame rules for the benefit of all parties.7
The administration of Act X I provided a tangible test
of the integrity of the district officers of Lower Bengal. In
February i860 Harish Chandra Mukherjee had editorial-
ized: "These civil servants are about the best specimen of
things we impost [sic], quick or dead." 8 Less than four
months later he was informing his readers about the
"dozen corrupt, bribe eating magistrates . . . who have
prostituted themselves . . ." in executing Act XI.® By
March 1860 conditions were favorable for effective admin-
istration because, for the first time since the British as-
sumed responsibility for their government, the districts of
Lower Bengal were provided with an adequate comple-
ment of officials. T h e District of Nadia, for example, had
been divided into four subdivisions with officers posted at
the head of each. William James Herschel, the District
Magistrate, was assisted by A. T . Maclean, C. Betts, M. G.
Taylor, F. Platts and D. J . McNeile. Of these magistrates,
and, in fact, of all the magistrates stationed in Lower Ben-
gal in i860, only Herschel measured up to the high stand-
ards usually associated with the Indian Civil Service. 10
6
See testimonies of various ryots in R. I. C., A. 1414, 3043, 3196,
3206, 3208, and 3218 ff.
? J . P. 234, Sept. i860.
* Hindoo Patriot, Feb. 4, i860.
fl
Hindoo Patriot, May 26, i860.
10
William James Herschel (1832-1917) was appointed Officiating
Magistrate of Nadia District on February 20, i860. Both his father
and grandfather were distinguished British astronomers. Herschel
150 THE BLUE MUTINY

Within one month after taking up his assignment in

Nadia, Herschel came into direct conflict with James
Forlong. T h e magistrate went in person to one of For-
long's villages to read the peasants the Lieutenant Gover-
nor's notification of March 14. Forlong and his gumashta
were present, and Herschel ordered them to leave at once.
Forlong later complained to Arthur Grote, the Commis-
sioner of Nadia Division, who criticized Herschel for giv-
ing way before the mob. In answer the magistrate argued
he had wanted to dissociate himself from the planter and
thereby prevent the notification from assuming pro-planter
connotations. 11 Herschel again clashed with Grote when he
supported a group of villagers in a claim against George
Meares of the Lokenathpur Concern. Meares had deliber-
ately burnt down the villagers' houses and refused to pay
adequate damages in view of their "poor behavior" in not
sowing indigo. Herschel ruled in favor of the ryots, but
Grote reversed the decision asserting that the magistrate
had too readily accepted the villagers' estimate of their
losses.12
On the other hand Herschel firmly insisted that the
ryots remain orderly, and by persuasion and authority re-
strained them from acts of mischief and violence. While

himself was a pioneer in the science of dactylography. T h e common

occurrence of forgery and fraud in indigo contracts first prompted
him to put his knowledge of fingerprinting to practical use. In 1859
he required his ryots in Hugli District to affix their prints to deeds
of contract, and thus demonstrated the individuality and persistence
of fingerprints. In his testimony before the Indigo Commission he
recommended the use of fingerprints in the registration of indigo
contracts, but his suggestion was ignored and it was not until 1892
that fingerprinting was first given official trial by the police in India.
Henry Cotton, Indian and Home Memories (London, 1 9 1 1 ) , p. 68;
Times (London), Oct. 25, 1917.
1 1 R . I. C., A. 3507 (Forlong); J . P. 223-25, March 29, i860.
12 J . P. 386-92, April i860.
 T H E MAGISTRATES 151

agreeing to hear specific complaints, he refused to accept

the large number of vague and irrelevant petitions
brought to his kachahri. He arrested those leaders whom
he considered dangerous to the peace, and forbade the
ryots to visit other villages in groups of larger than five.13
In Bangaon Subdivision at the end of March he punished
the ryots who had attacked Larmour's assistant, J . S.
Campbell of the Mulnath Concern. While assuring the
ryots, in the presence of Larmour, that he would never
permit a planter to cut the crops on a ryot's land without
the cultivator's consent, he strongly advised them to fulfil
their contracts and warned them that he would send for
the military police if there were any further violence. His
visits brought quiet to Bangaon for a short time. 14
T h e peace at Bangaon was broken on April 8 when the
darogha went to Narianpur Village to read the proclama-
tion explaining Act X I . T h e ryots greeted him with laugh-
ter and said "they would obey no such order." When he
arrested four of their leaders, the darogha was attacked by
two hundred ryots from a neighboring village and his pris-
oners were rescued. D. J . McNeile, the Joint Magistrate,
arrived on the following day. With the help of a factory
jamadar he entered the homes of the villagers, arrested
nineteen who were pointed out as leading enemies of the
factory, fined them and sentenced them to six months im-
prisonment. He dismissed the village chaukidars (watch-
men) who had refused to cooperate with the darogha and
reported that the resistance which Herschel had suppressed
in March was now widespread. Grote blamed the darogha
for the revival of ill-feeling, calling his arrest of the four

13
R . I. C., A. 2836-40 (Herschel); J . P. 223-25 and 259, March 29,
i860.
14
R. I. C., A. 3486 (D. J . McNeile) and 3 5 1 2 (Herschel).
152 THE BLUE MUTINY

men "arbitrary and injudicious." 1 5 A few months later

Grote censured McNeile himself for attempting to arrest
some village leaders at night without warrants and with
only a small body of police. T h e villagers had forced him
to retreat and had rescued their leaders. 16
Another of Herschel's assistants, C. Betts, Deputy Magis-
trate of Damurhuda, also displayed a lack of discretion. On
April g, through information furnished by James Forlong,
Betts arrested T i t u Chakravarty, a mukhtar of the ryots,
on a charge that he was instigating the cultivators to break
their agreements. Under Act X I he sentenced the mukhtar
to six months imprisonment and a two-hundred rupee
fine. Grote strongly disapproved of the proceedings be-
cause it had deprived the ryots of legal advice, and at the
end of May he transferred Betts to another district. T h e
Lieutenant Governor called for a closer supervision by
Grote to prevent similar occurrences in the future, and the
affair became a cause célèbre in the Calcutta press. 17
On April 17, Deputy Magistrate A . T . Maclean, at the
instigation of planter George Meares, issued a parwana
prohibiting rice from being sown on lands which were
claimed by the factory to have been sown in previous
years with indigo. Maclean sent his head darogha, Girish
Chandra Bose, on a tour of Meares' factories and wherever
Meares' gumashta demanded land for indigo, the darogha
prohibited the cultivation of rice. Before the rice crops
could be damaged Herschel countermanded the order and
on April 19 issued his own parwana, applicable through-
out Nadia District, declaring that no ryot could be forced

15
J . P. 393 95, April i860; Hindoo Patriot, A p r i l 28, i860.
' « R . I. C., A. 3488 (McNeile); C. R . O., J u d . and Leg. Des.
Reed., No. 29, May 15 and No. 52, Aug. 7, i860.
17
Hindoo Patriot, M a y 5, i860; J . P. 386-92, A p r i l i860; C. R . O.,
J u d . and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 38, J u n e 15, i860.
 T H E MAGISTRATES 1 53
18
to sow indigo where rice was already growing. The
planters were enraged by Herschel's parwana, which the
darogha mistakenly, or perhaps intentionally, published in
its entirety. A l t h o u g h it encouraged some ryots to cultivate
rice on indigo lands, it undoubtedly saved many families
from starvation. T h e planters now met at Forlong's home
and, in vain, petitioned the Lieutenant Governor to re-
move Herschel f r o m their district. 19
In Jessore District the sowing season of i860 took a
somewhat different turn. Herschel's parwana of April 19
had no application there, and if a planter claimed that
land under rice belonged under indigo, the magistrate
supported him. In the absence of a single sympathetic offi-
cer, whatever freedom the ryots achieved was accomplished
entirely through their own efforts. T h e Officiating Magis-
trate of Jessore, E. W . Molony, had received his assign-
ment because he had been considered one of the most
intelligent, active and successful magistrates, but his con-
duct during the indigo disturbances was according to a
Government report, "objectionable"—a strong reprimand
coming from an officialdom given to understatement.20 His
assistant, C. B. Skinner, the Joint Magistrate of Jessore,
was the most reprehensible of all the magistrates of i860.
On March 17 Skinner went to Thana Kalopole in the
northwest part of Jessore where the ryots were refusing to
sow to read them the notification of the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor. Almost 10,000 men gathered to hear the magistrate.
When, after hearing the notification, the ryots still refused
18
R. I. C „ A. 3462 (Girish Chandra Bose); J . P. 396-97, April 7,
i860.
19
R . I. C., A. 2781 (R. Chardon, planter), 1297 (Rev. C. H.
Blumhardt), 3 1 2 6 (A. Hills, planter), 3191 (Forlong) ; Hindoo
Patriot, March 19, i860; C. R. O., Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 38,
June 15, i860.
20
C. R. O., Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 60, Nov. 23, i860.
 T H E
154 BLUE MUTINY

to sow, Skinner decided to arrest their leaders. T h e next

day his darogha went to select a mandai from every village
on the pretext that they were needed to confer with the
magistrate. Forty-nine were selected and sent to Jessore for
confinement. Forty-five of them agreed to sow and were re-
leased; four did not and Avere ordered imprisoned for six
months. T h e y petitioned the Lieutenant Governor on
March 28, accusing Skinner of frequently visiting Meares
and of issuing orders from Meares' factory. 2 1 Meanwhile,
the mob had tried to rescue the prisoners, but, discouraged
by the boldness of the magistrate and the prudent counsel
of their leaders, the crowd finally dispersed without vio-
lence. Skinner directed the darogha to identify the ring-
leaders of the attempted rescue and four days later the
darogha appeared with seventeen men and four others who
were witnesses to their deeds. T h e seventeen were com-
mitted, but in J u n e all except one were released by Belli,
the Judge of Jessore. 22
Skinner's conduct in a dispute at the end of March
proved to be his downfall. One of the servants of George
Meares, who had intruded into the company of some ryots
while they were discussing whether or not to sow, charged
that the ryots had used abusive language toward him and
attempted to assault him, though he had not been injured.
On this petty charge Skinner ordered eighteen villagers
apprehended. T h e y were kept in close confinement until
their trials one to two weeks later. When brought before
Skinner he did not allow them to confront their accuser
and, instead of indicating the actual charge, told them
they were charged with illegal assemblage and " f o r not
sowing indigo." After they still refused to sow he sen-
tenced them each to 20 rupees fine, and three weeks im-

21 J . P. 264-66, March 29, i860.

22
Hindoo Patriot, May 26 and July 4, i860.
 T H E MAGISTRATES 155

prisonment with labor. At the end of two weeks half the

prisoners agreed to sow on the planter's terms and they
were set free. Molony then took over the case and con-
tinued in the line of his predecessor. The Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, informed of these events through the Indian Field
and Hindoo Patriot?3 called upon Skinner and Molony
for an explanation. Molony pleaded that prompt measures
had been necessary to preserve the peace of the district
during a time of emergency. The Lieutenant Governor
did not accept his explanation but excused him in view of
his excellent record and because he had entered the case
when it was almost over. Skinner was held "blameworthy,"
and the Lieutenant Governor wrote, "This case throws a
strong light on the habitual action of the Magisterial
Courts in the Indigo Districts . . ." in condoning in-
justice.24
T h e correspondent of the Hindoo Patriot in Jessore,
Sisir Kumar Ghose, closely followed the proceedings of
Skinner, while the joint magistrate tried desperately to dis-
cover the author of the damaging reports. Sisir wrote of
Skinner's frequent social visits with various planters and
of his exonerating planters who had committed outrages.
In one case Skinner tried to conceal an affray with murder
involving a planter, John Driver, of the Mirganj Concern.
The commissioner reprimanded Skinner and committed
the case to Judge Belli who found five of the factory serv-
ants guilty of affray, but could not prove that the planter,
who was represented by the venerable barrister Longue-
ville Clarke, was present during the murder. 25

23
C. R . O., J u d . and Leg. Des. Reed., N o . 43, J u l y 2, i860.
24
Letter f r o m Seton-Karr, Secy, to Govt, of Bengal, to Lushington,
Sept. 22, i860, published in Hindoo Patriot, Oct. 10, i860.
25
Bagal, Peasant Revolution in Bengal, passim.; Hindoo Patriot,
N o v . s8, i860.
156 THE BLUE MUTINY

Molony was similarly denounced. One ryot called

Molony the "Boro Patramara" and Skinner the "Choto
Patramara," a "patramara" being one who lives on the
bounty of another. In one case Sisir accused Molony of
holding five villagers accused of cattle trespass in a godown
for one month before the trial, and during the trial itself
of permitting the planter to sit beside him on the bench. 26
Another correspondent of the Hindoo Patriot wrote that
he had been in hiding for twenty days to avoid execution
of a warrant for his arrest by Molony. He described
Molony holding court in a tent under a pipai tree sur-
rounded by a bodyguard of the Lahore Light Horse. As a
jail, he employed a small brick factory godown which
could hold only fifteen men comfortably. T h e ryots, not
realizing they would be imprisoned there instead of in the
station civil jail, refused his order to sow. Packed into the
godown where they could barely move, they finally agreed
to cultivate indigo. 27
Another officer denounced by Sisir K u m a r was M. G.
Taylor, who had been stationed at Kurimpur in Nadia
until his transfer to Magura Subdivision in Jessore at the
end of April for awarding double damages to planters.
A f t e r his transfer T a y l o r began to exercise greater care in
deciding cases. But toward the end of August he was in-
vited to a meeting at Robert Savi's Nohata Concern where
a number of planters counseled him, and from that time
on, according to the writer, he reverted to his old habits. 28
Along with Nadia and Jessore the area now known as
Kushtia, which in i860 was that part of Pabna District
south of the Ganges, was the scene of considerable unrest
during the indigo disturbances. T h e ryots of Kushtia were
26
Bagal, Peasant Revolution, p. 13.
27
Hindoo Patriot, May 5, i860.
28
Bagal, Peasant Revolution, p. 43.
 THE MAGISTRATES Ιό?
well organized, many of them were trained lathiyals, and
behind their strong stand was the patronage of Ramrutton
Roy and his agent, Mohesh Chandra Chatterjee. H. Mus-
pratt, the Officiating Magistrate of Pabna, proved, like
Molony of Jessore, to be inadequate to the situation. Early
in the year Muspratt asked for fifty military police in case
the disturbances should spread to Pabna from neighboring
Nadia, and in traveling about the area advised the ryots to
obey the planters and not follow the bad example of the
ryots of Nadia. He arrested one ryot for contempt of court
for refusing to sow indigo; pointed out to other ryots that
the Government favored indigo planting, and called the
ryots' complaints greatly exaggerated. 29 The Lieutenant
Governor wrote the Commissioner of Rajshahi, Muspratt's
superior, that the magistrate's jailing a man for contempt
of court was "unwarranted and absurd" since he was not
holding court at the time. "It is not the way, in reasoning
with people, to put them in jail when they can't be con-
vinced. Mr. Muspratt's conduct to a man who had actually
done nothing wrong was arbitrary and irritating, and the
man should be immediately released from custody." Mus-
pratt's report, continued the Lieutenant Governor, "is not
so narrated as to give the impression that either the Ryot,
the Planter, or the Magistrate was aware that Ryots are, in
the theory of the Law, free agents." 30
Nor was Muspratt more fortunate in his assistant than
Malony had been in Skinner. In April Muspratt dis-
patched the Deputy Magistrate of Kumarkhali, E. F. Ling-
ham, to investigate a charge by Durand, a planter of
southeast Pabna, that the ryots of Jungal Village were de-
stroying indigo plant. Lingham spent his first night at
Durand's factory, ignored the ryots' counter-petitions and
28
J . P. 425-33, April i860.
30 Ibid.
158 THE BLUE MUTINY

on the next morning rode out with 24 police to chastise

1200 ryots. Meeting resistance, he tried to retreat, but his
men were surrounded and showered with spears, clods and
bamboos. He refused to allow his police to fire in self-
protection, running back and forth before them and turn-
ing their muskets into the air. As a ryot was about to strike
him he was rescued by one of his men, and the intrepid
police escaped with only two wounded.
From the safety of an indigo factory Lingham wrote that
Ramrutton Roy's agent was responsible for the attack, that
Bengalis were untrustworthy and underhanded people,
and that, since irregular troops could not be depended
upon for defense, British troops should be utilized to pro-
tect persons and authority. In reply the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor strongly reprimanded Lingham as incompetent, and
was particularly displeased with his remarks blaming the
military police, who had shown great courage under the
circumstances, for his own absurd behavior under fire.
Lingham was deprived of his police powers and trans-
ferred to Shahabad to try petty revenue and criminal
cases. 31
T h e magistrates were as incompetent on the bench as
they were in the field. Of all the officers administering
Act X I in April and May, only Herschel took care to
weigh the evidence carefully and decide cases justly. T h e
fault was not entirely that of the magistrates who had cor-
rectly assessed that the intention of the law was to coerce
the ryots into sowing indigo, and that as a summary law,
Act X I called for hurried and superficial judgments. On a
number of important points the law was vague, and the
magistrates were puzzled by such questions as whether or
not they could decide on the validity of agreements made
in previous years but not referring specifically to i860.
31
J · P· 434-4 6 . A p r i l i860.
 THE MAGISTRATES 159

T h e Advocate General increased the severity of the law by

ruling on April 21 that by "agreement" the law meant
"the custom of the concern," and that an agreement could
be valid which only "implied" that a cash advance had
been given for 1860.32
Another difficulty was the lack of uniform rules of evi-
dence. In April the Lieutenant Governor warned the
magistrates that absolute proof was necessary to convict a
ryot, and that if a ryot denied a contract, the magistrate
must seek independent evidence. His warning went un-
heeded. As evidence of an advance the magistrates ac-
cepted the sworn testimony of the planter and his servants
supported by the untrustworthy account books of the fac-
tory. Although the ryots usually denied the contracts, the
testimony and evidence against them were accepted with-
out question. 33 M. G. Taylor told ryots in need of wit-
nesses to bring their wives into court to testify, but this
only served to discourage the ryots from appearing in court
at all. 34
T h i s flagrant negligence led to many cases of glaring
injustice. Maclean convicted a ryot sued by the Khalbolia
Concern who had been dead for thirteen years. In spite of
a provision in the act for prosecution of a false plaint,
Maclean let the case drop after the error was discovered. 88
Platts tried two cases under Section V of the act in which
the defendants were accused of "intimidating" ryots who,
it was later discovered, had never entered into contracts.
T h i s legal blunder was rectified by the Lieutenant Gover-
nor. 86 A ryot of the Khalbolia Concern testified that at his
32 Selections from Records, Part III, pp. 379-90.
33 J. p. 386-92, April i860; R . I. C., A . 3502 (A. T a y l o r , planter),
3505 (Forlong) and 3435 (G. Clarke, planter).
34 Hindoo Patriot, M a y 12, i860.
35 R . I. C., A. 3078 and 3083 (A. T . Maclean).
36 C. R . O., Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed., N o . 36, June 1, i860.
ι6ο THE BLUE MUTINY

trial the signature which he signed before Maclean dif-

fered from the one he was alleged to have signed on the
contract used as evidence against him. 37 Maclean fined a
ryot on evidence given by factory servants hired long after
the contract they claimed to have witnessed had been
signed. 38 In another case agreements purporting to be four
years old were written on stamped paper purchased only
one year before. Finally the Indigo Commission found two
ryots in the Nadia jail convicted of contract violations who
were "stone blind." 3 9
T h e damages awarded by these magistrates were equally
unjust. Although the planters had no reason to claim more
than the customary 10 rupees per bigah damages, they
were often awarded 20. In J u n e Herschel framed rules for
determining the amount of damages to be awarded.
Henceforth the magistrates of Nadia were to examine the
factory account books for the past three to five years, ascer-
tain the number of bundles with which each ryot was
credited, calculate the average number of bundles per
year, and after deducting the expense of the ryots, decree
the actual profit which would have accrued to the planter,
who was in any case to receive no more than 10 rupees
per bigah.40
Although there was no provision for an appeal, both the
commissioners and the Lieutenant Governor frequently
intervened for the sake of justice. Grote's successor, E. H.
Lushington, released forty prisoners who were jailed for
contract and cattle trespass cases. Grant remanded some
sentences of a deputy magistrate who had decided seventy-
nine cases in four days and awarded exorbitant damages in

17
R. I. C., A. 3043 (Mandari Biswas, ryot).
3ä
R. I. C., A. 3050 (Buddun Mandai, ryot).
39
J . P. 232-39, Sept. i860.
40
R. I. C„ A. 3178 (Forlong); Hindoo Patriot, June 16, i860.
 THE MAGISTRATES l6l

all of them. H e remitted sentences which he considered

had been decided on insufficient evidence, misconceptions
of the law, or in which the fines were excessive. 41
Another expedient used by the Lieutenant Governor
was to censure and reassign magistrates. A l t h o u g h Grant
denied tampering with the administration of justice, by
the middle of June he had effected many refreshing per-
sonnel changes. Grote himself was replaced by Ε. H . Lush-
ington, who had served as Secretary to the Government of
Bengal, and whose views were more in accord with those
of the Lieutenant Governor. A c t X I cases in D a m u r h u d a
were taken out of the hands of Maclean and turned over
to J. S. Bell and A . Davidson, Principal Sadr Amins, and
Maclean was transferred to Krishnagar on June 11. T a y l o r
was transferred to Magura Subdivision; Mackenzie was re-
moved to Narial and not allowed to try indigo contract
cases, and Molony and Skinner of Jessore were later cen-
sured and after June 21 their cases taken over by Belli, the
Judge of Jessore. Herschel alone won the approval of his
superiors. W h e n , on May 10, the Indigo Planters' Associa-
tion complained to the Government against Herschel,
the Lieutenant Governor investigated his proceedings.
Herschel was exonerated and praised for his judicious con-
duct. T h e Secretary of State commented: " T h e result of
the investigation is highly creditable to Mr. Herschel and
such as entitled him to the cordial support of the Local
Government in conducting the duties of his difficult
position." 42

In June the planters of Damurhuda became exasperated

4 1 C . R . O., Jud. and Leg. Des. to India, Orig. Drafts, Vol. 3,

No. 120, Sept. 20, i860; Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 36, June 1
and No. 38, June 15, i860; J. P. 386-92, April i860; Hindoo Patriot,
June 23, i860.
42 C. R. O., Jud. and Leg. Des. to India, Orig. Drafts, Vol. 3,

No. 120, Sept. 20, i860.

I62 T H E BLUE M U T I N Y

with the activities of Bell and Davidson. On his first day in

office Bell dismissed twenty-one of Maclean's cases. T h e
two sadr amins required as proof of contract violation
more than the planter's word or the factory accounts.
T h e y rigidly cross-examined witnesses and took down
depositions for the defense, a hitherto unknown proceed-
ing. 43 One planter complained that the sadr arnins had
cross examined some of his factory servants after he had
left the court and that because their statements varied
slightly from his the cases had been dismissed. T h e same
planter had won every suit brought before Maclean and
Betts and lost every one brought before Bell and David-
son.44 Other planters complained that the sadr amins
raised numerous petty objections never thought of before
by a magistrate, nominated their own witnesses, often ene-
mies of the concern, dismissed hundreds of cases, and
awarded insufficient damages. 45 James Forlong, George
Meares and other planters of Damurhuda withdrew their
cases before the sadr amins, considering the law as now
administered to be "a mockery." 4 ®
Herschel, J u d g e Belli of Jessore, and Bell and Davidson
made fewer judicial errors than the other officers, not be-
cause they sided invariably with the ryots—for they did not
—but because they spent long hours patiently trying to
ascertain the facts in each case. T h e younger and less ex-
perienced magistrate took an easier course. He heard the
planter present his case in English supported by docu-
ments and the sworn testimony of numerous factory assist-
ants. Even before the trial the planter had won over the

43
Hindoo Patriot, J u l y 4 and J u n e 23, i860.
44
R . I. C., 3498 ff. (A. Taylor, planter).
45
R . I. C., A. 3368 and 3378 (G. Meares, planter), 3437 (G. Clark,
planter), 3418 (M. Tweedie, planter).
40
R . I. C., A. 3182 83 (Forlong).
 T H E MAGISTRATES 163

y o u n g magistrate by offering h i m a fine dinner and an

evening of pleasant conversation. In court the magistrate
first met the defendant, an inarticulate ryot w h o gave em-
phasis to his argument by exaggeration. T o understand his
language and to disentangle the truths from the half-truths
required u n c o m m o n patience and sympathy. If the ryot
was represented by a mukhtar, the "impertinent b a b u "
may have annoyed the magistrate more than the ryot him-
self. U n d e r the pressure of personal sentiment, over-
whelmed by the hundreds of cases on his agenda a n d
oppressed by the heat of a Bengal summer, the magistrate
took the easier course. In all this the magistrates knew that
they were b e i n g true to the spirit of the law as drafted by
the Legislative Council. B u t by violating the orders and
intentions of their administrative superior, the L i e u t e n a n t
Governor of Bengal, they were jeopardizing their o w n ca-
reers. Harish Chandra M u k h a r j e e understood this when,
at the end of May, he wrote:

T h e wretched officials who have prostituted themselves on this

occasion will find that long after ryots and planters shall have
settled their accounts, salary bills will wait the fiat of sterner
enquirers than those who are now teaching honesty to the
planters. 47

A l t h o u g h once A c t X I had expired the animosities it

had generated jeopardized the indigo industry of L o w e r
Bengal for years to come, the law did succeed in saving
three-quarters of the i860 crop. 48 Most ryots fulfilled their
contracts under protest, and successful resistance was lim-
ited to certain villages cultivating for a few concerns. 49

47 Hindoo Patriot, M a y 26, i860.

48 R . I. C . , A . 2819 ( H e r s c h e l ) .
4 9 See R . I. C . , A . 3335-43. 2780, 34°6, S ' 9 1 . 2°3!-34> 3427- 3286-88

a n d 2985 f o r statistics o n s o w i n g g i v e n by v a r i o u s l e a d i n g p l a n t e r s
w h o e x p e r i e n c e d difficulties.
164 T H E BLUE MUTINY

Since almost all ryots had equal reason to renounce the

cultivation of indigo, the concentration of the resistance
must be explained by other factors. Among these Avas the
proximity of Herschel and the ryots' confidence in his pro-
tection. Another was the vitality of local leadership. A
third, but less important factor, was the nature of the cul-
tivation. Where the concern was also the landholder, in
ilaka cultivation, or where the concern hired the laborers
directly, in nijabad, cultivation, there was less difficulty in
getting indigo sown. Even so, Herschel noted that, though
defiance was more common in be-ilaka villages, "the plant-
ers appeared to stand upon very tender ground in their
own zemindarys."60
At the end of May the Government reported that the
number of Act X I cases in Nadia was increasing, one thou-
sand more were pending and another thousand antici-
cipated. 51 In Jessore, on the other hand, there was little
resort to Act XI. Only six cases were filed in Jessore by
May 10 and only eighteen men had been imprisoned as
compared to eight hundred in Nadia. 52 In Barasat there
were still fewer cases.53 Why did the planters of Nadia
make greater use of Act X I than those of Jessore and other
districts? In the Damurhuda Subdivision of Nadia District
James Forlong had led the planters in instituting cases.
Forlong, as a comparatively honest planter, must have as-
sumed that his advances had been received by the ryots
and that his contracts were legitimate. But as manager of
all the concerns of James Hills and Company he could not
supervise every factory gumashta, and the ryots undoubt-
edly received very little. Apparently in Jessore, where

5 ° R . I. C., A. 2820.
51
C. R. O., Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 36, June 1, i860.
52
Englishman, May 14, i860.
" C. R. O., Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 36, June 1, i860.
 THE MAGISTRATES 1 65

there was no sympathetic magistrate, the ryots sowed out

of desperation, or in those cases where oppression was un-
bearable, resorted to acts of violence, making them liable
to prosecution under other laws. Because of the indiffer-
ence of Molony and Skinner, the planters themselves were
more disposed to resort to force. T h e planters of Nadia
relied more on legal coercion, those of Jessore, on violence.
T h e police were an additional factor in restraining the
violence of the Nadia planters, while encouraging that of
the Jessore planters. Herschel, who as magistrate headed
the police establishment, infused his police with higher
standards of conduct; or, more accurately, the police at-
tempted to win his favor by a show of impartiality. Only a
strong magistrate, exercising close supervision, could pre-
vent the police from yielding entirely to the bribes of the
planters. T h e corruption of the police was admitted by
everyone. According to Ghirish Chunder Bose, First Class
Darogha of Nadia, out of the sixteen daroghas in his dis-
trict, only six did not take bribes under any circumstances.
On the lower echelons the police were all corrupt. T h e
money paid to the daroghas and other police officers was
authorized by the factory manager and entered in his ac-
counts under " L a w Suits," but the items and the names of
the receivers were not mentioned. 54 T h e bribes were rela-
tively large; Meares admitted bribing one darogha with
200 rupees so that he would favor the factory, but because
of Herschel he still did not receive "fair play" and his
money was wasted. Generally, in Nadia the police followed
the example of the magistrate immediately superior to
them. Until Herschel took close charge, they joined
Maclean, Taylor, Betts and McNeile in encouraging the
ryots to sow. On the other hand, the chaukidars, as watch-
men employed by the villagers, usually sided with the
54
R. I. C., A. 3388 (G. Meares).
1 66 THE BLUE MUTINY

ryots.58 In Jessore the police had no reason to oppose the

planters and thereby forfeit their bribes.
A letter from a Krishnagar planter published in the
Englishman complained of the new class of daroghas who
"combine with their English education all the vices of
Europeans" and who "hate Englishmen as they do poi-
son." It gave some examples, among them a darogha styled
"Grease Booze" (Ghirish Bose) who, the writer says, de-
liberately misconstrued the parwana of April 19 which
Herschel intended to be his private instructions, by riding
around the villages and telling the ryots to sow paddy un-
der the magistrate's orders. " H e has been mainly the cause
of the bitter feeling now existing between the Ryots and
Planters in this Thannah." 5 ® As one planter testified, if
Molony had been in Nadia and Herschel in Jessore, the
situation would have been reversed.67
With the end of the sowing season, the planters grew
apprehensive for the care, harvest and delivery of the crop.
T h e Lieutenant Governor, who, according to Canning,
made "the worst of anything out of the common course," 58
expected a renewal of the disturbances and increased his
military police forces.59 Though not as intense as sowing
disputes, weeding, cutting and delivery disputes occurred
throughout Lower Bengal. 60
The disturbances also affected the buna coolies, the
tribals who were employed each season by the planters for
the manufacturing process. One planter of Jessore wrote
that the coolies were now asking for a 5-rupee advance and
M R . I. C., A. 3461-62 (Ghirish Chandra Bose).
56
Englishman, June 13, 1860.
57
R. I. C., A. 3015 (James Tissendie).
58
H. P., Canning to Wood, June 13, i860.
58
H. P., Canning to Wood, May 30, i860.
60
C. R. O., Jud. and Leg. Des. Reed, No. 52, Aug. 7, i860;
Englishman, July 13, i860; Hindoo Patriot, Aug. 22, i860.
 T H E MAGISTRATES 1 67

5 rupees per month pay as against their former advance

of 2 rupees and correspondingly low monthly wage. In the
previous year less than two-thirds of his usual contingent,
many of them boys, had reported for work. Complaining
that the coolies were ungrateful, he continued, " I believe
I am thought of well by these coolies who know every
Planter as a shoemaker knows his last, for I pay them from
the day they leave their homes till the day they return to
them, and feed them every Sunday (that the day may re-
main more strongly fixed than the others on their mem-
ory) with fish." Because of the shortage of coolies he could
not work his full complement of vats and lost a consider-
able proportion of his crop. 81
T o w a r d the end of J u l y the Central Committee of the
Indigo Planters' Association petitioned the Governor Gen-
eral to restrain Grant from interfering with the operation
of Act X I . T h e y accused him of trying to throw the indigo
districts, especially Nadia, into lawless confusion and said
that his misrule would ruin the planters. 82 At Canning's
request Grant answered their charges with one of his cus-
tomarily incisive minutes. He denied that the indigo dis-
tricts were in a state of confusion. In Nadia, for the first
time in years, the Government was preventing affrays,
forcible entries, the unlawful carrying off of crops and
cattle, the plowing up of other men's lands, destruction of
trees and homes and confinement in godowns. Everywhere
in Nadia law and justice now prevailed, and if the planters
had advanced money for crops they now have the legal
means of obtaining either possession of the crop or com-
pensation. " T h i s healthy state of things is new indeed and
if Government is accused, because it is new I will not de-
fend Government on that charge. And I cannot admit that
61
Englishman, June 7, i860.
82
J. P. 232-39, Sept. i860.
168 T H E B L U E MUTINY

this practical introduction of the supremacy of the Law

into the Indigo Districts is evidence of 'confusion.' " He
could not be blamed if Act X I was not working out to the
benefit of the planters, since it was not his fault that the
majority of claims had broken down when suits were tried
in a thorough manner. Those sentences which he had teen
forced to remand were in cases which "shook the con-
fidence of the people in our just intentions." He noted
that the crisis had been long expected and that not ' the
most sanguine of those who expected the sudden and vio-
lent break-up of a false system, ever expected that the
crisis would pass over so peacefully as it has done, and on
the whole with so little injury to the great interest at
stake." He denied that the struggle was between capital
and labor, for the ryots were also capitalists and their
aggregate capital is greater than that of the planters. T h e i r
well-being "must be ranked second to none, in an agricul-
tural country like India."®3
At the end of August J . P. Grant left Calcutta for an
inspection tour of the railway works at Sirajganj in north-
east Pabna. On his way up the Kumar and Kaliganga
rivers through the heart of Kushtia, "numerous crowds of
raiyats appeared at various places, whose whole prayer was
for an order of Government that they should not cultivate
indigo." 64 At one place, as he was passing the Salgamudia
factory of Thomas Kenny, two hundred ryots assembled
on either side of the river, joined hands and called out for
justice with a loud, lamentable groan. Grant directed his
steamer to anchor and some headmen were taken on
board. All the petitions taken were referred to the local
authorities, but many ryots were not satisfied and followed
the ship to Pabna. 65

63 Ibid.
64
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 192.
05 Hindoo Patriot, Sept. 19, i860.
 T H E MAGISTRATES 1 6Q

A few days later Grant steamed back through Kushtia

and was astonished to find the banks lined with thousands
of men, women, and children calling for justice. He was
impressed by their earnest though respectful and orderly
demeanor and by their "organization and capacity for
combined and simultaneous action." ββ Canning wrote
Wood that the demonstration had
. . . caused me more anxiety than I have had since the days of
Delhi. . . . A people who can do this, and do it soberly and
intelligently, may be weak and unresistful individually, but
as a mass they cannot be dealt with too carefully. . . . From
that day I felt that a shot fired in anger or fear by one
foolish planter might put every factory in Lower Bengal in
flames. . . 67
On his return from Sirajganj the Lieutenant Governor
recommended that Canning issue a notification that would
"calm the minds of the masses, now wound up to a state
of intense excitement." He argued that the season for offer-
ing new advances was approaching, and should any new
attempts be made to force the ryots to sow, they would,
"from the observed temper of the people . . . be violently
resisted." Grant drafted a notification informing the ryots
that all disputes must be settled by legal means and that
ryots would never be compelled to sow indigo.88 But
Canning, after agreeing to issue a notification, amended
the one suggested by Grant by adding "the Government
hopes that the cultivation of Indigo will be continued
. . ." and by including a strong warning to the ryots against
intimidating anyone who wished to sow indigo.69
This was the first indication of a difference of attitude
on the indigo question between Canning and Grant. Can-

66
J . P. 237, Sept. i860.
67
H. P., Canning to Wood, Oct. 30, i860.
e8
J . P. 237-38, Sept. i860.
69
J . P. 409-16, Nov. i860.
170 THE BLUE MUTINY

ning felt that Grant kept too much to himself and die not
make sufficient use of his personal influence to restrair the
indigo planters. He wrote Wood: "Grant has been ge.ting
a little off his balance. He has a biting pen and does not
take pains to conceal his anti-Planter convictions." 70
Grant differed with Canning on two fundamental is>ues.
First, the Lieutenant Governor recognized that a chinge
in temper had occurred among the ryots. They would
never agree to sow indigo, and if the Government were to
support the planters, it would have a full scale revolt on
its hands. Canning felt that, by the end of October i860
the danger of insurrection was past and the ryots would
sow again if the planters gave them adequate remunera-
tion. Second, the Governor General was concerned with
the survival of the indigo industry. He felt that the "vi-
cious system" practised in Bengal was not necessary to its
cultivation and he cited as proof the more lenient Madras
system. 71 Canning believed that the better planters would
weather the crisis and that a reformed indigo system would
emerge, drawing British capital to India for the benefit of
all its people. Grant, on the other hand, believed that the
indigo industry was finished in Lower Bengal. It had come
into conflict with a far greater interest, and to him there
was no question as to which was the more important.
T h e period of the operation of Act X I now drew to a
close. By invoking the act, the planters managed to get a
large percentage of their normal crop sown. But instead of
using the opportunity for any long term reforms to con-
ciliate the ryots, the planters took advantage of the law to
coerce the ryots with claims far in excess of their actual
profits and to impoverish respectable ryots who had to sell
their land and cattle to pay off their fines or remain in
70
H . P., C a n n i n g to W o o d , Oct. 1, i860.
71
H . P., Canning to W o o d , Oct. 30, i860.
 THE MAGISTRATES 171
72
prison. Wood wrote: "The system was thoroughly rotten.
The planters would not take timely measures to meet the
change of circumstances and are suffering the conse-
quences." 73
On October 5, the day following the expiration of Act
XI, the Lieutenant Governor reviewed the administrative
reforms made necessary by the disturbances and by the
findings of the Indigo Commission. Among these reforms
were the further multiplication of subdivisions, police re-
form, the establishment of additional courts in the coun-
tryside, and the registration of contracts. Arrangements
were being made to place magisterial courts at points not
over thirty miles apart throughout Lower Bengal. Below
these Grant recommended an increase in the number of
munsif courts, presided over by Indian judges, which
would make justice available to every ryot.74
With the expiration of Act X I the planters resorted to
new forms of coercion. Those who were landholders relied
increasingly on their power to raise rents and expel the
ryots from the land. The indigo disturbances now con-
tinued along a new course and evolved into the kind of
agrarian disputes which were to plague Bengal and jeo-
pardize the Permanent Settlement for many decades to
come.
72
Hindoo Patriot, June 2, i860.
7S
H. P., Wood to Grant, Jan. 9, 1861.
71
J . P. 409-16, Nov. i860.
 Vili
" K i Hookum?"
Bidyae gaen ane Learning brings knowledge,
gaene ase mukti through knowledge comes
salvation.

"KI HOOKUM?" "WHAT ORDER? GIVE US AN ORDER." THUS,

early in 1861, the ryots of Faridpur District sought guid-
ance from L. R. Tottenham, their District Magistrate.
Act X I of 1860 had expired, and the magistrates had been
given strict orders by the Lieutenant Governor that they
were under no circumstances to browbeat the villagers into
sowing indigo. T h e y could only warn the ryots that if they
were under contract and refused to sow, they could be
sued by the planters in the civil courts. "This I told them
in public and private, in Cutcherry, and in the fields,
wherever I met and spoke to a Ryot. T h e y never seemed
to understand that I could give no order on the subject.
T h e y always asked me 'ki hookum?' 1,1
N o wonder the ryots were puzzled. Never before had
they experienced such independence. Heretofore they had
considered the magistrate's word to be the law; now they
were confronted with an officer who could not command,
who could not order, who could only advise, who was
bound by the same rule of law as his subjects. I n the
months that followed ryots throughout the indigo districts

1 J. P. 165, M a r c h 1861.
 "ΚΙ HOOKUM?" 173

began to grasp the import of the new policy and to use the
courts with ever increasing skill. T h e planters, who could
no longer count on the support of the district officers, the
police, or a summary contract law now unsheathed a new
weapon of coercion, their zamindari powers.
In point of occurrence the rent disturbances overlapped
the indigo disturbances. As early as March i860 indigo-
cultivating tenants of the Joradah Concern in northwestern
Jessore refused to pay rent demanded by a planter-zamin-
dar. By June rent disturbances had spread to Kenny's Sal-
gamudia Concern in southern Pabna, and from there
through northern Pabna, Jessore, Nadia and western Farid-
pur. 2 T h e term "rent disturbances" referred generally to
the refusal of the ryots who were tenants of indigo planters
to pay the rent demanded, and the refusal of ryots who
were tenants-at-will to submit to eviction from lands
claimed by planters. By the spring of i860 the be-ilaka
cultivation of indigo had been virtually wiped out; that is,
ryots whose only connection with the indigo planter had
been to receive an advance and agree to a contract were
now in open revolt against cultivating indigo, usually with
the support of their Indian landlords. But when ryots as
tenants of planter-zamindars tried to resist indigo cultiva-
tion, they were threatened with rent enhancement or evic-
tion. By October i860 the payment of rent had become
the central issue between ryot and planter.
In an effort to win public sympathy the planters claimed
that the peasants, by attacking property rights, were threat-
ening the very foundations of society. Playing on their
fear of a general repudiation of rents, the planters tried to
enlist as allies the Indian zamindars whom only one year

2 Morris, Report ofthe Special Rent Commissioner, part 2, July 31,

1861; Hindoo Patriot, Aug. 1, i860; H. P., Wood to Canning, Nov. 9,
1860.
 T H E
174 BLUE MUTINY
earlier they had accused of instigating the ryots. In this
they were rather successful, and in 1861 a good many
zamindars used their influence to restore harmony be-
tween planters and ryots. 3
T o gain official support the planters denied any connec-
tion between the indigo and rent disturbances. But the
district officials found the two issues inseparable. When
Ε. H. Lushington, the Commissioner of Nadia Division,
visited factories belonging to the two largest indigo firms
in Nadia District, James Hills and Company and the
Bengal Indigo Company, he found that the ryots were will-
ing to pay their rents but were afraid of presenting them-
selves at the planters' kachahris where they could be forced
to take indigo advances. Instead, the ryots offered to pay
rents to an official collector for transfer to the planters.
T h e planters also contended that the ryots were engaged
in a vast conspiracy to drive all Europeans from the coun-
tryside, but Lushington found no general hostility toward
Europeans. Both the railway and ferry engineers were able
to find workers, and when pressed, most planters admitted
that even during the height of the indigo disturbances the
ryots had been respectful. Of the 184 cases which the plant-
ers of Nadia Division brought against ryots for assault dur-
ing the first few months of 1861, not one was for a personal
attack on a European. Most were for trespass or for petty
assaults on factory servants, and the majority of these cases
were stricken off by the magistrates. 4
Until the end of January 1861 it appeared that bothi the
rent and indigo disturbances were beginning to subside.
T h e ryots were still amenable to persuasion by the magis-
trates and spoke of indigo without the bitterness of the
past year. Herschel quoted one as telling him: " L e t the
3
J. P. 32-34 and 79-81, Jan. 1861.
4
J. P. 422-29, April 1861.
 "K.I HOOK.UM?" 175

Sahib sit at home and hold Zemindary Cutcherry, or do

Mahajunee [moneylending], and we'll keep him comfort-
able, but we don't want any advances."5
At the end of January the conflict revived. James Hills,
after failing to distribute enough advances to make cultiva-
tion economically feasible, gave up indigo sowing entirely
for 1861 and vigorously carried out his threats of rent en-
hancement and mass eviction under Act X of 1859.® The
original intention of Act X had been to protect the ryot
from the Indian zamindar and improve his position by
clearly defining his rights and placing restrictions on
zamindari powers. It limited the zamindar's right of dis-
traint and abolished his power to compel attendance of
ryots at his kachahri. In addition, Act X adopted the prin-
ciple in vogue in the North-Western Provinces where the
collectors, who were better acquainted with revenue mat-
ters than were judicial officers, were given extended powers
to try rent suits.
Act X recognized three classes of tenants. First, tenants
who rented lands at a rate that had not changed in twenty
years were entitled to a permanent settlement at that rate.
Second, those who had rented lands for from twelve to
twenty years were entitled to occupancy rights as long as
they paid their rents on time. Rents could be enhanced
only if the current rates were below the rate of rent pre-
vailing in adjacent areas, if the value of the land had been
improved by other than the ryots, or if the original meas-
urement had been inaccurate. All enhancements were sub-
ject to approval by the collectors' courts. Third, ryots who
occupied land for less than twelve years were designated
utbandi ryots or tenants-at-will and could be evicted at any
5
J . P. 244, Jan. 1861.
6
J. P. 33-35, March 1861.
176 THE BLUE MUTINY

time. Some ryots simultaneously held lands under all three

classes of tenure. 7
Until 1861 A c t X of 185g was rarely invoked because
neither zamindar nor ryot realized its full implications. It
placed a p r e m i u m on written proof of tenure, and those
ryots fortunate enough to have records had a status guar-
anteed by law. B u t those ryots w h o had been protected in
their customary tenures by the traditional vague laws and
had no proof of their length of tenure were left unpro-
tected, and A c t X contained no provision protecting cus-
tomary rights. In clarifying the rules for enhancement it
implied the right of zamindars to enhance rents which had
hitherto been fixed by custom. T h u s , in certain respects
A c t X favored the ryots, in others the zamindars.
James Hills supported his action of raising the rents of
his occupancy ryots on the rationale that the land had been
improved by his indigo concern and not by the ryots. Al-
though many of the improvements he cited were due to
natural causes, the G o v e r n m e n t replied that his proceed-
ings were lawful and that it could not interfere. 8 Follow-
ing the example of Hills, the planters deluged their tenants
with notices of enhancement which irritated the ryots and
made conciliation on indigo less likely. T h e ryots' previous
refusal to pay rents had been caused by their fear of at-
tending the planters' kachahris and because, after rejecting
indigo advances, they had been left without the cash or
credit customarily applied to their rents. N o w the ryots
were u n w i l l i n g to pay new rates which they considered
unreasonable and exorbitant, and were determined to test
their rights under A c t X in the courts. 9
T h e planters proved to be surprisingly inept at prose-

7 Baden-Powell, Land Systems, I, 641 ff.

8 J·p· 33-35· March 1861.
9 J. P. 241, April 1861.
 " K I HOOK.UM?" 177

cuting their cases. When his ryots had cultivated indigo,

the planter had been careless in rent assessments and had
paid his taxes from indigo profits. Old rates had been
allowed to stand for years; measurements had been care-
lessly made; and, in some cases, arrears had not been col-
lected so long as the ryots cultivated indigo. As the planters
had often pointed out, one of the advantages to the ilaka
ryot of cultivating indigo was a small rent. In presenting
their cases many planters either demanded rents so un-
reasonably excessive that the courts could not uphold them
or included illegal cesses which prejudiced their legitimate
claims. Even when the planters won decrees they usually
failed to execute them. Of the 1147 decrees awarded in
Nadia District between December i860 and February 1861
only 125 were executed. One reason for the planters' lack
of vigor was that rent enhancement was not their serious
objective. T h e y were interested in using their decrees to
force their ryots to cultivate indigo. 10
In contrast to the incompetence of the planters, the ryots
showed considerable determination and resourcefulness.
T h e y had been inspired by their victory in the indigo
struggle and said that the "Maharani howa" or "spirit of
the great Queen" had blown over their country. 11 One
planter wrote his agent that many of his ryots had gone to
Calcutta and returned with "grand reports" of the favor-
able disposition of the Lieutenant Governor, using this
news to encourage villagers to subscribe more money to
support lawsuits. He continued:

I believe this general union was a thing never before known

in Bengal. In fact it was a common remark, which I have heard
repeated hundreds of times, how remarkably disunited the
people were; but now, whenever a European is concerned if
10 J. P. 67 68, March 1861; 98-106 and 422-29, A p r i l 1861.
11 J. P. 67-68, March 1861.
 THE BLUE MUTINY

the R y o t s of one village m a k e a L a w s u i t , c o m m i t a breach of

the peace, or otherwise, those of the s u r r o u n d i n g villages join
in paying u p the expenses. It matters not w h a t the case may
be, each man pays his a n n a or pice r e a d i l y . 1 2

Herschel also reported that large sums were being sub-

scribed to defend criminal cases and wrote of the "unanim-
ity" of the ryots which made it impossible for the planters
to obtain witnesses for any type of suit. He attributed
their new independence in part to prosperity resulting
from the current high prices paid for agricultural pro
duce. 18
In addition to legal tactics the ryots attacked the planters
with means beyond the reach of the courts. Ryots fre-
quently coerced a factory servant into leaving his employer
by stopping all the services which an Indian needed. T h e
barbers refused to serve him; the villagers refused to share
their hookahs with him; the bazar sellers cut off his supply
of food and clothing; he was not invited to weddings or
funerals; the marriage arrangers would not serve him; and
he might even be put out of caste by his caste elders. Many
were thereby forced into deserting their factories, a n d the
planters complained of the shortage of staff. Other factory
servants, finding indigo no longer a profitable business,
used the social persecution of the villagers as an excuse to
leave their employers. Villagers also cooperated in refusing
to bid at auction for decreed property. 14 In one concern
the farmers who collected rents for the planters now sided
with the villagers and gave tenants-at-will receipts falsely
showing them as having occupancy rights. 15 H i n d u and
Muslim ryots united in the struggle, and members of both

12
J. P. 173-78, March 1861.
13
J. P. 98-106 and 422 2g, April 1861.
"J. P. 79-81, Jan. 1861.
15
J. P. 303-08, May 1862.
 "ΚΙ HOOKUM?" 179

communities are listed side by side as leaders of combina-

tions against the factories. 16
While in the mufassal each planter fought alone, in
Calcutta the Indigo Planters' Association and the agents of
the various concerns joined to urge the Government to pro-
tect British lives and property. T h e Government deferred
to their requests, and after years of refusal Grant agreed
to appoint Small Causes Court judges for the mufassal.1''
When Hills suggested that in cattle trespass cases the vil-
lagers be held collectively responsible, the Lieutenant
Governor thought the proposal worthy enough to send to
the legislative member for Bengal for an opinion. 1 8 A f t e r
a complaint from Jardine, Skinner and Company that ryots
were misinterpreting the Government's written orders on
ryots' petitions and that agitators were using the orders to
mislead the people, the Government agreed to confine it-
self to the issuance of verbal orders through the district
magistrates. 19 Finally, the Government offered planters
who were having rent difficulties a few months' grace on
their revenue payments and even agreed to lend money
directly to needy planters. 20
On March 4, 1861 the Indigo Planters' Association asked
the Governor General to appoint special rent commission-
ers with the power to compel ryots to pay their rents. 21
10
For example, see J . P. 1 1 - 1 4 , March 1 8 6 1 .
17
J . P. 195-98, March 1 8 6 1 . G r a n t had opposed increasing the
number of these courts in the mufassal because they were expensive,
they administered English law, and they were designed for centers of
trade. Instead he favored more munsif courts which were cheaper,
used Indian judges, and were more accessible to ryots. J . P. 409-16,
N o v . i860.
18
J . P. 204-06, A p r i l 1 8 6 1 .
19
J . P. 391-92, April 1 8 6 1 .
20
C. R . O., J u d . and Leg. Des. Reed., N o . 30, Sept. 1861; H . P.,
W o o d to Canning, Nov. 8, 1 8 6 1 .
21
J . P. 3 1 - 3 3 · A p r i l 1861.
ι8ο THE BLUE MUTINY

After a week of consideration, Canning suggested to Grant

that the Lieutenant Governor appoint the special rent
commissioners. But rather than empowering them to com-
pel ryots to pay rent, Canning suggested that, accompanied
by a strong body of police and deputy collectors, the com-
missioners visit villages where ryots were most resistant,
warn them to pay their rents, and investigate their grounds
for non-payment. T h e commissioners were to explain to
the ryots that their visits had no connection whatever with
indigo. If the special rent commissioners should fail to
induce the ryots to pay their rents they were to encourage
the planter to file suit. T h e commissioners were also to
enquire into the existence of combinations, whether they
were directed also against native zamindars, and whether
the ryots, in truth, desired to drive Europeans from the
country. Finally, they were to recommend any necessary
revisions in Act X of 1859 an< ^ t o suggest a law to punish
the social proscription of factory adherents. 22 On March 14
the Lieutenant Governor appointed C. F. Montressor as
the Special R e n t Commissioner with powers of magistrate
and collector in Barasat and Nadia Districts. He was as-
signed forty sowars and two companies of military police.
On March 23 Grant appointed G. G. Morris as Special
Commissioner with identical powers in Jessore. 23
For three months the Special R e n t Commissioners
worked in their respective districts. Montressor, who sub-
mitted his report on J u n e 22, was cautious and temperate,
but more critical of the planters than was Morris. Conclud-
ing that indigo was at the root of the rent disturbances,
Montressor felt that the ryots were within their rights in
legally disputing what they considered unreasonable en-
hancements. 24

22
J . P. 100, March 1861.
23
J . P. 321-22, March 1861.
24
H. P., Canning to Wood, June 23, 1861.
 'κι hookum?' 181
Morris, on the other hand, asserted that the ryots were
not justified in withholding rents, and supported his con-
clusion by the fact that in rent cases the courts almost
always favored the planters, that the "claims of the ryots
have been tried and found wanting . . . as opposed to the
just demands of their European landlords." T h e planters,
in his opinion, had been too lenient with their tenants by
hesitating to take recourse to law. In contrast to Euro-
peans, Indian zamindars who enhanced their rents had
encountered little trouble. T h e i r greater prestige, their
knowledge of their estates and their lack of connection
with indigo helped them avoid trouble. Even planters who
had given up indigo entirely had rent difficulties because
the ryots did not trust the sincerity of their sudden
renunciation.
In trying to collect rent himself he had only partial
success. On his arrival the villagers often promised to pay,
or paid an installment, but, when he left, they relapsed
into passive resistance. Under these conditions the Euro-
peans had either to carry on almost unlimited litigation
or leave the countryside. He concluded that between Euro-
peans and ryots "a state of chronic warfare is being estab-
lished, and the breach is daily widening." 28
T h e activities of the Special Rent Commissioners satis-
fied no one. Lushington charged that the planters were
taking advantage of the military police who accompanied
Montressor, using their presence to threaten the credulous
ryots. The Secretary of State agreed that their employment
had been "a measure of doubtful expediency" and ordered
them withdrawn at once.26 In September and again De-
cember 1861 the Landholders and Commercial Associa-

25
Morris, Report.
26
J . P. 422-29, April 1861; C. R . O., J u d . and Leg. Des. to India,
Orig. Drafts, Vol. 4, No. 110, 25 J u l y 1861.
I82 THE BLUE MUTINY

tion, successor to the Indigo Planters' Association, 27 re-

quested Canning to appoint new special commissioners
and to arm them with powers to compel the payment of
rents. W. F. Fergusson, the Secretary of the Association,
listed twenty-one concerns, including all the important
ones of Nadia and Jessore, with large balances of uncol-
lected rents. 28
T h e Lieutenant Governor, anticipating Canning's in-
structions, called on his district officers to report on why
the ryots of these concerns were withholding rents. T h e
reasons given were further proof of the peasantry's recent
awareness of legal niceties. T h e ryots demanded receipts
signed by European factory employees which would indi-
cate the nature of their tenure. Some protested that the
factories continued to collect rent on lands that had been
washed away when rivers changed course, and others
claimed they were called on to pay arrears of eight to ten
years standing. At one factory the ryots held out because
after paying their rents they would be obliged to borrow
from the mahajan at interest rates of 50 to 75 per cent,
while by law the court could award the planter only 12
per cent damages. If the ryots were to wait until the end
of the year, they could sell their crops and dispense with
the services of the mahajan. Other ryots withheld rentts be-

27
After Theobald's resignation as Secretary of the Indigo Plamters'
Association in March i860 an internal struggle took place to control
the organization. W . F. Fergusson and J . P. Wise led the "city"
faction which wanted to broaden the association to inclucde all
British with mufassal interests—tea planters, mine operators, river
navigators, silk manufacturers, etc. A. Forbes led the narrow "imdigo"
interest. T h e "city" group finally triumphed in August i860, e:lected
Fergusson as Secretary and changed the name to "Landholdeirs and
Commercial Association." But the leadership and membershiip re-
mained essentially unchanged. See Englishman, April 24, M a y 4
and Nov. 1, i860 and April 16, 1861.
2S
J . P. 39, Feb. 1862.
 "ΚΙ HOOKUM?" 183

cause they needed the money for litigation. In cases where

rent and indigo accounts were not kept separately, they
filed cross claims for unpaid indigo. T o procrastinate on
payment of decrees they appealed every judicial decision.29
T h e official who was most disappointed with the work
of the special rent commissioners and most concerned with
the continued deterioration of the planters' position was
Lord Canning. On January 8, 1862 he wrote Grant that
both the Lieutenant Governor and the Special Rent Com-
missioners had misunderstood the purpose for which the
Commissioners had been appointed. He had intended that
the commissioners would tell the ryots that the Govern-
ment would not tolerate the withholding of just rents and
would not hesitate to institute summary proceedings if
necessary. The commissioners should have insisted that the
aggrieved planters file suit and that their deputies decide
the suits at once and carry out the decrees immediately.
Instead of trying to remove the existing difficulties, the
rent commissioners had spent their time investigating
them. Canning believed that the differences between ryots
and planters were as much due to "feelings" as to "sub-
stantial grievances" and that the role of the Government
was to conciliate the parties and bring about a "final ad-
justment of their differences." He concluded by recom-
mending that Grant appoint a new special rent commis-
sioner whose job it would be to restore mutual confidence
and effect a peaceable adjustment of differences. If the new
commissioner were to fail, the Government would promul-
gate a summary law to enforce rent payments. The Gov-
erner General sent a copy of this letter to the Landholders
and Commercial Association which promptly released it
to the newspapers for publication. 30

29
J . P. 45 and 397-98, Feb. 1862; 123-24 and 163-74, March 1862.
30
J . P. 37-45, Feb. 1862.
184 THE BLUE MUTINY

Grant interpreted Canning's letter as a strong censure.

Apparently Canning had deliberately intended to provoke
the Lieutenant Governor, and soon after sending it he
wrote Wood, " I fear he is a little chafed—at last." 31 By
nature impassive, Grant was now infuriated and defended
himself in a minute heavy with sarcasm. He expressed his
regret that the Government thought the special commis-
sioners had not understood their mission. Their final re-
ports had been received on June 22, and August 13, 1861
respectively, and only now, five months later, did the Gov-
ernor General discover that they had misunderstood their
orders. He demonstrated that Canning's description of the
original orders in his letter of January 8 was quite different
from the original orders themselves, and in parallel col-
umns he compared the original orders to the reports of the
commissioners. He pointed to the absurdity of the notion
that the commissioners could effect a permanent settlement
of the dispute when they were expressly instructed to
avoid any question relating to indigo. Even the important
problem of eviction could not be taken up because the
commissioners were sent to settle only questions of rent.
T h e commissioners would have remained longer at their
duties, but the planters declined to avail themselves of
their assistance.32
Canning considered Grant's defense "disrespectful in
tone." In his final minute before leaving office, J . P. Grant
apologized for any wording in his letter which appeared
disrespectful. But he had felt "disappointment and dis-
tress" when, five months after the commissioners had re-
ported, the Governor General charged that they and he
had misconstrued their orders. He felt that Canning had
also been wrong in sending a copy of the censure to the
31
H. P., Canning to Wood, Jan. 10, 1862.
32
J . P. 37-45, Feb. 1862.
 "ΚΙ H O O K U M ? " 185

Landholders and Commercial Association for publication

in the press. 33 In a separate c o m m u n i c a t i o n to C a n n i n g ,
G r a n t refuted the substance of the G o v e r n o r General's
recommendation—the appointment of a special officer w h o
w o u l d use his influence to conciliate the planters and ryots.
G r a n t supported his argument against this with a report he
had just received from Herschel, the most penetrating
analysis of the rent disturbances made by any official, and
one which had more influence on subsequent policy than
did the reports of the Special R e n t Commissioners or the
pleas of the planters. His phrases w o u l d echo in the com-
munications of his superiors until the end of the rent
controversies.
Herschel wrote to V . H . Schalch, the Commissioner of
Nadia Division, that Nadia District had, in his opinion,
experienced a "tremendous r e f o r m . " Legal rights had over-
ridden customary rights. T h e peasants were well aware of
this change, were anxious to have their legal rights pre-
cisely defined, and wanted every notice of rent enhance-
ment tested in the courts. In the last eighteen days the
planters had served their ryots with 25,000 notices of rent
enhancement and at least 80,000 more were expected!
T h r e e thousand tenants-at-will had been evicted f r o m land
on which they had squatted for a generation a n d w h i c h
they had believed to be their own. A complete resettlement
of land tenure was taking place in L o w e r Bengal, not
through executive action, b u t through the judicial system.
A n d the judicial system was incapable of m a n a g i n g this
extraordinary work. Cases were heavily in arrears. T h e
authority of the courts of both original and appelate juris-
diction was vague and ill-defined. Inexperienced collectors
recently appointed were unfamiliar with decisions already
made and raised doubts on settled points. T h e n e w munsif
33 J. p. 679-81, A p r i l 1862.
186 THE BLUE MUTINY

courts brought additional confusion, and the special rent

commissioners, with their weak powers limited to advice
and exhortation, had undermined the authority and in-
fluence of the Government. A t first the ryots had been
awed by their apparent authority, but finding them power-
less, the final reaction was worse than the original evil.
Herschel urged that the voice of conciliation be abandoned
and that the voice of authority be adopted as the only one
which could meet the difficulties.
T o act as district authority he recommended the ap-
pointment of an official who would head all the collectors
and decide all the appeals. T h e official would have the
powers of judge and collector and would be entitled to
arrange the order of the appeals to combine the strictness
of decision in individual suits with the force of executive
orders. He would receive reports from the collectors and
be given the power to institute suits for the purpose of
establishing precedent. A l l attempts by other district offi-
cials to arbitrate a question before pronouncing a judicial
decision would be forbidden. T h e judge-collector w o u l d
raise only general issues and refuse to consider trivial
cases as well as reforms which could be postponed. H e was
to exercise his power without any pretense of amLcable
settlement; his major job would be to stem the tide of mass
litigation.
Herschel also recommended some legislative reiforms
which could be taken up immediately. One of these was a
law making the wilful withholding of rent a penal offiense;
another was a measurement law, stipulating the stamdard
of measurement. He would impose a fine of 25 per c<ent as
penalty for withholding rents illegally, since the piresent
fine of 12 per cent had been found inadequate. T h e ryots
would benefit from the stricter enforcement of l a w by
receiving consistent answers to their cmestions thp y^min.
 "KI HOOK.UM?" 187
dars by being able to exercise their powers to the fullest
extent of the law. T h e only danger in these reforms,
warned Herschel, would be that they would demonstrate
to the ryots of other districts how to force a reform in the
zamindari system and might lead to the spread of the rent
disturbances. But the question could be deferred no longer.
T h e struggle would not end until it was known in theory
and in practice what rights and relations were guaranteed
under Act X of 1859.
Grant found Herschel's report "very instructive and
able" and when transmitting it to Canning with his full
approval, wrote: " T h e matter of difference is too substan-
tial, and of too vital an importance to the permanent
interest of the parties, to be blown away by the common-
places of reconciliation, however able and sincerely pressed
upon them." T h e question was not one of mere feelings,
but one of property affecting the zamindar and the ryot
and their descendants. " T h a t such a question is to be
settled over a District consisting of a million of inhabitants
by the exhortations of one Officer having no authority in
the matter, does not seem to the Lieutenant Governor a
reasonable expectation." No officer was able to exhort even
a single individual until that person was satisfied about his
rights; how then could he exhort millions? 34
Even after reading the strong arguments of Herschel
and Grant, the Governor General continued to argue for
the effectiveness of exhortation and arbitration. In his re-
ply Canning pointed out that the main dispute between
ryot and zamindar was over rent enhancement and that
this could best be settled by compromise. T h e alternative,
an individual court settlement of each claim, would take
years to accomplish. Nevertheless, he conceded that
Herschel's plan was a good one, and he authorized the
34
J· P· 37-45. Feb. .862.
188 THE BLUE MUTINY

Lieutenant Governor to appoint one additional judg? each

for Nadia and Jessore to supervise and bring uniformity to
the lower courts, though in his opinion this would :>e no
substitute for an officer to adjust general differences. Since
the Landholders and Commercial Association had agreed
to the new plan, Canning did not insist upon the re-
appointment of special rent commissioners to promote
reconciliation. But he did insist that the local officers con-
tinue to exhort the ryots to pay at least a part of their
rents, and that an additional officer would be appoin.ed by
the Lieutenant Governor to accomplish this if the local
officers failed to achieve results.
Under the compromise plan now adopted, Nadia and
Jessore each received an additional judge with authority
over lower courts, and the regular magistrates were in-
structed to continue to exhort the ryots to pay their rents.
On March 18 Grant appointed Elphinstone Jackson as an
additional officer in Nadia with powers of collector and
commissioner of revenue to try all Act X suits, to take
over all pending appeals from the Sadr Court, the Board
of Revenue, and the Commissioner of Nadia, and to super-
vise all the deputy collectors in Act X cases. In Jessore
Grant appointed C. H. Campbell to a corresponding posi-
tion. 35
T h e courts now plunged into what was, in fact, a rigor-
ous revenue settlement of the indigo zamindaris in Nadia
and Jessore Districts. In contrast to the thorough village-
by-village revenue survey that later took place in the
Madras Presidency, Bengal, under the Permanent Settle-
ment of 1793, had been settled in a superficial manner.
Relations between zamindars and tenants had been left to
the exigencies of paternalism, custom (in the parganna
rates), good will between parties; in short, to the system of
"indirect rule" in revenue matters. Act X of 1859 pro-
35 Ibid.
 "κι HOOKUM?" 1 89

vided the statutory framework for a change in the tenancy

system from one of custom to one of rents based on legal
rights enforceable in the collectors' courts. The change had
been postponed for two years, from 1859 to 1861, because
of a general unfamiliarity with the new law. For almost a
decade longer Indian zamindars were loath to upset the
existing customary rentals, and their ryots did not challenge
their customary authority. But in the case of the European
zamindars indigo worked as a catalyst. Both planters and
ryots had become accustomed to government arbitration,
and the old "good will" and paternalism had broken down
with regard to indigo. It was natural for rents to follow
in order.
Reports now trickled in from the district officers who
were attempting, under the compromise plan, to dissuade
the ryots from turning en masse to the courts. D. J . Mc-
Neile, the Officiating Collector of Jessore, wrote to Com-
missioner Schalch on January 24, 1862 that the ryots would
listen to no exhortations, but wanted to test their rights in
the courts. He wrote that the ryots had suddenly discovered
"the personal and social rights vested in them by law" and
had acquired a fondness for litigation. 38 Another officer,
Η. M. Reily, Deputy Magistrate of Kumarkhali Subdi-
vision, reported that most ryots considered his orders pure
threats. The poorer classes had been forced to take indigo
advances in order to pay their rents, but the wealthy ryots,
who could easily afford to pay, preferred litigation. 37 An-
other wrote that right had replaced might in the country-
side and that in villages where the ryots had the greatest
trust in the executive their fear of the landlord was less
and rent disputes more numerous.38 H. Beveridge, Deputy
Collector of Jenidah, warned that the ryots had acquired
3e
J . P. 148-50, Feb. 1862.
37
J . P. 412-15, Feb. 1862.
38
J . P. 45, March 1862.
îgo THE BLUE MUTINY

the habit of paying their rents through Government offi-

cers and were no longer ignorant of the law. 39
All these reports were summarized by Schalch on March
27:
I would strongly deprecate the continued or renewed inter-
vention of the Government in its executive capacity. . . . Each
repetition of such interference becomes less and less efficacious
and lessens the influence of the Government. The people have
already discovered that, until the law is altered, the Govern-
ment is powerless to enforce obedience to its remonstrances.
The ryots say, "Why are we again called together? How often
is this to recur? You told us a year ago a penalty would be
inflicted for the wilful withholding of rent, but nothing has
been done."40

T h o u g h Canning had been proven wrong, he stubbornly

continued to defer to the wishes of the European mercan-
tile community in Calcutta on indigo questions. Bartle
Frere's biographer suggests that a gradual change came
over Canning from the time of Frere's appointment to the
Supreme Council in December 1859. T h e Governor Gen-
eral admired Frere's tolerant and genial manners, and he
began to improve his social relations with his subordinates,
"and still more with the non-official Calcutta Europeans,
some of whom had not long before petitioned for his recall.
He had become, it was said, another man." 4 1 L a d y Can-
ning's death in November 1861 may have further increased
his dependence on Calcutta's European society.
When, in i860, Wood laid down the principle that there
was to be no special legislation in favor of the planters,
Canning seemed to agree. 42 But in March 1861 a new

3» J . P. 163-74, March 1862.

40
J . P. 363-67, March 1862.
41
Martineau, Bartle Frere, I, 385.
42
H . P., W o o d to Canning, Sept. 2, i860 and C a n n i n g t o W o o d ,
Oct. 30, i860.
 "ΚΙ HOOKUM?" 191

criminal contract bill was introduced in the Governor

General's Legislative Council, and Canning defended it on
grounds that the indigo contract forgery system had been
exposed and the planters were now keeping a close watch
on their native servants who had been the actual perpetra-
tors of fraudulent contracts.43 On being informed of the
new bill Wood requested that it be withdrawn, writing to
Canning, " I do not understand . . . how you could agree
to introducing the Contract Bill. It is so contrary to every-
thing which has been said and avowed." 44
Almost at once a second criminal contract bill was intro-
duced. Unlike the previous one which dealt only with
agricultural contracts, this bill covered contracts of every
type.45 On receiving the bill in March Wood wrote: "Shall
be very glad to see a good general Contract Bill. It is much
more according to principle to have it general and if Grant
approves it probably will be as it should be." 46 But a few
days later he began to express some reservations: " I am
afraid of all legislation which, however framed, is substan-
tially for the English capitalist against the native land oc-
cupier or native producer in some shape or other." 47 With
each passing week he cooled more and more, writing on
April 3, " T h e Legislative Council . . . gave the look of a
special Indigo tint in the proceeding." 48 Finally, after it

43
Proc. of Leg. Council of India, March 2-20, 1 8 6 1 ; H . P., Canning
to Wood, March 18, 1861.
44
C . R . O., J u d . and Leg. Des. to India, Orig. Drafts, Vol. 4,
No. 7 1 of 18 April 1 8 6 1 ; H . P., W o o d to Canning, April 24, 1861.
45
Proc. of Leg. Council of India, J a n . 29 to Feb. 12, 1862.
46
H . P., Wood to Laing, March 19, 1862. A t this time the cotton
manufacturers of England strongly pressed W o o d for a contract law
to protect their investment in advances on the Indian cotton crop
now much enlarged because the American Civil W a r had cut off
the supply of Southern cotton.
47
H . P., Wood to Laing, March 26, 1862.
48
Ibid., April 3, 1862.
ig2 THE BLUE MUTINY

had been amended, he refused to allow it, calling it mon-

strous." 49
While the Legislative Council was considering coatract
laws, the newly instituted Bengal Legislative Council
passed Act V I (Bengal Council) of 1862, an act to amend
the law relating to the recovery of rent. It raised the dam-
ages on rent awarded to the plaintiff from 12 to 25 per cent,
but stipulated that if the suit had been improperly initi-
ated, the defendant would be entitled to an award of 25
per cent of the amount for which he was sued. It also
provided that rent could be paid to the collector if the
zamindar refused to accept it, that land could be measured
without the presence of the ryot, and that all tenures be
registered. 50 On balance, Act V I favored the planter and
zamindar over the ryot, and for the first time since the
indigo disturbances had begun the British Indian Associa-
tion, by supporting the bill, took the side of the planters. 51
A n even more fundamental change occurred in the
statutory relationship of ryot and zamindar through the
judicial interpretation of Act X of 1859. In 1862 Sir
Barnes Peacock, Chief Justice of the Calcutta Supreme
Court, heard the case of James Hills v. Issur Ghose. Pea-
cock, who considered rent to be "economic" in the Mal-
thusian sense, ruled that a landlord could enhance his
rents at will. Fortunately for the ryots, this ruling was
reversed in 1865 in the "Great R e n t Case" decided by the
full court which ruled that the landlord, under the Per-
manent Settlement, had not been given absolute control
of his estate and that certain customary rights were re-
49
H . P., Wood to Elgin, May 10, 1862. In 1863 a new law of
contracts was passed, but the penal clauses drawn into the bill were
abandoned due to a powerful memorial circulated in Parliament by
T o r y humanitarians. See L . H. Jenks, Migration of British Capital
to 1875 (Ν. Y., 1927), p. 2 1 8 n.
so Pari. Papers, 1863, X L I , 276.
51
Som Prakash, May 26, 1862.
 " Κ Ι HOOKUM?" 193

served for the tenants. Rent could only be increased in

proportion to the increase in the value of the product.82
By the middle of 1863 peace had been restored to the
indigo districts. While the contest over enhancements was
continuing through the courts in a "quiet and chronic sort
of way," 53 many of the ryots returned to a "sullen al-
legiance" on the understanding that they were not to be
sued and not to be forced to give up their best lands for
indigo.54 Some planters, like James Hills, resumed indigo
cultivation by paying the ryots twice the old rate for indigo
plant.55 With a view to forestalling any disturbances in
Bihar, Gisbourne and Company wrote its managers there:
" Ά fair day's wage for a fair day's labor' is the only way
of establishing satisfactory relations between employers and
employed, and we wish you to act on this principle." 5 ·
T . J . Kenny offered his ryots low rents if they cultivated
indigo.67
Other planters gave up indigo entirely and either turned
to other forms of business or left the area. They placed
the responsibility for their failure on the Government
James Tissendie wrote his agent, "I very much regret that
I accepted the management of this concern. . . . When I
accepted it, I was under the impression that Government
would have supported us in all that is lawful, but it is now
quite evident that they have no such intentions. . . . I am
thoroughly disgusted with it. I shall be glad when I can
82
K. C. Chaudhuri, History and Economics of the Land System
in Bengal (Calcutta, 1927), pp. 84-85; Baden-Powell, Land Systems,
I, 645.
53
H . P., Elgin to Wood, July 13, 1863.
" H . P., W . Grey to Wood, June 23, 1863.
6B
Frazer"s Magazine (London), May 1862, p. 618; C. R. O., Jud.
and Leg. Des. Reed., No. 37, 30 Sept. 1861; J . P. 141-44, March 1862.
Ββ
H . P., Letter from Gisbourne and Co., July 12, 1861, enclosed
in Canning to Wood, July 22, 1861.
57
J . P. 303-08, May 1862.
194 THE BLUE MUTINY
58
resign." Of the larger planters, Robert T . Larmour sur-
passed all in his sullen resentment. He refused to permit
a deputy collector to try his rent cases, believing that if
his situation became bad enough the Government would
extricate him. T o one official he wrote: "Whatever
estrangement has taken place between the people and my-
self has been the act of Government alone, generated and
fostered by Government with the premeditated intention
of driving me out of the District." 58
T o the officials and to the Calcutta press, both British
and Indian, the indigo and rent disturbances had ended.
But one Bengali editor persisted in his untiring campaign
for peasant welfare. T h i s was Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan,
editor of the vernacular Som Prakash. "Where has the cor-
respondent of the Hindoo Patriot from the indigo areas
gone?" he asked in September, 1862. "Everyone should
know that oppression is gradually increasing again." 60 Al-
though he conceded that conditions had improved, the
ryots had now "learned to consider oppression as oppres-
sion." He compared their new awareness of evil to the
awakening of Adam after eating from the tree of knowl-
edge. 61 T h e editor called for a permanent settlement of
rents with all ryots. T h e peasants' money had been spent
for litigation, his crops were neglected, and disputed land
lay fallow. All the work of Grant, Eden, and Long, wrote
Dwarkanath, had been in vain. 62

58
J . P. 296-300, A p r i l 1 8 6 1 .
59
H . P., C a n n i n g to W o o d , M a r c h 18, 1 8 6 1 ; J . P. 364-65, F e b . 1 8 6 2 .
W a t s o n a n d C o m p a n y ordered steam plows from E n g l a n d f o r use
in sowing wasteland after ejecting utbandi ryots. Morris, Report. See
also " S t e a m Cultivation in I n d i a " by an Assistant Indigo P l a n t e r in
J. Agri, and Horticultur. Soc. of India, V o l . X I I , Pt. I, 1 8 6 1 .
60
Som Prakash, Sept. 8, 1862.
61
Ibid., M a y 26, 1 8 6 2 .
r
'- Ibid., J u n e 30, 1862.
 'κι HOOK.UM?' 1
95
The other side of the story of the indigo disturbances
occurred in Calcutta. During the rent controversies, the
indigo interest was given an opportunity to vent its anger
against the Government of Bengal. This opportunity they
found in the publication and distribution of a Bengali
drama, Nil Darpan.
 XI
Nil Darpan
Maegh bina hoe na jhoro haoa There can be no storm
taeg bina hoe na boro paoa without a cloud;
there can be no
achievement without
sacrifice.

"AS LONG AS I LIVE, HAVE A BRAIN TO T H I N K AND A PEN TO

write, [I hope] to advocate the social elevation of the
masses. . . . It may be called too political a course . . . but
Christianity itself is political in the extended sense." 1 Al-
though J a m e s L o n g directed these words to the bench dur-
ing his trial before the Calcutta H i g h Court, his defense
statement was, in fact, aimed at his superiors, the officials
of the Church Missionary Society. T h e Society had been
receiving complaints that L o n g was devoting himself to
political agitation unbecoming and inappropriate to a
missionary.
In Long's opinion the "masses" could be won to Chris-
tianity only if they were better educated and economically

1
Address of Rev. James Long to the Court, before the Full Bench,
24 July 1861 in Dinabandhu Mitra, Nil Durpan (3d. Indian ed., edit,
by S. Pradhan and S. S. Gupta, Calcutta 1958t?]), p. 176. This edition
contains, in addition to the play, a full report of the trial of James
Long.
 NIL DARPAN 1 97

independent. Like some of his fellow missionaries, Long

worked to establish vernacular schools in the villages and
spoke out against oppression by indigo planters and
zamindars. But unlike the other missionaries he considered
it no less his duty to prod the Bengali urban intelligentsia
into taking an interest in rural conditions. At every op-
portunity Long lectured the Calcutta intelligentsia on
their social responsibilities. "Mr. Long does not go to a
meeting where social questions are discussed in order to
smuggle in some wishywashy talk on religion," wrote the
Reverend Christian Bomwetsch to the Church Missionary
Society.2 Long found the intelligentsia "intensely selfish"
and "indifferent if not hostile to the welfare of the com-
mon people whom they despise as much as ever one of the
old French noblesse did any of the canille." 3 The Calcutta
intelligentsia accepted his criticism with good humor, and,
in fact, the more he scolded, the more he endeared himself
to them. After one such meeting a well-educated Bengali
told Bomwetsch that Long had done more for the Chris-
tian religion than all the other missionaries combined.
" T h e sympathy he shows to us in every way and the help
he lends to every improvement, etc. makes a much more
favorable impression than if he was going about merely
preaching."*
James Long had still another characteristic not shared
by his fellow missionaries. While they confined themselves
to preaching doctrines of salvation, he was as interested in
hearing the views of the Bengalis as he was in expounding
his own. On the one hand Long was among the first Euro-
peans to collect and analyze peasant proverbs to illustrate

2
C. M. S., Bomwetsch to C. M. S„ July 6, 1861.
3 C. M. S., Long to C. M. S., Oct. 22, 1857.
4
C. M. S., Bomwetsch to C. M. S., July 6, 1861.
 THE BLUE MUTINY

social conditions in the mufassal.5 On the other, he became

the foremost authority of his day on the vernacular litera-
ture which poured forth from the presses of Calcutta.
Realizing how important it was for the Government to
know its subjects, Long advocated the appointment of a
permanent official to review Indian publications and to
keep the Government informed of Indian political views
and intellectual trends.®
In the absence of such an official James Long took this
responsibility upon himself. In the autumn of i860 he
brought to the attention of the Government a new Bengali
drama, Nil Darpan (The Mirror of Indigo) which he felt
demonstrated Indian feelings toward the indigo planters.
The author of Nil Darpan, Dinabandhu Mitra, worked as
an inspector for the Post Office Department and during
i860 traveled through the heart of the indigo districts. His
first dramatic work, Nil Darpan, was to place him among
the leading Bengali dramatists of the nineteenth century. 7
In the course of the play two planters, J . J . Wood and
P. P. Rogue, commit every conceivable outrage ever at-
tributed to the planters of Lower Bengal. They force the
ryots to plant indigo without remuneration. They confine,
beat, and corrupt the villagers as well as their own Indian
servants, violate Indian maidens8 and encourage prostitu·
5
See such works by Long as Oriental Proverbs (2d. ed., edit, by M.
P. Saha, Calcutta, 1956); Probad Mala, or the Wit of Bengali Ryots
(Calcutta, 1869); Popular Bengali Proverbs (Calcutta, 1868); On
the Importance and Best Mode of Making a Collection of Oriental
Proverbs (Bristol, 1883); etc.
6
C. M. S„ Long to C. M. S., Feb. 22, 1858.
7
P. Guha-Thakurta, The Bengali Drama (London, 1930), p. 109
8
T h e Indigo Commission reported: " A s to outrages on women . .
we are happy to declare that our most rigid inquiries could bring
to light only one case of the kind . . . and when we came to examine
into its foundation . . . we discovered that there were very reasonable
grounds for supposing that no outrage . . . had ever taken place!'
 NIL DARPAN 199

tion and violence. Their oppressions result in either the

madness or death of almost every one of the principal
Indian characters in the drama. Not only do the planters
ruin the ryots, but they also corrupt the judicial officers of
the Government. In one court scene the magistrate is por-
trayed as more interested in the favors of the planter's wife
than in the pleas of the ryot defendant.
Although crudely written and overdrawn, the play is sig-
nificant as an example of an awakening among the intelli-
gentsia of deep sympathy toward the peasantry. It also
throws light on certain aspects of the indigo disturbances
not dealt with in the official reports. One of these is the
rise to leadership of a Western-educated rural middle-
class, illustrated by the Basu family around which the ac-
tion of the play centers. The family head, Goluk Chunder
Basu, is an elderly patriarch who, to preserve the peace, is
willing to compromise and pay the planters huge sums to
be free of indigo. In contrast, his eldest son, Nobin
Madhab, prefers to risk his life and fortune to drive out
the planters. When, in the first act, Goluk tells his son,
"We have no chance in a dispute with the Sahebs . . . We
are consequently obliged to work." Nobin answers: " I
shall do as you order, Sir; but my design is for once to
bring an action into Court." One of the planters describes
Nobin as "well versed in the affairs of the Court," and the
Indian factory servant complains that Nobin prepared

R . I. C., Pt. I, Report, p. 24. On the other hand, both the Rev.
Lincke (R. I. C., A . 894-96) and the Rev. Long ( A . 1663-64)
testified to having heard of such outrages, and it is part of the
popular tradition among the Bengalis that such outrages occurred.
T h e reason given that no charges of this kind were made to the
officials was that the publicity would have deprived the victim of
her caste and disgraced her family. See R . C. Majundar, ed., History
and Culture of the Indian People (9 Vols., Bombay, 1951-63), I X ,
Pt. I, 922.
200 THE BLUE MUTINY

drafts of petitions for ryots and helped them to win one

court case after another against the planters. " T h a t brag-
gart is become like a Christian Missionary; and I cannot
say what preparations he is making this time."
In one of the final episodes N o b i n Madhab, after strik-
ing down a planter, receives a fatal blow on the skull f r o m
a lathi. T h e old patriarch, brought into court and impris-
oned by the biased judge under A c t X I of i860, is so dis-
graced that he hangs himself in his cell. G o l u k ' s younger
son, B i n d u Madhab, returns from Calcutta where he has
been attending college, to find his family ruined.
Nil Darpan portrays the officials as seen through the eyes
of the common people. O n e ryot describes Halliday tour-
ing the indigo factories and " b e i n g feasted like a bride-
groom just before the celebration of the marriage." O f
Herschel another ryot speaks: " H e did not go to dine in
the factory. T h e y prepared a dinner for the Magistrate in
order to get him within their power, b u t the Magistrate
concealed himself like a stolen cow. . . . H e is a person of
good family. W h y should he go to the Indigo Planters . . .
the low people" of England?
In addition to their oppression and violence, the Euro-
pean planters offended the social sensibilities of the Ben-
galis. A peasant woman is scandalized because the planter's
wife welcomes the attentions of the Magistrate:

I saw the lady; she has no shame at all. W h e n the Magistrate

of the Zilla (whose name occasions great terror) goes riding
about through the village, the lady also rides on horseback
with him—The bou riding about on a horse! Because the aunt
of Kasi once laughed before the elder brother of her husband,
all people ridiculed her; while this was the Magistrate of the
Zilla. 8

9 Excerpts taken from 2d. Indian edition, Indigo Planters and All
About Them, compiled by Kumud Behari Bose (Calcutta, 1903)
 N I L DARPAN 201
The Bengali play was first published in Dacca in Sep-
tember i860. About six weeks later Long brought the play
to the notice of W. S. Seton-Karr, Secretary to the Govern-
ment of Bengal. After Seton-Karr read the play in Bengali,
he sanctioned Long to employ a translator to put the play
into English because some officials, including the Lieu-
tenant Governor, had asked to read it. According to tradi-
tion, Long employed the foremost Bengali poet of the day,
Michael Madhusudan Dutt, to translate the work. The
Lieutenant Governor authorized Seton-Karr to print a few
copies at private expense and circulate them among his
friends in official and private positions. Grant soon left
Calcutta for a short tour in the mufassal, and Seton-Karr,
on his own responsibility, had five hundred copies printed
at Government expense, with Long acting as intermediary
between him and the printer, C. H. Manuel. Without
Grant's knowledge Seton-Karr distributed two hundred
and two copies of the play under official frank to promi-
nent members of Parliament, philanthropists, retired In-
dian officials, and newspaper editors in both England and
India. 10
On May 25 Walter Brett, editor of the Englishman, sent
the Secretary of the Landholders and Commercial Associa-
tion a copy of the translation which he had received from
the editor of the Lahore Chronicle. The Secretary, W. F.
Fergusson, immediately wrote to the Government of Ben-
gal asking if it was officially responsible for the distribu-
tion of this "foul and malicious libel." On June 3 the
Government of Bengal replied that the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor had been absent from Calcutta when the book was
10
C. M. S., Long to Lord Bishop of Calcutta, Aug. 24, 1861;
Statement of Seton-Karr, dated July 27, 1861, printed in the English-
man and found in Nil Durpan, pp. 177 ff.; Minute of J . P. Grant to
Govt, of India, June 19, 1861 in Buckland, Lieutenant Governors,
I, 197 ff.
202 THE BLUE MUTINY

published and circulated; and, although it did not con-

sider the work libelous, it regretted the alleged offense and
pointed out that it would not have occurred but for "some
inadvertance or mistake." Being advised by their counsel
that the pamphlet was libelous, the Landholders and Com-
mercial Association resolved to institute legal proceedings
to ascertain the author, publisher and translator of Nil
Darpan.11 Only the name of C. H. Manuel, the printer,
appeared on the title page. He was indicted, but before
being tried was authorized by Long to reveal that the mis-
sionary was responsible for the publication, and the charge
against Manuel was dropped. At this point in the proceed-
ings the Government of Bengal, in the persons of Grant
and Seton-Karr, were duty-bound to step in and declare
their responsibility for the printing and distribution of
Nil Darpan at Government expense. Long had not even
been aware that Seton-Karr had intended to print the
translation: in fact, he had kept a duplicate copy of the
translation for himself.12 But the Government remained
silent and to save itself from embarrassment allowed Long
to become the scapegoat.
On June 19 Grant sent a minute to the Government of
India explaining the facts concerning the publication, in-
cluding Seton-Karr's responsibility for its translation and
printing under Government expense and distribution by
official frank. Grant explained that Seton-Karr had been
under the impression that the Lieutenant Governor had
authorized its translation as an official act, to be paid for
by the Government. "The occurrence," wrote Grant, "is
extremely unfortunate and has distressed me beyond
measure." 13
11
Englishman, M a y 27, 28 and J u n e 6, 1861.
12
C. M. S., Long to Lord Bishop of Calcutta, Aug. 24, 1 8 6 1 .
13
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 197 ff.
 N I L DARPAN 203

Long was indicted, and on July 19, 1861 was tried for
libel before the Calcutta Supreme Court. The courtroom
was crowded with officials of every rank as well as Euro-
pean bankers, merchants, missionaries, and indigo planters
interspersed with "the stout figures of influential Na-
tives." 14 The presiding judge was Sir Mordaunt Wells,
who a few years earlier had stated from the bench that the
entire Indian people were a nation of forgers and per-
jurers. The lawyers for the prosecution, A. T . T . Peterson
and David Cowie, were engaged by Walter Brett of the
Englishman. Peterson was "the weightiest advocate in any
jury case" and Cowie "perhaps the best lawyer at the
[Calcutta] Bar." The defense attorneys were Messrs. Eglin-
ton and Newmarch. At the trial Eglinton showed "a
marked want of that nerve and presence of mind" neces-
sary in jury trials. Newmarch was a "worn out old man
said to be very agreeable up to 12 o'clock but apt to be
muddled by intemperance when most wanted." 15 In his
opening remarks Peterson declared that the "Government
of the country were on trial"; the Hindoo Patriot in an
editorial on Peterson's statement went even further: "Nay
more than that, the defendants were more numerous than
the Court could accommodate, and a far more important
body than even the Government. They were the [British]
nation which has always sympathized with the ryot's
wrongs, which has assisted him in his deliverance."16
After stating that Long was responsible for the transla-
tion and publication of Nil Darpan, the prosecution
charged, first, that the preface to the play slandered the
editors of the two great pro-planter newspapers, the Eng-
lishman and the Hurkaru; and, second, that the text of the
14
Account of the trial taken from Nil Durpan (3d. Indian ed.).
15
H. P., Frere to Wood, Dec. 4, 1861.
16
Hindoo Patriot, July 25, 1861.
204 THE BLUE MUTINY

play slandered the planters as a group. In his preface the

author had written:

What surprising power of attraction silver has? The detestable

Judas gave the great Preacher of the Christian religion, Jesus,
into the hands of odious Pilate for the sake of thirty rupees;
what wonder then, if the proprietors of two newspapers, be-
coming enslaved by the hope of gaining one thousand rupees,
throw the poor helpless of this land into the terrible grasp of
your mouths.

Peterson contended that the text of the play implied

that the planters as a group had committed rape, arson,
m u r d e r and corporal punishment. T h e play also slandered
English womanhood represented by the person of the
planter's wife, who, it implied was involved in intimacies
with the magistrate. Peterson, with the appearance of pro-
found indignation, appealed to the emotions of the jury
by attributing sinister motives to those responsible for the
play's publication and distribution. H e stirred the racial
sensibilities of the Europeans on the jury:

The planter's wife!—and here he felt that he was no longer

the mere Counsel—he was the Englishman pursuing with a
righteous indignation the libeller who had dared to cast the
deepest stain upon the fair fame of his country women, whom
before the world he had assiduously represented as the means
of satisfying the lust of the Justice, for the purpose of making
him the tool of the planter.

And he played upon their deepest fears as an alien

minority:

Had we not seen by what a tender thread we hang? Have not

the late mutinies taught us how unsafe is our position? . . . If
that reckless slander had been promulgated among the warlike
tribes of the North-West, it must have inevitably led to the
extermination of the Europeans.
 NIL DARPAN 205

T h e defense retorted that it was common knowledge

that the editors of Englishman and Hurkaru did write for
profit and did represent the planting interest; that the
publication under consideration, being in English, could
not possibly incite the uneducated peasantry against the
Europeans; and that the indigo planters had no corporate
existence and therefore no more right to sue for libel than
had the slave owners of America to sue Harriet Beecher
Stowe. Under the law of libel then existing in India, Long
was not permitted to state his own case unless the plaintiff
applied for "criminal information," an obsolete procedure
which had been dropped from British legal practice almost
twenty years previously.
A t the conclusion of the trial Sir Mordaunt Wells in-
structed the jury at great length. He read to them the
preface of the play and asked whether it did not mean that
the "respectable gentlemen who conduct newspapers in
Calcutta . . . would sacrifice the welfare of society to the
promotion for a corrupt purpose of private interests? If it
meant that would it not be a libel?" Newspaper editors,
continued Wells, even when they condemned classes of
people, did so for the public good, or what they believed
to be the public good. "But what public good would it
subserve to publish these filthy allusions to the prostitu-
tion of the Native women to the planters?" T o prove that
a class of men could be libeled, Wells cited eight different
precedents in English law where, in his opinion, the courts
had so ruled. He then read aloud to the jury various pas-
sages from the play which he thought slandered the plant-
ers and "English womanhood," commenting, "It was
impossible to speak of them otherwise than as filthy in-
sinuations against a society of helpless ladies who, under
the mask of a general type, were cruelly stabbed in the
dark." T h e judge imputed that Long was actuated by
2o6 THE BLUE MUTINY

"other than pure motives" in publishing and distributing

the book anonymously. If the jury believed that "the de-
fendant had been actuated by a feeling of animosity to-
wards the planters of Lower Bengal, with a view of degrad-
ing, injuring, and bringing this class into contempt and
ridicule . . . the verdict must be 'guilty.' "
Swayed by these strong words of advice from the bench,
the jury, consisting of twelve Englishmen, a Portuguese,
an Armenian, and a Parsi, brought in a verdict of "guilty"
on both counts. 17 Long's attorneys moved for "arrest of
judgment," and on July 24 the case was re-argued before
the Full Bench, presided over by the Chief Justice, Sir
Barnes Peacock. Before the Full Bench Long was allowed
to defend his publication. He argued that it was his duty
to inform the authorities of Indian opinion and that if the
Government had known the sentiments of the people in
1857, much bloodshed would have been avoided. After
discourteously interrupting his statement, Peacock sen-
tenced him to a fine of 1,000 rupees and one month in the
Common Jail.
T h e imprisonment of the missionary shocked public
opinion in Calcutta and England and aroused the sym-
pathy of the humanitarian and anti-indigo party. Wood
wrote that "in the present state of feeling it was a piece of
inexcusable folly to give the planters such a handle as
this." 18 But he failed to observe that it had also given the
anti-planter forces a rallying point to which they swarmed
with enthusiasm. During his month in jail, Long perhaps
saw and spoke to more people than he had in any previous

17 T h e Armenian was S. Apear, one of the proprietors of the

Indian Field. T h e Parsi was Manikjee Rustomjee, a distinguished
leader of the Parsi community in Calcutta who had lost his fortune
in the failure of the Union Bank.
18 H. P., Wood to Canning, Aug. 3, 1861.
 NIL DARPAN 2θη

month of his life. T h e visitors included chaplains, mission-

aries, liberal non-officials, civilians and Indians of all
classes. Among the officials were Bartle Frere, Seton-Karr,
Lord Ulick Brown, Registrar of the Sadr Court, J. C.
Erskine of the Legislative Council and Calcutta Judge
McLeod Wylie. 1 9
Dr. Key of the Bishop's College told Long ". . . how
much he was struck with the tone of the native newspapers
who were astonished at the fact of a Christian missionary
cheerfully going to jail in the cause of the oppressed. T h e
editor of one Bengali paper wrote, 'If this be Christianity
then we wish Christianity would spread all over the coun-
try.' " 20 T h e editor of Som Prakash who was not ordinarily
friendly to missionary activity, wrote:
Amongst the benefits that India and the English Government
has received, the coining of the missionary to this country is
the highest. . . . It is through them that the fame of the
English nation and the righteousness of the British Govern-
ment has been saved.21
Long's fine was paid by Kali Prasanna Sinha, a wealthy
Calcutta zamindar, author, and patron of literature. Raja
Radha Kanta Deb led the wealthy orthodox Hindu com-
munity in presenting Long with an address expressing its
gratitude for his work in advancing the cause of vernacular
literature and disseminating the views and feelings of the
natives. Another address was signed by 30,000 Indians of
all classes. T h e leaders of the Hindu community wanted
to petition the Government for a remission of Long's im-
prisonment, but the missionary discouraged them on
grounds that it would embarrass the Government. 22
19 Englishman, Aug. 24, 1861.
2» C. M. S., Long to C. M. S„ Aug. 8, 1861.
21 Som Prakash, June 17, 1861, enclosed in a letter from Bomwetsch
to Venn, C. M. S., July 5, 1861.
22 Sanyal, Reminiscences and Anecdotes, I, 59.
2O8 T H E BLUE MUTINY

Long was most concerned with the opinions of his col-

leagues and superiors in the missionary societies of Cal-
cutta and London. Before the trial the Church Missionary
Society in Calcutta had considered expelling him. When
he heard of the threat to expel Long, Canning himself
wrote to the Bishop of Calcutta, Dr. George Cotton, beg-
ging him "to try to stave off any such hasty and exagger-
ated proceeding," 23 and ultimately Long received Cotton's
full approval. 24 From jail Long wrote to the Church Mis-
sionary Society in London that he had acted throughout
on the advice of Duff and Wylie and with the sanction of
the Bengal Government, and insisted that he had com-
mitted no moral offense in throwing light on Indian opin-
ion. 26 There were rumors of dissension in the Committee
of the Church Missionary Society, the Englishman pre-
maturely reporting that the Society "entirely disapproves"
of Long's connection with the publication of Nil Darpan
and that he would not be supported by the Society. 26 But
the decision, which came soon afterwards, proved the Eng-
lishman guilty of wishful thinking. His superiors sup-
ported Long wholeheartedly, and wrote him of their
"prayerful sympathy" and of their continued confidence in
his "Missionary character and principles." T h e y further
expressed the hope that "his efforts on behalf of the masses
of Bengal . . . will be unabated." 27
T h e officials were severely critical of the conduct of the
trial. Bartle Frere had "never before felt so ashamed of our
Supreme Court Judges on the Bench," and admitted that
his own sympathy for the planters had been "corrected by
23 H. P., Canning to Wood, June 23, 1861.
24 Indian Field, Sept. 28, 1861.
25 C. M. S., L o n g to C. M. S., A u g . 8, 1861.

26 Englishman, Sept. 12, 1861.

27 C. M. S., Minute of the C. M . S. on the Conviction and Im-

prisonment of the Rev. James L o n g for Libel, Sept. 24, 1861.

 NIL D A R P A N 20g

their un-English hatred of free discussion." Although such

vindictive behavior could be expected from the Calcutta
press and the planters, wrote Frere, "the sight of English
Judges behaving as [Peacock] and [Wells] have done,
throws everything else into the shade." 28 Canning called
Well's demeanor "indecent" and Peacock's interruption of
Long's defense statement, "a discreditable exhibition." 28
Wood agreed that the judges were unfair; however, when
the British newspapers asked him for an official comment
on the conduct of Wells and Peacock, he replied that it
was unwise for an executive to interfere with the judi-
ciary. Lord Stanley considered the verdict a "serious in-
road on the liberty of the press." Both Wood and Stanley
were grateful that Parliament was not in session, because
undoubtedly there would have been severe comments on
Wells and Peacock which would have embarrassed the
Government, and especially Lord Stanley who had selected
Wells for the Calcutta Bench. 30
In February 1862 James Long left for a three-year stay
in England. Frere gave him a letter of introduction to
Wood and informed the Secretary of State that Long was
the foremost living authority on Bengali vernacular litera-
ture. Though sincere and honest, wrote Frere, Long was a
rather narrow-minded partisan who had seen little of the
world and that "entirely from an ultra Irish Protestant
point of view." He could do much harm if "dropped into
the midst of May meetings, with strong feelings, and much
information on a class of Indian grievances which are stock
subjects for an Exeter House platform." Frere advised
Wood to forestall Long's exploitation as a "stalking horse
for partisan purposes" by encouraging the missionary to
28
H . P., Frere to Wood, Aug. 9, 1861; Martineau, I, 361.
29
H . P., Canning to Wood, July 3 1 , 1861.
30
H. P., Wood to Canning, Aug. 3, Oct. 2, 18 and 25, 1861.
2IO THE BLUE MUTINY

expound his views on vernacular education and by cau-

tioning him to leave politics to secular people. Long
would be inclined to conform "if he knew the hint came
from the author of the Education Despatch of 1854." 31
Frere's insensitive and condescending letter indicates
that the meaning of the Nil Darpan affair was lost on the
officials. It was not lost on the Bengali intelligentsia, who
were strongly impressed by the example of a European
suffering imprisonment for the sake of Indian peasants.
Thereafter the problems of the rural populace were sel-
dom excluded from the political remonstrances of the
urban intelligentsia.
While Long was vindicated, Sir Mordaunt Wells was
denounced by every group with the exception of the Euro-
pean extremists. These presented him with a petition of
confidence; which, in the words of the Governor General,
he had been "wanting enough in self-respect and good
sense to accept." 32 Wells had been at enmity with the Ben-
gali community for some time. His statement of August
24, 1859 calling the entire nation of Bengalis forgers and
perjurers was followed by his request for leniency in the
case of a European convicted of beating to death an old
Indian servant. On that occasion the Indian Field had ap-
pealed for a public meeting to have Wells recalled. 33 It
was only after Long's trial, on August 26, 1861, however,
that the Calcutta populace held a public meeting organ-

31
H. P., Frere to Wood, Feb. 18, 1862. Long wrote a pamphlet
in his own defense called Strike, But Hear! (Calcutta, 1861) con-
taining selections from the Pari. Papers on the indigo system. He
decided that rather than speak continuously in his own defense in
England, he would distribute this pamphlet. C. M. S., Long to
C. M. S., Aug. 10, 1861.
32
H . P., Canning to Wood, Sept. 23, 1861. Among the signers was
one Indian, the Maharajah of Burdwan. Englishman, Sept. 5, 1861.
33
Indian Field, Dec. 10, 1859.
 NIL DARPAN 211
ized by the British Indian Association, and petitioned for
the recall of Wells for his "repeated and indiscreet exhibi-
tion of strong political bias and race prejudices which are
not compatible with the impartial administration of jus-
tice." A memorial, printed clandestinely and circulated for
a month, was signed by over 20,000 people. Although the
editors of the Englishman and Hurkaru offered 500 rupees
for a copy of the petition "such was the unity of the Ben-
gali community that they could not get hold of a single
copy." 34 T h e Englishman commented on the meeting as
being one of the ". . . admirable results which are being
developed by the governmental policy of political educa-
tion and elevation for the Natives, and repression and
'Black Acts' for the Anglo-Indian." 35
T h e excitement of the Indian community failed to
move Canning. He considered the petition "a poor pro-
duction" on grounds that Wells had been justified in
charging that perjury and forgery were rife among the
Indian community. Wells' conduct in the Long trial de-
served censure, but this should come not from the execu-
tive but from the Lord Chancellor. The Governor General
wrote Wood: "This man is not a bad man, whatever he
may be as a judge, but eaten up with conceit and love of
vulgar applause, and (according to the native phrase) with
his head full of wind." 38 On December 24, 1861 Canning
replied to the petition in a letter to Jotendra Mohun
Tagore, Honorary Secretary of the British Indian Associa-
tion. He expressed his regret that Wells' language had
conveyed "general imputations on the moral character of
the whole native inhabitants of Bengal," but pointed out

31
Sanyal, Reminiscences and Anecdotes, I, 60; Som Prakash, April
14, 1862.
35
Englishman, Aug. 29, 1861.
36
H. P., Canning to Wood, Sept. 23, 1861.
212 THE BLUE MUTINY

that Wells had only meant to condemn in strong terms his

feelings against certain frequent and serious criminal prac-
tices. Finally he rejected the petition outright hoping that
the emotions of the Bengalis would subside with "time
and reflexion" and that judges would be more careful of
their language in the future. 37
The real purpose of the indigo interest in prosecuting
James Long had been to strike at Grant and Seton-Karr.
Grant had proven to the satisfaction of the Government
that he had not been responsible for the distribution of
Nil Darpan. But the important role of Seton-Karr in the
affair had been brought out in the trial and it now ap-
peared that he would be next in line for indictment by
the planters. This would have greatly embarrassed the
Government, and Canning hoped to avoid another trial at
any cost. At the same time Canning considered Seton-Karr
the "chief offender and deserves to be so treated. It was an
unpardonable act of inconsiderateness to identify his office
with the authors or distributors of a party squib on so sore
a subject."38 Immediately after Long's trial Seton-Karr had
offered his resignation to the Lieutenant Governor, but
Grant demonstrated his contempt for the indigo interests
by refusing to accept it.39
Although Canning believed that the Landholders and
Commercial Association would proceed to indict Seton-
Karr, the Governor General was aware of dissension
within the Association. He wrote Wood that "some of the
most respectable of the Landholders and Commercial As-
sociation are shocked at the spirit which the proceedings
against Long have evoked from the Bench and are op-
posed to giving their countenance and money to bring
37
Sanyal, Reminiscences and Anecdotes, II, 38.
33
H. P., Canning to Wood, J u n e 3, 1861.
39
Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 19g ff.
 NIL DARPAN 213

about a repetition of them." 4 0 W h i l e L o n g was still in jail,

a small group of moderates in the Association supported a
motion to ask the Government to remit Long's sentence,
but when C o w i e and Peterson vehemently opposed the
motion, it was unanimously defeated. O n e of the die-hard
members complained about this moderate faction in a let-
ter to the Englishman and warned that if Seton-Karr were
not brought to trial thousands of rupees would be with-
drawn from the Association. 4 1
O n A u g u s t 8, none too soon as it turned out, C a n n i n g
issued a resolution apprehending Grant for not searching
o u t the particulars of the case and not condemning Seton-
K a r r " i n such a manner as to mark unmistakably" his dis-
pleasure. Such a censure by Grant w o u l d have made it
impossible to implicate the Bengal G o v e r n m e n t " i n acts
w h i c h are not only unauthorized b u t quite unjustifiable."
C a n n i n g next reproved Seton-Karr for neglecting to send
the Government of India a copy of the pamphlet, which so
vitally affected its interests, and for m a k i n g n o explanation
of his negligence to the G o v e r n m e n t of India. " H e is
therefore chargeable, not only with an unwarrantable as-
sumption and indiscreet exercise of an authority which did
not belong to him, b u t with a neglect of duty which it is
difficult to reconcile with the motives that led h i m to such
an assumption." H e censured Grant for not taking note of
these errors " w i t h the gravity which they deserve," and
considered it Grant's duty to accept Seton-Karr's resigna-
tion from the office of Secretary to the G o v e r n m e n t of
Bengal. 4 2
T h e Governor General had to defend his severe censures
and wrote to W o o d , that, though the Secretary of State

40 H . P., Canning to Wood, July 31, 1861.

41Englishman, Aug. 5, 1861.
42 Buckland, Lieutenant Governors, I, 202 ff.
214 T H E BLUE MUTINY

might disagree, he must not reverse the censures or change

the wording. T h e censures were deliberately strong, he
explained, to forestall an attack on the two men by the
planters' party. Grant took his own censure with good
h u m o r but was not convinced that it was justified. " N o
d o u b t , " wrote Grant, " I ought to be scolded for not scold-
ing and yet I don't know that any good would have come
from my swearing at the post-boy after he had upset me in
the m u d . " C a n n i n g disagreed and wrote that if Grant had
administered a timely and strong rebuke to Seton-Karr for
authorizing the distribution of Nil Darpan, the planters
would not have prosecuted James Long. 4 3
A s C a n n i n g had anticipated, W o o d was not pleased with
the censure. O n September 22 he wrote, " Y o u are short I
think on Seton Karr, b u t I won't disturb it." A g a i n he
wrote, " I think your m i n u t e and publication sharp."
C a n n i n g replied, "I cannot admit that Seton-Karr was
treated more sharply than he himself deserved . . . ;" 44 and
then Canning, and two days later Frere, informed W o o d
of the background events which had led the Governor
General to issue and publish his strong censure.
C a n n i n g had been determined not to allow Seton-Karr
to go on trial. O n e reason was that Peacock, it was learned,
had felt that Wells' sentence of L o n g had been too light.
H e had preempted the place of Jackson, a good-humored
judge, w h o was next in line to try a case in sessions, in
order to try Seton-Karr himself and pronounce a heavy
sentence. Another source of Canning's qualms a b o u t a
trial was that some "traitor" in the Secretary's office had
carefully saved the pencil slips and office memoranda per-

43H. P., Canning to Wood, Aug. 9 and 22, 1861.

44H. P., Wood to Canning, Sept. 26 and Oct. 18, 1861; Canning
to Wood, Dec. 2, 1861.
 NIL DARPAN 215

taining to the publication of Nil Darpan, which were

meant to be destroyed. The planters had intended to rely
on them for evidence and they were liable to a dangerous
misinterpretation. A further disadvantage was the lack of
competent counsel since Ritchie, the Advocate General
and the best available man, had declined on grounds of
professional etiquette from taking sides in the matter. Con-
viction was therefore almost certain and would have
brought the Government of India into conflict with the
Supreme Court and brought Exeter Hall and Parliament
into the question.
Canning wanted to bolster the position of the small
moderate party in the Landholders and Commercial Asso-
ciation which always had opposed the activities of the ex-
tremist majority. 45 At a meeting of the Association called
during the week before the Supreme Court was to com-
mence its sessions, the extremist party already had pledged
the Association to the prosecution. The minority group
favored appealing first to the Governor General, but were
becoming impatient with the Government which, they be-
lieved, would never condemn one of its own officials for an
offense against the non-official European community. T h e
Governor General's resolution was published on the morn-
ing of August 10, the day set for a final decision in the
Landholders and Commercial Association. One of the
members of the Association described the result: " I t came
on the violent party like a thunder clap, they found the
ground cut from under their feet and there was such a row
of blank faces, when they found themselves baulked of
their expected revenge. . . ." Frere wrote: " T h e moderate

45
T h e "moderates" included W . S. Fitzwilliam, Chairman of the
Chamber of Commerce, George Brown of Jardine, Skinner and Co.,
and W . Maitland. H. P., Canning to Wood, Dec. 2, 1861.
2I6 T H E BLUE MUTINY

party plucked up courage and aided by a large number

who had felt sincerely aggrieved but were not satisfied,
carried a resolution that all further proceedings should be
dropped, and so the matter ended." If the Governor Gen-
eral had not published his resolution on that very day, it
would have meant a disastrous trial for Seton-Karr.4®
Wood accepted Canning's explanation of the censure on
political grounds alone, comparing it to saving a suspect
from a lynching mob by imprisonment. 47 On August 12
Seton-Karr submitted a full apology to the Government of
India for his failure to furnish it with a copy of Nil
Darpan. Considered by Wood as well as by Canning an
able man, Seton-Karr was subsequently appointed a Judge
of the High Court and later Secretary to the Government
of India in the Foreign Department.
T h e "vendetta" of the extremist party did not end with
the closing of the Nil Darpan episode. Their ultimate tar-
get was J . P. Grant upon whom the two planter news-
papers continued to heap criticism, jibes and insults. One
example is this verse from the Englishman·.

John Peterl John Peter! Beware of the day,

When the friends of the planters shall all have their say,
• · · · ·

Ha! laugh'st thou John Peter my vision to scorn!

Base bird of the dunghill, thy plume shall be torn;
Down, down must thou stoop from thy perch upon high;
Ah! hence must thou speed, for the spoiler is nigh.48

" T h e spoiler" appeared in August in the person of John

McArthur, an assistant in the Luckiparra indigo factory of

46
H. P., Frere to Wood, Dec. 4, 1861.
47
H . P., Wood to Frere, J a n . 17, 1862; Wood to Canning, Feb. 10,
1862.
48
Englishman, March 15, 1861.
 NIL DARPAN 2 17

the Mirganj Concern. In an affray on June 18, i860, the

servants of McArthur and Driver, the manager of the con-
cern, had attacked the followers of Hurnath Roy which
resulted in the murder of one of the zamindar's people.
T h o u g h both planters were absent from the scene, Lush-
ington, as Commissioner of Nadia, reported that they must
have known of or assented to the attack. His report was
published in the Selections from the Records of the Gov-
ernment of Bengal relating to the Cultivation of Indigo
McArthur, supported by the extremist party, brought a
libel suit against Grant for authorizing the official publica-
tion of Lushington's letter.
By a legal oversight the relatively new office of Lieu-
tenant Governor had not been included in a law ex-
empting public officers in their official acts from the law
of libel. Ritchie, the Advocate General, advised Grant to
base his defense upon proving the allegations. For his de-
fense Grant had Ritchie as his counsel and the entire
machinery of the Bengal Government at his disposal. T h e
district officials were instructed to collect witnesses and to
help in every way possible; the Bengal Government paid
the entire expense of the defense. But no definite proof of
McArthur's implication was uncovered, and in court
Ritchie was forced to plead that the publication fell within
the realm of privileged communications. Peacock presided,
found Grant guilty, and fined him a nominal sum of one
rupee. 60
John Peter Grant left India in April 1862 triumphantly
bearing the Order of Knight Commander of the Bath
awarded by Canning and an enthusiastic commendation
presented by the British Indian Association. He departed
with the knowledge that during his short tenure in office
49 Selections, N o . 33, Part III.
roJ. P. 651 60, A p r i l 1862 and 277-79, June 1862.
218 THE RI.UE MUTINY

the rule of law had been diffused throughout the country-

side and a vicious system of exploitation had been up-
rooted. Grant's sense of justice, Herschel's integrity, and
Long's devotion have left a lasting imprint upon the his-
tory of modern Bengal.
 χ
Conclusion
THE INDIGO INDUSTRY OF LOWER BENGAL HAD BEEN AN
anachronism long before its final destruction in 1862. It
was a child of eighteenth-century mercantilism, originally
nurtured by the East India Company to furnish a raw ma-
terial suitable for the remittance trade. Out of necessity
the Government continued to support this relic of mer-
cantilism in the subsequent era of free trade. T h e indigo
system, which provided one of the few colonial products
marketable in Britain, was much too important to the
Indian economy to be hindered by scrupulous regulations.
Official patrons, like Lord William Bentinck, overlooked
the industry's violation of the principles of laissez faire and
condoned its shameful dependence on forced labor.
By the mid-1850's, however, the indigo industry had lost
its central position in the export trade of Bengal. At the
same time the Government began to enact long overdue
measures to reform the neglected administration of Lower
Bengal, the most important of which was the creation of
the office of Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. John Peter
Grant, the second Lieutenant Governor, not only held
strong Liberal opinions but was accustomed to carrying
his ideas to their logical conclusion. With relentless con-
sistency he applied the doctrine of free trade to the indigo
system. T h e peasant, Grant reasoned, was no less a capi-
220 THE BLUE MUTINY

talist than the planter and must be allowed to sell his

product on a free market. It was this change in government
policy that encouraged the ryots to take a determined
stand against indigo planting. In effect, the tenets of mid-
Victorian Liberalism, as upheld by John Peter Grant in
Bengal and Charles Wood in London, became an instru-
ment for peasant emancipation and a barrier to unre-
stricted colonial exploitation. T h e limits that Liberalism
set on economic oppression were mild enough, but they
were specific: Economic relations between individuals must
be free and voluntary.
By enforcing another principle of Liberalism, judicial
supremacy, the Lieutenant Governor further contributed
to the freedom of the indigo cultivator. In his insistence on
the supremacy of the judicial over the executive branch in
district administration, J o h n Peter Grant was carrying on
the tradition of the "Bengal School," itself grounded in the
Whiggish doctrines of Lord Cornwallis. In Lower Bengal
the principle of judicial supremacy had to wait over fifty
years to be given a fair trial and was fully implemented
only when J o h n Peter Grant increased the number and
accessibility of courts in the mufassal. When this occurred,
the peasantry, ever alert to subtle changes in power rela-
tionships, recognized that authority had shifted from the
indigo planters to the judiciary. Between the spring of
i860, when the ryots were first summoned into court for
contract violations, and the spring of 1861, when they
themselves initiated lawsuits to challenge every demand of
the planters, a momentous change took place. T h e peasan-
try grasped the concept of lawful rights. T h e y became
enthusiastic supporters of the legal process and forced
judicial solutions to issues previously determined by execu-
tive fiat. T h u s the peasantry vindicated the long-held opin-
ion of the Lieutenant Governor that the system of authori-
 CONCLUSION 221

tarian paternalism was not suited to the "wealthy and

civilised" province of Bengal.
Unfortunately, the advantages which accrued to the ryots
f r o m the application of the rule of law were short-lived.
T h e peasants had received aid in their struggle from a
group which was just beginning to emerge into a position
of dominance in the mufassal—the rural middle class. T h e
rise of this class had ominous consequences for the peasan-
try: Many of its members—from patnidars to village head-
men—were engaged in moneylending. T h e y supported the
ryots only for the sake of undermining the economic power
of their archrivals, the indigo planters. Ultimately they
snatched the fruits of victory from the peasants, and the
indigo disturbances mark the transfer of power from
planter to moneylender in L o w e r Bengal. T h e decade fol-
lowing the indigo disturbances, when the cultivators had
freed themselves f r o m the planter but had not yet fallen
into the grip of the moneylender, may have been the
happiest period in the Bengal countryside. T h e r e a f t e r the
legal system, which supplanted customary law at the village
level, upheld the usurer and worked against, not in favor
of, the small peasant.
Calcutta, rather than the mufassal, was the scene of the
most significant developments in the contest over indigo
planting. T h e struggle tested the power of the British mer-
cantile community which had been growing in respecta-
bility and influence as the vanguard of private enterprise
in India. T h o u g h relatively f e w in numbers, the Euro-
peans were energetic and vocal, and they expected the Gov-
ernment to recognize their claims to preferential treat-
ment. T h e Indian subjects, especially those who had ac-
quired an English education and a knowledge of British
political forms, challenged the notion that the Europeans
had an exclusive monopoly of the rights of Englishmen.
222 THE BLUE MUTINY

After mid-century, when the public life of Calcutta divided

along racial lines, the Hindu political community united
in the British Indian Association and applied the tech-
niques of political agitation they had learned from the
British example. Among these were newspaper campaigns,
mass meetings, petitions and deputations to officials, and
the employment of agents to plead their cause in Britain.
India's first political leaders cut their teeth in this conflict
against the British mercantile and professional community
of Calcutta. In later years they would find a worthy ad-
versary in the Government of India itself.
T h e precursor of all modern Indian political campaigns
was launched in Calcutta to support a popular uprising
against economic injustice. An idealistic cause thus helped
to shape the character of nationalism in Bengal. T h i s in
turn was to influence the political goals of all India in
which the attainment of self-government was considered
inseparable from the realization of social and economic
justice. Although compassion for the weak and poor had
strong roots in Indian thought, the quest for justice was
first introduced into modern Indian politics by the Euro-
pean missionary and humanitarian. If a foreigner like
James Long could sacrifice himself for the peasantry, how
could a native-born Bengali remain indifferent? Similarly,
the romantic movement, transplanted to Calcutta through
English education, gave rise among the intelligentsia to an
idealization of the rustics. During the indigo disturbances
this sentiment was popularized in the editorials of Harish
Chandra Mukherjee of the Hindoo Patriot. A decade later
it would enter the mainstream of Indian political thought
through the writings of the renowned Bengali novelist and
patriot, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
Finally, the indigo disturbances mark a new direction in
Government policy toward the peasantry. If, after the
 CONCLUSION 223

Indian Mutiny, Government concern with peasant welfare

was motivated by political considerations, it was also in-
spired by a recognition of the broader responsibilities of
rulers toward their subjects. T h e latter nineteenth century
would witness a growing competition between the Govern-
ment and the Indian urban elite for leadership of the
rural masses. T h i s concern with rural welfare was revolu-
tionary in Indian history. In the past the peasant of India
carried the burden of his afflictions alone. Each new gov-
ernment brought in its wake new revenue assessments and
a new set of tax collectors. Each period of war and chaos
brought its destruction of crops, uprooting of villages, and
famine. T h e peasants were always the victims, always the
givers, never the receivers. Today politicians go among the
villagers soliciting votes; planning commissions concern
themselves with rural development projects; government
agencies work to increase crop yields, extend cheap agri-
cultural credit, improve village sanitation, and encourage
education. This official concern with rural welfare had its
beginnings in the nineteenth century. It was foreshadowed
by the sympathy shown the peasants by both the Govern-
ment of Bengal and the educated Indian middle class dur-
ing the indigo disturbances of 1859 to 1862.
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Sinha, Ν. K. Economic History of Bengal. Vol. I. Calcutta,
1956.
Sketch of the Official Career of the Honorable Ashley
Eden, C. S. I. Calcutta, 1877.
Smith, George. Life of William Carey. Everyman ed.,
London, n.d.
"Steam Cultivation in India" by an Assistant Indigo
Planter. Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural
Society of India, Vol. XII, Pt. I, 1861.
Stokes, Eric. The English Utilitarians and India. Oxford,
1959·
Temple, Sir Richard. Men and Events of My Time in
India. London, 1882.
Tripathti, Amales. Trade and Finance in the Bengal Presi-
dency 1793-1833. Calcutta, 1956.
Watt, George. The Commercial Products of India. London,
1908.
. Pamphlet on Indigo. Calcutta, 1890.
Westland, J. A Report on the District of Jessore: Its An-
tiquities, Its History, and Its Commerce. 2d. ed. re-
vised. Calcutta, 1874.
Wilson, Minden. History of the Behar Indigo Factories.
Calcutta, 1908.

NEWSPAPERS, PERIODICALS, A N D J O U R N A L S

Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India

and its Dependencies. London: 1816-1845. (Semi-
annual to 1829; 3 times a year, 1830—).
Bengal Hurkaru. (Daily.) Calcutta: 1798-1866.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 233
Calcutta Review. (Monthly.) Calcutta: 1844—.
Economist. (Weekly.) London: 1843—.
Englishman. (Daily.) Calcutta: 1833-1934.
Friend of India. (Weekly.) Serampore: 1835-1922.
Hindoo Patriot. (Weekly.) Calcutta: 1854-1923.
Indian Field. (Weekly.) Calcutta: 1858-1862.
New Calcutta Directory for the Town of Calcutta, Bengal,
the North-West Provinces, Punjab, Arracan, Assam,
Pegu, Tenasserim, etc. (Annual.) Calcutta: A. G.
Roussac, 1856-1863.
Som Prakash. (Bengali weekly.) Calcutta: 1858-?.
 Index

Acts Apear, Seth Α., ι ig, 206η.

Reg. 23 of 1795, 39; Charter Auckland, Lord, 69
A c t of 1813, 40; R e g . V of A u r a n g a b a d concern, 91
1830, 42, 66; Charter A c t of Authoritarian paternalism, see
1833, 44; Act X I of 1836, 45, P u n j a b system
104; A c t IV of 1837, 47η.,
53; A c t I V of 1840, 54; Sale Bainbridge, A . J., 82
Laws of 1841 and 1845, 57; Bakrabad factory, 93
Charter A c t of 1853, 62; Act Balabhpur Mission, 99, 101
X V of 1856, 63; Act X of Balabhpur village, 102
1859. 5 6 - 57- 6 4n., 117. Ha. Banami (holding lands in n a m e
1 43' 175-7(>, 180, 187, 188, of another person), 53, 57η.
192; A c t X I of 1859, 58; Act Bangaon subdivision, 151
X I of i860, 91, 131ÍE., 143, Bansbaria concern, 76, 77, g s
1478., 158, 163, 164, 170-71; Barasat district, 26, 678., 140, 141,
A c t V I (BC) of 1862, 192; 164, 180
"Black Acts", 104, 106, 107, Beadon, Cecil, n o n .
139, 211; Indian Penal Code, Beaufort, William, 79, 80
US Be-ilaka (indigo land not o w n e d
Advocate General, 159 by planter), 29, 53, 54, 128,
Affrays, 40, 54, 139 •64, 173
Agency houses, 20, 23, 24, 42 Bell, J. S„ 161, 162
Agra and O u d h , 17, 18 Belli, C . S., 154, 155, 161, 162
U n i t e d Provinces of, 140 Bengal
A g u r i caste, 85 district administration, 74-75
America L o w e r Bengal defined, 7η.
Revolutionary War, 17, 39 exports of, 25
C i v i l W a r , 191η. number of indigo planters in,
slavery in, 110, 145, 205 26
Amherst, Lord, 41 weather of, 24
Andrews, David, 91, 93, 94 Bengal British India Society, 106,
Aniline dyes, 16 108
236 INDEX

Bengal Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta, 103S.

111, 215η. social changes in, 60
Bengal Hurkaru, 109, 112, 118, university, 63
125, 139, 203, 205, 211 mukhtars from, 86, 86n.
Bengal Indigo Company, 26, 27, T o w n Hall, 109
29, 60, 90, 125, 174 bar, 116
Bengal Legislative Council, 192 press, 118-19
Bentinck, Lord W m , 41, 48, 53, Campbell, C. H„ 188
219 Campbell, J. S., 151
Berhampur, 61, 76, 95 Canning, Lord, 40, 62, 74, 110,
Betts, C., 149, 152, 162, 165 111, 113, 122, 127, 167, 169,
Beveridge, H., i8g 179, 180, 188, 190, 212, 217
Bhobayparah village, 101 on Act X I of i860, 134, 137-38
Bigah (one-third of an acre), 34η. differences with J. P. Grant,
Bihar, 63, 75, 125, 140, 193 169-70, 183-84, 214
Bird, Robert, 47 Lady Canning's death, 190
Birkistapur factory, 96 on criminal contract laws, 190-
Biswas, Bishnu Charan, 95 192
Biswas, Digambar, 95, 96 on James Long, 208
Biswas, Kutub, 94 on Wells and Peacock, 209,
Biswas, Morad, 91, 92, 94 211-12
Biswas, Nobin, 90 Carey, Rev. Wm., 49η.
Biswas, Okhil Chandra, 77 Carr, Tagore and Co., 104, 108
Biswas, Sauhaus, 91, 92 Chakravarty, Titu, 152
Blumhardt, Rev. Henry, 99 Champaran district, 60
Board of Revenue, Bengal, 80 Chandal caste, 86
Board of Trade, Bengal, 49 Char (sand bank), 29, 30, 56
Bomwetsch, Rev. Christian, 98, Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra,
99, 100, ι ο ί , 102, 123, 197 222
Bose, Girish Chandra, 152, 165, Chatterjee, Chunder Mohun, 138,
166 140, 141
Brahman caste, 28, 84 Chatterjee, Mohesh Chandra, 87-
Brahmo Samaj, 104 89. 157
Brett, Walter, 201, 203 Chatterji, Gopi, 97
Bright, John, 115, 116, 117 Chaudhari, Sham Chandra Pal,
British India Society, 46, 66, 106 89, 90
British Indian Association, 106, Chaudhari, Srigopal Pal, 89, 96
111, 117-19, 135, 138, 144, Chaukidar (watchman), 151, 165
192, a n , 217 Church Missionary Society, 98,
Brown, George, 215η. 101, 114, 121, 122, 123, 196,
Brown, Lord Ulick, 207 197, 208
Buna (forest) coolies, 29, 33, 166- Clarke, Longueville, 108, 155
167 Cockerell, F. E., 77, 95
Burdwan, Maharaja of, 210η. Cornwallis, Lord, 39, 220
 INDEX 237
Cotton, Dr. Geo., 208 East India Co. (cont.)
Courts Directors of, 18, 43, 66
mujassal, 50, 52, 64, 73, 86, 8g, commercial residents, 48, 49
106, 121, 155, 1585., 171, 175 attitude of Indians toward,
Supreme Court of Calcutta, 39, 11 in.
41, 45, 192, 202ff. Eden, Ashley, 68ff., 76, 78, 141,
small causes courts, 179, 179η. '94
Additional Judge to supervise Edmonstone, Neil Benjamin, 43-
rent cases, 188
44
Cowie, David, 203, 213
Crawford, R. W., 114η. Education Despatch of 1854, 63,
Creighton, Henry, 49, 59 210
Crimean War, 24 Eglinton, 203
Elgin, Lord, 116, 124
Ellenborough, Lord, 41
Dacca district, 26, 59, 61
Englishman, 98, 112, 118, 139,
Dacca News, 109
166, 201, 203, 205, Î08, 211,
Dalhousie, Lord, 47, 62, 64, 74
213, 216
Damurhuda subdivision, 152, 161,
Erskine, J. C., 207
164
European colonization and settle-
Darogha (superintendent of po- ment in India
lice), see police government policy toward, 388.
Davidson, Α., i 6 i , 162 Select Committee on, 47, 50,
Day, Lai Behari, 85 54- " 3 . »22
Deb, Radha Kanta, 207 British Indian Association's at-
Derozio, Henry L. V., 105 titude on, 135-36
Dey, Dwarkanath, 77 Indigo Commission on, 142-43
Dickenson, John, 115, 116 Ewart, W m , 46, 47
District officers, 147ÍI., 172
as magistrates, 1580. Farazi disturbances, 61, 68, 78
indigo planters and, 50, 142 Faridpur district, 28, 32, 87, 172,
Diwan (financial manager), 28,
'73
85, 96 Fergusson, W . F., 68, 138, 143-44,
Driver, John, 155, 217 182, 182η., 201
Duff, Rev. Alexander, 107, 123, Ferry funds, 65
208 Fitzwilliam, W . S., 215η.
Durand, P., 157 Forbes, Alexander, 109, 125, 138,
Dutch, 16 182η.
Dutt, Jaggobandha, 80, 81 Forlong, James, 27, 59-60, 67, 86,
Dutt, Michael Madhusudan, 201 100, 138, 140, 147, 150, 152,
Dutta, Akshoy Kumar, 118η. 162, 164
Dyes, 15-16 Frere, Bartle, 131, 133, 190, 207,
208-209, 210, 214, 215
East India Company, 16, 17, 19, Friends of India, 112η.
26, 38, 100, 111, 137, 219 Furrell, J. W., 81
238 INDEX

Ghose, Dwarkanath, 91, 93, 94 Gumashta (steward), 28, 84, 90,

Ghose, Jadbandhu, 91, 94 96, 152
Ghose, M a n m o h a n , 118η.
Ghose, Ramgopal, 107 Halliday, Frederick, 62, 63, 64η.,
Ghose, Sisir Kumar, 95η., i i 8 n . , 76, 78, ι ο ί , 129, 2 0 0
>55- >56 policy toward indigo planter;,
G i s b o u r n e and Co., 193 64ff., 74
G o o d e n o u g h , F. Α., 125 Hanskhali, 76, 96
G o p a l g a n j , 81, 82 Harrington, Henry B., 131, 133
Gouldsbury, F., 79, 80 Hatch, George, 49
G o v i n d a p u r village, 96 H a u d e a h thanna, 76
G r a n t , Charles, 49η. Heaven, Robert, 18η.
G r a n t , John Peter, 36, 72, 73, 84, Herschel, W m . J., 97, 119, 120η.,
ι ο ί , 112, 113, 118, 125, 126, 150, 152-53, 158, i6o, 161,
127, 132, 134, 135, 136, 138, 164, 165, 166, 174, 200
149' >52- >55. >59- l 6 ° . >72' biographical note on, 149η.
182, 191, 194, 201, 212, 219- analysis of rent p r o b l e m by,
220 185-87
early career, 74-75 Hills, Archibald, 88
views o n indigo planters, 76, 83 Hills, James, 26, 27, 54, 60, 88,
critical of district officers, 77, 98, 164, 174, 175, 176, 193
79, 157, 158, 161 vs. Issur Ghose, 192
tour of Pabna, 88, 168-69 Hills and White, 59
a n d James Long, 123 Hindoo Patriot, 6411., 65, 83, 88,
M i n u t e on R e p o r t of Indigo 97, 100, 118-21, 122, 135, 136,
Commission, 144-45 >37- >39- >55- >56, 194. 203.
a n d Herschel, 161, 185, 187 222
and Canning, 166, 169-70, 183- H i n d u College, 105
184 H o b r a concern, 70
attacked by Indigo Planters' H u g l i district, 88
Association, 167-68 H u g l i River, 79
views o n ryots as capitalists, 168 Hurry, W . C „ 105
administrative reforms, 171 Hussein, M i r T u f a z i l , 91, 92
a n d special rent commissioners,
180, 185 Ilaka (indigo land o w n e d by
a n d Nil Darpan case, 202, 214 planter), 53, 57, 164, 177
trial of, 216-17 Indian Civil Serivce, see district
awarded K. C. B., 217 officers
eulogized by British Indian As- Indian Field, 67, 78, 100, 119,
sociation, 217
>35' 136, 138, >55' 210
" G r e n t R e n t Case," ig2
Indian L a w Commission, 45
Grote, Arthur, 70, 71, 72, 76, 148,
Indian R e f o r m League, 109, 111,
150, 152, 160, 161
112η.
 INDEX 239

I n d i a n R e f o r m Society, 46, 115, I n d i g o planters (cont.)

116 relations w i t h ryots, 58, 141-42,
Indigo commerce 200
history of, 15-17 charitable works of, 59-60
fluctuations in, ígff. as h o n o r a r y magistrates, 66, 67,
effect of w e a t h e r on, 24 . 78
r e l a t i v e i m p o r t a n c e of in Ben- ineptness at court, 176-77
gal e c o n o m y , 25 reaction to defeat, 193-94
I n d i g o C o m m i s s i o n , 35, 51, 68, accused of outrages against In-
89, 90, 97, 114, 118η., 129, d i a n w o m e n , 198η.
134s., 148, 160, 171 I n d i g o Planters' Association, 50,
r e p o r t of, 116, 140®. 54, 57, 108, 1 1 1 , 112, 113,
I n d i g o concerns 115, 117, 125, 138, i 6 i , 167,
o w n e r s h i p of, 26, 27 '79
m a n a g e m e n t of, 27 c h a n g e to L a n d h o l d e r s a n d
I n i d a n e m p l o y e e s of, 28 C o m m e r c i a l Assoc., 182η.
I n d i g o contract, 42, 43, 113-14, I n d i g o p r o d u c t i o n , 16, 25
127ÉE. i n d i g e n o u s m a n u f a c t u r e , 16η.
c r i m i n a l e n f o r c e m e n t o f , 66, history of, 16-18
114, 1255., 1478., 160, 190-92 in C a r o l i n a , 17
I n d i g o c u l t i v a t i o n , 29-31 in G u a t e m a l a , 17
seed for, 30, 35η. in S a n t o D o m i n g o , 17, 19
I n d i g o disturbances finance of, 20, 22, 23
o r i g i n of, 72 labor, 28-29
spread of, 78 river-course shift as f a c t o r in
I n d i g o dye d e c l i n e of, 31
p r i c e of, 24, 25 cost of, 34-36
m a n u f a c t u r i n g process of, 32-
34 Jackson, Charles, 131
I n d i g o factory, »7 Jackson, E l p h i n s t o n e , 188, 2 1 4
capital i n v e s t e d in, 32 Jamadar (head servant), 151
Indigo planters J a n g i p u r subdivision, 80
relations w i t h I n d i a n l a n d h o l d - Jardine, S k i n n e r a n d C o . , 179,
ers, 19, 52-55, 78, 141 215η.
failures of, 24 J a y r a m p u r village, 96
n u m b e r of in 185g, 26 J e n i d a h subdivision, 189
I n d i a n planters, 26, 27η., 53, Jessore district, 25, 26, 32, 59, 61,
8g, 108η. 73. 79- 87, 88, 97, 123, 140,
role in m a n u f a c t u r i n g process, 153, 156, 167, 180, 182, 188,
189
34
planters of c o m p a r e d to those
legal j u r i s d i c t i o n over, 39-41
of N a d i a , 164-65
relations w i t h district officers,
r e n t disturbances in, 173®.
50, 142
Jingergattcha concern, 59, 68
l a n d h o l d i n g by, 53, 55-58, 181
240 INDEX

J o r a d a h concern, 173 Lawrence, John, 47

J u d i c i a l Department, Bengal, 49 Lieutenant Governor of Bengal,
J u n g a l village, 157 219
Jute, 24, 68 first appointment to, 62
responsibilities of, 63
Kachahri (business office), 151, not exempt from law of libel,
1
74> >75- ! 7 6 217
Kaibarta caste, 84, 85η. Lincke, R e v . J . G., 98, 99, 101
Kalinagar village, 79 Lingham, E. F., 157, 158
Kalopole thanna, 153 Lokanathpur concern, 96, 150
Kar, Hem Chandra, 73 Long, R e v . James, 122, 123, 124,
Katchikatta concern, 88 135, 140, 194, 196g., 222
Kayastha caste, 28, 84, 85η. trial of, 203S.
Kean, H., 79 jury in trial of, 206, 206η.
Kenny, T . J., 59, 168, 173, 193 imprisonment of, 206-207
Key, Dr., 207 Luckiparra factory, 217
Khalbolia concern, 159 Lushington, Ε. H., 160, 1 6 1 , 174,
Khartouli lease (sublease from a 181, 217
ryot), 56 Lyons, Thomas, 94
Kinnaird, Arthur P., 1 1 4
Krishnagar, 61, 73, 76, 78, 79, 97, Macaulay, Thomas Babingtori,
140, 148, 161 45, 46, 48
Kudumsar concern, 80 Mackenzie (Dep. Mag. of Siraj-
Kumarkhali subdivision, 157, 189 ganj), 161
Kurimpur, 15G Mackenzie, H., 59, 68
Kushtia, 156, 168-69 Maclean, A. T., 149, 152, 159,
160, 1 6 1 , 162, 165
Lahore Chronicle, 201 Magura subdivision, 59, 156, 161
Lahore Light Horse, 156 M ahajan (moneylender), 175,
Lakiraj (revenue-exempt land), 182, 221
76 Maitland, W., 2 1 5 η .
Lancashire textile interests, 46, Malda district, 4gn., 93
106, 114, 1 9 1 η . Mandai, Rutton, 95
Landholders and Commercial As- Mandais (village headmen), 97,
sociation, 181-82, 182η., 185, 98, gg, 148, 154
1 88, 201, 202, 2 12-16 Mangles, J . H., 6g
Landholders' Society, 105η., io6 Manuel, C. H., 201, 202
Larmour, Robert T . , 27, 70, 7 1 , Maseyk, Charles, B., 80, 81
90, 140, 1 5 1 , 194 Mauritius, 70, 105
Lathiyals (professional warriors McArthur, Campbell, 81, 82, 83
armed with lathis or sticks), McArthur, John, 216-17
28, 52, 54, 86, 87, go, 92, 96, McLeod, A. D., g ì , gg
101, 102, 157 McNeile, D. J., 14g, 1 5 1 , 152,
Latif, Abdul, 68-6g 165, 18g
 INDEX 241

Meares, George, 96, 97, 140, 150, M u l n a t h concern, 151

152, 154, 162 Murshidabad district, 26, 61, 91
Meherpur thanna, 76 Murshidabad, 78, 79
Minto, Lord, 40 Muslims, 61, 86, 93, 94, 123, 178-
M i r g a n j concern, 81, 155, 217 179
Missionaries Muspratt, H., 157
in mufassal, 86, 98, 142
German Lutheran, 98, 122 Nadia district, 25, 26, 32, 61, 65,
societies, n i , 121-24, 135 78, 87, 98, 121, 123, 125, 140,
in Calcutta Missionary Con- 147, 148, 149, 152, 157, 167,
ference, 136, 139 173, 174, 177, 180, 182, 188
Mitra, Digambar, 108η. planters of compared to those
Mitra, Dinabandhu, ig8 of Jessore, 164-65
Mitter, Ranjendralal, 109, n o n . Nadia division, 133, 136, 148, 174
Mittra, Kissory Chand, 119 Narail family, 87
Molony, E. W „ 97, 153, 155, 156, Narianpur village, 151
157, 161, 164, 165, 166 Newmarch, John, 203
Moneylenders, see mahajan Nijabad (factory land), 29, 56,
Montressor, C . F., 180 144, 164
Morris, G. G., 180-81 Nil Darpan, 85η., 124, 195, ig8ff.
Mufassal (countryside, as distinct Nischintipur factory, 26, 136
from Calcutta), 39 Nischintipur concern, 60, 100,
colleges in, 61 101
reforms in under Halliday, 63- Nohata concern, 156
64. North-Western Provinces, 47, 131
political consciousness in, 65
classes in, 84 O m a n , T . E., 82
Calcutta-educated mukhtars O p i u m , 25, 140
and journalists in, 86
Outram, General James, 131
courts, see courts
missionaries in, 988F.
Pabna district, 26, 28, 59, 78, 87,
planters organized in, 112,
88, 140, 156, 157, 168, 173
n 2 n . , 179
Mukherjee, Harish Chandra, Palmerston, Lord, 111, 113
Parliament, 112, 114, 114η., 115,
118-21, 149, 163, 222
Mukherji, Narayan Chandra, 88 201
Mukhtars (attorneys), 51, 52, 65, Patni lease (lease of land with
76, 86, 87, 88, 97, 119, i 2 o n „ zamindari rights), 56, 65, 88
121, 152, 163 Peacock, Barnes, 130, 131, 132,
Mullick, Girish, 96, 97 133, 192, 206, 209, 214, 217
Mullick, Rammohun, 96 Permanent Settlement of 1793,
Mullick, Ramrutton, 96, 97 5». 56» 57. 1 7 1 · i 8 8 · »92
Mullick, Rasik Krishna, 118η. Peterson, A . T . T . , 203, 204, 213
Mulnath factory, 59-60, 90 Platts, F., 149, 159
242 INDEX

Pod subcaste, 86 Ryots (cont.)

Pogose, Ν., 59 cost to of producing indigo,
Police, 68, 72, 97, 126, 142, 143, 3536
1 5 1 , 152, 154, 165-66 taking initiative in disturb-
military, 63-64, 125, 126, 158, ances, giff., g7, 98
166, 180, 181 and missionaries, looff.
Poragaccha village, 95 in battle, 102
Portuguese, 16 reaction to Act X I of i860,
Presidency College, 75, see also 135. 163-64
Hindu College views of J . P. Grant on, 144-
Prestwich and Warner, 70 145, 168-69
Prinsep, John, 17η. in court, 159-60, 177-78
Punjab system, 47-48, 64, 74-75, reasons for differential in re-
220-21 sistance to indigo, 164
Purno Bibi, 91 withholding of rents by, )73ff.
unity of, 177-78
Railway awareness of legal rights, 182,
Eastern Bengal, 24 189
construction, 68
labor, 174 Sage, R . P., 35η.
Raiyati (owned or managed by a Saha, Lallchand, 91, 92, 95
ryot), 29, 144 Sale, Rev. J., 13g, 140, 141
Rajshahi district, 26, 76 Salgamudia factory, 168, 173
Rajshahi division, 133, 136, 157 Santal rebellion, Gi, 63, 70
Ranaghat, 89 Sarkar, Brindaban Chandra Pal,
Ratnapur factory, 99, 101, 102 9°
R e i d (Commissioner of Nadia Savi, Robert, 156
division), 77, 100 Savi, Thomas, 59
Reily, Η. M „ 189 Schalch, V. H „ 185, 189, 190
Remittance trade, 19-22, 39, 43 Schurr, Rev. Frederick, 98, gg,
Rent disturbances, i73ff. 1 2 1 , 122
Sconce, Α., 129, 1 3 1 , 133, 135
Rice, Mr., 91, 92
Scottish Church Mission, 123
Ritchie, W., 215, 217
Sepoy Mutiny, 24, 48, 61, 63, 66,
Roman Catholic, gg
67, 110, 1 1 1 , 122, 135, 16g,
Ross, Alexander, 74
223
Roy, Hurnath, 217
Serampore, 88
Roy, Rammohun, 104, 118η., 1 1 g Seton-Karr, W. S., 81, 82, 139,
Roy, Ramrutton, 87, 88, 8g, 157, 140, 141, 201, 202, 207, 212-16
158 Shore, John, 18
Rustomjee, Manikjee, 206η. Sibnibas, 90
Ryots Sinduri concern, 82
relations with planters, 58-60, Sinha, Kali Prasanna, 207
141-42 Sirajganj, 78, 168
 INDEX 243
Skinner, C. B., 81, 82, 97, 153, Vidyasagar, Iswarchandra, 107
154. 155' !56> 157. l 6 l > l 6 4- Village headmen, see mandais
165 Volunteer Corps, 110, 111
Smith, Gow, 101
Som Prakash, 119, 194, 207 Watson and Co., 26, 78, 79, 80,
Special Rent Commissioners, 194η.
i79ff· Watt, George, 15
Canning's criticism of, 183 Wells, Mordaunt, 203, 205, 209,
Stanley, Lord, 209 210, 214
West Indies, 17
Tagore, Debendranath, 107 White, John, g5
Tagore, Dwarkanath, 104, 105, White, Wm., 76, 95, 96
106, 109, 138 Wilson, James, 130, 132 ,133, 134,
Tagore, Jotendra Mohun, 211 137. 139
Tagore, Prasannakumar, io8n. Wise, J. P., 26, 125, 182η.
Talukdar (holder of an heritable W o a d dye, 15, 16
estate at fixed rent), 97 Wood, Browne, 93, 95
Tarafdar, Situi, 77 Wood, Charles (Lord Halifax),
Tattvabodhini Sabha, 107 113, 114, 116, 124, 171, 209,
Taylor, M. G., 149, 156, 159, 161, 214, 216, Γ20
165 on Act X I of i860, 134, 137,
T e m p l e , Richard, 139, 141, 143 138
Theobald, Wm., 50, 108, 112, on Herschel, 161
113, 115, 116, 182η. on Special R e n t Commission-
Thomas, R., 114η. ers, 181
Thomason, James, 47 on criminal contract laws, 190-
Thompson, George, 106 192
Tissendie, James, 88 Wylie, McLeod, 207, 208
Tottenham, L. R., g6, 172
" Y o u n g Bengal," 105, 106, 107,
Udny, George, 49η. 108, 117
Uncle Tom's Cabin, 122
Union Bank of Calcutta, 22, 23, Zamindari Association, 105 and
24, 104 see Landholders' Society
Utbandi ryots (tenants-at-will), Zamindars, 66, 67, 108, 122, 138
175, 194η. relations with indigo planters,
52-55, 78, 141, 173-74, 192
Vakils (pleaders), 51, 65, 76, 87 relations with ryots, 58, 181
Victoria, Queen, 100, 177 aid and instigate ryots, 878.
Vidyabhusan, Dwarkanath, 119, in British Indian Association,
194 117-18