Dr. Pravat Ranjan Sethi
Assistant Professor, Amity University
Abstract
From
the end of the eighteenth century, Orissa began to experience different
socio-economic change that transformed patterns of production and consumption
in the Cuttack region. These were the rise of colonial rule and the formally
colonized by the British changed the markets for goods, capital and labour.
Land Revenue was one of the traditional mainstays of British Indian Finance. 1
The land revenue administration and rent structure was deeply linked with the
tenurial rights and the intermediate interest groups. The traditional tenurial
expression of property rights was one of the factors in differentiation of
socioeconomic status of the owner cultivator and the farmer.
Keywords: British, economic system, social,
population, caste.
Introduction
Orissa has a history and a heritage of its
own, a history replete with a saga of integration and a heritage shinning with
an unmemorable glory. History always
speaks of past, but heritage invariably links it with the present and both
combined project the imperceptible future in unmistakable terms. The state of
Orissa as it stands today comprises portions of the ancient kingdoms of
Kalinga, Utkal or Orda and Kosala, which in course of centuries joined together
under political, social and economic pressures to form the Oriya Society as a
distinct entity in this land of India during the 12th century
A.D. After the land was conquered by the
British in the last century preceded by the rules of the Muslims, the Mughals
and the Marathas, for over 300 years, portions of the state lay dispersed under
the Bengal and Madras Presidencies and the Central Provinces and it was only in
1936 that the different Oriya speaking tracts reemerged as a separate province.[1]
Social Conditions of Orissa in Pre
Colonia Period
Early
history of Cuttack is associated with the Keshari dynasty. As stated by the distinguished historian A. Sterling,
present – day Cuttack was established as a military cantonment by kind Nrupa
Keshari of Keshari dynasty in 989 A.D.
Historical evidence suggests Cuttack becoming capital of a Kingdom
founded by Anangabhima Deva of Ganga dynasty in 1211 A.D. After the end of Ganga rule, Orissa passed to
the hands of the Gajapati Kings (1435 – 1541 A.D) of Solar dynasty under whom
Cuttack continued to be the capital of Orissa.
After the death of Mukunda Deva, the last Hindu king of Orissa, Cuttack
first came under Muslim ruler and later under Mughals. By 1750, Cuttack came
under Maratha ruler and it grew fast as a business center being the convenient
point of contact between the Marathas of Nagpur and the English Merchants of
Bengal. It was occupied by the British
in 1803 and later became the capital of Orissa division in 1816. Before the Britishers arrival in Orissa, the
Cuttack districts socio – economic condition is divergent. The scenario is changed after they changed
their administration. Prior to 1872 no
regular census of the district by the simultaneous enumeration of the people
had ever been taken; but several rough attempts were made from time to time to
estimate the number of inhabitants. The
Revenue Survey of 1842 gave the population of Cuttack as 5,53,073; a subsequent
attempt at a census showed it as 8,00,000; and yet another estimate was made in
1847, according to which the district contained 10,18,979 persons, giving an
average pressure of 320 persons per square mile. All these estimates were very rough, as they
were made simply by counting the homes through the agency of the police and
assigning an average number of inhabitants to each dwelling.[2] In 1855, however, an attempt was made to
obtain more accurate figures, special officers being appointed to test the
returns by counting the homes and their actual inhabitants in different parts
of the district and thus to ascertain the correct average for each house. A
Stirling, in his account of Orissa written in 1882, estimated the population of
the district as 12, 96,365 persons, his calculations being based upon an
enumeration of the dwellings, allowing 5 persons to each house.[3]
Census
Report
After the Sepoy mutiny,
the first census which can be regarded as in any way approximating to the truth
was taken in 1872, by which time the population had probably increased
materially owing to the population had
probably increased materially owing to the return of the people who had fled
from their homes during this last great calamity. That census disclosed a total population of
14,94,784 souls with an average density of 470 to the square mile; and in 1881
it was found that the population had risen to 17,38,165 and that the pressure
of the population amounted to 494 persons per square mile. The census of 1891
showed a large increase, the total number of persons recorded being 19, 37,671
and the density 533 per square mile. A
portion of the increase was due to the annexation of Banki with a population of
57,368 and an area of 116 square miles; but even if the figures for that tract
are included in the previous returns, the growth of population was 16.24 per
cent between 1872 and 1881 around 7.9 per cent in the decade ending in
1891. The census of 1872, however, was
probably incorrect and it has been suggested that the actual population
exceeded the census figures by at least 1, 00,000. This would reduce the rate of growth in the
succeeding nine years to 13 per cent; which is about what might be expected
during the period when the district was recovering from the terrible famine of
1866. The progress during the next
decade would probably have been greater, were it not that the district suffered
generally from repeated outbreaks of cholera and that in certain localities
scarcity and the great cyclone of 1885 seriously affected the growth of the
population. In the head quarters
subdivision, Banki remained almost stationary owing to scarcity almost
amounting to famine. In the Kendrapara subdivision the great cyclone of
September 1885 destroyed 45 villages in Thana
Patamundai most of the inhabitants of which were either drowned or succumbed to
the fever and cholera which usually form the sequel of such calamities, while
those that survived emigrated to tracts less exposed to the destructive action
of storm waves.[4]
The result of the census
of 1901 was a further increase of 1, 22,642 bringing the population up to
2,060,313 an increase by 6.3 per cent, the diminution of the rate of growth as
compared with the previous decade being probably due to loss suffered by the
movements of the people. The general
increment was shared by all parts of the district and the rate of development
was remarkably uniform throughout. The
growth of population was least in the already densely inhabited thanas, Cuttack, Salipur, Jajpur and
Jagatsingpur and greatest in the sparsely inhabited thanas, Patamundai and Aul on the sea – coast, where the
construction of protective embankments led to considerable reclamation of land
which had been thrown out of cultivation by the salt water floods of 1885.[5] By
1911 census the population had increased to 2,109,139 the percentage of
increase being 2.37 only. The decennial
period had been marked by a series of floods leading to crop failures and
outbreaks of cholera; and the facilities now offered by the Bengal – Nagpur
Railway line, which had been opened in the ‘nineties’, led to a great increase
in emigration, which to a certain extent obscured the real increase in the
population. The census of 1921 for the first time recorded a decrease, the
population falling by 2.11 per cent from 2,109,139 to 2,064,678. In 1918 the rains ceased entirely at the
beginning of September and the important winter rice crop and the Rabi crop of
the following spring almost completely failed.
Upon a people already in distress came the severe epidemic of influenza
that swept India in the autumn of 1918. Also
93,000 deaths or 18,000 in excess of births were reported during the year.
Owing to the population of the scanty water-supplies cholera and dysentery
broke out early in 1919 in addition to influenza. 18,000 persons died of
cholera, 13,000 of dysentery and 54,000 of influenza and fever. The total deaths rose to 1, 13,000 or 43,000
in excess of the births. In Jajpur and
Kendrapara subdivisions the crops of 1919 and 1920 were again damaged by floods
in the Brahmani River. In that period the social services were at
extremely backward level in the Cuttack district. The few halting steps were taken in the
direction of providing social services like education, communication and public
health. There was another turning point
in the census of 1931, which gave evidence of a steady recovery, the population
having increased since 1921 by 112,029 to 2,176,707 an increase of 5.43 per
cent as compared with 11.53 per cent for the province as a while, and 6.79 per
cent for the Orissa division. The
density of population to the square mile reached 595. The decade was on the whole free from major
calamities except for the period from 1924 to 1926. Apparently the scanty and ill–distributed
rains in 1924, followed by excessive rain in 1925 and a disastrous series of
floods in 1926, produced those conditions of polluted water supply,
undernourishment and exposure to hardships, which are all that is necessary to
enable malaria, cholera and other intestinal diseases, always endemic in the
district, to assume epidemic form; and mortality exceeded births in all three
years. In the social strata common with the other districts of Orissa, Cuttack
has a very marked excess of females over males, there being 1,117 females to
every thousand males. This is true,
however, only of the rural area. In the
towns the proportions are reversed and there are only 850 females to every
thousand males. The two local castes of
fairly high status (Karan and Khandait)
have a far larger proportion of women than those of equal rank elsewhere and
among the functional groups the excess of females is greater than anywhere else
in the Province. The proportion of
unmarried persons is also higher than in other parts of Orissa, viz. 513 out of
every thousand males and 327 out of every thousand females.[6]
Language
Oriya language is the
mother tongue of the large majority of the Orissa people, but English, Hindi,
Bengali and Telugu are also spoken.
English is the language of the small English settlement, of the larger
Eurasian element and of the better educated Indians. Hindi is used by a large number of Muhammadan
residents of the district and by members of the police force who have been
recruited from up–country. There are
always a certain number of Bengalis among the professional classes in the
district; and Telugu is spoken by some weavers, sweepers and others who have
emigrated from the Madras Presidency. It
is sufficiently common to make it necessary to employ an interpreter in the
criminal courts at Cuttack. More than 96 per cent of the people speak Oriya, or
as it is sometimes called Odri or Utkali, i.e. the language of Odra or Utkal,
both of which are ancient names for the country now called Orissa. Oriya, with Bengali, Bihari and Assamese,
forms one of the four languages which together make up the eastern group of the
Indo–Aryan languages. Its grammatical construction closely resembles that of Bengali,
but it has one great advantage over Bengali in the fact that, as a rule, it is
pronounced as it is spelt. The Oriya
verbal system is at once simple and complete.
It has a long array of tenses, but the whole is so logically arranged
and built on so regular a model, that its principles are easily impressed upon
the memory.[7]
Oriya is encumbered with
the drawback of an excessively awkward and cumbrous written character. This character is in its basis, the same as
Devanagari, but it is written by the local scribes with a stylus on a talpatra
or palm–leaf. The earliest example of the language which is at present known
consists of some Oriya words in an inscription of king Narasimha Deva II, dated
1296 A.D. An inscription of Narasimha
Deva IV, dated 1395 A.D., contains several Oriya sentences, which show that the
language was then fully developed and was little different from the modern form
of speech either in spelling or in grammar. The modern period of Oriya
literature begins with the writings of three eminent authors – Radha Natha Ray,
Madhusudan Rao and Fakir Mohan Senapati.
The first of these is regarded as the founder of a new school of poetry
in Orissa and his influence is distinctly visible in the writings of many
modern writers.[8]
Encompassing
Religion in different Parts
Orissa is the holy land of the Hindus,
which through all its vicissitudes has held its high place in the religious
esteem of the people. The Puranas are full of descriptions of
sanctity and it is declared to be the favorite abode of the Devatas and to
boast a population composed, more than half of Brahmans. From end to end we are told, it is one vast
region of pilgrimage (tirtha); its
happy inhabitants live secure of a reception into the world of spirits; and
those who visit it and bathe in its sacred rivers obtain remission of their
sins. According to popular belief, even
the victorious Musalman who led Akbar’s invading host into this land of
sanctity, was struck with amazement at its sacred river, the Mahanadi, its vast
crowds of Brahmans and its lofty temples of stone and exclaimed “This country
is no fit subject for conquest or for schemes of human ambition. It belongs
entirely to the gods and is one great region of pilgrimage throughout”.[9] From the moment the pilgrim crosses the
Baitarni river he treads on holy ground; and in these circumstances it is not
surprising that the great bulk of the population of the district is composed of
Indus, who with 21, 06,830 souls account for 96.7 per cent of the people.
Christianity was
practically the only other religion represented at the census of 1931. The number of Christians (2,873) is still
comparatively small and they are almost entirely confined to Cuttack town,
which is the headquarters of the Baptist and Roman Catholic Missions. The labours of the Baptist missionaries in
Cuttack date from 1822. The first Indian
convert was baptized six years afterwards and by 1872 the total number of
Indian Christians was 1911. in the
famine of 1865 – 1866 over 650 children, whose parents had died of starvation
or owing to the rigorous of the famine, had deserted them, were cared for by
the missionaries and brought up in the Christian faith. The growth of the community in the Cuttack
district has not been rapid. There are
five churches of the Baptist faith and order, the largest being in Cuttack town
and the others in villages not a great distance away. These churches are now united in a Church
Union which it is hoped will be a nucleus for the development of an Indian
church. At the present time there are
under the auspices of the Mission several primary schools for boys and girls in
the mufassal, and in Cuttack itself
there is a middle school and a boarding school for girls. Besides these there is a Women Teachers’
Training class from which for many years teachers have gone to serve in girls’
schools in all parts of Orissa. There is
also a school for Anglo–Indian children which teach up to the Senior Cambridge
Examination. This school – the Stewart
School – has hostels for boys and girls attached. The Mission High School is now, in accordance
with the principle of devolution adapted by the Mission, under the management
of the community. A Christian training
college for men has also been started.
The Mission Press, which has the distinction of being the oldest press
in Orissa, still continues to produce literature contributing to the
educational and spiritual uplift of the people.
The Cuttack Leper Asylum opened by the Mission to Lepers in 1919 is
under the superintendence of one of the resident Baptist missionaries.
The impression gained of the Oriya is likely to vary with the class
with which the observer comes in contact. The most highly educated classes are
as intelligent as in any part of the province; but in the village the more
well-to-do people are generally divided into fractions and much given to
litigation. The ordinary uneducated cultivator is superstitious and obsessed
with caste prejudices; he is less industrious and slower to understand his own
rights and interests than the Bihari
peasant; but his home is neater and tidier. He is generally law abiding,
conservative in his habits and remarkably free from the drink evil. The people
are friendly, good humored, kindly and hospitable towards each other. The
Brahmans are of a refined and intellectual type, and the karans have quiet as
high a reputation for acuteness as the Kayasthas of Bihar.[10]
PRINCIPAL
CASTES
According to the census
reports of 1931, the khandaits are by
far the largest caste in the district, numbering 5, 48,664, or more than a
fourth of the entire populations. Besides contributing the largest share to the
district population, the khandaits
have strong claims to be regarded as the most interesting caste in the
district; and Cuttack may be aptly termed the land of khandaits, just as Puri is the district of the Chasa caste. There is some difference of opinion as to the origin
of the word Khandaits. The general
view is that it means swordsman (from Khanda, a sword) but another explanation
which has been put forward, and with much plausibility, is that Orissa was
formerly divided into Khandas, or
groups of villages corresponding to the pargana
of Muhammadan times, and that there was over each a headman called khandapati, which was subsequently
corrupted to Khandait. Whatever may be the etymology of the name, it
is admitted that the Khandaits are
the descendants of the people who formed the peasant militia under the ancient
Rajas of Orissa. The Chasas, with a strength of 1, 53,663
persons, are next to the Khandaits
the most numerous agricultural caste in the district. They are known to be recruited mainly from
various aboriginal tribes. As their name
implies, they are an agricultural caste, the members of which almost all hold
land as occupancy raiyats or work for others as field – laborers. Like the Khandaits,
they are the well–to–do peasantry of the villages.[11]
FOUNDATION
OF WESTERN EDUCATION
When the British acquired
Orissa in 1803, there were scarcely a single Oriya as Government employee. “The
language of the courts and public offices was Persian, and it was not till 1805
that orders were passed that in all written communication with the natives of
the province the subject should be written in Oriya as well as in Persian. This order necessitated the employment of
Oriya muharrirs, who though skillful enough with their iron pen and bundle of
palm leaves, were skilful enough with their iron pen and bundle of palm leaves,
were almost helpless when required to write on paper with an ordinary pen.” A graphic picture of the state of education
prevailing here during the first half of the 19th Century of British
rule has been described by Sir William Hunter like this,
“Government, not less than the missionaries, long found itself baffled by
the obstinate orthodoxy of until 1838 no schools worthy of the name existed, except
in the two or three bright spots within the circle of missionary
influence. Throughout the length Orissa.
And breadth of the province, with its population of 2 and a half million of souls,
all was darkness and superstition. Here and there indeed a pundit taught a few
lads Sanskrit in a corner of some rich landlord’s mansion, and the larger
villages had a sort of hedge-school, where half a dozen boys squatted with the
master on the ground, forming the alphabet in the dust, and repeating the
multiplication table in a parrot like sing-song. Any one who could write a
sentence or two on a palm leaf was passed for a man of letters.’’[12]
Even though Orissa came
under the British rule in 1803, up to1866 there was almost total absence of
attempt on the part of the Government to provide the people with means of
modern education. But during this period , the Christian Missionaries made some
laudable contribution in developing regional language ,establishment of
printing press, introduction of magazines and text books and in setting up of
schools, thus leading to the foundation and introduction of a modern education
system in Orissa. Therefore, they can well be said to be the fore-runners of
anew awakening in the field of general, technical and women education in Orissa
in the19th century.[13]
ECONOMIC
CONDITION
Orissa became
economically poorer during the British rule. Two important indigenous
industries are salt and cotton were ruined by the British commercial policy for
their own economic interest. In coastal Orissa thousands of deprived people
significantly added to their incomes from agriculture by manufacturing salt.
The British established their monopoly over the salt manufacture, salt trade
and suppressed the salt manufacture and salt trade through private initiative.
In 1863 the British government abolished monopoly over salt manufacture and
salt trade and stopped manufacture of salt. The manufacture of salt was there
after allowed to be carried on through private enterprise under the exercise
rules of Act VII (B.C) of 1864. Under
these excise rules, a salt manufacture was required to pay duty to the
Government. The salt industry could not be revived anymore, because the
indigenous salt could not complete with the imported Liverpool salt of superior
quality. The indigenous salt industry virtually ended with the abolition of the
British salt monopoly and discontinuance of Government manufacture of salt. The
discontinuance of Government manufacture of salt resulted in depriving 26000 Mangalis (salt workers) of the means of
their livelihood. Almost simultaneously, in the later half of the nineteenth
century, the indigenous cotton industry was irretrievably ruined because of
import of foreign cloths, made possible by water transport. The pressure on
land increased due to the ruin of indigenous industries. But agriculture was
found unprofitable due to the burden of land revenue and natural calamities
like food, drought and cyclone. In many cases the peasants preferred to
relinquish their holdings instead of carrying on unprofitable cultivation.
Between 1836 and 1896 the average land revenue per acre increased from Rs.1-9 annas to Rs 2-3 annas. During this period the thani
cultivation in the Cuttack, Puri and Balasore districts declined by 62,66 and
43 percent respectively not only due to excessive rent but also due to
agricultural depression and the famine of 1865-66. During the famine of 1865-66
more than a million people died in coastal Orissa. The famine was caused by the
drought and there were practically no irrigation facilities at that time .Food
stuff could not be imported from outside as “Orissa was at that time almost
isolated from the rest of India; the only road leading to Calcutta across a
country intersected by large rivers and liable to inundation was unmetalled and
unbridged and there was very little communication by sea.[14]
Even though the rent was heavy, the tenants
did not generally protest. As reported by British Officer Maddox, during the
settlement of 1897, in the whole province, “in only a very few cases” the
tenants refused to accept the rents ultimately proposed to them. As observed by
the commission in the land revenue report of 1872-73, in Orissa the tenant is
generally yielding and ignorant, and eminently oppressible, totally unacquainted
with his rights and falls an easy prey to an unscrupulous landlord. The tenant
not only paid land revenue to the Zamindar
but also numerous other charges like salami, Bethi and Magan .Unable
to earn livelihood from land many oriyas subsequently migrated to Calcutta as
labourers. During the British period no adequate flood prevention measures were
adopted. As regards irrigation, the East India Irrigation and canal company was
formed in 1860. The construction of canals was started in 1863. By 1889-1900,
actually 93,600 acres of land was irrigated. The irrigation system was mainly
confined to the Cuttack district. During the British period, due to lack of
large scale industries, and slow growth of commerce Orissa did not have large urban centers; the towns
were generally administrative centers like district or sub divisional
headquarters. There were some religious towns like Bhubaneswar and Puri. In the
Cuttack district 4.06% of the population (numbering 88,556) lived in its three
towns (Cuttack, Jajpur and Kendrapara in Cuttack district that time now they
are separate districts) and Cuttack, the divisional headquarter had a
population of 65,263.[15] Besides,
the fate of marginal farmers became unenviable. The population pressure on
land, absence of knowledge about scientific input, creeping decline in village
level industries made the sale of individual holdings a regular feature. The
distress sale during famine conditions made the price of land low. Due to
paucity of data it is difficult to show the statistics of such sale of
individual holdings during the period of present study. But, it was quite
visible when the number of occupancy ryots decreased and the number of
non-occupancy ryots increased only
due to large scale land alienation arising out of steep rise of rent of settled
ryots.[16]
The contemporary Oriya literature had shown how the money lenders and affluent
tenants were purchasing land under mortgage by conditional sale from the poor
and ignorant peasant folk. But it would be wrong to brand all land sales as
distress sales. The purchasers of new lands often sold their property for
consolidation of holdings for improving cultivation through pre-emptive
purchases. Even sometimes the small lands of sub-tenant came under such sales
only for their failure to continue the agricultural operations. Without any
external assistance this type of land sale only changed the ownership of
holdings but not possession and swelled the rank of share-croppers which became
a new feature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century agrarian
economy of Orissa. The phenomena of large scale distress sales arising out of
eviction from holdings and resumption of service tenures led to pauperization
but not to depesantisation altogether. The ownership of holdings changed hands
but the peasants continued to cultivate as ‘pahi’ ryots or as share-croppers of
the holdings they sold. His resumption of service–tenure made the position of
tenure –holders deplorable because in many cases by distress sale they were
converted into ‘pahi ryots.’
Orissa, an integral part
of India with continuous frustration of capital formation that ushered in a
crisis in her today’s agrarian economy because of British exploitation. The
study of the societal change of Orissa, comparatively an underdeveloped region
in eastern India prompts to look backward and introduce a picture of the land
and its people under the historical perspective since the twentieth century
dawns in this region with the forces of freedom struggle. In the British period Orissa’s economy was at
a very low level of development with low per capita income and without
preconditions for industrialization. One of the remarkable features of the
British rule in Orissa was maximization of revenue through land settlements. The net collection of revenue in 1901 was
increased by 20%, compared to the settlements of 1837and it was further
increased by 53% in 1933-36. The maximization of revenue was justified by the
government since expenditure in civil administration and works of public utility
had increased .The British raj also anticipated that restoration of law and
order in through country side would create a congenial economic environment to
enhance cultivation process. But the supposed peasant’s prosperity was quite
illusory. The proverbial poverty and misery imposed on the peasantry was proved
by the recurrence of natural as well as man made scarcities arising out of
natural calamities like famine, drought, and floods through out the period of
the present study.
GENERAL LEVEL OF PRICES
The
tremendous rise in the price of rice, the staple food-stuff of the district can
be gathered from the figures of the decennial price averages given below. The principal rise occurred between 1855 and
1865, the figures for the former year being 51.7870 kg. to a rupee, and that of
the latter 22.2730 kg to a rupee. In the great famine (Na’nka) year of 1866, the figure was 9.1070 kg. to a rupee which
indicates how enormously the price of rice rose with the outbreak of the
famine. The steady rise in prices was
attributed to the improvement of communications bringing the district into
touch with outside markets and allowing the cultivators to participate in the
export trade. However, this reason is
not applicable for the year 1866 due to great famine in Orissa which took a
heavy toll of human and animal lives.
The following
table shows the upward trend of the decennial price level of rice from 1837 to
1930:
Period
|
|
Kilograms
per rupee
|
1837-46
|
:
|
40.3099
|
1847-56
|
:
|
54.0638
|
1857-66
|
:
|
26.6679
|
1867-76
|
:
|
25.0723
|
1877-86
|
:
|
19.8377
|
1887-96
|
:
|
17.0010
|
1901-10
|
:
|
13.1007
|
1911-20
|
:
|
9.0137
|
1921-30
|
:
|
8.0619
|
Source: Bihar and Orissa District Gazetteers
(Cuttack) E.R J.R. Cousins, 1933, P. 144
The prices of
other articles of common consumption had also increased considerably. The following table shows the rise in prices
of other articles between the year 1911 and 1930:
Name
of articles
|
Quality
|
Price
(in rupee)
|
|
1911
|
1930
|
||
Wheat
|
Per
kg.
|
3.38
|
5.69
|
Dal
|
Ditto
|
2.24
|
10.00
|
Salt
|
Ditto
|
1.81
|
2.50
|
Ghee
|
Ditto
|
43.53
|
82.50
|
Cotton
|
Ditto
|
19.00
|
34.29
|
Tobacco
(leaf)
|
Ditto
|
10.19
|
17.13
|
Sugar
|
Ditto
|
4.96
|
8.00
|
Kerosene
oil
|
Per
tin
|
1.75
|
3.37
|
Source: Bihar
and Orissa District Gazetteers (Cuttack) E.R J.R. Cousins, 1933, p 144
The following
table shows the harvest prices of certain important crops for the period
1935-36 to 1941-42: (Kilograms per rupee)
Year
|
Commodities
Price
|
||||||
Rice
|
Wheat
|
Gram
|
Mustard
|
Jute
|
Tobacco
|
Sugarcane
|
|
1935-36
|
13.980
|
…….
|
12.197
|
66.786
|
………
|
………
|
12.695
|
1936-37
|
15.296
|
…….
|
14.579
|
9.193
|
………
|
………
|
11.276
|
1937-38
|
15.297
|
…….
|
14.929
|
8.294
|
………
|
………
|
11.484
|
1938-39
|
15.172
|
…….
|
………
|
5.742
|
………
|
………
|
6.736
|
1939-40
|
10.087
|
9.331
|
………
|
7.464
|
………
|
………
|
9.331
|
1940-41
|
10.245
|
8.782
|
……..
|
6.786
|
2.332
|
………
|
8.782
|
1941-42
|
8.993
|
…….
|
………
|
………
|
5.638
|
………
|
………
|
Source: Orissa
statistical Abstracts Published by Directorate of statistics & Economics
Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
GEENERAL LEVEL OF WAGES
In 1805,
Sawyers, Stone-cutters and tailors were paid Rs.4.00; Bricklayers, Blacksmiths,
Carpenters and Gharmis (thatchers) got Rs.3.00 and grass-cutters, sweepers and
other menial servants Rs.2.00 a month. Since the beginning of 20th
century the movement of wages for the principal classes of labourers showed an
upward trend.[17]
The following table shows the level
of wages for the period 1910 to 1930
Class
of Labourers
|
Wage
rates per day (in rupee)
|
||
1910
|
1920
|
1930
|
|
Blacksmith
|
0.50
to 1.00
|
0.62
to 1.12
|
0.75
to 1.25
|
Mason
|
0.50
to 0.75
|
0.62
to 1.00
|
0.75
to 1.25
|
Carpenter
|
0.50
to 0.75
|
0.62
to 1.00
|
0.75
to 1.25
|
Gharami
|
0.20
to 0.25
|
0.25
to 0.37
|
0.31
to 0.50
|
Unskilled
labourers
|
0.19
|
0.25
|
0.31
|
Ploughman
|
0.19
|
0.25
|
0.31
|
Source: Indian Labour Journal, 1930
The figures in the above table
relate to labourers in the towns. In the
rural areas the village artisans and labourers were remunerated for the most
part in kind than in cash. The village
carpenter, black smith, washer man and barber were regarded as servants of the
community, and generally held service lands known as Desheta Jagir, services
connected with them continued to be performed.
In addition, they used to receive an annual contribution from each
household, which was generally about 14 kg. paddy per plough (or equivalent in
form of paddy sheaves at harvest time) in the case of the blacksmith and the
carpenter, and the same amount per head in the case of the washer man and
barber. The vast majority of agricultural labourers were paid in kind. Generally
there were two categories of agricultural labourers, namely Haliyas or Kothiyas (ploughman) and Mulias (labourers). The first categories
were permanently employed, and were bound to their employers by a nexus of debt
which they must discharge before they left their service. They received about
Rs. 5.00 to Rs.10.00 a year in cash, or Rs. 0.12 to Rs.0.19 a day in cash, or
2.100 to 2.800 kg. paddy, on those days on which they worked. If he did not
sleep on the premises of the employer, he was given a small plot on which to
build a house and one-fifth to a quarter of an acre of land which he was
allowed to cultivate with seeds and ploughs provided by his employer. He was
also allowed from the harvest 4 to 8 sheaves of paddy for each acre ploughed
and 8 to 12 sheaves for each acre reaped. The women and children added to the
family earnings by casual labour in the fields. The second category was
agricultural labourers, and was generally paid in kind, his daily wage being
sufficient paddy to yield 2.300 to 2.800kg. Of rice. When paid in cash the
usual wage was about Re.0.31 a day. Some of them had a little land of their own
for cultivation.[18]
STANDARD OF LIVING
Cuttack is one of the coastal districts of
Orissa characterized by summer, high humidity nearly all the year round and
good seasonal rainfall. In comparison with other districts; it is the most
thickly populated district. It is a fertile district traversed by many large
rivers which throw out a network of distributaries sometimes reuniting and some times bifurcating as they pass across the
plains. Actually the British arrival the economy Orissa was broken down. They
soon after their conquest started experimenting with various revenue systems
which caused immense hardship to the people. Inconsistent and oppressive policy
of the government resulted in miseries and sufferings of the people to a great
extent. Owing to lack of proper investigation into the land tenure system and
the resources, here was over assessment of taxes which resulted in heavy
arrears every year. The ultimate burden of over assessment fell upon the poor
cultivators which broke the economic backbones of the people. Maddox in his
final report on the1897 settlement wrote;” The great general opinion of the
officers who have for years worked among the people and gained their confidence
is that 80 percent of the rural population are more or less permanently
indebted to the Mahajan (landlord) , proprietary tenure holder or Zamindar.” The next decade 1921-30 was a
period of distress in various forms. The aftermath of war was effectively felt
in every field of activity. There were natural calamities resulting from floods
necessitating extensive distribution of Taccavi
loans (mainly given to poor farmers for
rehabilitation or to improve crop cultivation or to buy seeds. It is given by
the government.) and gratuitous relief. The decade was not free from
adversities. Ruinous floods occurred in 1933, 1934, 1937, 1939 and 1940. The
flood of 1937 was the highest in the living memory causing several breaches in
embankments and spreading sand over cultivated lands and causing damage to
crops. Other floods of the decade also caused considerable damage to crops. The
British had not taken any step to mitigate their suffering in 1936, Jajpur
subdivision was subjected to the devastation of a cyclone, greatly damaging
crops, while the lower regions of the district were over run by tidal waves.
There was partial failure of crop in 1933, 1937, and 1939, and the harvest of
1940 was very poor. In spite of these adverse conditions, the people were
engaged in agriculture, industry and other avocations.[19] The
freedom movement got strengthened at the growth of economic nationalism. The
peasant movements that broke out in 1920s and 1930s provided further impetus to
the freedom movement in Orissa. Excessive land revenue, forcible collection,
unlawful eviction, forced labour and other illegal exactions of the landlords, recurring famines
and increasing poverty were some of the basic causes of the agrarian unrest.
From the time of the non-cooperation movement, peasant movement came to
constitute an integral part of the freedom movement. A prominent role in the
freedom movement was played by the peasants of Orissa[20].
Problem and Reason of Poverty
Orissa
as a separate ethnic entity may be identified with the interests that could
hardly be ensured in the prevailing conditions. Since none were literate enough
to become aware of their rights and legal mechanism that could ensure the
enjoyment of such statutory rights, tillers of the soil never turned to the court
to mitigate territory of Kalinga. In other words Rajendra Lal Mitra; “Orissa’s
people lived happily and contented for ages under a national government with
every opportunity to cultivate the arts of peace and promote the prosperity of
the father-land.” In course of time this glory declined, reaching its nadir
during the British rule when the state was disintegrated and merged into the neighboring
states. The proverbial poverty of Orissa was more or less a 19th century economic
phenomenon. This indicates a poor
quality of life, a degraded standard of living, and lowest rate of economic
growth, and stagnation in all sectors of economic production. Political
stability under the British Raj did
contribute little to the growth in production and people carried on economic
activities along the traditional lines. The resources were so limited than any
crisis like famine and drought they suffered the worst. Various socio-economic
forces were in operation to retard the economic growth during the colonial
period. About 90 percent of the total population of British Orissa lived in the
villages. This increase in population was nothing so alarming when we compare
this with the growth rate of European countries during this historical phase.
The growth by half in 80 years cannot be held responsible for systematic
impoverishment by being a heavy pressure on agrarian economy. The increase in
population could have been turned into good account had there been any positive
strategy to create employment for the rising workforce in some wealth-bearing
sectors. Even mechanization of local industries would have absorbed the whole
of it to productive advantage. In absence of job space to employ them, they had
to subsist on land, there being no other option for survival. Artisanal
productions of various kinds, ranging from basket making to carpentry and
blacksmith were a part of the communal economy of a village. A village often
constituted an autonomous system of economy, the output serving only to satisfy
the needs of the community.[21]
The artisans sold their products at the local markets, often to meet their
daily expense on all heads except food grain which they might procure in
exchange of their goods. We do not have any evidence of British Policy in the
positive to help the artisan class improve the condition of their production. There
was any measure taken to organize them into manufacturing guilds or cooperative
societies. This makes British economic policy so defective and flawed as a
growth oriented plan for the general upliftment of the condition of the masses.
Only after 1936, sugar factory of Rayagada, paper mill at Brajarajnagar, glass
factory at Barang were set up. The concentration of people on land was further
aggravated by the rapid decay of village industry. Silk and cotton cloth of Orissa,
to name the best among the turnover of the economic system, had found good
market for their fine texture and durability.[22]
References
- A.J Mills to Sadder Board of Revenue, 13
April 1846
- Famine Report, 1866, Vol. I, p.125
- Guide to Orissa Records, Vol. II, Report
from E. Watson, 3rd May 1817, pp.1-9
- J.K.Samal, Economy of Colonial Orissa: 1866-1947, Munshiram
Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi, 2001
- Jagannath
Patnaik, Feudatory States of Orissa,
Vol.I &, II, Vohra Publisher, Allahabad, 1988.
- L.S.S.O’Malley, Bengal District
Gazetteer, Puri, p.258
- Orissa
Historical Research Journal, Vol. III, No.3, p.127
- P.K. Mishra, Political History of Orissa, 1900-1936, Oriental Publishers, New Delhi, 1979, p.10
- R.D. Banerjee, History of Orissa, Vol. II, Calcutta,
1930
- W.W. Hunter, History of Orissa, Vol. II,
p.145
[1] Pradhan,
A.C., The Politics of Orissa, Journal of Indian History, 12th
session , Cuttack 1994, pp-24-29
[2] Bandita
Devi, Some Aspects of British
Administration in Orissa , Academic Foundation,1996, p 23
[3] Mohanty,
Nivedita, Oriya Nationalism, Manohar
Publications, Delhi, 1982, pp.2-4.
[4]
O’Malley’L. S. S, Bihar and Orissa
District Gazetteers, Cuttack District,1933, pp-41-42
[5]O’Mally,
Ibid., p.43
[6] L. S. S.
O’Malley, Ibid, p-44.
[7] Dr Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India, Vol.
V
[8] O,Malley,Ibid,p-47
[10]
Omalley, Ibid, pp-53-54, Sir W. E. Hunter’s Orissa,Vol-I, pp-88-90
[11]
O,Malley, Ibid, pp-60-61
[12] Behuria, N.C, Orissa District Gazetteers, Cuttack,1996, pp-764-765
[13]
O’Malley, Op.cit, p.211
[14]
Pattanaik, N.R, Economic History Of
Orissa, Indus Publishing , New Delhi,1997, pp-25-30
[15]
Pradhan,A.C., The Nationalist Movement,
Amar Prakashan,1991, pp-3-5
[16]
Patanaik, N.R, Economic History Orissa,
Indus Publishing, New Delhi,1999, pp-25-30
[17]
Behuria,N.C, Orissa District Gazetteers,
Cuttack District,1996,pp-487-489
[18] Ibid.pp-496-498
[19]Ibid., pp.502-
503
[20]
Op.cit., pp.643-644
[21] Samal,
J.K., Economy of Colonial
Orissa:1866-1947, Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers, New Delhi, pp.18-20
[22] Ibid., pp.27-28