Indigo Movement During British Rule In India (part:2)

   Indigo Movement in India (Bengal)

  To see first part Click Here

In 1833 the British Govt, proclaimed ‘Purchasing of Plantation Land’ Act, This act helped the indigo Businessmen a lot, The British brought the slaves from the West Indian Islands to Bengal and Bihar province, The slaves were engaged mostly in indigo cultivation and in some cases in Tea plantation . Then the Businessmen purchased Taluks and Zamiderry for indigo cultivation and become Zaminder in Bengal, for example : the Bengal Indigo Company bought 594 villages in Jessore and Nadia and become Zaminder,

 Indigo Tree

The sufferer peasants lost their paddy land and price of paddy went up due to indigo cultivation, So they submitted one petition to the British Lord for stopping indigo cultivation, But it could not able to bring any positive result, Then the peasants moves village to village for creating peasant’s opinion for stopping indigo cultivation , It took 15 years to motivate and gather the sufferer peasants, In that 2 large revolts occurred in India, One is Santal Revolt in Bihar in 1855 and other is Sipoy Revolt in all over India in 18857, These tow Revolts made the British govt, a bit afraid, Then the indigo peasants geared their agitation,

The obsessed British took some cautious measures, The Magistrate of Barashat Mr. Eden circulated huge pamphlets in Bengali starting that “The contract signing for indigo cultivation is not mandatory for the peasants, but it is on will of the peasants” after circulation of this paper, a large number of peasants stopped indigo cultivation, The result was, the Kathgora indigo factory of Jessore was declared lay-out getting no indifo raw materials, The British indigo Businessmen were in frustration and anxiety and sent one petition to the British Lord to protect this Business, British lord was in a dilemma,

 Indigo Tree

In 1862, the agitation  of peasants was continuing in full swing, The agitation erupted in all north and south Bengal, The Zaminders and the educated middleclass suppored this agitation for the first time, because they did not get any profit from this business, Besides, the Sipoy Revolt made them aware for keeping Zamindery and status, Mr. Harish Mukharjee wrote many articles in ‘The Hindu Patriot’ paper against indigo cultivation and oppression of the British Businessmen, Moreover, Mr. Din Bondhu Mitra wrote a drama named ‘Nil Darpan’ where the picture of oppression was vividly expressed, This drama was translated on English and sent to British Parliament In Britain, The Members of parliament also condemned that type of oppression,