Agrarian Polices in British Punjab

Abstract

Agriculture is the spine of Indian financial system because the time immemorial. About 85% of India's population engaged in agricultural practices, facing different types of ups and downs and changes with the passage of time. By 1833 C.E., various Parliamentary Acts brought the Indian administration under the complete control of the British Government. The Governor General had become the de facto ruler of India and Indian rule was under the supervision of the British Government.

The British government was in dire need of Indian land tax to run various administrative expenses, the burden of which had to be borne directly or indirectly on Indian agriculture and farmers. Thus all the expenses (administrative, war, etc.) were borne by the farmers in the form of land tax all over India including Punjab. The British Government had adopted policy of commercialization to make changes. It recommended marketplace oriented manufacturing of cash vegetation inclusive of opium, tea, espresso, sugar, jute and indigo. Peasants had been compelled to grow those coins vegetation that spoiled the fertility of the land and no other crop could be grown on it.

In this paper, I will try to describe the agricultural policies adopted by the British Government towards Punjab, and main objective of their agricultural policies was to raise as much money as possible. For more benefit the British Government exploited farmers and peasants to the maximum, which will be find out through the study