Agriculture Production In India
introducation
India has a very large land area with diverse
climatic zones. Throughout its history, agriculture has been its predominant
productive activity. During the Mughal period, large tracts of land were under
the plough. Contemporary Indian and foreign writers praise the fertility of
Indian soil. A wide range of food crops, fruits, vegetables and crop were grown
in India. However, we would take a stock only of the main crop grown during
this period. We will also discuss the methods of cultivation as also the
implements used for cultivation and irrigation technology. While focusing on
the area under Mughal control, we will also include the areas lying outside it.
We have
very little information about the economic condition of the people under the
Delhi Sultanate. The historians of the
period were more interested in the events at the court than in the lives of
ordinary people.
However, they do sometimes tell us the price
of commodities. Ibn Battutah, a resident of Tangier in North Africa, visited
India in the fourteenth century and lived at the court of Muhammad Tughlaq for
eight years. He travelled widely all over India and has left a very interesting
account of the products of the country, including fruits, flowers, herbs, etc.
the condition of the roads and the life of the people. The food grains and
other crops, the fruits and the flowers mentioned by various travellers are
familiar to us. Ibn Battutah says that the soil was so fertile that it could
produce two crops every year, rice being sown three times a year. Sesame,
sugarcane and cotton were also grown. They formed the basis of many village
industries, such as oil pressing, making of jaggery, weaving, etc.
Village Economy and Peasantry:
As before, peasants formed
the overwhelming majority of the population. The peasant continued to work hard
and to eke out bare subsistence. There were recurring famines and wars in
different parts of the country and these added to the hardships of the peasant.
All the peasants did not live at the level of subsistence. The village headmen
(muqaddams) and smaller landlord (khuts) enjoyed a higher standard of life. In
addition to their own holdings, they held lands for which they paid revenue at
concessional rates. Sometimes, they misused their offices to force the ordinary
peasants to pay their share of the land revenue also.
These people
were prosperous enough to ride on costly Arabi and Iraqi horses, wear fine
clothes and behave like members of the upper classes. As we have seen, Alauddin
Khilji took stern action against them and curtailed many of their privileges.
Even then they continued to enjoy a higher standard of life than to ordinary
peasants. It seems that after the death of Alauddin, they were able to resume
their old ways.
Mughal Period:
During the 16th and 17th centuries, 85 per
cent of India’s population lived in rural areas. The largest section in the
village consisted of peasants or cultivators. There were three main classes of
peasants.
Khud-kasht (riyayati):
Those residential
peasants living in their own village, owning their own land and implements,
paying the land-revenue at a concessional rate, formed the governing body of
the village community. Also called mirasdars in Maharashtra and gharu-hala in
Rajasthan.
Pahi-kasht:
These peasants were
basically outsiders but cultivated the rented land in a village either by
staying in the same village (residential pahi-kasht) or by staying in the
neighbouring villages (non-residential pahi-kasht).
Muzarian (raiyatis):
Those who belonged to the same village but
who did not have either land or implements and hence were dependent on the
Khud-kasht for their supply. They were divided into two groups; tenants-at-will
and those who had hereditary tenant rights, called as paltis in Rajastan.
The Indian peasantry in the Mughal Empire was highly stratified and
there was considerable difference in the size of holdings, produce and
resources of peasants within the same locality. India had a well diversified
economy with the cultivation of a large variety of crops. Cotton, indigo, chay
(red dye), sugarcane, oil seeds paid land revenue at a higher rate and had to
be paid in cash hence, called cash crops or superior crops. The peasants not only shifted his cultivation
from one crop to other but also adopted new crops. Tobacco and maize were
introduced in the 17th century. The adoption of potato and red chillies
followed during the 18th century.
During this period, India also exported food grains, especially rice and
sugar. The peasant was not disposed from his land as long as he paid the land
revenue. Although the life of the peasant was hard, he had enough to eat and
meet his simple requirements.
Prosperous agriculture:
According to Ibn Batuta, a traveller who came
from North Africa in India during the fourteenth century, agriculture was in a
state of great progress. The soil was so fertile that it produced two crops
every year; rice being sown three times a year.
Sesame, sugar-cane and cotton were grown in abundance and these formed
the basis of several village industries. Rice of Sarsauti, sugar-cane of
Kanauj, wheat and betel leaf of Malwa, wheat of Gwalior, ginger and spices of
Malabar, grapes and pomegranates of Daultabad, betel nuts of the South India
and a large variety of oranges were popular in and outside India. Cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables etc. were
produced in almost all parts of India.The Ganga-Yamuna Doab remained always
famous for its fertility and large scale production.Animal husbandry was in a
very advanced stage. Ordinarily there was plenty of food production. However,
on account of the failure of rains, there were periods of draught.
Condition of peasants:
Peasants
formed the overwhelming majority of the population. They had to work hard to
eke out bare subsistence. Usually they were required to pay one-third of their
produce as land revenue.
Industry:
Textile industry was the primary
industry. Cotton, silk and woolen clothes of different varieties was produced
in large quantity. The clothes were studded with gold, diamond, pearl, silver
and other stones. Indian textiles were in great demand in foreign countries.
The skill of Indian craftsmen was of a high order. Indian cotton textiles were
introduced in China as well where these were valued more than silk. Bengal and
Gujarat were famous for their fine quality fabrics.
Important handicrafts
were such as carpet weaving, mat work and leather work. Besides textile
industry, sugar industry, paper industry, metal work, stone cutting, pearl
driving out of the sea, ivory and sandal wood work were other important
industries of India. The Sultans had set up several ‘Karkhanas’ (workshops).
Trade and commerce:
India
carried a brisk trade—both internal as well as external. Delhi was the largest
city and the most important trading centre. Other important trade centres were:
Daultabad, in the south, Lahore and Multan in the north-west, Kara and
Lakhnauti in the east and Anhilwara (Patan) and Cambay (Khambayat) in the west.
External trade was very profitable and it was one of the main causes of the
wealth of India. India had trade relations with Iran, Arabia, European
countries, Africa, China, Malaya, Afghanistan and Central Asia, etc.
Agricultural
produce
India
with extensive land area, different types of soils and varying climatic
conditions, could boast of a large variety of agricultural products. We will
discuss agricultural produce under three heads-food crops, cash crops and
fruits, vegetables and spices.
Food Crops
The majority of seasonal
crops in North India were grown in two major crop seasons kharif (autumn) and
rabi (spring). In some areas the peasants tended to grow even three crops by
producing some short-term crops in between. Rice was the main kharif crop and
wheat was rabi. In South India, these distinct crop-seasons with different
crops were absent. Here, Rice and wheat were the two major food crops
throughout the country. The regions with high rainfall (40″ to 50″) accounted
for the bulk of rice production. The whole of Northeast, Eastern India (Bihar,
Bengal, Orissa with parts of Eastern U.P.), southern coast of Gujarat and South
India, were rice producing areas. As indicated above, in South India there were
two main seasons of rice cultivation kuddapah-kar and samba-peshanam. However,
Abul Fazl says that its consumption was. injurious to health. The same is
confirmed by modern researches. It was believed for long that maize (makai or
makka) was not known in India during 17th century. Some recent works establish
beyond doubt that it was grown definitely in Rajasthan and Maharashtra and
possibly other regions also during the second half of the 17th century.
Cash Crops
Crops grown mainly for
the market are commonly termed as cash cops. These are referred in Persian records as jinsi kamil or jinsi ala
(superior grade crops). Unlike seasonal food crops, these occupied the fields
almost the whole year. The major cash crops in 16th-17th centuries were
sugarcane, cotton, indigo and opium. All these crops were known in India from
historical times. However, in the 17th century their demand increased due to
enhanced manufacturing and commercial activities. During this period, a large
foreign market also opened for these commodities. The Indian peasant, quick to
follow the market demand, increased the cultivation of these crops. Sugarcane
was the most widely grown cash crop of the period. The Ain-i Akbari records it
in most of the dastur circles of Agra, Awadh, Lahore, Multan and Allahabad.
Sugar from Bengal was considered to be the best in quality. Multan, Malwa,
Sind, Khandesh, Berar and region of South India all testify to the presence of
sugarcane in the 17th century. Another cash crop grown throughout the country
was cotton. The region with large scale cultivation were parts of the present
day Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bengal. Contemporary sources refer to its
cultivation in Ajmer, Allahabad, Awadh, Bihar, Multan, Thatta (Sind), Lahore
and Delhi. Indigo was another cash crop widely cultivated under the Mughals.
The plant yielded a blue dye (neel) which was much in
demand in India and
European markets. Its presence is recorded in the dastur circles of Awadh,
Allahabad, Ajmer, Delhi, Agra, Lahore, Multan and Sind. Its cultivation is
referred in Gujarat, Bihar, Bengal, Malwa and Coromandal in South India and
Deccan. The varieties high in demand were those of Bayana and Sarkhej. Bayana,
a place near Agra, was considered as producing the
best quality of indigo
and fetched high price. Sarkhej, near Ahmedabad, was considered second in
quality and also fetched a high price. Other notable places for quality indigo
were regions around Khurja and Aligarh (in U.P.), Sehwan (in Sind) and
Telingana (in Deccan). Cultivation of opium is reported from a number of places
in India. The Mughal provinces of Bihar and Malwa seem to have produced good opium. It was also cultivated
in Awadh, Bihar, Delhi, Agra, Multan, Lahore, Bengal, Gujarat, Marwar, and
Mewar in Rajasthan. Cultivation of tobacco seems to have spread in India in a
short time.
The main oil
yielding crops listed are rapeseed, castor, linseed. Rapeseed is reported in
all provinces from Allahabad to Multan as also in Bengal. Cultivation of
oilseed plants was relatively less widespread.
Fruits, Vegetables
and Spices
Horticulture seems to have reached new heights during the Mughal period.
The Mughal Emperors and the nobles planted
lavish orchards. Almost every noble of consequence had
his gardens on the outskirts of the towns where they resided. Orchards and
groves were laid down with careful planning. A number of fruits available today were introduced in
India during 16th and 17th centuries. Pineapple (anannas) is one such fruit which was brought
from Latin America and introduced in India by the Portuguese. In a short period
of time it became popular and was extensively cultivated all over the country. Papaya and cashew-nuts
were also introduced through the same agency, but their spread was a bit slow.
Leechi and guava seem to
have been introduced later. Cherries were brought from Kabul and
grown in Kashmir through grafting. The practice of grafting was in order to improve the quality of a
number of fruits. Quality of oranges and other types of citrus fruits, apricots, mangoes and a
host of other fruits was greatly improved through grafting. Coconut was grown
not only along the coastal region but also inland.
Seeds of different variety of melons and grapes were
brought from Kabul and
successfully grown in the gardens of Emperors and nobles. Ordinary
melons were grown everywhere on riverbeds by the peasants. A large variety of
vegetables were grown all over the country. The Ain-i Akbarl provides a long
list of vegetables in use at
that time. Potato and Tomato seem to have been introduced
in the 17th century and after.
For centuries India was known for its spices.
The
Southern coast of India witnessed large scale spice export to various regions in Asia and Europe.
Pepper, clove, cardamom were plentiful. Ginger and Turmeric were grown
extensively. The Dutch and
English purchased large quantities for export. Saffron
grown in Kashmir was celebrated for its colour and flavour. Pan (betel leaf) was produced in
many areas. The Maghi Pan of Bihar and various other varieties from Bengal were
famous. Betel-nut was also produced in coastal regions.
Large forest tracts supplied a number of commercially
important products. Lignum used
for medicinal purpose and lakh were exported in large
quantities.
