Our difficulties and wants in the path of the progress of India

Section. 2. No

.

DEDICATED

(By permission)

TO THE

BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT,

THE AUTHOR.

OUR DIFFICULTIES

AND WANTS

IN THE PATH OF THE PROGRESS OF

INDIA.

BY

•

SYED MOHAMMAD H OSS A IN, M. R. A. C.

Of Lucknow.

LONDON :

W. H. ALLEN & Co., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, Publishers to the India Office.

Price 3s. 6d.] 1884. [All Rights Reserved.

The writer of these pages is well aware of his inabimy 19 'express his thoughts in a language which is not only foreign to him , but in which he has never received a sound and good education. But as the subject treated in this work is too dry for the taste of the majority of his countrymen at home who cannot read English , and have not yet learnt to take a hearty interest in such questions , and those few who can read English and take an interest in political and economical discussions , necessarily consider anything of the kind written in any of the Indian tongues not worth looking at ; consequently the writer determined to bring his thoughts before the public , first in the English language , and afterwards to translate them into his own vernacular. Moreover he found that many philanthropists in England are much more anxious to find some remedy for our complaints than our own people ; and anything written in a language strange to them would of course have failed to throw the light of pacts upon their views , and therefore would certainly have been less beneficial for the purpose aimed at. For this reason also writing these chapters in English has been considered a matter of the first importance.

Although every possible care and great pains have been taken to make the contents intelligible , yet the author fears that, owing to his inefficiency in the language , it is possible that the readers may in many places get puzzled in picking up his meaning , and for this he begs to be excused.

Further, owing to want of time, the writer is sorry to say that he could not finish the whole matter which he intended to write in this book. He has been obliged to leave the miscellaneous points which have been mentioned in the Introduction untouched. These points are —

1. — Local Self-Government.

2. — Appointment of Natives to high Offices.

j. — Migration and Emigration of the People.

This would have added two more chapters at least. If opportunity will permit, he might bring out the remaining matter in a second part at some future time.

At present the author concludes his preface with the sincere wish that his humble work may be of some use and service to his country.

S, M, H gtonfents

Introduction

1 . — Name of the Book ; the cause of writing this Introduction. 2. — Lucknow, my native town — the features of Nawabi (Nababi) Government — the changes.

3. — My chances of studying rural life and works. 4. — The people sighing for

the Nawabi time — their superstitious notions — the life they led in that time. 5. — The reasons of their misery and sighing for their past time — of their superstitious belief. 6. — The peasants enjoy very few or no blessings from British rule and free trade. 7. — How they lead their life now (vide the Appendix.) 8. — Why Ondh is selected for illustration in this book. 9. — The question of the Indian peasantry remains in constant discussion and under the view of the British Government — what methods are recommended and tried for stimulating the material prosperity of the country — they do not prove successful, and why ? 10. —

The reason of my visiting England and studying Agriculture — other pursuits for studying the question of “wages and labour” — the conclusion, i.e. writing the following chapters as the result of the observations.

CHAPTER I. Government Help

1. — By the light of Political Economy, the necessity of a Government — the tendency of a good Government to look after the comfort of the people governed — lazy people put the blame of their faults on their Government. 2. — In India the Government is substituted for “ Kismat.” 3. — By the attempts of the Government to do everything for the people, three great evils generated : — (a) the loss of self-reliance ; (li) the loss of the advantage of division of labour — the prosperity of England is due to individual energy, and not to the direct help of the Government.

4. — In India the case is quite the reverse, the few officers who govern the people try to do everything for them— a brief detail of the works connected with agriculture which the Government officers have to do. 5. — (c) the' loss of the advantages of joint interest in a work — the peasants do all the work connected with the necessaries of their lift' individually — the Government-paid servants who are supposed to make improvements in the works of the peasants, have no joint interest in them, hence the efforts of the Government do not succeed. 6 —The efforts of the Government to do good for the people prove no success, and create ill-feeling into the bargain.

CHAPTER II. Modification in Legislation

1. — In India legislation is well attended to. 2. — In this chapter the question of the modification of law relating only to Agriculture will be treated ; the question of the relation of landlord and tenant in India is in constant movement ; in the Famine Commission Report the attention of the Government is most particularly drawn to this question ; in ihe United Kingdom also this question has attracted the attention of statesmen. 3. — The Bengal Tenancy Bill : the probable reason of its origin. 4. — It is to be seen to what extent the object in view of bettering the condition of the peasant can be obtained by the proposed modifications : it has no effect on the material prosperity of the country. 5. — The present condition of the peasants : the points of modification. 6. — The advantages and disadvantages of the modifications ; if there is supply of labour, and no want in other work but in agriculture, it is impossible to shut out the labourers from undergoing keen competition ; the whole community cannot be protected by the proposed modifications,

Contents

VI and even those few who will be protected will derive little or no benefit ; petty tenants are unable to make any improvement. 7. — The question of the help of Government comes in this problem again ; the Agricultural Banks. 8. — Providing occupancy right is not detrimental to progress and improvement of land, but unexceptionally putting an end to the rights of the land owners to enhancement of rent is. The land owners can act as an Agricultural Bank if by some means they are compelled to do so, and can advantageously take the work of improvement into their hands. 9. — Summing up the advantages and disadvantages of the subject in question to find out the utility.

CHAPTER III. Encouragement of Commerce

1. — The proposal is a really successful means if there be capital ; without capital it not only proves a failure, but injurious. 2. — The nature of trade can be estimated by small proportions of professional, commercial, and industrial classes in the population — sub-divisions of the professional class, the commercial class, the industrial class — quotations from the Census Reports of N.W.P. 3. — The numbers of the above classes compared with those in England. 4. — It is not all that in India the numbers are very small, but the very nature of the individual occupations is miserable — (1) brokers — dallal ; (2) shopkeepers ; (3) hawkers and pedlars. 5. — The foreign machine-made cheap and fanciful articles have ousted home-made, clumsy commodities — grain (or the food) is the current money. For fancy articles people part with their food. 6. — Industrial classes and their income — vide Appendix. 7. — Only fouf centres of industry in such a large province. Conclusion from the above remarks. 8. — No difficulty of exchanging food with other necessaries of daily life or fancy articles. The more the railroads are extended the more this exchange is stimulated — the more the people part with their food. 9. — It is a pity that India, with such a thick population and the small out-turn from the land, should be encouraged to part with her food — the population and produce of India and England compared. 10. — The surplus of agricultural produce which can be exported from India is not enough to stimulate the natural prosperity. 11. — Effect of foreign capital — it leaves only a residue In the country by which the labourers can simply make a bare living ; from this residue also a large proportion goes back to industrial countries. 12. — The trade in its present condition has not done any good for the people in India — their wages are decreased indirectly — on the contrary, the agricultural labourers of those countries which possess capital and energy, are profited by the increase of wealth — the agricultural labourers in England. 13. — Financial statistics of India.

CHAPTER IV. Improvement in Agricultwre

1. — This proposal is most important, and why ? — Indian agriculture is in need of improvement ; but it is very difficult. 2. — Geological condition of the soil — soil very fine and easy to work, and homogenous in many districts — nomenclature of different soil — subsoil — varieties of soil. 3 — Mechanical conditions of soil, very easy to work. 4. — Physical condition and climate of the country — rainfall and its effects — combined action of rainfall and heat. Glossary of the technical Indian words — nakhats, different crops sown in them and the amount of rainfall. 5. — Chemical conditions of soil — analytical table of Indian soils from various districts of the Province — even the poorest soils contain all the nutritive matters for plant life. Indian soils have stores of plant food. 6. — Indian peasants and tl-.eir experience— mode of life and work. 7. — Owing to the above natural gifts, India is able to produce more than enough for her people. 8. — Example of growing wheat in India and its general treatment — soil — manure — ploughing, &c. — seed — weeding — watering — varieties of wheat — reaping, thrashing, winnowing — average out-turn of grain and straw — cost and return — admixture of other grain — diseases — wheat is not commonly staple food in India. 9. — General treatment and process of growing wheat in England — all the points mentioned in the last paragraph compared — the

CONTENTS.

viii.

most important question of cost and return compared. 10. — Most important point of the reduction of cost of manual labour — improvement in agriculture is impossible — some outlay will be needed. 11. — The above examples prove that Indian farmers know all the secrets of husbandry, but cannot make improvement when the question of cost comes in. 12. — Detail of improvements — we agree that improvement is necessary and will do good, but in the present state it is impossible. 13. — The first thing that is required is water — methods that people use for providing water — depth and average cost of wells — people know how to make wells, but are unable to make them — law prevents the progress of making wells — water is the backbone of all the improvements in Indian Agriculture — the help of Government in the matter, and difficulties arising by that — Takawi and Canals. 14. — Manure— the quantity and quality of manure is decreased — khad and pans (farmyard manure) is best of all — -without manure of good quantity and quality, what can scientific farming do ? 15. — Cattle — how they were supplied and why decreased — the plan of improving them, but proves no success — growing food for cattle is recommended, but it is impossible. 16. — Implements — Indian and English implements of husbandry and their cost compared — no good implements can be used without large outlay and large farms — reason why English farmer is able to use them and Indian farmer not. 17. — Seed — how the people get it — why they cannot improve it. 18. — The conclusion.

CHAPTER V. Encouragement of General and Technical Education

APPENDIX.— PART I.

Primary Education and the Circumstances of the Population in Oudh and the North-Western Provinces of India.

Introduction: — Diversity of opinions as to the best policy to be pursued — tests to arrive at the right conclusion. From the questions put by the Commission for enquiring into this matter in India, it would seem that the above tests have not been considered. Proofs : —

A. (1.) Prosperity of a country does not depend on Primary Education, but the want of education increases with the prosperity of a country. (2.) Primary Education does not give mental culture, and does not improve the faculties, but engenders the evil of making the masses discontented with their position.

B. The people in India have no use to which they can put it in their social or domestic life and habits.

C. Whether it would be beneficial or not, the vast majority of the people in their present impoverished condition cannot possibly be educated.

APPENDIX.— PART II.

Memorandum.

1. — Abstract from the Report of 1872. 2. — Percentage of the boys of school-

going age who have a desire for Education, aud are supposed to be able to afford it, and of those who are incapable of receiving Education. 3. — Statement B., showing census of thirty Villages according to high, middle, and low castes. 4. — Agriculturists and non-agricultnrists. 5. — Description of the circumstances and work and income of the masses,, snch as petty kashtkars, labourers, petty shopkeepers, artizans, &e.

INTRODUCTION.

i. — Name of the Book; the cause of writing this Introduction. 2. — Lucknow , my native town — the features of Nawabi ( Nababi) Government — the changes, j. — My chances of studying rural life and works. 4. — The people sighing for the Nawabi time — their superstitious notions — the life they led in that time. 5. — The reasons of their misery and sighing for their past time — of their superstitious belief. 6. — The peasants enjoy very few or no blessings from British rule and free trade, y. — How they lead their life now (vide the Appendix ). 8. — Why Oudh

is selected for illustration in this book. p. — The question of the Indian peasantry remains in constant discussion and under the view of the British Government — what methods are recommended and tried for stimulating the material prosperity of the country — they do not prove successful , and why ? 10. — The reason of my visiting England and studying Agriculture — other pursuits for studying the question of “ wages and labour ” — the conclusion , i.e. writing the following chapters as the result of the observations.

1. Our Difficulties and Wants.” The name which I have chosen for this little work, I believe, gives a hint of its contents; but it requires some explanation as to what circumstances made me acquainted with our difficulties and wants, how I gathered the ideas about the subject, and what facts and reasons led me to bring these pages before the public. I am afraid I should be condemned for blowing my own trumpet if I tried to give a detail of all the chances and opportunities of which I have availed myself in collecting these ideas ; and to add an account of my long perseverance and labour in studying the subject. However, to assure my readers that the remarks which I am going to give in the following pages are not based simply upon guess work, or merely extracted from the discussions spread so widely all over the world every day by our papers, but are founded on facts gathered by my own long observation and personal knowledge, I feel myself in duty bound to mention briefly, first of all, how I became acquainted with our difficulties and wants.

2. I was born in Lucknow, the capital of the province of Oudh, the first city in population, and considered at that time the Paris of Upper India. I recollect the history of a! few years of the last period of Nawabi Government, and the lapse of time has not effaced from my memory as yet the magnificent State edifices with golden domes and glittering towers, the apartments, gardens, and parks, the innumerable lofty and glorious palaces of the nobles, and, by the side of these, the filthy streets and lanes in which the poor people were crowded.

I still remember, as were it only yesterday, that men from the very lowest condition were sometimes raised in a. few hours to the very highest stage of prosperity, and that others were suddenly hurled from the very height of honor and wealth down to the lowest depths of misery and distress. I remember that more than twice or thrice in my boyhood our doors were locked, and we were prevented from going out, through the fear of disturbances and agitation that were going on in the street. The words “ Government Sepoy is coming,” were used, like the name of Malbrook in France, to frighten naughty children ; and a Sepoy’s visit on a petty matter of police was sure to disturb a whole family. I have seen the streets in every part of the city so crowded with the conveyances, horses, elephants palanqueens, and followers of the wealthy private and court people, that it was not easy for the foot passengers to cross them ; and if a poor man attempted to check the speed of the conveyances by crossing the road he was pushed and knocked down relentlessly. I remember the value of land in the town was 20 times greater than it is at present ; nothing but substantial houses and good buildings -and shops were -seen in every street. The people of Lucknow were as busy as bees in their various kinds of work, and were noted in their day for their gaiety and luxury. They had invented several kinds of entertainments, crude indeed in form, to amuse themselves by day or night ; and such sciences, arts, and literature as were appreciated at that time were considered to be in perfection. Although men say that there was no peace, no security of honor or property, no sanitary arrangements, no law or order, and that might was then right, yet the name of hunger was totally unknown among that population, which many estimated to be about 400,000. Some professional beggars, might indeed be heard crying at the doors, but this begging was considered by them as their hereditary vocation. They were much better in their circumstances than many of the working classes, and they were not so numerous as those who now-a-days, in every street, disturb the rest of the people till midnight.

In 1856 the great change occurred in the affairs of the country ; in other words, it was annexed to the British Empire, and placed under a chief Commissioner. Authority was transferred from the swords of the selfish nobles and self-opinionated land owners to the pens of the statesmen. The people gained peace and freedom, but lost their various occupations. Soon after, in 1857, the great calamity of the mutiny upset the whole country, and inflicted more ruin on the city in 18 months than it would have suffered in 80 ordinary years. In 1877 the Local Government of the Province was amalgamated with that of the North Western Provinces, which caused another change in the administration ; and the business of the townspeople sank again a degree lower than it had been hitherto.

3. In 1864, 1, having obtained employment in the Educational Department, left the city, and found the opportunity of studying the subject of rural life. My being transferred to several districts and places in the country, and my being appointed in 1866 Inspector and Travelling

Officer in this service, allowed me good chances to make myself acquainted with the inner life of the rural population, which, according to the Census of 1881, stands as high as 93 t * per cent, of the total population of the country, of these no less than 72.6 per cent, have no other occupation, but depend for their livelihood on some sort of work connected with tilling the land. And according to the Famine Commission Report, the number of the people closely connected with agriculture seems still higher, viz. f 90 per cent, of the rural population. This percentage (90) is quite approximate, because it to the former figure, (72), the number of the unproductive population, i.e. of those who do not work, and depend upon the labours ot the others, be added, the total number becomes 90 per cent, or a little more. The nature of my work, as I had to travel in all seasons over every part of the country, and had to mix in a friendly way with the people, and to spend my leisure hours in talking with them in their huts and dwellings, gave me ample chance to become more familiar with them, and better acquainted with their inmost feelings and domestic life, than most of the revenue and judicial Officers, whose very rare visits rather alarm than conciliate the poor people. I have served in this capacity as long as .1 8 years, observing their conditions, and the changes in the circumstances of their life. The more knowledge of the subject I gained, the more inclined I felt to take interest in the matter ; and as I became more familiar with them, the more my heart sympathized with them.

4. When, in 1864, I first left Lucknow (my native town), I heard the people of all classes and grades deeply sighing for their lost Nawabi time, in which, they said food was abundant for them, seasons favourable, and their fields yielded twice as much as they do now, and they believed that they had recently lost all these blessings. As I they are naturally superstitious, and quite illiterate and ignorant of worldly affairs, and are destitute of the most precious gifts of

(nature, the reasoning faculties, they are therefore in the habit of attributing all the good and bad with which they meet in the

i course of their life, and for which they see no other origin, to some extraordinary change in the world ; therefore this great change of the Government was quite enough to make them believe that the loss of the productive power of their land in spite of their working hard, the bad agricultural seasons, the rise in the price of food, the decrease in the quantity of cattle, milk, and butter, and the calamity of famine, are due to nothing else but to their bad luck, which has been brought about by the English Government. Hearing this universal cry, and having no experience or knowledge of the nature of the New Government i at first, I myself felt inclined to think that really they had lost something I very precious. But I soon became acquainted with the features of it,

i and was astonished at the folly of the people in admiring and sighing

for such a thing as the Nawabi time. There are so many private and official records written on the subject, and the facts are so fully described in them, that I need not here give a full description of that time, which

* Page 89, paragraph 131 C.R.N.W.P. and Oudh : Form xx., col. 20. f Page 89, paragraph 8, R,I,F,C, Part II.

I have only heard of and not seen. However I ascertained that the people in the country were then twenty times worse off than the inhabitants of the town. The Administration Staff was only to a small extent the source of their disturbances ; it was the private struggles and blood-shed by the large land owners, and their rebellion against the Government which chiefly caused their troubles. In these struggles, which were very numerous, they had to desert their huts, property and fields. The estate of one land owner was attacked by another, and the intruders used to do all kinds of mischief, plundering everything they could lay their hands upon : villages and fields were set on fire : and those poor human victims who fell into their hands were tortured to yield money and show their hidden property. For months, (till the matter was settled) the people were obliged to go and hide themselves with their families in the jungle, and to live day and night under trees ; and they in their turn were obliged to do the same sort of mischief in neighbouring villages, for their own maintenance. The tenants were made to pay by their landlords long before the rent was due ; and if the latter rebelled and their estates were taken by any of the Government alliances, or other ursurper, the poor tenants were compelled to pay the rent again. All sorts of shameful means of torture were used by the Government Authorities to exact the revenue from the land owners. Owing to the above reasons, agriculture was full of difficulties, and was considered degrading ; and, as there were many other sources of livelihood, even the large land owners rather liked to keep themselves aloof from agriculture.

In such cases certainly there could be no reason for inducement for other people to become tenants, consequently, the land was not of so much value as it is in these days. Nor were the landlords so scrupulous in the measurement of the area of fields, and the terms of their lease as they are at present. The land was let at very low rents, and on easy terms ; and not only were the poor petty tenants tortured in order to exact the rent, but the same influence was applied to make them take the leases. Further, whenever it happened that the Government Civil Officers or the Army passed through any part of the country, everything belonging to the people living in that part was considered at their disposal ; the fields were cut for feeding their horses, elephants, and oxen, the poor people had to carry on their heads their thatchings and their beds, for the shelter and comfort of the sepoys in the camp. If dry wood for fuel could not be got from their trees, the shutters, beams, and rafters of their huts were chopped up for the purpose. No wages of any kind were paid for any sort of work. Milk, butter, oil, rations of all sorts required for their use, were taken wherever they could be found, or they were supplied by the landlord of the place. If it were the estate of some rebellious landlord, the plunder was much greater, and was in fact quite unrestricted. The damages, called Pamali, of course, were afterward deducted from the revenue budget of the place, and varied according to the influence or the power of the landlord. Sometimes the deduction was only nominal, as one quarter o* ' the actual damages ; and sometimes three or four times the real amount was allowed ! The tenants were relieved in their rent payment by the landlord, on the same principle.

N.B. — Like many other original barbarous customs that still exist in the country, a relic of it still remains : the supply of fuel, grass &c., for the camp of Government Officers prevails to certain extent to this day, and in spite of the exertion of the English Government, it has not yet been uprooted. We are afraid that this and other similar disagreeable customs, such as slavery of the agricultural labourers for debt in some parts of the country (Gonda and Pahraich) will remain in existence until India prospers so much, that shops to supply all necessaries will be found in every part of the country, and until the development of labour enables the poor slaves of hunger to escape from their present painful conditions of life. As long as the time and labour of the people are not more valuable than at present they feel little objection to giving them for nothing ; and all the exertions of the Government will fail to check these evils.

5. Having become conversant with the nature of the Government, an example of which has been given in the foregoing paragraph, I was really unable to understand what were the advantages of the old time, which make the people so unanimously sigh for it. But at last, after long observation, and full and continuous attention to the circumstances of the people, I found out the secret, that the people in question have gained nothing by the change of the Government, or by free trade ; rather they are gradually losing privileges which they formerly possessed. Moreover, the sources of the one thing for which they care, i.e. sufficiency of food, which undoubtedly heretofore had been numerous, have greatly decreased for them. For instance, at first they had entire command and control over agriculture, they had besides many other means within their reach of obtaining a livelihood, consequently, instead of undergoing rack renting owing to the greater demand and hard competition, as is the case at present, they were inclined to avoid field work, because, owing to several reasons which have been, and will be mentioned, the occupation was not at all agreeable, therefore they had to be tortured to do it. The rent was not so high as now. In most parts of the country it was paid in kind, half the harvest being the general rate. Accordingly the tenants had an interest in feeding themselves and their cattle wastefully out of the standing crops. The land owners did not keep a very keen eye over them, therefore, at harvest, instead of one half, they used to receive scarcely more than one quarter of the real produce of the fields from their tenants.