The Colonial Beginnings of Calcutta Urbanisation Without Industrialisation Benoy Ghose
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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY August 13, 1960 The Colonial Beginnings of Calcutta Urbanisation without Industrialisation Benoy Ghose IN an industrial age, there is a stages of growth, from 'infantile' to nomic background for the develop correlation between 'urbanisa "mature', it not only offers better ment of a city like Calcutta. The tion' and 'industrialisation'. Some security and protection to people, zamindari policy of the Company minimum technological development but also greater employment oppor hastened this process of rural of production, transportation, con tunities and wider scope for services disintegration. struction, utilities and administration and enterprises than are available The most important achievement is clearly required to permit of large in a rural area. The economic and social history of the city of Calcutta of the Company in the period 1690- concentrations of people in urban 1757 was the acquisition in 1698 areas. The size of population, provides an example of this aspect of urbanisation, better perhaps than of the tenure, in terms of the Mu depending directly on 'agriculture', ghal Revenue Law, of the three including forestry, hunting and fish any other city in India, for histori cal reasons. villages of 'Dihi Calcutta', 'Covind- ing, and also on 'traditional handi pore' and *Sutanuti'. the 'nucleus' The story of the growth of Cal crafts', should be negligible in an from which grew the City of Cal cutta in the 18th and 19th centuries urban area in relation to that de cutta. "By this acquisition, the is largely one of the influx of peo pending mainly on 'industry,' i.e., Company obtained for the first time ple of different castes and occupa factories and public utilities (e.g. a legal position within the Mughal tions from the countryside to the electricity, gas, and water supply), Empire, and thus brought into ex new city in quest of fortune through and on 'services' in both the public istence a working theory, in the and private sectors, comprising, new employment opportunities, development of which the accept among others, trade-commerce, trans- services and enterprises created ance of the Diwani in 1765 was the port, storage and communications. under the new British administra final logical completion".2 The Many observers of urban growth tion. There had been a steady mi English were made responsible by have concluded that cities in Afro- gration of such people to Calcutta this grant for the payment of lump Asian countries are faced with the since the days of its foundation by sums, representing the estimated problem of 'over-urbanization' in re Job Charnock in the closing decade revenue due from the inhabitants of lation to the degree of economic of the 17th century. Along with the 'three towns'; and to meet this development, particularly of indus these fortune-hunters a large num annual due, the Company was pri trialization. This is especially true ber of people, uprooted from village vileged to collect rents from the lo of almost all colonial cities, in the communities, began also to flock to cal inhabitants, to deal at pleasure sense that these cities do not have the city and swell the ranks of with waste lands and to levy taxes, the requisite productive economic 'domestic servants' and various duties and fines on them. It is base, corresponding to the size of 'wage-earners'—who were also pro difficult to determine with precision their population and to their pro- ducts of the new urban economic the exact legal rights conferred on per function in the national eco conditions. the Company by the grant. That nomy as a whole. INVESTMENT POLICY point may be interesting, but not important. What is of great histo In relation to the national eco Like many colonial cities in Asia. rical significance is the fact that the nomy, a city may have quite differ Calcutta is chiefly the product of Company regarded itself as 'Zamin- ent economic functions. It may economic development oriented es dar". and exercised the functions of contribute heavily through industry sentially to a foreign country, rather that office. and commerce to the per capita pro than of indigenous economic deve duction and the economic uplift of lopment. This external economic COMPANY AS ZAMINDAR the State, or it may drain off and orientation of Calcutta (Bengal) to As zamindar the Company, while consume unproductively the wealth England emerged in the last two trying to adhere to 'native' tradi of the countryside without giving centuries, producing the great city tions and customs, made a curious anything of economic value in re as a link between them. The 'in- amalgam of them with extraneous turn. The economic function of a vestment' policy (the purchases regulations to find out ways and city can, therefore, vary widely made by the East India Company means of increasing the revenue of from the generative' to the 'parasi in Bengal for trade purposes acquir the town. One of these means was tic', depending on the relation of ed the name of 'investment') of the 'farming" on an extensive scale. the city to the rest of the country1 East India Company through 'na Hats, bazars, marts, ghats, gunjes, A city, of course, is not likely to tive' brokers, merchants and gomas- ferries, articles for sale and con be wholly 'parasitic' if even a small thas, the private trade of the Com sumption, export and import, arti fraction of urban income flows pany's servants, whose sole motive cles for manufacture, collection of down to the village and contributes was money-making by any means, to rural wealth and prosperity. and the inter-caste mobility of rent in the different areas of the trades and occupations, usually en town and in the ceded territories in FORTUNE HUNTERS couraged by the English merchant- its neighbourhood, even the grazing Although a colonial city has a rulers, slowly and steadily sapped right on the Calcutta maidan and tendency to be more 'parasitic' than the vitality of the traditional 'Vil the shoemaker's right on the car others, its 'generative' role cannot lage Community' in Bengal in the cases of cattle flowing down the be overlooked, In its different 18th century, and created the eco Ganges—all were 'farmed' out for 1255 August 13, 1960 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY 1256 August 13, 1960 a lump sum over a certain period transition, this naturally proved dis strate how the historical houses and of time (not always yearly) to the astrous, and in 1769 British Super families of Bengal Tell beneath the highest bidder in public auction. visors were appointed to look after guillotine of the Revenue Sale Laws, When the Court of Directors in local collections. The servants of and how a still larger number were 1758 abolished the post of zamindar the Company were not trained for extinguished by their private credi and created "an Office, the Head of the task, and this policy of British tors and the Civil Courts. It fixed which must be called Collector of supervision also failed miserably. for ever the revenue to be paid by Rents and Revenue the "articles' In 1772, Warren Hastings was au the landholders to the State, but placed under his management were thorised by the Court of Directors it never fixed the rent to be paid 'Ground Kent, Duty on Sale of to inaugurate a new policy of Bri by the cultivators. It also endea Houses. Duly on Sale of Sloops and tish Central Control and a Joint voured to substitute for the village Boats. Duty on Sale of Slaves. British and Native agency in the patwaris. who had so long been Pottahs. Ground Overplus. Glass Districts for establishing direct coir the joint servants of the State and makers Farm. Damar and Okum tact with the rural people. But ac the village community, their per Farm, Sallamy on new Sloops and tually the collection of revenue was sonal servants working under their Boats. Commission on Mortgage managed by the farming system. orders in their own 'kacheris' or Bonds. Duty collected on the Out- according to which tenders were in land offices against the interest of Towns, Duty on Burthened Oxen. vited for each Pargana, and a settle the cultivators. This was one of Bang Shops Farm and the thirty- ment for five years (1772-1777) the major organic defects of the eight villages ceded by the Nabob was concluded with the highest Permanent Settlement which brought or whatever may be those acquisi bidder, whether he was the old tions.a ruin to the cultivators and which zamindar or not. lav at the root of all the agrarian The wide range of articles brought troubles in Bengal throughout the PERMANENT SETTLEMENT under farming can be easily com 19th century. It ruined the old prehended from this list. For the Many old zamindars were thus zamindars and also the cultivators, first time "all Duties relative to Food ousted, and a subsistence allowance and wrecked the foundation of the Raiment or Trade' were allocated was granted to them out of the re old village community. to "Customs", and the hats and ba venue. On the termination of the zars where these duties were collect five-year settlement in 1777' annual NEW RURAL MRIET ed were set aside. Two custom settlements were made with farmers The system of local administra houses were constructed and two until 1781 when a Committee of tion was also gradually changed. custom masters appointed there. As Revenue was constituted in. Calcutta. By the Proclamation of December for 'farming, it was clearly stated But the farming system was steadi 7. 1792. re-enacted by Regulation in the letter that 'all farms in future ly wearing down the old village XXII.