Ratnagiri - Underdevelopment of an Area of Reserve Labour Force

RATNAGIRI - UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF AN AREA OF RESERVE LABOUR FORCE MANORAMA SAVUR Ratnagiri (in Konkan on the Western Ghats) was not always underdeveloped. It was made so. The roots of it are to be found in history and to coincide with the coming in of European powers. The changing class interests of the English, however, played the crucial role. The Indian ruling classes till almost the end of the last decade have perpetuated "underdevelopment". In this study we show as to why the English turned a cluster of barren islands into Bombay, and in order to do so how Ratnagiri, a flourishing region, had to be simultaneously pauperised. The process was a necessary and a deliberate one for the survival and deve lopment of a class that held power. We start with the assumption that labour is an essential ingredient for development. We also indicate how both extra-legal and later, legal devices were used to such man-power, from the flourishing region into a new one which needed labour power, and had not only higher potentialities for development, but had also strategic importance for political control of the whole of Western India. In order to maintain a continuous flow of labour force from the Ratnagiri region, the in itial step was to break, not only its economy, but its eco-system as well. Certain historical antecedents facilitated the process The next one was to deprive it of infrastructural facilities and strip it of major resources viz. man-power and forests. We br iefly trace the process of development of Bombay from the seventeenth century, and of the slow withering away of Ratnagir during the same period, mainly through the transfer of labour force Other contributory antecedent factors are not ignored but are given their due importance. In this paper we broadly reiterate that: SOCIOLOGICAL BULLETIN Vol. 31, No. 2, September 1982 UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF AN AREA OF RESERVE LABOUR 183 "The teeming population of Ratnagiri has been the chief factor in the development of Bombay". (Bombay Gazetteer 1880:106) Part I Early History of Bombay In the first phase of mercantile expansion, England was only tech- nically concerned only with trade in India. Till the early seventeenth century, it had to contend with other European powers like the Dutch, the French and the Portuguese on the west coast. Although, the East India Company had set up its first important factory in Surat, it had to face many difficulties. For instance, till 1615, the Portuguese were virtual masters of the sea Again, the fertility of the soil of Gujarat roused the interest of the Moguls, and the region's richness had attracted the Marathas who had attacked Surat twice; finally Surat's importance was reduced by ravages of flood and fire. The English needed an additional but safer foothold on the west coast. The lucky break came when the Portuguese transferred a cluster of seven small islands in 1661 to the British Crown as a part of a marriage treaty. A greater part of the islands were more or less submerged under the sea and what remained above was almost barren (Malabari : 93). The few land owners around were mainly Portuguese, who created many technical difficulties to prevent the marriage treaty from being carried out. But Bombay was forcibly taken over by the English in 1662; five ships of war carrying 500 troops abroad were used for the purpose. Bombay, therefore, was considered both a troublesome, as well as, an unprofitable possession 'Malabari : 94-97). Yet, it had a splendid harbour that English at once recognised as strategically valuable. The island was, however, leased out to East India Company in 1669 for a modest rental of £10/- per annum But, it was made clear by the Charter Act of March 27th of 1668, that the East India Company could not trans-fer it to an alien power. In other words, England held feudal rights over the island. But some concessions had to be made and by the new Charter Act, the Company was empowered to exercise certain legislative and judicial authority, to appoint Governors, and to raise and train military forces. The total revenue, the Company was able to collect in 1669, was only £6500/-, which was insufficient to de- 184 SOCIOLOGICAL BULLETIN fray even the cost of administration (Malabari : 394). Yet, political control was crucial, particularly at this stage, to get a monopoly hold of trade and when trade actually meant unequal exchange, loot and forcible appropriation of commodities. The gateway to power and political control for the English was through the west coast and Bombay would serve as a fresh new port which would be free from interference of the local, as well as other European powers. Territorial acquisition combined with ab- stract political power would, however, be of little use unless men populated the newly acquired area The authorities therefore, decided to make Bombay the chief centre of trade and under Aunjier's governorship (1671-77), traders, both the English and native, were given every facility to establish themselves. Malabari also mentions that records of Mayor's Court indicate that loans were granted to handicrafts-men of every type ranging from gold smith to shoe smith; looms were provided for weavers; and every indulgence was shown to merchants and manufacturers to settle down in Bombay. By the third quarter of the eighteenth century, there was an influx of wealthy men too (Malabari : 129, 410-422). The keynote of the policy of the Governors was to promise security of life and property and freedom of religion to new settlers (Malabari : 103). It must be remembered that such freedom of religion was not permitted by the Portuguese. Bombay began to grow in 1770 (Gazetteer of Bombay, 1901 : 121). The influx of people meant, on one hand the need for recla - mation of the Island and on the other construction of private houses and public administrative buildings. But, the island itself' had neither local population to carry out the construction work nor sufficient timber for construction. There was only a sprinkling of Bhandaries (toddy tappers), Kunbis (cultivators), and Kolis (fishermen) (Malabari : 393). But the English got control of Bankot and its neighbouring villages in 1756 and Malvan in 1765 (Bombay Gazetteer, 1880 : 196-199); both from the Ratnagi district. A British Government document indicates that the first three groups of workers who migrated to Bombay were Mahrs, Malvanis and Bankotis (Bombay Gazetteer, 1980 : 143). The control of timber forest of Ratnagiri will be discussed later. UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF AN AREA OF RESERVE LABOUR 185 Growth of Bombay Docks and Need for Labour Surat had declined from mid-17th century. Although the English had control of Dabul and Bankot on the Ratnagiri coast, these two ports were progressively destroyed by the Portuguese who operated from neighbouring Goa. But since from 1660 Goan trade itself began to decline, the English decided to develop Bombay as their main trading port, (Surendra Gopal, 1975 : 100) for after-all it had a natural harbour. The English set up a shipyard in 1781 in Bombay, where 500 natives were employed. Later the number rose to 2,000 workers (Morris, D. M , 1965 : 11, 17). Britain had just passed through the first phase of her industrial revolution and now required a larger supply of cotton. Indian cotton supply was relatively small in size and poor in quality, yet Britain was unwilling to rely solely on American imports. The British industrial bourgeoisie also demanded an outlet for its finished products and under their pressure the East India Company's monopoly was put to an end in 1813. Commerce immediately improved. For instance, Bombay's export of raw cotton rose from 30 million pounds in 1809 to 90 million pounds in 1816 and with an increase of price of American cotton in 1832, the Indian export jumped to over a million bales between 1835-361 (Edwards, S. M., 1901 : 109, 113). Bombay Government which acted in the interest of mercantile community pressed the East India Company in 1829 to open a sea route from Suez to Red Sea. Suez was opened in 1869. This at once brought Bombay a thousand miles closer to England than either Madras or Calcutta, and Bombay's importance vis-a-vis the other two ports rose enormously2 (Thorner, D., 1950 : 25-26). Growing trade, particularly after the boom following the American Civil War (1861-65), meant enlargement of the docks and port facilities, to berth larger ships. The work on Mazgaon dock was started in 1863, and on Princes Dock began in 1875; wet docks were expanded and the neighbouring private ones purchased Modernized and opened by 1880. Victoria docks (1888) was meant to berth very large ships (Edwards : 129-149). Exports rose from an average of Rs. 24 crores in 1870-72 to Rs. 39 crores in 1890-92 and for the same period imports from Rs. 12 crores to Rs. 17 crores.3 A definite proof of growth and profitability of commerce was setting 186 SOCIOLOGICAL BULLETIN up of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce in 1836 (Thorner : 7). It was sponsored by British and Indian merchants, (Edwards 113) and the old system of agency houses began to make room for establishment of joint stock banks, Bank of Bombay opened its business in 1840, Oriental Banking Corporation in 1844 and by 1860 commercial Chartered Mercantile Bank and Central Bank of Western India gained their assured position (Edwards : 121). In spite of the growing prosperity of Bombay, the conditions of the dock workers and the working class in general were becoming miserable, with low pay, indebtedness, poor housing.

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