Agrarian Society of The Punjab 1849-1901

The book is a perceptive study of the agrarian society in the Punjab, which saw immensely complex changes during the first fifty years of British rule.

It attempts to study the rural changes at two levels: to study and analyse some significant trends in the agrarian economy of the province during 1849-1901 and second, to explain the changes in the social framework of agriculture.

The author begins with a general description of agrarian society at the time of the annexation of the Punjab. He then goes on to focus attention on the impact of the new canal network on the production organization and peasant economy of the province, leading to a new form of colonial settlement in the bar lands. Chapter three deals with the growth of com-mercial agriculture with particular reference to the cultivation of wheat, cotton and sugarcane and the effect of this on the rural economy. British land revenue administration and the development of settlement policy are dealt with next. Then comes a close look at the rural credit relations and land alienation followed by a discussion of the landlord-tenant relations and the regional variations in them. The author concludes the volume with a study of the changing status and economic conditions of village servants or Kamins as they were called in relation to their masters, the peasant proprietors. There is a very useful glossary at the end.

The book fills an important gap left by the previous studies on the subject and constitutes a most valuable addition to scholarship in the field.

Himadri Banerjee retired as Guru Nanak Professor of Indian History, Department of History, Jadavpur University. He is long engaged in tracing numerous Sikh journeys of the last five hundred years from Punjab and their settlements in different eastern and north-eastern Indian states. Some of these interesting issues would figure in the second volume of The Other Sikhs. It is getting ready for the press.

This book is a revised version of my Ph.D. thesis. In this work I had the opportunity to utilise only the official records and reports available in India. The Punjab Government records preserved in the India Office Library, London and the Punjab Board of Revenue, Lahore remained beyond my reach.

In course of my research I have been fortunate enough to receive help from various sources. I am most indebted to Dr. Binay Bhusan Chaudhuri for introducing me to the study of agrarian history and for providing me with the indispensable stimulus and encouragement throughout the period. I must also thank Dr. A.C. Banerjee, Dr. S. Sen, Dr. A. Dasgupta and Dr. B. De for showing a keen interest in my research. Equally helpful was the assistance provided by Dr. Ganda Singh and Dr. Fauja Singh at Patiala. At the National Archives Shri S. Sarkar provided assistance on a generous scale. Dr. B.S. Nijjar, Director of the Punjab State Archives and Mr. H.R. Saggi, Librarian were always very helpful and sympathetic. The Indian Council of Historical Research extended necessary financial assistance for research work at Patiala.

I owe a special debt to the Librarian and staff of the West Bengal Secretariat Library, Calcutta for locating many valuable official records for my research. In the final stage of my research I also received many valuable suggestions from Dr. Indu Banga, Dr. Kenneth Jones, Dr. Tom Kessinger and Dr. Barbara Ramusack. I am greatly indebted to Dr. B. Bapui who have read the entire manuscript in draft and given me his valuable suggestions. Shri Ramesh C. Jain of Manohar Publications was always very accommodating and I am also thankful to him.