![]() It was such an absolute truth that even the planters couldn’t deny it. How does one come to hate a crop? It was found that indigo cultivation was not profitable for the ryots at all. They were subjected to perpetual indignities, so much so that they began to hate the very name of indigo. For the ryots it was rather ‘vexation and harassment.’ They complained that time and again they were made to plough, to crush the clods, to remove stalks, to smooth the ground, until neither their time nor their labor could be called their own. This compulsion also took the shape of strict supervision of the agricultural operation by factory employees because they thought of the Bengali population as 'indolent, procrastinating and faithless' in character. In some cases, if the debt was too high, the ryot did not receive any fresh advance and was trapped into sowing indigo without it! ![]() However, the debt was deducted from the full advance amount and the ryot received only the remaining sum for the next agricultural season. Despite the debt, a fresh advance was given to him for the next season. ![]() If he had a ‘fazil’ or excess then he was paid. Between the debit and credit amount, a balance was struck and payment was made accordingly. The average return of a beegah was about 10 to 12 bundles. The credit included the value of indigo plant bundles delivered by the ryot to the factories at 4 to 8 bundles per rupee. The debit included the cost of advance (generally at two rupees per beegah), the cost of the stamp paper on which the contract was signed (two annas) and the cost of four to five seers of seeds charged at four annas per beegah. At the close of the manufacturing season in August or September, the accounts used to be drawn out.
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