S - E D C D M (1849-1901) : Abida Kausar Chuadhary Humaira Arif Dasti
S - E D C D M (1849-1901) : Abida Kausar Chuadhary Humaira Arif Dasti
S - E D C D M (1849-1901) : Abida Kausar Chuadhary Humaira Arif Dasti
INTRODUCTION
The Punjab, the land of five rivers, was a key centre of
power in colonial India. It was both the ‘bread basket’ and
‘sword arm’ of the British Raj’ The province’s agricultural
wealth increased because of large scale irrigation schemes of the
19th century known as the canal colony development1 In the
Multan district , with the completion of Sidhnai Canal ,there was
a large scale movement of population as in other west Punjab
261
262 [J.R.S.P., Vol. 51, No. 1, January – June, 2014]
irrigated areas. The rapid flow of migration was from the densely
populated central district towards Chenab canal colonies due to
major problems of fragmentations of holding ,increasing rate of
indebtedness and limited availability of cultivable waste.2 Canal
colony migrants’ regular remittance gave a fillip of seasonal
employment.3
walk from one end to another especially during the hot summer
weather when the whole street would be uniformly subject to the
heat of the sun with no shade. The British planners were always
very hesitant to find anything good in the traditional ways of life
and as a part of cultural domination made it a point to rub in the
backwardness of Indian building style.
with their social and economic status. Here again the focus was
to preserve their imperial authority Bernard Cohn explicates it by
stating: “culture, the most obvious and brutal modes of conquest
that first established power on foreign shore. The cultural effects
of colonialism have too often been ignored or displaced into the
inevitable logic of modernization and world capitalism.
Colonialism was itself a project of control.32
(58) Prior to the settlement there was no fixed land revenue. The
British fixed a certain amount of revenue which was difficult to
pay for the small landholders of the district .
Conclusion
This research has examined both British administration
in the Punjab and the major socio-economic changes brought by
colonial rule. Agriculture was affected by the introduction of
commercial cash crops and private land ownership as well as by
the fixed land revenue demands of the state. While there was
growing prosperity, especially as a result of the impact of canals
and railways, there was a growing problem of rural indebtedness.
278 [J.R.S.P., Vol. 51, No. 1, January – June, 2014]