Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Robb, Peter

Titel

Agrarian Development in Colonial India: The British and Bihar

Auflage

1

Ort / Verlag

Oxford: Routledge

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This book looks at agriculture, development, poverty and British rule in India, especially in the Patna Division in Bihar between c.1870-1920. It traces the economic influence of British policies and maps the impact of legal, administrative and scientific interventions on rural conditions and norms. The book discusses British theories and policies of 'improvement', comparing them with Bihar's agricultural practice and socio-economic conditions to draw conclusions about rural impoverishment. Following on from his earlier book, Ancient Rights and Future Comfort, on the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885, the author also presents case studies on famines, debts, canal and village irrigation, flood protection and the cultivation and production of indigo, opium and sugar. He analyses extensive archival material to reflect on property law, scientific interventions, cropping patterns, trade and intermediaries. He examines the economic role of governments, Eurocentric development theories and the complex impact of development policy on agriculture and society in Bihar. The book will be of interest to academics and students of colonial history, modern Indian history, agrarian studies, economic history, sociology and development studies. It will also be useful to development practitioners and researchers working on the history of agrarian conditions and public policy.