What were the conditions of indigo …

The Indigo revolt was a peasant movement in the state of Bengal. The indigo farmers revolted against the atrocities of the indigo planters which were mainly Europeans. The indigo farmers according to the contract signed with the planters, grew indigo crop on extremely fertile piece of their land. They were paid extremely low prices for their crop. Hence, the indigo farmers rose in revolt against the indigo planters. In March 1859, the farmers refused to sow a single seedling of the indigo plant. Gradually, it spread to several districts in Bengal. The revolt of the indigo planters forced the government to appoint the “Indigo Commission “in 1860. In the Commission report, E.W.L Tower noted that that “not a chest of indigo reached England without being stained with human blood”. The Indigo commission was appointed which held the planters guilty, and criticized them for the coercive methods they used with indigo cultivators. The company asked ryots (farmers) to fulfill their existing contracts but also told them that they could refuse to produce indigo in future. This was a big relief for the peasants and gradually the plantations of Indigo came to an end in Bengal.