Now Reading: British tax rule forced Mysore farmers to switch to ragi in 1870s
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British tax rule forced Mysore farmers to switch to ragi in 1870s
A feature in Hindustan Times recounts how British-era administrative changes in Mysore between 1871 and 1873 caused a dramatic shift from wet rice to ragi cultivation. When irrigation control moved from local…
The Story in Brief
A feature in Hindustan Times recounts how British-era administrative changes in Mysore between 1871 and 1873 caused a dramatic shift from wet rice to ragi cultivation. When irrigation control moved from local revenue officers to the Public Works Department, and the new Revenue Survey taxed all occupied land whether cropped or not, area under rice dropped from 1.32 million acres to just half a million. Fields reverted to dry-land ragi, a water-efficient crop that became the staple.
The article also draws on ancient texts such as the 12th-century Manasollasa and the 1025 A.D. Lokopakara to show the region's rich culinary history, including recipes for payasam, rice dishes, and vegetable preparations, long before chillies arrived.
The Indian Opinion
The piece gently challenges the popular reflex to villainise every British-era official by spotlighting Benjamin Lewis Rice, whose Mysore Gazetteer is now a key record. Yet the same story shows that colonial administration, through the Revenue Survey and PWD control of tanks, inadvertently pushed farmers from wet rice to dry ragi. The romance around traditional eating also deserves scrutiny: the Manasollasa king cooked only in ghee, but that was elite, not everyday practice. The real test is whether today's policymakers will track the long-term dietary consequences of their irrigation and tax decisions with equal precision.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
