History of Opium Trade of Rajputana is an important part of Economic History of Rajasthan. The revenue generated by opium trade was a prominent source of income for princely states of Rajputana. This trade was flourishing in all Rajput states of mediaeval era. Customary use[1] of opium in Rajputana by the Rajputs in particular and other communities in general, is known to be fairly old.[2]
Extensive cultivation of poppy, from which juice was extracted and opium prepared, was practiced in the south-eastern States of Rajputana. Climatic conditions and rich soil of these States were especially suited for its production.
Due to its palliative and other medicinal properties, soon came to be considered a household necessity and large quantities were produced by these States for local consumption in neighbouring States and still larger for foreign trade with China.[3] The returns that this trade brought to the people had made it one of the indispensable commodity in the home and foreign trade during the century.
The opium exporting States,[4] were: Mewar, Partapgarh, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kotah, Bundi, and Tonk. The states of Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Marwar, Sirohi, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur and Kishangarh were importers.
Sporadic accounts pertaining to this trade during the early period of the nineteenth century are available to us through contemporary writers like Hamilton and Boileau, who mention regular trade line from Harauti to Deman, Madras etc. via Karachi bundar.
The route was a track of 320 kos from Kotah to Karachi through Ajmer, Merta, Pokaran, Jaisalmer and Hyderabad. A camel could be hired for the whole journey for Rs. 45/-.
Another route was from Jhalarapatan to Indore and the trade[5] was carried chiefly on bullock carts. Large quantity ultimately found its way to Bombay[6] for export to China.[7] In the foreign trade, the opium from the States of Rajputana and Central India was termed as Malwa opium to distinguish it from the Bengal opium.
Considerable income[8] accrued from this commodity to the State. Because of the policy of laissez-faire in the matters of import and export, the traders’ profit was large.
Generally the opium was brought to the trade marts through the manotidders and bohras or the rural bankers and merchants, who had direct links with the cultivators who did not bring the commodity to the market because he enjoyed credit facilities from the rural merchants and because he wanted to avoid highway hazards and face the porterage difficulties etc.
For the home consumption the opium was rolled into cakes while refined pills were prepared for foreign export. The urban merchant fixed its price and set it on the high roads.
The trade had been really a lucrative one during the early period. and excited the British rapacity. The British Government reserved to itself a monopoly of the Malwa opium and it was purchased by the British Resident at Indore and sold by auction either at Bombay or Calcutta.
In 1831, the British government revised its policy. The trade was opened to private entrepreneurs and duty was fixed in order to let the opium pass through the British territories.
This passage was necessary because the opium producing States were land locked and had no direct access to sea-ports. In the beginning the duty was fixed at the rate of Rs. 175/- per chest of 140 lbs. each and was revised in the subsequent years as below rising to Rs. 700/- in 1861.[9]
In order to keep strict vigilance on the export so that no opium left the State and entered British territories without paying the British duty, scales for weighment were established at Udaipur in June 1869.
During the late seventies and early eighties, the depression in opium trade was the common topic of conversation on the road and in the towns.
The effects of this depression were severely felt and the cultivators were unable to get rid of their opium stock. Traders suffered a great loss because their previous year’s remained unsold in Bombay markets.[10]
The trade greatly languished during the close of the century and the British income dwindled away. A Commission was set up by the British Government[11] in 1893 to inquire into the extent and effects of the production and sale of the drug. After a detailed inquiry it recommended that policy of unrestricted cultivation of the poppy be continued and the trade be carried on unhindered.
The Report of the Commission further added[12] that the average amount of opium weighed at Udaipur and Chittor came to be 5000 chests annually and opium sent by Jhalawar, Kota, Tonk and other Rajputana States to the scales at Ujjain, Mandsaur and Indore was 5000 chests annually.
Thus the total contribution of Rajputana States to the foreign trade was 10,000 chests out of the total production of 18,000-19,000 chests. This gave to the British Government a revenue of sixty lakhs annually at the average rate of Rs. 600/- per chest. The net receipt[13] from Malwa opium in 1880-91 was 21 crores which fell to 99 lakhs in 1902-03.
REFERENCES
[1] James Tod writes, “If a Rajput pays a visit, the first question is Amal khaya? Have you had your opiate? Amal khao, ‘take your opiate’. Aanals And Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. II, p. 749. Its use was considered a status symbol on various occasions such as birth, festivals, betrothal, marriage, festivities, greetings, mourning etc. Indian Opium Commission Minutes of Evidence, 1894, pp. 9-11.
[2] The introduction of the drug to India is said to be as old as the Arab contacts with this country. George Watt, Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, Vol. VI, Part I, 1892, p. 24.
[3] Portuguese found in 1498A.D. that opium was exported from Bardosa to Malacca by Arab merchants. George Watt, op. cit., Vol. VI, Part I, p. 27. In the early sixteenth century, trade in opium existed between the west coast of India and the Far East and was largely into the hands of the Portuguese. Imperial Gazetteer of India-The Indian Empire, Vol. IV, 1907, Oxford, p. 244.
[4] Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series-Rajputana, 1908, Calcutta. p. 75.
[5] Report on the Revenue Settlement of Jhalawar, 1885, p. 13.
[6] Pathetic scenes of the opium dens at Bombay are narrated in the Appendix to the Memorial from the Society for the Suppression of Opium Trade, 1890, p. 24.
[7] Extensive cultivation of the poppy within China began only after 1850, and demand before that was met by importation. Indian opium came to surpass Indian raw cotton in balancing the trade with China. Clyde, Paul H: The Far East, 1962, p. 113.
[8] Indian Opium Commission, Minutes of Evidence, 1894, p. 16.
[9] George Watt, op. cit., Vol. VI. Part I, 1892, p. 94.
10. Compiled from the Report on the Political administration of the Rajasthan States and Ajmer-Merwara for the years 1868-1900A.D.
[10] Hari Shankar Sharma, Some aspects of Opium Trade of Rajputana (1800-1900 A.D.); Proceedings of Rajasthan History Congress, 1968, pp.175-178.
[11] Imperial Gazetteer of India, the Indian Empire-Vol. IV, 1907, p. 245.
[12] Final Report of the Royal Commission on Opium, 1895, para 113.
[13] Imperial Gazetteer of India, Indian Empire, Vol. IV, 1987, p. 245.
