History

History

Humans fed themselves for 2.5 million years by collecting plants and hunting animals that grow and bred naturally without human intervention. It all changed about ten thousand years ago when humans started domesticating animals and devoting all their time and effort to sowing seeds. This brings a complete change in the lifestyle of human beings as from nomads to settlers.

It is difficult to identify the exact period in which the transition from hunter-gatherers to Farmer begins, but it is roughly believed to be in 9,500 BCE. Agriculture in the Indian subcontinent started at the same time, and it began in Pakistan and the North-Western part of the country. The wheat and barley were the first crops cultivated in the Indian sub-continent in about nine thousand BCE. It was soon followed by the domestication of horse, sheep, goat, and the elephant were also first domesticated in this period only was visible in Mehrgarh (now Baluchistan, Pakistan).

In around 5,000 BCE, agricultural activities started in Kashmir, and cotton was first cultivated in Kashmir. Various fruits like mango and muskmelon are the native fruit of the Indian sub-continent, and they started growing in this period only.

Indus Valley Civilization (3300 BCE to 1300 BCE)

In this period, the people were able to do Farming and started to make houses from bricks and clay. They have a systematic way of living, and the houses were of the same design. People sell their agricultural products, including wheat, barley, cotton, date-palms, melons, mango, etc., not only in the Harrapan cities but also to the Sumerians, Persians, Mesopotamians, and Chinese through well-established trade routes. Agriculture was dependent on the bullock cart for ploughing, and irrigation was developed in this civilization.  Animals domesticated in this period include buffalo, cow, goat, pig, camel, ass, elephant, and dog, and they were exported to China, Japan, Iran, and Mesopotamia. 

In about 2375 BCE, there was the start of Jhuming or shifting cultivation in the tribal areas of the North-Eastern and Eastern parts of the country. Some new crops in South India, like the ragi, which is millet, first occurred in 1800 BCE in Karnataka and pulses in 1700 BCE. 

The Vedic Period (1300 BCE to 300 BCE)

The Aryans are considered Russia’s original inhabitants, and they traveled from Russia to India via Iran, where they form a Babylonian Empire in about 1746 BCE. When they arrived in India, the Indus valley people were already there, so they have to fight with them for centuries to fully establish their civilization. The language used by them was Sanskrit.

In around 2000 BCE, horses were domesticated and used for transportation in this period widely. There is no evidence of domestic horses in India prior to the invasion of Aryans, around 1600 BCE. Most of the problems were solved in Sabha or Samiti, and the primary loyalty was to the tribe called Jana. Iron was used in this civilization, and various tools of Farming and fighting were made of it. Agriculture was praised in the Vedic age, and it was considered a novel profession, and there were two harvests a year. 

The Mauryan Empire (322 BCE to 122 BCE)

In 325 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya killed Dhananand, a Nanda King, and overthrow the Nanda Dynasty with the help of Kautilya. In the year 322 BCE, he came with a large army from Punjab to Patliputra, took over the throne, and set up the Mauryan Empire. 

Art and crafts have reached a certain level of proficiency and specialization during this time. Many professions dedicated to them become flourish like carpenters, weavers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, jewelers, potters, ivory-workers, etc. Metal coins replaced the barter system in this period.

The empire has a well- managed revenue system, bureaucracy, police, and army. The king was the largest landholder in the kingdom, and the royal land was termed as Sita lands. The Superintendent of Agriculture employs slaves, prisoners, and labourers to work on this land, and some of this land was given to Shudras, who have to submit one-fourth of produce to the royal warehouse. The farmers were protected from the intruders by the state, and the land other than Sita lands were taxed for the crop and vary from place to place in the kingdom.

Animal husbandry made significant progress in the Mauryan empire. It includes cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, horses, mules, elephants, and asses. There was a separate Superintendent of cows to deal with cattle, and cows were considered sacred and worshiped daily in the morning. In the Ashoka era, the horticulture and arboriculture flourished.

Early Common Era (200 BCE to 1200 CE)

After the death of Ashoka, there was no powerful successor of the Mauryan Empire, and the empire collapsed. It was divided into various parts, which were ruled by Sungas, Satavahanas, and Kushans. The iron hoes were known from 3^rd BCE but increasingly used in 2^nd CE, and Andhra became famous for cotton cloth. Coconut cultivation has also drastically started on the western coast of India.

During the time of Pandyas, Cheras, and Cholas in the 100CE, there was a discovery of monsoon, and with the monsoon winds, the trade started with Romans viz. Spain, Italy, and Egypt. The evidence of the cultivation of Turmeric and Pepper first appeared in this period. 

The age of Guptas came after that, which is referred to as the golden age of India. Trade and agriculture flourish at a pacing rate. The state machinery was well functioned, and the taxes on land varies from one-fourth to one-sixth in the region. The various kings and dynasties come and go, and under their patronage, agriculture flourish.

Late Medieval Era (1200 CE to 1800 CE)

This was the period of Rajputs, Delhi Sultanate, and then the Mughals ruled the majority of today’s India.  Agriculture was the largest source of people’s livelihood and the largest revenue generation source of the state. The various crops grown in the Mughal period were cereals, millets, oilseeds, sugarcane, cotton, hemp, chilli, indigo, and betel. Different new fruits were also introduced in the Mughal period like apple, grapes, orange, guava, pomegranate, mango, banana, pineapple, pear, etc. 

The Portuguese introduced tobacco and potato during the reign of Jahangir in India. Ajmer was renowned for the finest sugar cane quality. Gujarat and Agra were famous for the cultivation of indigo. Babur introduced to India many central Asian fruits. Firoz Shah’s Yamuna canal was repaired for the first-time during Akbar’s rule. 

A new system called Dahsala was implemented in 1580 by Akbar. Under this, the average production of different crops and their average prices over the last ten years were calculated, and 1/3rd of the average output fixed in rupees per bigha was the state’s share.

Colonial Era (1800 CE to 1947 CE)

The East India Company rule begins in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey, and it came to an end in 1858. The British Crown took control of India through the Government of India Act, 1858, after the rebellion in 1857, and it was also the end of the Mughal Empire in India.

It is evident that British rule was not a period of agricultural growth, but it was an era when many foreign crops and new technology were introduced in India. It was a period of industrialization in Britain, so modern technology and fertilizer were also introduced in India. 

It was a period when more focus was given to the cash crops and plantation crops than the food crops. It leads to food scarcity, and as the population was increasing, it resulted in a huge problem. Farmers take loans to produce the crops, and they were unable to pay for it as the taxes were fixed and very high, and the local zamindars took advantage of them, and when the loan is not paid, they lose their land.

With the advancement of roads and railways, there was a huge expansion in cash crops sold in national and international markets. Few Indian commercial crops like cotton, indigo, opium, and rice made their way to the colonial era’s global market. Britishers made an extensive canal network in Punjab, Narmada valley, and Andhra Pradesh for irrigation but not to the level required.

The Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce, established by Britishers in 1871, was the basis for India’s agricultural research initiation. A separate department for agriculture was created in 1881 at the Centre for Famine relief operations. In 1890 Dr. J.A. Voelcker, consulting chemist from Royal Agricultural Society (England) was appointed and laid the foundation for agricultural research in India.

Between 1901 to 1905, there was the establishment of Agricultural Colleges at Pune, Kanpur, Sabour, Nagpur, Coimbatore, and Lyallpur (now Pakistan). Imperial (now Indian) Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was established in 1929 on Royal Commission on Agriculture’s recommendation to research the agricultural field.