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Tinkathia System
The Tinkathia System (literally in Hindi: three Kathas), was an economic policy enforced by the East India Company in India. It was practiced largely in Eastern India and in states such as Bihar. The Tinkathia System was challenged by the Champaran Satyagraha led by Mohandas Gandhi, this in turn became a watershed moment in the Indian independence movement.
History[edit]
Background[edit]
In the 17th and 18th century, most of Eastern India came under the rule of the East India Company. India, then, was a major producer of spices and dyes, primarily Indigo. The trade of Indigo was a major business. Several Agency Houses were involved in the Indigo trade. The East India Company compelled Indian farmers to grow cash crops like Indigo which severely affected their livelihoods.[1]
Units of Measurement[edit]
The term Tinkathia literally means three Kathas, which is a unit of measurement for land used in India.[1]
In Indian units of measurement, each Bigha is subdivided into twenty Kathas. The Tinkathia System forced Indian peasants to grow only Indigo on three out of every twenty Kathas in each Bigha.[1]
Champaran[edit]
In his autobiography, Mohandas Gandhi described his visit to Patna and other areas of Bihar where the Tinkathia system and forced cultivation of Indigo was practiced:[2]
The Champaran tenant was bound by law to plant three out of every twenty parts of his land with indigo for his landlord. This system was known as the tinkathia system, as three kathas out of twenty (which make one acre) had to be planted with indigo.
Legacy[edit]
The Tinkathia System which had been in existence for about a century was thus abolished and with it the planters’ raj came to an end. The riots, who had all along remained crushed, now somewhat came to their own, and the superstition that the stain of indigo could never be washed out was exploded.
— M K Gandhi [3]
The Tinkathia System was finally abolished after the Champaran Satyagraha led by Mohandas Gandhi.
See also[edit]
- Economy of India under Company rule
- Company rule in India
- List of customary units of measurement in South Asia
- Nepalese customary units of measurement
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Little Known Story Of How Bihar's Champaran Completely Transformed Gandhi & India". 2 October 2016.
- ↑ "The stain of Indigo | Gandhi Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth". www.mkgandhi.org.
- ↑ "Gandhi's Satyagraha in Champaran". INDIAN CULTURE.