Colonialism and Locality: Economic Life in the Market Towns of Jhelum Canal Colony, 1902-1930
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: IntroductionPunjab witnessed many changes under the British rule. The most important among them was the establishment of canal colonies. In the 1880s, the British started the process of massive irrigation schemes which culminated in an extensive network of perennial canal system. Introduction of canals, rail and road networks transformed barren areas of the province into the breadbasket of India. The canal colony areas became the pace setters of economic development. The aim was to boost agriculture and reduce the population pressure in the heavily congested districts of the central Punjab. Wheat was grown on a large scale in the canal colonies. Agricultural became rapidly commercialised with the establishment of new market towns, which were linked to Bombay and Karachi ports. Wheat and cotton were exported in large quantities. The British had incurred a huge expenditure on all these developments which was unprecedented as compared to elsewhere in India. In this way Punjab became a model province and a symbol of agrarian development.1 Shahpur district shared in these province wide developments through the establishment of Jhelum Canal Colony.Work on the Lower Jhelum Canal was initiated in 1897 and the canal began to irrigate land in 1901. It paved the way for the establishment of Jhelum Canal Colony between 1902 and 1906. Along with the irrigation channels 337 colony villages (locally knows as chaks) were established where the grantees from the central as well as north-western districts were settled. Rapid agricultural transformation necessitated the growth uf new markets. In this regard new market towns were planned and developed. Sargodha, Bhulwal and Phularwan were established on the Jech-Doab Railway line, which was extended from Malakwal to Sargodha in 1903 and further to Shorkot road in 1906. Sargodha was established as headquarter of the colony in 1902. Bhulwal was established in 1903 and Phularwan in 1904. With the relocation of economic influence in the district the British also shifted the administrative headquarters. In 1914 the district headquarter was shifted from Shahpur to Sargodha leaving a devastating impact on the former. Similarly the tehsil (an administrative sub-division of a district) headquarter was shifted from Bhera to Bhulwal in 1917. Trade gradually shifted from the local markets to these new market towns.For example, wheat was the most important crop of the district. It was locally purchased by the village shopkeepers who would sell it to the large grain merchants at the older river based centres of trade, namely Miâni, Bhera, Khushab and Sahiwal. By 1866 Khushab had emerged as a principal market town on the river Jhelum and 'its situation on the Jhelum pointed it out as the best port for shipping the surplus produce of the district, which found its way to Multan, Sukhar (Sukkur), Karachi, Bombay and England.'2 The European exporting firms had opened their agencies in big cities like Multan and Sukkur. In the 1870s these firms started sending their agents to Khushab and Bhera thus eliminating one link in the chain of trade to the benefit of the peasant producer. Yet the petty grain dealer, who usually belonged to a Hindu trading class, still existed between the peasant producer and the exporting firms' brokers.3The introduction of the railways in the 1880s greatly altered the course of trade in the district. Formerly most of the trade was carried out by river boats or camels, which was cheaper. However, the rail was safer and quicker and it was preferred after its introduction in the district.4 The district's agricultural trade was boosted by the infrastructure of roads, railways and canals. By linking the canal colony areas to Karachi and other parts of India through railways, internal and external trade of Punjab in agricultural produce increased dramatically. The Shahpur district was mainly connected with the rest of Punjab through the Sindh-Sagar branch and Jech-Doab branch of the North-Western Railway system. …
Author: Tahir Mahmood
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2311684149