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BOOK REVIEW 
  

Culture and Land in the Making of Rural Bengal 
 

Deepak Kumar  
 
Suhita Sinha Roy. 2019. The Cultural Economy of Land: Rural Bengal 1860-
1940. New Delhi: Tulika Books. ISBN: 978-81-9373-297-7, pp. X+186, 
INR 595 (HB).  

This book explores ―the small voices 
of history‖ by focusing on rural 
Bengal, especially ―the small history 
of Birbhum‖ (7) during the high 
period of British colonial rule. For 
Roy, land is more than property and 
revenue: it is a form of knowledge 
that is inextricably linked with 
landscapes, habits, gender, festivals, 
and the sociology of power. Though 
she acknowledges that economic 
factors are important as they relate 
to the productivity of the soil, the 
reclamation of land, emphasis on 
commercial crops, and monetization 
of the economy, she argues that 
these are not sufficient to explain the 
crisis in agriculture. For example, 
how did the numerically weak 

                                                        
 (Formerly) Professor, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru 
University; A 502 Raheja Vista Apt, Road 12, Nacharam Industrial Area, Hyderabad 500076; 
deepakjnu2008@gmail.com. 

Copyright © Kumar 2021. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 
4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0) by the author.  

Published by Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), c/o Institute of Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007.  

ISSN: 2581-6152 (print); 2581-6101 (web). 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v4i1.347  

https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v4i1.347


Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [136] 

Brahmins gain ascendancy in a peasant society? Was there any breakdown 
of social institutions?   

While Roy turns to ―local history‖ and micro-studies to examine changes in 
rural Bengal, she also utilizes the notions of ―slow motion‖ and 
―enlargement‖ as proposed by the philosopher and cultural critic Walter 
Benjamin. Roy points out how in an essay in 1931 titled the ―Small History 
of Photography‖, Benjamin used the analogy of a microscope to emphasize 
the need to identify different patterns and grasp otherwise hidden details. In 
a similar vein, this book pursues a fine-grained analysis that attempts to 
capture and reveal ―the enmeshed character of the economic, social, and 
cultural aspects of agricultural communities‖ (1–2). 

The first chapter is devoted to meticulously tracking the caste–land 
relationships in early nineteenth century Birbhum by focusing on the 
emergence of landlordism (Surul zamindari). With the gradually growing 
ability to buy land through loans (of course at exorbitant interest rates), 
erstwhile weavers, peasants, and even a family from the Goala (cattle 
raisers) caste were able to assume the title of sarkar—indicating a higher 
status within the sadgop (a status higher than the cattle-raisers). This is how 
the notion of the Bengali bhadrajati (gentlemen) took form within a rural set-
up. This upwardly mobile land-owning group, Roy informs us, then sought 
the cultural endorsement of the Brahmins. The new land-owning castes, 
however, soon revealed their dark side. They not only leased lands for 
cultivation at extortionate rates but also got forest communities such as the 
Santals and Mahtos to do the actual work of clearing forests and cultivating 
fields. Though resentment and disquiet grew, the new landlords often used 
a mix of litigation and violence to suppress resistance. Roy argues that 
upward social mobility went hand-in-hand with economic exploitation, 
deforestation, resistance, and violence, which were shaped by each other. 

The second chapter begins by asking if it was the ―Rule of Knowledge‖ 
rather than the ―Role of Knowledge‖ that shaped the colonial land regime. 
The ―natives‖, we are reminded, had their own repertoires of knowledge 
about local resources and environments. Although their knowledge was 
largely experiential, it enabled the mandals, the village heads, to outwit the 
local zamindars often. Company officials, as expected, distrusted these local 
officials and set about profoundly changing the rules of revenue assessment 
and collection. In due course, the peasants found themselves racked with 
oppressive laws that only amplified their suffering during recurring famines 
and epidemics. The poorer lower castes like the Bagdi and Bauri were 
compelled to leave their villages to find harsh work in collieries and railway 
construction.  



[137] Deepak Kumar 

The third chapter tries to identify links between seemingly ―disparate 
episodes of resistance‖ such as social banditry and the so-called criminal 
behaviour of the lower castes. The Santal rebellion of 1855 was a volcanic 
eruption against the triumvirate of sarkar, sahukar, and zamindar 
(government, merchant, and the landlord). It was brutally suppressed, and 
the Santals, unable to retreat into the forests and their settlements, turned 
into dispossessed labourers. Interestingly, the Santals were branded on the 
one hand as ―child-like‖ and on the other as ―savages‖. The violence was 
subdued, but resistance continued in the form of petitions. After the turn of 
the century, Durga Manjhi and later Jitendra Lal Banerjee emerged as 
petition leaders. A new solidarity was sought, by evoking religious affinities, 
although divisions remained between the Hinduised Santals and the non-
Hinduised Santals. Even though C.R. Das was a metropolitan leader, he was 
accepted and revered by the peasants of Birbhum. But the Gandhi-led non-
cooperation (1920–22) and civil disobedience (1930–31) movements failed 
to address India’s growing agrarian crisis. So, the anti-zamindar and mahajan 
(landlord and moneylender) plank was silently dropped. The modality of 
resistance was changing fast. Militancy was considered acceptable by those 
who looked to Soviet experiments at the cost of, as Roy puts it, ―indigenous 
social formations and their histories‖. Here, Roy points to the limitations of 
nascent communist interventions. 

Chapter 4 moves from high politics to everyday life in Birbhum. Here, the 
author introduces the notion of subtlety, which is described as turning ―the 
space of religious orthodoxy into a space of laughter‖ and where caste and 
gender can be interpreted alternatively as the ―tacit celebration of sexual 
transgression‖. Cultural significance is noticed even in how huts and 
temples are structured. In view of the permanence of thakur (God), the 
thakurbari (temple) was made of brick, while the kothabari (brick house) was 
made of mud. This was not a sign of impoverishment but of dignified 
domesticity. Educational activities were not limited to the Brahmins alone. 
The Muslim bhadralok (upper caste social elite) had hand-written copies of 
the Quran while the Vaishnavas (a prominent Hindu sect) had Padavalis 
(book of devotional songs). A lower caste Teli (who pressed oil) ran a 
pathshala (school). A subtle challenge to orthodox Vaisnavism came from 
the deviant Bauls (itinerant musicians). In rural Bengal, the snake was a 
totem for the Oraons and Mundas. So, different kinds of Hindu goddesses 
such as Chandi and Manasa were worshipped. Muslim pirs (Sufis) were also 
popular.  

Chapter 5 is devoted to the study of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay not only 
as a laureate but a chronicler of rural Bengal (anchalikta). As a Patna native, I 
felt happy to note that Tarashankar’s mother was from Patna and was more 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [138] 

educated than her husband! The influence of this bhadramahila (urbane lady), 
Roy points out, is writ large on her son’s success. Tarashankar was both 
rural and urban, local and metropolitan, insider and outsider. His life can be 
seen as the lens that brings various aspects of rural living to life. A desire 
for freedom, a revival of a long-lost golden era, and socialism all find a 
place in his works. He even dabbled in politics and was imprisoned in 1930, 
but he was soon disillusioned with both factionalism and activism. 
Literature remains his greatest legacy. I missed any reference to Arogya 
Niketan, the novel written by the celebrated writer Tarashankar, which 
focused on rural health. In a similar vein, I wish more space had been 
devoted to the ideas of Satinath Bhaduri, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, 
and Phanishwarnath Renu.  

Despite the book’s excellent and compelling discussion on how notions of 
land shaped colonial rural Bengal, one is still left with a few questions. Did 
the British establish any experimental farms in Birbhum as they had in 
many other places? Equally, we would be keen to know if cattle fairs were 
held regularly or whether there were gradual changes in the tools of the 
chasha (cultivator). Did sericulture help in creating viable livelihoods?  

This book has a comprehensive bibliography and is supported with 
substantial endnotes. However, there should have been a glossary of certain 
revenue terms like lakhiraj, baze-zameen, halbhanjan, etc. Dr. Sinha Roy puts 
forward her arguments convincingly and fluently negotiates historical and 
literary boundaries. This book will be of interest to those researching 
agrarian history, local ethnographies, and culture studies. 

 


