THE INDIAN STATES The relations now subsisting between the Indian states and the British Government are the outcome of an evolutionary process which still continues. The Mutiny, the passing of the East India Co. and the grant of sands of adoption to the rulers in 1862 obliterated the peril of annexation, breached the barriers of iso lation and inaugurated for the states a new era of union under the Crown. Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858 announced to the "Native Princes of India" that all treaties and engagements made with them would be scrupulously observed and that their rights, dignity and honour would be respected. What degree of sovereignty was thus guaranteed to the different princes and chiefs, it would not be easy to describe. As Sir Henry Maine said: "There may be found in India every shade and variety of sovereignty, but there is only one independent sovereign, the Brit ish Government. . . . The mode or degree in which sovereignty is distributed between the British Government and any Native State is always a question of fact which has to be separately decided in each case, and to which no general rules apply." Two important principles have, however, been laid down by statute, namely, first, that the Indian states "have no connections, engage ments or communications with foreign powers," and second, that the British Government has the right to protect and govern sub jects of the states when resident or found abroad. For interna tional purposes, therefore, state territory is in the same position as British territory, and state subjects as British subjects.
Lord Hardinge, pursuing the same policy, in 1913 and 1914 invited some of the princes to meet him in conference at Delhi to discuss a scheme for founding a central college at Delhi, and in 1914 he created a new post of political secretary to the Government of India, in order that closer attention might be devoted to rela tions with the states. The past fifteen years had proved an era of striking progress and development, and the rulers themselves, encouraged to play more important parts in the drama of Indian affairs, were becoming daily more advanced in their own adminis tration, so that new methods of political treatment were re quired.
In Aug. 1914, on the outbreak of the War, the princes vied with each other in the offer of loyal service. In a telegram which stirred England the Viceroy reported that the rulers of the states in India, numbering nearly 700, had with one accord rallied to the defence of the Empire and offered their personal services and the resources of their states. Contingents of all arms were accepted from 12 states, besides a camel corps from Bikaner. A hospital ship was given by various states at the instance of the Maharaja of Gwalior, and as the War progressed there were many fresh evidences of the spirit of loyalty animating the princes and their peoples. The support afforded by the Durbars in the matter of raising recruits was of particular value.
Minorities and Successions.—In 1916 Lord Chelmsford, in spite of war preoccupations, decided to invite the princes to another conference. In his opening speech he laid stress on the magnificent assistance rendered by the states. The most im portant of the subjects discussed at the conference related to the form of administration to be adopted in a state during a minority. This thorny subject, after full discussion at the conference, was made the text of a declaration in Aug. 1917 laying down the principles for the conduct of minority administrations. In it the Government of India asserted their role as trustees and custodians of the rights, interests and traditions of a state during a minority, but admitted that the special conditions of each state required special treatment, and promised to attach due weight to requests by individual ruling princes or chiefs regarding any principles which they might wish to be adopted in the case of their own states or families, while reserving to themselves freedom of action in dealing with such requests. Seventeen general principles were laid down for observance during minority administrations. The pronouncement was welcomed as an event hardly second in con stitutional importance to the sands of adoption granted by Lord Canning. The next conference, held in 1917, saw the decision of another very important question, viz.: the form of recognition by Government of successions in the states. Lord Chelmsford an nounced that in the case of the succession of a direct natural heir recognition on the part of a paramount power was purely formal, and that the obligation on the part of the new ruler to obtain it in no way impaired his inherent right to succeed.
The Chamber of Princes.—His Highness the Maharaja of Bikaner, who took the lead in this conference, expressed the hope of the princes that before the British Government made a decision on the subject of political reforms to be introduced in British India the ruling princes would also be consulted, and a constitu tional chamber established to safeguard their interests. In Dec. 1919 the King issued a royal proclamation signifying his assent to the establishment of a chamber of princes, which was even tually inaugurated by the Duke of Connaught in Feb. 1921. In the proclamation then read, the following occurs:— "In my former proclamation I repeated the assurance, given on many occasions by my Royal predecessors and myself, of my determination ever to maintain unimpaired the privileges, rights and dignities of the princes of India. The princes may rest assured that this pledge remains inviolate and inviolable. I now authorise my Viceroy to publish the terms of the constitution of the new chamber. My Viceroy will take its counsel freely in matters relating to the territories of the Indian States generally, and in matters that affect those territories jointly with British India, or with the rest of my Empire. It will have no concern with the internal affairs of individual states or their rulers or with the relations of individual states to my Government, while the existing rights of the states and their freedom of action will be in no way prejudiced or impaired." His Royal Highness also conveyed to the princes a special message of thanks from His Majesty in public acknowledgment of their splendid record of achievement during the War. He alluded to the fact that H.H. of Bikaner had taken part in the Peace Conference and had signed the Treaty of Versailles, while H.H. the Maharaja of Nawanagar had attended the League of Nations Assembly at Geneva. H.H. the Maharaja of Bikaner was appointed to be the first chancellor of the chamber (Naren dra Mandal), and was re-elected to the office each year until 1926 when he was succeeded by H.H. the Maharaja of Patiala.
The Salute states in the Punjab Province were taken into direct relation with the Government of India in Nov. 1921, through the appointment of an agent to the Governor-General. A similar arrangement was made in 1923 for the five states in the Madras Presidency, and in 1924 for the Bombay states of Kathiawar, together with Cutch and Palanpur, while the Bom bay Political Department was combined with that of the Govern ment of India. In 1921 the Gwalior state was separated from the Central India Agency and brought into contact with the central Government through a single intermediary officer, while in Rajpu tana the states of Bikaner, Sirohi and Jhalawar were at different times placed in direct relations with the agent to the Governor General instead of through a subordinate political agent. At the meeting of the chamber in the autumn of 1921, Lord Reading announced that for the future, except at installations and investi tures, where local custom would continue to be followed, the King had been pleased to dispense with the presentation of nazars at ceremonial visits or receptions, either to himself or to the members of his family or to any of his officers to whom it had hitherto been customary to present them.
Constitutional Development.—While the paramount power has parted with none of its prerogatives, the evolutionary process has gradually led to a certain breaking down of the isolation of the states among themselves, the strengthening of their position and the advancement of the dignity of the princes. They not only gained, in the chamber, means for expression of their collective needs and opportunity for influencing the development of political doctrine, but they were admitted, as joint representa tives of India, to the innermost councils of the Empire. In a few advanced states, legislative bodies have been constituted bearing some analogy to those in British India, Mysore being a prominent example, while in others the rulers have devised means for the people to voice their grievances and aspirations more easily through consultative councils. Thus the processes at work in British India are insensibly influencing the States and tending to break down their conservative traditions. At the same time the princes cannot but regard with interest the constitutional changes beyond their borders, and the possibility that they may ultimately be brought into relations with a democratic Indian Government in place of their present personal association with the Viceroy and his officers. This prospect has not been wholly absent from their motives in pressing for an enquiry into a number of questions of "political practice," which they claim to be derogations from their status as treaty powers. A committee appointed by the Government of India to make such an enquiry had been at work in 1928, and the princes sent a strong delegation to England, for the purpose of presenting their claims, as well as of interesting and instructing public opinion on a technical and little understood aspect of India's constitutional problems.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-In contrast with the former scarcity of good books Bibliography.-In contrast with the former scarcity of good books on India, they now abound; and the following is necessarily an arbitrary selection from the newer works. The standard all-round text-book is The Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. 1 to 4. Add to this the Statistical Abstract of British India from 1914-15 to 1925-26 (Cmd. 3046 of 1928) ; and the reports to Parliament on the Moral and Material Progress of India, now published as India in 1918, etc., up to r926-27 written by Prof. Rushbrook Williams, and later by Mr. J. Coatman, and bringing a full narrative of current events up to date.
Historical: Sir Verney Lovett's India in the "Nations of To-day" series (1923) is the latest authoritative work. Sir V. Chirol's trilogy should be studied: Indian Unrest (191o) ; India Old and New (1921) ; and "India" in The Modern World series (1926) .
Constitutional and Political: The key book is the Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms (Cmd. 9109 of 1918) by the late E. S. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford. With it read Dyarchy by L. Curtis (Oxford, 192o), which contains the text of the Selborne Committee and the Act of 1919. Other works are E. A. Horne, The Political System of British India (Oxford, 1922) ; Sir C. Ilbert, The Government of India (Oxford, 1922) ; Ilbert and Meston, The New Constitution of India (1923).
(Mr 1 The defence of India, involving as it does the services of the British and Indian Armies and Navies, and the Royal Air Force, naturally falls into three sections, dealing respectively with mili tart', naval and air operations, and will be dealt with accordingly.
Historically, the Indian army grew up in three distinct divi sions, the Bengal, Madras and Bombay armies. This separation was the natural result of the original foundation of separate settlements and factories in India.
On Sept. I, 1858, the East India Company ceased to rule, and Her Majesty's government took up the reins of power. The local European army was abolished, and its personnel amalgamated with the royal army. The artillery became wholly British, with the exception of a few native mountain batteries. The total strength of the British troops, all of the royal army, was largely increased, while that of the native troops was largely diminished. Three distinct native armies—those of Bengal, Madras and Bombay— were still maintained. The reduced Indian armies consisted of cavalry and infantry only, with a very few artillery, distributed as follows:— The Punjab force continued under the Punjab government. In addition, the Hyderabad contingent and local forces in Central India were retained under the government of India. After all the arrangements had been completed the army of India consisted of 62,00o British and 125,00o native troops.
The college at Addiscombe was closed in 186o, and the direct appointment of British officers to the Indian local forces ceased in 186i. In that year a staff corps was formed in each presi dency "to supply a body of officers for service in India." The corps was at first recruited partly from officers of the Company's service and partly from the royal army, holding staff appoint ments (the new regimental employment being considered as staff duty) and all kinds of political and civil posts. The only English warrant and non-commissioned officers now to be employed in the native army were to be those of the Royal Engineers with the sappers and miners. In 1863 the system prevailing in the Punjab Frontier Force was applied to the whole army, each regiment and battalion having seven British officers attached to it for corn mand and administrative duties, the immediate command of troops and companies being left to the native officers. Thus was the system reverted to, which was initiated by Clive, of a few British officers only being attached to each corps for the higher regimental duties of command and control.
A new spirit was breathed into the army. The supremacy of the commandant was the main principle. He was less hampered by the unbending regulations enjoined upon the old regular regi ments, had greater powers, greater freedom of action, and was supported in the full exercise of his authority. The system made the officers. Many important changes took place between 1885 and 1904. Seven Madras infantry regiments were converted into regiments for service in Burma, composed of Gurkhas and hardy races from northern India; six Bengal and Bombay regiments were similarly converted into regiments of Punjabis, Pathans and Gurkhas; a system of linked battalions was introduced with the formation of regimental centres for mobilization; and reserves for infantry and mountain artillery were formed. The number of British officers with each regiment was increased to nine, and the battalions converted into four double-company commands of 25o men each, under a British commander, who should be responsible to the commandant for their training and efficiency, the command of the companies being left to the native officers. This system admitted of closer individual attention to training, and distributed among the senior British regimental officers effective responsi bility of a personal kind.
An addition (at the imperial expense) of five battalions of Sikhs, Punjabi Mohammedans, Jats and hillmen in northern India was made in 1900, as the result of India being called upon to furnish garrisons for Mauritius and other stations overseas. The unification of the triplicate army departments in the different presidential armies was completed in 1891, all being brought di rectly under the supreme government ; and the three separate staff corps of Bengal, Madras and Bombay were fused into one in 1891 as the Indian Staff Corps. The term "Indian Staff Corps" was in turn replaced by that of "Indian Army" in 1903. These measures prepared the way for the new system of army organiza tion which placed the whole army of India under the governor general and the commander-in-chief in India.
Eventually, after much consideration, the following main re forms were inaugurated. The whole army was renumbered in one series; the Punjab Frontier Force, the Hyderabad contingent, the local regiments in Baluchistan and other corps hitherto deemed local were brought into one roster and made available for general service. The four commands were abolished and ten divisional areas were introduced (including Burma) . Of these, at least seven were to contain a field army division of which the first five were to be complete in all essentials and the remainder maintained in a lesser state of preparation. The divisional area was to be the administrative unit, and, in addition to the field army division, might contain one or more cavalry brigades and a number of units, including the Volunteers, allotted to the maintenance of internal order, and the defence of arsenals and stores. Two commands, Northern and Southern, were formed, as inspectory rather than administrative organizations. In addition, certain independent brigades were created directly under Command Headquarters, chiefly the three areas on the frontier between the Khyber and the Gomal passes. The class composition of the battalions and cavalry regiments was exhaustively studied, companies and squadrons and, in certain cases, whole corps, being filled more definitely than heretofore by the martial classes and races so as to produce a healthy rivalry, and to supplement each other's qualities, while the less warlike races were largely eliminated, and new classes of fighting value that had hitherto been neglected were sought for. In this connection it cannot be too widely understood that in the immense population of India the number of men of martial pro clivities and even personal courage is a very small proportion of the whole (for instance the entire Sikh community, men, women and children, barely number three million), and the great mass of the people, educated and otherwise, are quite devoid of any mar tial potentiality. The scientific grouping by race and creed which now ensued produced an army far superior in fighting value to anything that had existed before, and enabled the Indian Army to take so notable a part in the World War.
The great factor, however, which militated against the military efficiency of the Indian Army was the administrative system, in herited from the Moguls, suited to their period and to the warfare of the earlier days of the Company, which had broken down ab solutely in the First and Second Afghan Wars, but which even in Kitchener's time was too economical in peace to be abolished. Under this system the native army provided its own food, horses, clothing and much of its equipment regimentally on a contract basis, and this meant that the administrative services to supply food, transport, remount, clothing, and equipment other than fight ing equipment did not exist in peace in India save for the Euro pean troops, and could not be efficiently found in war. Kitchener, while doing what he could to improve matters, found that the cost was too prohibitive, and it was not till the breakdown of the Indian administrative services in the field during the World War that it was possible to put the supply, remount and ordnance services on the same footing as all other armies, and for the army to draw all its supplies through departmental army sources. Until this was done India had neither reserves of equipment nor person nel to deal with the war requirements. This essential measure of efficiency has, however, greatly increased the cost of the army.
Hardly was the war over when, in 1919, immediately after the rebellion in the Punjab, the Amir of Afghanistan invaded India, when the force was in the midst of demobilizing, and the best part of the Indian army still overseas. Driving back the Afghans after some hard fighting, the army then found itself involved in some three years' frontier operations, the direct result of the upset of the tribes on the frontier by the Afghan invasion. Pari pcassu with these prolonged operations, the Indian army needed remodel ling in the light of the experience of the World War and the post war conditions. The principal changes introduced were the aboli tion of practically half the Indian cavalry by combining regiments, the disbanding of all the Carnatic battalions and the reduction by several thousand men of the British army to be maintained in the country. In actual organization, the army was divided into four commands, in lieu of the two inspectory commands of the Kitchener organization, with divisional areas somewhat readjusted. The troops holding the frontier were to be called the covering force, and were to be fully mobilized and strong enough to allow of the army behind mobilizing at leisure. In addition, five divi sions, those of Peshawur, Rawal Pindi, Quetta, Mhow and Meerut, were to be considered field army formations. Motor transport companies were introduced and a large repair works opened at Rawal Pindi. The administrative services were to remain as con stituted during the war, on the same lines as the British army, and the old, cheap but ineffective Mogul system was not returned to. A radical change in the grouping of the infantry was introduced as the result of the experience of the war.
All battalions were grouped into regiments of several service battalions and one depot or "training" battalion, and the new regiments numbered entirely fresh with due regard to the dates of the original raisings of the various corps. The class composition of many corps was also rearranged to allow for simpler rein forcement in war time. In the new organization it was necessary to absorb the famous corps of Guides into the line of the cavalry and infantry. The Gurkha two-battalion regiments, ten in num ber, alone retained their pre-war organization. The volunteer force of pre-war days, which during the War had been called the defence force, was now reorganized and termed the auxiliary force, and deemed to be a second line to the British troops in India, while a new Indian territorial force was inaugurated, on much the same lines as the territorial army in Great Britair..
A considered policy was also adopted in the last years of the War and continued after, of admitting Indian gentlemen to com missions with the same status as British officers, a number of young men being put through Sandhurst each year, and schools being started in India to train them in their younger days. It was also decided to select certain corps in which the officer cadre should, as an experiment, be in due course completely Indianized. The reductions and regrouping brought the number of Euro pean units in India from 9 to 6 cavalry regiments and from 51 to 45 battalions and the Indian units from 39 to 21 cavalry regi ments, and from 129 to 14o battalions, which include 21 training battalions for each of the regiments. This number varies slightly according with the overseas obligations which the Government of India may have undertaken. The strength of the artillery con sists of 9 horse artillery batteries of which four are brigaded, I I brigades of field artillery totalling 44 batteries, 3 heavy brigades of r r batteries and 6 mountain artillery brigades of 24 batteries of which 12 are Indian. The total strength of the reorganized army in India which varies slightly from year to year is some 204,00o men of whom two-thirds are Indian and one-third British.' The Armies of the Native States.—A description of the Indian army would not be complete without a reference to the armies of the Native States of India. In 1885 these forces were numerous, badly disciplined, ill-armed and yet costly. The Penjdeh incident on the Afghan-Russo frontier in 1885, and the subsequent imminence of war with Russia, produced loyal offers by the rulers of many states to contribute in men or money to the defence of India. Eventually was evolved a policy of each state preparing a certain portion of its troops for the service of the Indian Empire in war. They were termed "Imperial Service Troops," and were armed by the British Government while British officers superintended their training. In their place a consider able portion of the older and badly organized state troops were disbanded. From r 890 to 1914 these troops took part, by the offer of the rulers, in many of the campaigns on the frontier, China, etc., in which the Indian army took part, and during the World War served far afield in many theatres of war. After the war, the rulers undertook to place all their troops, if need be, at the service of the empire, and the term "Imperial Service" was 'The Army in India. and its Evolution, Government. Press, Calcutta.
abandoned for the better trained portion, and the term "State Troops" applied to the whole. Several of the Princes themselves accompanied their troops into the field. The State Troops com prised infantry, cavalry, engineers and transport, and in Kashmir, which alone of the States of India was on the outer border and marched with Russia, two mountain batteries existed. Under the post-war organization some artillery is being added to the State forces in the interior.
Mechanization.—Mention is necessary of the mechanization desirable and possible in India. At present, apart from other fac tors, it is hampered by the low state of mechanization in civil life, and the absence of manufacturing or repairing firms of any size. For the repair of its own vehicles the Government of India have had to build large works, and are not able to rely on aid from civil firms. So far as the tactical requirements go, the heavy artillery and a proportion of the field artillery can undoubtedly be mechan ized and some progress has been made. Where carts were ex pected to take supplies in the past, there lorries can go with ad vantage, while the coming of the lorry has immensely simplified transport problems so far as the main lines of movement towards Central 'Asia are concerned. The mechanizing of the mounted troops is a more complex problem. In India much of the cavalry exists for the prevention rather than the suppression of disturb ance. The sight of lancers streaming across country must always be far more impressive than the presence of a few tanks and armoured cars, however much more destructive these may be when actual rebellion has broken out. (G. MA.) Navy.—For three centuries a naval service, under various designations has been maintained in Indian waters. The East India Company, under their charter, maintained an armed naval force and in 1829 the Company founded an Indian Navy. After the Mutiny this service was abolished .for reasons of economy and an Indian Marine Service was formed which developed, in 1892, into the Royal Indian Marine. In 1914 this force consisted of six armed transports manned by British officers and native crews. During the war the ships were employed in patrolling the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and the Royal Indian Marine took charge of the inland water transport in Mesopotamia until the end of 1916. The Indian Government besides maintaining the Royal Indian Marine, pays annually a sum of f 1 oo,000 towards the upkeep of the British East Indies Squadron, which has its base at Trincomalee.
Reforms in the internal government of India have engendered a desire that the Indian Empire should have a Navy of her own: "such force, raised by the Governor in Council to be used for the purpose of the Indian Empire alone, except if a state of emer gency be declared, when the Governor may place all or any of the ships at the disposal of the British Admiralty." The force is to be commanded by a British Flag Officer and one third of the vacancies for officers are to be held open to Indians. The forma tion of the new navy was delayed, early in 1927, by the rejection (by one vote) by the Indian Parliament of necessary legislation dealing with naval discipline. In this situation the Indian Gov ernment proceeded with the reorganization of the Royal Indian Marine, with a view to its conversion, in due course into the Royal Indian Navy. At the end of 1928 a British Rear-Admiral was appointed to command the new force and the training of a few Indian officers was commenced in England. (S. T. H. W.) The Air Force.—The Royal Air Force in India is under the control of the Air Vice-Marshal, who is under the supreme con trol of the Commander-in-Chief. Originally it comprised six squadrons organized in three wings of two squadrons each and its establishment was 218 officers and 1,757 British and 138 In dian other ranks. The Aircraft Depot and the various Aircraft Parks are directly under R.A.F. Headquarters in India.
The growing need for aerial defence in various parts of India resulted in claims being made by the Government of India for an extension of the existing equipment of the air stations. The use of the machines in reconnaissance, and the possibilities of their use in actual warfare or frontier risings, was freely discussed and the advantages of this arm in a country of long distances were clearly recognized. Those squadrons already in use were a charge on the Indian Government, and, after lengthy discus sion, it was decided in May 1928 to make application for two other squadrons, and two new units, taken from the Wessex or Bombing Area of the Home Defence Force, were sent to India at the end of December, 1928. These were No. i i Squadron, formerly stationed at Netheravon, and No. 39 Squadron, which was stationed at Bircham Newton, and they were equipped in England before departure with Hawker Horsley and D.H. 9a aircraft engines. In India, however, they were to be re-equipped with Westland Wapite general purpose aircraft engines. No. i 1 Squadron has II officer and six airman pilots and No. 39 has 13 officer and seven airman pilots. This squadron was for some years associated with the massed bombing formations at the annual R.A.F. display at Hendon. The destination of the units was Risalpur on the North-West Frontier.
The splendid work done during the Afghan troubles of 1928-29 by the R.A.F., in rescuing British subjects and foreigners of every nationality from Kabul and transporting them to Peshawar was the subject of favourable comment throughout all Europe. King Amanullah himself was thus transported after his formal abdication. (X.) Resources.—Agriculture is, as it has always been, the domi nant feature in the economics of India. According to the 1921 census, close to three-fourths of the total population derive their being from occupations connected with the land, while no other single industry supports as many as 3 per cent of the in habitants. And the fertility of the land, except where it is pro tected by irrigation, largely depends on the adequacy and time liness of the monsoon rains. Should they fail, vast areas remain unsown or yield no harvest : masses of people, chiefly agricultural labourers and petty cultivators, are thrown out of employment; and their inability to get food, or to buy it when as now it is brought to their doors, constitutes that heart-rending calamity, an Indian famine.
The second powerful force which affects the economic situation in India is the constant demand of the outer world for her raw produce, coupled with her own industrial weakness in converting that produce into manufactured articles. From earliest times India was noted for her spices, her precious stones and her delicate textiles : in return she imported gold and silver in untold quantities and absorbed them. Spices are no longer a necessity in western diet ; the diamond-mines of Golconda have been worked out; and the famous Cashmeres and muslins have been ousted, like cottage industries everywhere, by loom-made sub stitutes. To-day what the outer world clamours for is the surplus wheat, rice, cotton, jute, oilseeds and hides: and what it gives India in exchange is manufactured cotton (piece-goods) and yarn, metals and machinery, sugar and oil.
Second only to the Sukkur scheme in magnitude is the Sutlej Valley project. It consists of four weirs, with ten main canals taking off from above them, and irrigating over 5 million acres in British and State territory which are now partly waste and partly served inadequately by inundation channels. Outside the Indus basin there is no scope for works of equal magnitude, but a great scheme has just been completed for the irrigation of Oudh, by canal fed from the Sarda river. This project had been under contemplation for 5o years, but was in abeyance because of the opposition of the Oudh landowners (taluqdars). The area to be irrigated is estimated at 1,700,00o acres. In Madras even older schemes first planned by Sir A. T. Cotton, the great pioneer of scientific canal irrigation in India, have been revived, for great storage reservoirs in the Cauvery, Bhavani, Tangabhadra and Kistna rivers, and the Cauvery scheme is well advanced. Two great dams are being erected in the Deccan, one of which is said to be the largest mass of masonry in the world : and all over India smaller works are being planned. An irrigable area of 5o million acres is aimed at.
In area the next most important crops are the great variety of millets and pulses. The millets are probably the most prolific grain in the world, and the best adapted to the vicissitudes of a tropical climate, requiring practically no irrigation.
Gram is the predominant variety, and occupied over io mil lion acres in the U.P. and Punjab alone : but lentils and the smaller pulses are more universal. They are not an export commodity.
Wheat was grown on 24 million acres, of which more than two-thirds was in the U.P. and Punjab. The canal colonies of the Punjab have turned northern India into one of the chief granaries of the British Empire: and the total export of wheat in a bumper year (1924-25) rose to 1,112,00o tons (value .£14 millions), of which 68 per cent was taken by the United Kingdom.
The export of raw cotton in 1925-26 was close on 750,00o tons: but the figure for cotton twist and yarn has fallen grievously in recent years, mainly owing to the activity of Japan. Much is being done to improve the staple: and an Indian Cotton Com mittee has been established, which is financed by a small cess on the output. It has taken measures for the control of cotton gins and the transport of cotton, in order to prevent adulteration and the intermixture of inferior varieties. There is now more Indian cotton on the Liverpool market than before the war, and the difference in the price it realizes as compared with American has almost disappeared. The total crop of Indian (including the States) cotton has reached 6 million bales of 400 lbs., as com pared with a pre-war quinquennial average of 4 million bales: Japan and China readily swallowing the excess.
Barley, maize and fodder crops each cover more than 5 million acres: and the sugar cane accounts for roughly 3 million acres, nearly one half of which is in the United Provinces. It is an expensive crop, occupying the land for more than a year and exhausting it : but the yield is poor compared with that of other countries, and it has to be supplemented by heavy imports.
The world's supply of jute is derived almost wholly from Bengal.
Coal was first mined at Raniganj in 182o. It exists in varying quantity under a very extensive area, being found almost every where except in Bombay and Mysore. The finest coal, however, and the largest output by far come from the seams in Chota Nagpur and the adjoining districts of Bengal. There are also considerable mines in the Central Provinces and the contiguous State of Rewah and an important field in Hyderabad. The value of the total output is now in the neighbourhood of £io million sterling, and there are 242 companies working in the industry.
The great oilfields of India are in Burma, which supplies 90% of the total output. The remainder comes from Assam and from new wells in the Punjab; and the total output is valued at some thing like £8 million.
A comparatively new industry is the extraction of manganese ore, which is found in large quantities in the Central Provinces, as well as in scattered parts of Madras, Bombay and elsewhere. The production in 1925-26 was 839,00o tons.
The mining of gold is practically confined to the Kolar gold fields in Mysore, the amounts obtained by sand-washing in scat tered areas elsewhere being negligible. The mines are worked under leases from the Mysore government, which secure to the State a royalty of 5 per cent of the production.
Silver and lead have an output which has risen to 5 million ounces and 5o,000 tons respectively. They come from mines in the Northern Shan States of Burma. There is also an incon siderable vein of silver in Mysore.
The centre of the iron deposits is in the State of Mayurbhanj and the adjacent tracts in Oriasa. It is the contiguity of iron ore and coal that determined the site of the great Tata works at Jamshedpur in the midst of what was formerly a primitive jungle. Mica has long been obtained in Bihar, chiefly in the Hazaribagh district, and there is a ruby-coloured variety which is held in great estimation. In Madras also a mica industry has grown up. Tin is found in the Tavoy and Mergui districts of Lower Burma, and was for many years worked in an unprogres sive manner chiefly by Chinese labour, until the recent increase of the world demand led to improved methods. Copper ore is found in many tracts throughout India, plumbago in Madras, corundum in southern India, wolfram in Burma and chromite in Baluchistan.