East India Company's exploitation of West Bengal began after its victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which granted it control over Bengal, including modern-day West Bengal. The Company transformed from a trading entity into a territorial ruler, implementing exploitative policies that devastated the region’s economy and population.
Land Revenue System: The Permanent Settlement Act of 1793, introduced by Lord Cornwallis, fixed land taxes at high levels, making zamindars (landlords) responsible for collecting revenue regardless of harvests. This led to ruinous taxation, with peasants losing their livelihoods during droughts or famines.
Famine and Human Suffering: The Great Bengal Famine of 1770—caused by drought and exacerbated by Company policies—killed an estimated 10 million people, or about one-third of Bengal’s population. The Company continued tax collection during the famine, exported grain for profit, and failed to provide relief, despite knowing of widespread starvation.
Forced Cultivation and Economic Collapse: The Company enforced indigo cultivation, forcing peasants to grow cash crops instead of food, leading to food shortages and mass suffering. This practice was condemned in the 1860 play Nil Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra.
Industrial Destruction: Traditional industries like textile manufacturing were destroyed by the influx of British-made goods, turning Bengal from a global textile hub into a supplier of raw materials and a market for British products.
Wealth Drain: The Company systematically siphoned wealth from Bengal to Britain, with profits used to fund British industry and empire. Historians like William Dalrymple and economists like Utsa Patnaik estimate trillions in wealth were looted, with one Oxfam report citing $64.82 trillion extracted between 1765 and 1900.
The exploitation under the East India Company laid the foundation for long-term economic stagnation and poverty in West Bengal, with lasting social and political consequences.