The Ruling Caste

I've been reading The Ruling Caste by David Gilmour. Gilmour describes the lives and times of the Civil Servants who ran India in the 19th century. The book is dry, very dry, but there are many interesting tidbits in it. In the discussion on famine, for example, Gilmour writes "Whatever shortcomings the Government may have had, famine duty brought out the best in the ICS." The impression being that the Civil Servants did a great job during the famine. The reality is that the civil service was the government and they did a singularly bad job in dealing with famines, each one being worse in its effects than the previous ones. Famines in India were largely a phenomenon confined to the British era, few before and few since.

Elsewhere, he gives revenue figures (p.109).
"At the end of the 19th century it [Land Revenue] produced some 210 million rupees, while Customs, Excise, and Stamps brought in 140 million, the Salt Tax yielded 75 million, and the sale of opium 40 million."
Interesting. Let's see:
1. Of the Rs. 465 million in revenue, 16% came from taxing one essential item, salt. That explains the salt march!
2. 45% came from property taxes. Given that the zaminari system was in full flourish, the brunt of this must have been passed on to the share-croppers and ryots. No wonder there were so many famines, these guys were broke!
3. The less said about the 40 million (8.6%) from opium the better.

It gets more interesting, let's see how the money was spent:
"The chief items of expenditure were the Army, which accounted for nearly half the total (244 million rupees), followed by the administration (140 million) and public works (68 million)."
O.K. So, the Raj collected Rs. 465 million in revenue and spent Rs. 244 million on the army. 52.5% of the money collected taxing the Indian people was spent on subjugating them. A mere 14% was spent on public works.

Now, I know that the Raj was in the business of enriching the Brits, but this is ridiculous. How can anyone pretend that the Raj was a good thing when half the revenue from taxes was spent on what was essentially a police force, and a disproportionate chunk of the revenue was from the impoverished people!

(Note: The salt tax reminds me of a very interesting book I read a few years ago. The Great Hedge of India by Roy Moxham. A must read if you can find a copy.)