Vermilion School of Agriculture - Yearbook (Vermilion, Alberta Canada)

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“Farming in India By Eric G. Hale n VJ handi depicts his countrymen as the most oppressed race in the world; yet the Indian ryot, or cultivator, is one of the happiest souls on the face of the earth, however great his proverty might be. His methods are antedeluvian. and would be scorned by his namesake in Canada, but he continues with his wooden plow and yoke of oxen, occasionally twist¬ ing the latter’s tails, but generally content to let them plod their own weary, lackadaisical, silent way. Frequent attempts have been made to impose modern machinery and up-to-date methods upon the Indian farmer, but he is very loth to adopt them; what was good enough for his forefathers, remains good enough for him, and it is doubtful if he would accept modern farm machinery, even if supplied to him gratis. Like his associate in Canada, he is generally in debt, only more so. His crops are often pledged before they are sown, perhaps for more than one year ahead; his land may be mortgaged to the hilt; some areas often suffer from drought, causing the terrible famines that have ravaged, India in the past. The ryots, (unlike the Canadian farmer in this respect) are thin and appear under-nourished—likewise the cattle they drive— yet they are happy, and pursue the even tenor of their way little caring what the morrow may bring. Those engaged agriculturally in the Himalayan mountains, are very industrious, cutting out step upon step of fields down the hillside on which they grow their crops. When in school, I often sneaked out of bounds during the night in company with other boys, and made raids on their fields. As the motorcar has been a financial trouble to the Canadian farmer, so in India the marriage and burial ceremonies cause his undoing, only more so. When an Indian dies, a great feast must be prepared by his family for the friends around, who flock in, ostensibly to mourn the dead, actually to partake of the feast; mourners must be hired, also tom-tom (drum) men and musicians who blow the shrillest sounds from their execrable trumpets. The reader has only to hear them to understand why they are designated “execrable.’ I have heard the much abused bag-pipe likened to pig’s shrieks, but although no lover of the bag-pipe, 1 would sooner attune my ears to the “pig’s shrieks’’ than listen to the music played by Indian musicians. By way of a diversion, it may incense Scotch readers to learn that one caste of Indians, I forget which, play the bag-pipes; some Indian regiments have their own pipe bands, and claim that the Scotch stole their national instrument from them. Let the Scotch see to this! Occasionally only tom-tom men are engaged for these ceremonies, and the droning sounds made by the steady rythmical beating on the drums wafted over the distance through a silent oriental night, mingled with the occasional calls of wild animals, effect a weird impression upon a restless sleeper’s mind. On the occasion of a wedding, the same musicians are employed for a greater length of time, as the celebrations may extend over a few days; the man who is marrying off a daughter must equip her with a dowry, and consequently pledges his credit to the utmost. From this it will be readily understood why in former times many female children were murdered at birth. The Canadian farmer thinks he has cause for complaint against the banks because of their rates of interest, but he is immeasurably better off than his confrere in India. There, the money lenders exact their pound of flesh remorselessly; as high as 50% has been known to have been charged, with the result that the ryots burden themselves with a life-long debt; their debts descend to their children, and children’s children, with the result that the Indian cultivator is the poorest of his associates in the same walk of life in any other country in the world. His crops are seized by the money-lenders leaving him the barest pittance on which to pursue his avocation; for the most part they are totally illiterate, they do not understand the documents to which they apply their thumb- marks—which take the place of signatures— and submit to the inexorable money-lender’s extortion with meek oriental fatalism. Of recent years the government has striven to make the ryot’s lot happier by establishing institutions resembling the Farm Loans Boards of Canada, but these require their clients to be of good standing—this is only good business— and the majority of the masses are so heavily encumbered that they cannot take advantage of the substantially low inter est rates offered by the loan boards, and it is open to conjecture whether they will ever extract themselves from their hopeless and helpless situation. Between 50% and 60% of India’s peoples are engaged in agricultural pursuits. At one time, up to the end of the past century, agriculture was almost the sole industry of the country; since then, however, cotton and jute mills have sprung up—for these, the country grows and supplies its own raw materials, besides having a large exportable surplus. The staple of the cotton is shorter than the American product, but in spite of this, considerable quantities of baled cotton are yearly shipped to Japan and Britain, where it is mixed with longer stapled cotton to reduce costs. Attempts are now being made, with a fair measure of success, to cross the American varieties with the Indian and produce a longer stapled cotton. Several manufacturing industries have sprung into being, some of them attracting the ryot from his fields, and the country is gradually becoming more and more self-supporting. Millicrs of British capital have been sunk in these industries and with true Irish perversity, the Indian revolutionists desire to oust those who have made the country what it is. The ryot, however, is perfectly content with his present lot and cannot be included among the factionaries; they have seldom, if ever, been associated with any political or rebellious movement; their simple wants have ever been to be left in peace to till their lands In the course of Indian history, passing centuries have imposed many rulers upon them; Arab. Aryan, Afghan, Mogul, and Persian invaders have succeeded each other in ruling the land, followed by Portuguese, Dutch. French and finally the English. The ryot has unconcernedly watched the bloody battles which have been waged by the warring con¬ querors, but themselves have not lent their aid to any party, although sometimes subjected to pillage, arson and other fearful horrors of war; their only concern has been to speculate who shall be their next ruler, and they have meekly submitted their necks to the yoke of each nefw conqueror. Thesoil of India is in the main extremely fertile, and with helpful seasons sometimes permit of two or three crops a year—though not necessarily, from the same fields. Long custom has taught the ryot the use of fallow, crop rotation and manures. Unfortunately, their extreme poverty does not permit of the extended use of manures, and it is largely used as fuel. Many towns and villages have no need to employ street sweepers, for. every day, a swarm of children, adults too. may be seen prowling around the streets and country roads, sedulously collecting horse and cow manure which is later formed in to cakes and sold as fuel. The houses of the ryots are the poorest imaginable; often rude shacks are erected of palms which are frequently blown down during heavy storms, but spring up again under the labor of the imperturable masses; in many cases, the houses are rudely fashioned with sticks, the chinks {Continued on page 24) [Page six ]

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R oy Letvf p. n ycar bays Oliver DimbncK Rep-1 year bays Editorial Staff

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Our 1930-31 Group Above is shown the Staff and Students of the present year and it is interesting to note that the entire territory cover¬ ed by the institution is represented; students from away north of 59 are shown with those from as far west as Onoway, from the Saskatchewan border and from the C.P.R. line on the south. As the students go to their homes they will spread information regarding the “College” and we hope that next year our group will be “bigger and better than ever.” [ Page seven ]