A d e e l M a l i k

U n i v e r s i t y o f O x f o r d

S y e d N a d e e m H u s s a i n

F o r m e r l y S t . C r o s s C o l l e g e , O x f o r d

L U M S S e m i n a r 2 9 J a n 2 0 1 7

THE GEOGRAPHY OF CANAL COLONIZATION

IMPLICATIONS FOR POLITICAL ECONOMY

Details of Archival Research

Primary sources:

The Punjab Government General Administration Report (1850)

Report of the Indian Irrigation Commission (1903)

District Gazetteers , Census Report of Punjab 1921

The Punjab Colony Manuals of 1922, 1924 and 1936

Board of Revenue Reports; and Returns of the Agricultural Statistics of India

Report of the Indian Irrigation Commission (1903)

Other sources

Personal correspondences, notes and general remarks, replies to printed questions etc. by high ranking British officials who were in charge of canal colonization

Punjab Colony Manuals

Report of the Indian Irrigation Commission (1903), and Ali (1988).

Secondary sources:

These include some pioneering work done by-

Paul W. Paustian (1930)

M. L. Darling (1928)

Imran Ali (1988),

Farmer (1974),

Stone (1984)

Canals in historical context

Pre-British developments:

Three principal modes of irrigation that preceded the British canal irrigation.

Wells – old means of irrigation;

Persian Wheel - in use from the medieval Slave and Mughal dynasties;

Inundation canals – They depended on water levels in rivers for their flow, making them useful only during flood periods.

Main feature

Water supply fluctuated with flood cycles in successive years.

Examples of earlier canals

Some of the prominent pre-British irrigation canals included:

Western Jumna canal in east Punjab - built by Feroz Shah Tughlak

Huslee canal - built by Nawab Ali Khan at the orders of Emperor Shah Jahan in

1633.

Canals in Multan built by Diwan Sawan Mal, governor of Multan under Sikh

rule.

Canals built in Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzzafargarh districts.

Canal Irrigation under the British

Canal irrigation 1849-1880:

British canal irrigation activity started in the year 1817 and was restricted to the plains north of Delhi and the deltaic Madras region.

Most of the early British canal irrigation schemes were directed towards rehabilitating, restoring and extending existing schemes.

In 1849-1850 a canal irrigation scheme was conceived to water the area previously irrigated by the Huslee canal in Baree Doab (land between Beas and Ravi rivers)

It was described as ‘politically important’ not only because of the economic benefit but also because it was a means to provide work to the disbanded and immobilized Sikh soldiers from the Anglo-Sikh war.

Canal Irrigation after 1880

This was followed in 1868, by Sirhind Canal which took off from Sutlej River and irrigated a vast area between Sutlej and Jumna rivers

Convinced about its profitability from earlier experiences, the British vigorously pursued canal irrigation as a state policy after 1880.

This policy was different from the earlier phase in two respects:

- A more elaborate and dense network of large perennial canals was laid down.

- New canals were not only constructed but also colonized with people.

Canal Colony Doab District Tract Period of colonization

Type of land grantees/grants

Sidhnai Canal Sidhnai Bari Doab Multan B 1886-1888 Self-cultivators,Rich peasants

Lower Sohag Para Canal Sohag Para Bari Doab Montgomery B 1886-1888 Self-cultivators,Rich peasants

Upper Bari Doab Canal Chunian Bari Doab Lahore C 1896-18981904-1906

Peasants,Civil granteesMilitary grantees

Lower Chenab Canal Chenab Rechna Doab Gujaranwala,Jhang,Lyallpur,Lahore,Sheikhpura

CBBCC

1892-19051926-1930

Peasants,Yeoman grantees,Capitalist grantees.

Lower Jhelum Canal Jhelum Jech Doab Shahpur,

Jhang

B

B

1902-1906 Horse/Mule Breeding

grantees,

Lower Bari Doab Canal Lower Bari Doab Bari Doab Montgomery,

Multan

B

B

1914-1924 Horse breeding grantees,

Military personnel

Upper Chenab Canal Upper Chenab Rechna Doab Gujaranwala, Sialkot,

Sheikhpura

C

A

C

1915-1919 Compensatory grants,

Civil grants,

Military grants

Upper Jhelum Canal Upper Jhelum Jech Doab Gujarat C 1916-1921 Compensatory grants,

Forest plantation,

Preferential allotment.

Sutlej Valley Project Nili Bar Bari Doab Montgomery,

Multan

B

B

1926-1940 All the above mentioned

except military grants.

Irrigation levels in Punjab

0

2000000

4000000

6000000

8000000

10000000

12000000

14000000

Govt canals Private canals Total area of cropsirrigated

1884-85

1924-25

Source: Agricultural Statistics of India 1884-1884; 1924-1925, Department of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Central Publication Branch, Calcutta, (1886; 1927)

The Geography of Canal Colonization

Three geographic drivers of canal colonization

Archival evidence suggests the relevance of three core aspects of geography:

a) Location- Punjab had an ideal location as it lay just beneath the foot hills of the Himalayas, Karakorum and Suleiman ranges. Its political geography also made it strategically important for the British.

b) Climate- Rainfall was a key climatic factor determining the need and impact of canal irrigation.

c) Topography- The topography of Punjab also made it highly conducive for canal colonization.

Punjab’s geographic suitability for irrigation - I

“The capabilities of the Punjab for canal irrigation are notorious. It is intersected by great rivers; it is bounded on two sides by hills, whence pour down countless rivulets; the general surface of the land slopes southward with a considerable gradient. These facts at once proclaim it to be a country eminently adapted for canals.”

─ (General report on the administration on Punjab 1849-50, 1854)

Punjab’s geographic suitability for irrigation - II

The Report of the Indian Irrigation Commission 1901-1903 reinforced Punjab’s geographical suitability for canal irrigation, differentiating it from the rest of India as the most conducive province for extensive canal networks.

“The first province visited by us, the Punjab or land of five rivers, is of all the Indian provinces that which is best adapted for extensive irrigation from perennial canals...... The unfailing supplies of its snow fed rivers, and the even surface of its arid plains, have rendered it possible to construct, at a comparatively small cost, the vast network of canals by which the greater part of the province is now protected from the worst effects of drought....”

─ (Report of the Indian Irrigation Commission 1901-1903, part II)

Variable geography of Punjab shaped the intensity and impact of canal colonization

North and central Punjab had a milieu of montane and sub-montane areas which enjoyed adequate and unfailing rainfall accompanied by natural hill torrents. This obviated the need for any large scale canal irrigation.

South and South-West Punjab had the lowest rainfall and the largest proportion of uncultivated land.

South-western parts of Punjab:

- were more intensely penetrated by the canal infrastructure under British rule

- majority of extensions post-independence were also carried out in this region

- contained plentiful possibilities for agricultural and social engineering

Indian Irrigation Commission (1903) divides Punjab into three geographical tracts:

Tract A ─ Secure - comprised of montane and sub-montane districts lying inthe North, North-Western and North-Eastern Punjab that had abundant andconsistent rainfall thus obviating any need for any major artificial irrigation worksto provide protection against drought.

Tract B ─ Rainless - comprised of districts in the West and South-WestPunjab where cultivation was almost impossible without irrigation since normalrainfall was extremely deficient.

Tract C ─ Insecure - comprised of districts lying in the North, North-Eastand Eastern Punjab which could very well be cultivated without recourse toartificial irrigation other than wells etc.

The three tracts of Punjab

The three tracts of British Punjab

TRACT A – SECURE TRACT B –RAINLESS TRACT C - INSECURE

Districts Districts Districts

1. Hazara 1. Muzzafargarh 1. Gujranwala

2. Kohat 2. Dera Ismail Khan 2. Gurdaspur

3. Hoshiarpur 3. Multan 3. Amritsar

5. Kangra 5. Dera Ghazi Khan 5. Ludhiana

6. Bannu 6. Shahpur 6. Lahore

7. Sialkot 7. Jhang 7. Firozpur

8. Rawalpindi 8. Lyallpur (Faisalabad)* 8. Delhi

9. Shimla 9. Mianwali* 9. Karnal

10. Attock (Half)* 10. Gujarat

11. Amballa

12. Gurgaon

13. Jhelum

14. Rohtak

15. Hissar

16. Attock (Half)*

*Post 1947 districts.

Rainfall and artificial modes of irrigation

The total average rainfall varies, as a general rule inversely with the distance with the Himalayas. Along the foot of the hills there is a zone of the country where it amounts to over 30 inches per annum and is fairly certain, so that a large area of crops can be grown every year with the help of local rainfall alone. Further out the average rainfall is between 30 and 20 inches, and becomes more uncertain, so that while it is still possible in good years to grow a large area of rain crops, they are more insecure and in years of drought cannot be sown or fail largely. Still more to the south west comes a zone where average rainfall is between 20

and 10 inches and exceedingly variable so that the rain crops are very precarious...........

The importance of artificial irrigation varies inversely with the amount and certainty of the

local rainfall.....Further to the south-west, the rainfall decreases in amount and becomes more uncertain, wells and canals become more and more important, until the south-west of the Punjab, no attempt is made to grow a crop unless it is irrigated by a well or canal, or sown on land moistened by river-floods.

─ (J. Wilson, C.S.I., Settlement Commissioner, Punjab, 1901)

Primacy of rainfall

“The annual rainfall rapidly decreases as the distance from the Himalayas to the south-west

increases, and soon a zone is reached below which cultivation by means of the local rainfall only becomes precarious. Accordingly cultivation was then, in part of the Province, confined almost entirely to the valleys of the rivers, where it could be carried on by means of the river-floods, of these small inundation canals, or of wells. ............

My recommendations therefore are that the Punjab rivers should be carried as far to the east and south as possible; that where rainfall is good or the underground water level sufficiently near the surface to make irrigation from wells practicable, canal water in the winter season should gradually be refused; that every possible encouragement should be give to the sinking of wells, and more particularly.......... we should gradually take into our canals more and more of the flood waters of the rivers and spread them far over the country.”

(J. Wilson, Settlement Commissioner, Punjab, 22nd October 1901)

Role of soil suitability?

The Census Report of 1921 in its section on area, population and density played down any role of soil suitability or fertility in dictating the location of canal colonies to be built.

“Cultivation in the Punjab is affected more by rainfall and irrigation than by difference in the soil...” (Census of India, 1921. Volume XV. Punjab and Delhi, Part I, 1923)

“On what may be called the Northern Plateau, north of the Salt Range, comprising the Jhelum and Rawalpindi districts, and parts of Shahpur and Hazara, the country is so cut up by hills and ravines that it is impossible to construct large canals or to sink many wells, and although the rainfall is towards the south of the plateau, comparatively scanty and uncertain, the crops are almost entirely dependent on the local rainfall..”

─ (J. Wilson, C.S.I., Settlement Commissioner, Punjab, 1901)

Cont’d

“Portions towards the south are either not cultivated at all, or are barren and covered with jungle and sandy waters; and yet the soil is friable and has for the most part a fair admixture of loam and sand, requiring the command of water only to fit it for the highest cultivation. Scarcely a stone is to be found, and the land when turned resembles the finest garden soil. If schemes for the supply of water which are understood to be in contemplation, and partially commenced should be carried out, these parts of the Punjab may be made , in time as productive as any other...”

─ (Lieut. Colonel G. B. Tremenheere, Superintending Engineer Punjab, Note on the present state of agriculture in Punjab, dated 25th September 1852)

Main Proposition

The more distant is a Punjab’s region from the Himalayas and the more rainless it is, the more profound was the impact of canal irrigation. Canal colonization had a deeper and more enduring impact in the rainless tracts of Punjab.

Is the impact of canal colonization conditioned by rainfall patterns?

High rainfall regions => lower levels of land inequality => lower impact of canal colonization

Low rainfall regions => higher levels of land inequality => higher impact of canal colonization

Did the impact of canal colonization reinforce land inequality?

Canal colonization in Punjab converted land into a coveted economic and political asset

=> Reinforced land inequality and entrenched existing elites

Crown wasteland that was now cultivable through extensive irrigation tracts was distributed by the British to Punjab’s loyalist classes

=> upper segments of agrarian hierarchy, influential political families,

and retired military personnel.

Windfall gains for controllers of agricultural land

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Average price per acre ofcultivated land

Tracing the impact on political economy

Ali (1988) highlights the colonial motives behind canal colonies, which ultimately shaped institutions in this ‘hydraulic society’.

Land Alienation Act 1900 systematically excluded the landless and lower caste peasants from the land market.

Three key motives highlighted by Ali (1988):

- political entrenchment;

- revenue extraction and

- military recruitment.

Lavish land grants to world war veterans and retired military personnel served as an important inducement for recruitment.

=> By the early to mid-twentieth century, Punjab contained less than 10 percent of the total population of British India but contributed more than half the recruits in Indian Army.

The political economy of canal colonization - II

Imran Ali: The triad of military, civil bureaucracy and landlords ─ whose power was consolidated by canal colonization ─ held the levers of governance long after the British left.

The agrarian structure left by the British in Punjab ─ and its associated political economy ─ became a precursor to the political domination of the military and landed aristocracy.

Land continues to be unequally distributed: 2 percent of households own more than 40 percent of land, with large landowners controlling 66 percent of the agricultural land.

A deeper imprint on the rainless tract

The rainless tract became a focus of canal building activity.

Limited cultivation prior to the construction of canals

Population density was lower as a result: nearly four times lower than tract C

Canals brought windfall gains to those who owned land and those who received land grants.

With canals came landless migrants and sub-tenants

Rainfall and land inequality

Attock

Bahawalpur

Bannu

ChagaiD.G.Khan

D.I.Khan

FaisalabadGujranwala

Gujrat

Hazara

Hyderabad

Jacobabad

Jhang

Jhelum

Kalat

Karachi

Khairpur

Kohat

Lahore

Larkana

Lasbela

Loralai

Mianwali

Multan

Muzaffargarh

Nawabshah Peshawar

Quetta

Rawalpindi

Sahiwal

Sargodha

Shaikhupura

Sialkot

Sibi

Sukkur Tharparkar

Zhob

-20

24

4 5 6 7lrainfall31

lfarmer60 Fitted values

Rainfall and landlessness

Attock

Fateh Jang

Hasanabdal

Hazro

Jand

Pindigheb

BahawalnagarChishtian

Fort Abbas

Haroonabad

Minchinabad

Ahmedpur East

Bahawalpur

HasilpurKhairpur Tamewali

Yazman

BhakkarDarya KhanKallur Kot

Mankera

Chakwal

Choa Saidan Shah

Talagang

DG KhanTaunsa

Chak Jhumra Town

Faisalabad

Jaranwala Town

Sumundri Town

Tandlianwala Town

Gujranwala

Kamoke Town

Nowshera Virkan Town

Wazirabad Town

GujratKharianSara-e-Alamgir

Hafizabad

Pindi Bhattian

Ahmadpur Sial

Chinniot

Jhang

Shorkot

Dina

Jhelum

Pind Dadan KhanSohawa

Chunian

Kasur

Pattoki

Jahanian

Kabirwala

KhanewalMian Channu

Khushab

Noorpur Thal

Lahore

Choubara

Karor Lal Esan

Layyah

Dunya Pur

Kehror PaccaLodhran

Malakwal

Mandi Bahauddin

Phalia

Essa Khel

Mianwali

Piplan

Jalalpur Pirwala Town

Multan

Shujabad Town

Ali pur

Jatoi

Kot Addu

Muzaffargarh

Nankana Sahib

Sangla HillShah Kot

NarowalDepalpur

OkaraRenala KhurdArifwala

Pakpattan

Khanpur

Liaqatpur

RY Khan

Sadiqabad

Jampur

Rajanpur

Rojhan

Gujjar Khan Town

Kahuta Town

Kallar Sayaddan TownKotli Sattian Town

Murree TownRawalpindiTaxila Town

ChichawatniSahiwal

Bhalwal

Kot Momin

Sahiwal2

Sargodha

Shahpur

Sillanwali

Ferozewala

Muridke

Safdarabad

Sharaqpur Sharif

SheikhupuraDaska

Pasrur

Sambrial

Sialkot

GojraKamalia

TT Singh

Burewala

Mailsi

Vehari

0

.05

.1.1

5

0 100 200 300 400avgrain

prop_muzaara Fitted values

Canal irrigated regions have a greater share of landlessness today

Narowal

Shakargarh

Sialkot

Pasrur

Gujar KhanRawalpindi

Daska

MurreeKahuta

Jhelum

Chakwal

Pind Dadan Khan

Fatehjang

Tallagang

Pindigheb

Gujrat

AttockMianwali

Bhakkar

Khushab

Leiah

Kharian

Sanghar

Isakhel

Wazirabad

Shorkot

Jampur

Gujranwala

Shahdara

Minchinabad

Rajanpur

Dipalpur

Hafizabad

Jhang

Bhalwal

Kasur

Alipur

Shahpur

Shujabad

Lahore

Phalia

D.G.Khan

Kot Adu

Khairpur

Muzaffargarh

Chiniot

Chunian

Bahawalpur

Nankana Sahib

Pakpattan

Allahabad

Bahawalnagar

Okara

Ahmadpur LammaMultanAhmadpur East

Sheikhupura

KhanpurKabirwala

Lodhran

MailsiToba Tek SinghSamundri

Rahim Yar Khan

Montgomery

Jaranwala

Lyallpur

Khanewal

Sargodha

-.1

-.05

0

.05

.1

e(

pro

p_m

uza

ara

| X

)

-.5 0 .5e( Nahri | X )

coef = .05148354, (robust) se = .01383754, t = 3.72

Land inequality and growth of literacy

Rawalpindi

JhelumSialkotGujrat

Karachi+Thatta

GujranwalaLahore AttockLyallpur

Hazara

SheikhupuraShahpur

KohatMontgomeryMianwaliMultan PeshawarJhang NawabshahHyderabad+DaduLarkana

SukkurMuzaffargarhBannu

SibiThraparkar Pishin / QuettaChahgi KalatD. I. KhanDera Ghazi Khan

Jacobabad

Loralai

Zhob

10

20

30

40

50

60

0 20 40 60Area above 150 acres, % of total area

Growth of literacy, 1931-98 Fitted values

Literacy and landlessness

Ahmadpur Sial

Ahmedpur East

Ali pur

Arifwala

Attock

Bahawalnagar

BahawalpurBhakkar

Bhalwal

Burewala

Chak Jhumra Town

Chakwal

Chichawatni

Chinniot

Chishtian

Choa Saidan Shah

ChoubaraChunian

DG Khan

Darya Khan

Daska

Depalpur

Dunya Pur

Essa Khel

Faisalabad

Fateh Jang

Ferozewala

Fort Abbas

Gojra

Gujjar Khan Town

GujranwalaGujrat

Hafizabad

Haroonabad

Hasanabdal

Hasilpur

HazroJahanian

Jalalpur Pirwala Town

Jampur

Jand

Jaranwala Town

Jatoi

Jhang

Jhelum

Kabirwala

Kahuta Town

Kallur Kot

Kamalia

Kamoke Town

Karor Lal Esan

Kasur

Kehror Pacca

Khairpur Tamewali

Khanewal

Khanpur

Kharian

Khushab

Kot AdduKot Momin

Lahore

Layyah

LiaqatpurLodhran

Mailsi

Malakwal

Mandi Bahauddin

Mankera

Mian Channu

Mianwali

Minchinabad

Multan

Muridke

Murree Town

Muzaffargarh

Nankana Sahib

Narowal

Noorpur Thal

Nowshera Virkan Town

Okara

Pakpattan

Pasrur

Pattoki

Phalia

Pind Dadan Khan

Pindi Bhattian

PindighebPiplan

RY Khan

Rajanpur

Rawalpindi

Renala Khurd

Sadiqabad

Safdarabad

SahiwalSahiwal2

Sambrial

Sangla Hill

Sara-e-Alamgir

Sargodha

Shah Kot

Shahpur

Shakargarh

Sharaqpur Sharif

Sheikhupura

Shorkot

Shujabad Town

Sialkot

Sillanwali

Sumundri TownTT Singh

Talagang

Tandlianwala Town

Taunsa

Taxila Town

Vehari

Wazirabad Town

Yazman

.2.4

.6.8

0 .05 .1 .15prop_muzaara

Literacy_Over_10 Fitted values

Greater share of uncultivated land in low rainfall regions

Ahmadpur Lamma

Ahmadpur Sharqi

Alipur

Allahabad

Attock

Bahawalnagar

Bahawalpur

Bhakkar

Bhalwal

Chakwal

Chiniot

Chunian

Daska

Dera Ghazi KhanDipalpur

Fateh-jangGujar Khan

Gujranwala

Gujrat

Hafizabad

Isa Khel

Jampur

Jaranwala

Jhang

Jhelum

Kabirwala

KahutaKasur

KhairpurKhanewalKhanpur

Kharian

Khushab

Kot Addu

Lahore

Leiah

Lodhran

Lyallpur

Mailsi

Mianwali

Minchinabad

MontgomeryMultanMuzaffargarh

Nankana Sahib

NarowalOkara

Pakpattan

Pasrur

Phalia

Pind Dadan KhanPindigheb

Rahim Yar Khan

Rajanpur

Rawalpindi

Samundri

SargodhaShahdara

Shahpur

Shakargrah

Sheikhupura

Shorkot

Shujabad

Sialkot

Tallagang

TaunsaToba Tek Singh Wazirabad

0.2

.4.6

.8

0 10 20 30 40Average rainfall in tehsil in 1923

Proportion of total area not cultivated Fitted values

Regions that were historically uncultivated contain a greater share of landless peasants today

Isa Khel

MianwaliDera Ghazi Khan

Bahawalpur

Ahmadpur Sharqi

Jampur

Shahpur

Kharian

Muzaffargarh

Allahabad

Lyallpur

Ahmadpur LammaGujrat

Samundri

Pasrur

Okara

TaunsaJaranwala

Alipur

Kasur

Phalia

Khanpur

Tallagang

Attock

Daska

Shakargrah

Sheikhupura

Minchinabad

Chunian

ChakwalShahdara

NarowalKabirwala

Rahim Yar KhanLahore

Multan

PindighebFateh-jang

Sialkot

KahutaPind Dadan Khan

Montgomery

Gujar Khan

ChiniotRawalpindiJhelum

Khanewal

Nankana Sahib

Gujranwala

Bhalwal

Khairpur

Hafizabad

Sargodha

Dipalpur

Bahawalnagar

Murree

Khushab

Toba Tek Singh

Rajanpur

Shujabad

Jhang

Pakpattan

Lodhran

Wazirabad

Mailsi

Kot Addu

Bhakkar

Shorkot

Leiah

-.1

-.05

0

.05

.1

e(

pro

p_m

uzaa

ra | X

)

-.4 -.2 0 .2 .4e( NCult | X )

coef = .13506729, (robust) se = .05326066, t = 2.54

Land continues to be an important political asset

Lahore

Rawalpindi

Sialkot

Gujrat

Narowal

Jhelum

Chakwal

Nankana Sahib

Faisalabad

Sheikhupura

Kasur

Gujranwala

Mianwali

Khushab

Toba Tek Singh

Sargodha

BahawalpurMultan

Mandi Bahauddin

Vehari

Rahimyar Khan

Pakpattan

Bahawalnagar

Sahiwal

BhakkarOkara

Muzaffargarh

Attock

JhangKhanewal

Layyah

Hafizabad

Lodhran

Dera Ghazi KhanRajanpur

0.2

.4.6

.8

.2 .4 .6 .8 1Proportion of MPAs whose profession is agriculture

Presence in at least two assemblies (% of total MPAs) Fitted values

Persistence of political elites

Key arguments

We argue:

- that the political economy of the colonized regions was shaped in significant ways by the process of canal colonization.

- by radically altering the political economy of the region, canal colonization serves as an important historical basis for regional comparisons.

- canal colonization can provide a possibly important explanation for why the development trajectory of colonized regions diverged so significantly from regions that had limited or no exposure to canal colonization.

Situating in global literature

A growing body of literature highlights the role played by geographicalconditions in shaping colonial policies, which in turn shape developmentoutcomes.

Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2001) - role of local disease environment inshaping colonial strategies.

Engerman and Sokoloff (1997, 2003, 2005) - highlight the effect of factorendowments, like soil suitability, on colonial policies and subsequent paths ofeconomic development.

Colonization and development

Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2001): disease and development

viewing current institutions as a function of past institutions, it highlights the role of colonialism in shaping early institutions

Colonial powers faced different geographic constraints in different parts of the world, necessitating different colonial strategies.

Settler mortality rates, determined by the local disease environment, played a decisive role

Colonizers often decided to settle in places where the disease environment was favourable. It is in these places where high quality institutions were set up.

The basic claim is that institutions really matter and geography worked almost entirely through the establishment of early institutions that tended to persist even after independence.

Endowments and inequality

Engerman and Sokoloff (1997, 2003, 2005)-

- Highlighted the importance of factor endowments (e.g., soil suitability for wheat relative to sugar) in shaping colonial policies and patterns of initial inequality—both of which have lingering effects on development

- Basic argument rests on how soil suitability shaped crop choices and the resulting colonial policy in the Americas.

-Land in Latin America was more suitable for the cultivation of sugar crops, which required large quantities of both land and labour.

- This laid the foundation of an agrarian structure that produced slave plantations and a high degree of land inequality, thus creating conditions for

extreme inequality, both economic and political.

Geography, history and development

We explore how geography, as part of initial conditions, shaped canal colonization which in turn determined the political economy of post colonial Punjab.

We seek to investigate:

a) the role of geographic factors in shaping canal colonization

b) the extent to which these geographic aspects can help explain contemporary regional differences in socio-economic performance.

c) whether geographical drivers of canal colonization set Punjab apart from other parts of British India, and indeed, regions within Punjab