Based on the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's report of 1893-94, this article includes:
- My overview of cannabis usage in the native state of Hyderabad of 1893-94
- The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's findings regarding the native state of Hyderabad
- Memorandum on the system of administration in His Highness The Nizam's Dominion in respect to the Hemp Drugs, by M. Hossain, Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Nizam's Dominions
Overview
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The Hyderabad State in 19th century India included the following districts - Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Nizamabad, Nandair, Raichur and Gulbarga. Hyderabad was a native or princely state at the time of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's study of 1893-94. According to Wikipedia, 'A princely state (also called native state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British Indian government, but rather by an indigenous ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British Crown.' Being a native state, the information regarding the Hyderabad State is provided by only one source - the Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Mr. M. Hossain. Unlike in the British Provinces, the Hemp Commission did not submit extensive questions and examine lists of witnesses to obtain its information. Therefore, the information regarding the native Hyderabad State is much less than that obtained from British Provinces, with information such as individual witness statements being absent. It is even lesser than the information available from the Mysore State and the Bangalore Civil and Military Station, where at least three British officials provided information regarding the cannabis situation in that native state.
Public Domain Review has an essay titled 'How the English Found Cannabis', which states that the first British contact with cannabis happened in Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and that the British took a particular liking to the sweetmeat, majum, which they however seem to have mistaken for the beverage bhang. Majum was widely available in all parts of India and was openly sold in the market like any other sweet or delicacy. The essay says, 'In the 17th century, English travelers, merchants, and physicians were first introduced to cannabis, particularly in the form of bhang, an intoxicating edible which had been getting Indians high for millennia. Benjamin Breen charts the course of the drug from the streets of Machilipatnam to the scientific circles of London.' From discovering cannabis in the 17th century, it was just a matter of a couple of centuries before the British almost completely suppressed the cannabis culture in India - the land of ganja - through measures introduced in its various excise acts that included: greatly decreasing the area under cultivation; introducing licenses for cultivation; introducing licenses for monopoly of vend to a single contractor or company for an entire state or province; introducing rules that a licensed cultivator could only sell his produce to a licensed vendor; reducing the number of retail outlets and bringing them under licenses; raising the price of cannabis; creating false myths and propaganda regarding the harms of cannabis; prosecuting and imprisoning individuals for growing a few plants at home for private use; etc. The primary objectives of these measures were to supplant cannabis with western alcohol, opium, tobacco, cotton and western medicine, in order to vastly increase the revenue from these British-endorsed commodities. The fact that cannabis was used by more than half of India's working and labouring classes, and more than three-fourth of India's spiritual mendicants across all religions, as well as the indigenous communities and the poorest classes - sections of society who together constituted more than three-fourth of India's population - did not deter the British from taking this most oppressive measure against the people that they colonized. To achieve such a stupendous feat - far greater than bringing about the prohibition of beer in Britain - was only possible with the aid of the Indian upper-castes and upper-classes, especially the religious orthodoxy, wealthy businessmen and landlords who worked closely with the British to bring about cannabis prohibition. In return, these Indian upper-castes and upper-classes got much tighter control over the vast majority of India's population, and greatly increased their own wealth, even as the British looted India.
Much like the native state of Mysore, it appears that cannabis cultivation and consumption had been greatly reduced in the Hyderabad State by the time of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's study of 1893-94. The main reason for this drastic reduction in cultivation and consumption can be attributed to the British colonists who brought in tight regulation and rules for a plant that had, hitherto, been cultivated and consumed without any restrictions or regulations whatsoever. The Hemp Commission reports that, 'The Director of Agriculture and Commerce states that the land under ganja in the whole dominion may be roughly estimated at about 300 or 400 acres. The cultivation is carried on in a small tract immediately south of Hyderabad and in the Aurangabad and Nandair districts, which lie on the north bordering Khandesh and Berar.' The method of cultivation is reported by the Hemp Commission to be largely similar to that employed in the Bombay Presidency. There appears to have been no requirement for a license to cultivate cannabis, unlike in other British provinces and native states that were under the Excise Act XXII of 1881. But there was the requirement that the crop must be sold to a licensed contractor. As I stated in other places, there was mostly only one contractor for an entire province or state with the license to procure cannabis from the farmer, as well as import or export cannabis, and set up retail outlets for the entire state. This one requirement of selling the produce to the single contractor, who enjoyed monopoly over the entire state, would have been sufficient to discourage any local farmer from cultivating cannabis. The reasons that I have also cited elsewhere are the same here as well: accessing the single contractor; selling the crop at the price quoted by the contractor; the requirement that produce must be sold within one month of harvest; the rejection of the harvest by the contractor at his whim and fancy; the emphasis by both the contractor and the British government that ganja imported from British provinces be sold in local markets; the system of informants employed by the contractor to report on cultivation without license even of a few plants, etc.
Even though the Commission states that no license was required to cultivate cannabis, the contractor ensured that even homestead growing of a few plants for personal consumption was dealt with severely. In his memorandum submitted to the Hemp Commission, M. Hossain, Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Nizam's Dominions, states that 'Though there is no particular staff to take care of growing the hemp, yet the contractors of the ganja sale monopoly watch this very keenly, and at their complaints and bringing the cases to the notice of the local Revenue authorities due action is taken to destroy the crop grown by any person for his private use.' This effectively means that the contractor had complete control over the quantity of cannabis cultivated in the Hyderabad State, working closely with the British to ensure that only what entered the excise system was permitted, everything else being prohibited. So, stating that no license is required for cultivation appears, on the surface to be normalcy, but the underlying fact was that the contractor ensured that only his sources could cultivate cannabis.
A duty to be paid by the contractor to the administration was levied on the import and export of ganja from and to the British territories. The license to vend for the contractor was auctioned annually and he could set up his own retail outlets. No retail license was required. No retail or wholesale prices were fixed by the state. This would have surely resulted in immense profits for the contractor, explaining the great enthusiasm shown by him to report and prevent homestead cultivation at all costs. There were no limits on the quantity that could be sold to an individual in a day or the amount of cannabis in an individual's possession. The primary revenue for the state from cannabis appears to have been from the license fees paid by the contractor annually. The revenue from import and export duty appears to have been quite insignificant compared to this. What this shows is two things: the contractor made huge profits; the aim of the government was to reduce cannabis cultivation and consumption as much as possible by making it as difficult as possible for the small farmer to cultivate and sell his cannabis, and the consumer to purchase his cannabis.
We see in the memorandum submitted by M. Hossain, Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Nizam's Dominions, reference to ganja being sold with "other poisons" like strychnine, buchnag and arsenic in the retail outlets as a part of the contractor's license to vend. M. Hossain does not seem to include opium among these "poisons" showing an inherent bias in favor of opium. The use of the term "poison" for cannabis shows that M. Hossain was a non-believer in cannabis, probably part of the Muslim religious orthodoxy who practiced and preached that intoxicants, especially ganja, was forbidden by the holy scriptures. The situation - where the contractor sold multiple drugs, including toxins, from a single retail outlet - would have presented the very high likelihood of the contractor resorting to dangerous and unscrupulous practices like mixing arsenic or strychnine with the cannabis in order to increase its potency and make larger profits. It is quite likely that the blame for the harms from resorting to such practices would have fallen on the cannabis plant, further fueling the propaganda that cannabis was an evil "poison".
Even though the Hyderabad Memorandum and Hemp Commission findings regarding the state do not show much information regarding the cannabis culture in the state, we saw in the Hemp Commission's findings regarding the Madras Presidency that the Hyderabad State was one of the sources for the import of charas into the Madras Presidency. The ruling classes of the Hyderabad State appear to have been fond of charas, most likely imported from Punjab, the North Western Province and Afghanistan. Apothecary Muhammad Asadulla, Ellore, Godavary District, says 'Charas is imported chiefly from Hyderabad, where it is appreciated by the nobles.' M. Hossain, Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Nizam's Dominions, states in his memorandum on Hyderabad submitted to the Hemp Commission, however that 'Charas is almost unknown in the whole dominion.'
In the Hyderabad state it appears that the cultivation across 300 or 400 acres was sufficient to meet the needs of the people, with only small amounts being imported or exported. The Hemp Commission reports that 'The cultivation extends to between 300 and 400 acres. The Director of Agriculture states that the outturn may be taken to be 5 or 6 maunds per acre. The total produce of the State would then be about 2,000 maunds. The memorandum states that the local production is sufficient to meet the requirements of the people in ordinary seasons. It is only in abnormal years that exports to, or imports from, British territory take place. The average of these for the last five years is 75 maunds of import and 10 maunds of export.' What I gather from this is that, despite the contractor's attempts to snuff out homestead cultivation, home growing of a few plants may still have been quite extensively carried out in the Hyderabad state, more than in other British-controlled provinces, barring the Madras Presidency. This unreported homestead cultivation, in addition to the legal field cultivation appears to have been sufficient for the local market.
We saw in the Mysore State findings that some part of the ganja requirements for Mysore were met through imports from the Hyderabad State. There is likely to also have been smuggling of ganja into the Hyderabad State from the Bombay and Madras Presidencies, where ganja was at the lowest prices in all British-controlled states, besides smuggling into Hyderabad from the Central Provinces and Berar. The Hemp Commission recommends the raising of retail prices in the Hyderabad State, in addition to the raising of prices in the Bombay and the Madras Presidencies, in order to minimize the smuggling of cannabis between these territories and to raise more revenue for the government.
It appears that with the repression of cannabis cultivation, the British promoted the cultivation of cotton, tobacco and silk in the regions including Berar and the Hyderabad State. The Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway was created by the British to connect the Hyderabad State more effectively with the Bombay and Madras Presidencies by linking up with the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. The introduction of the railways enabled the quick movement of opium, spices, cotton, silk, sugar, tobacco, etc., across large distances, especially between the Bombay and Madras Presidencies and the native states of Hyderabad and Mysore. Out of an estimated annual production of about 2000 maunds of cannabis in the Hyderabad State, 300 maunds are reported to have been transported by railway, though the destinations for this cannabis is not reported.
The situation today
The modern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have replaced the Hyderabad State of British times. Many areas that were part of the Madras Presidency, including Vishakhapatnam, Nellore, Kadapa, Anantapur, the Krishna and Godavari regions, etc. are now part of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Krishna region was one of the primary cannabis cultivation regions in the Madras Presidency, with Daggupad being central to cannabis cultivation.
The Hyderabad region was ruled by the Nizams before the British took control and finally the modern states were carved out after Indian independence. Despite these various political changes, ground realities for the common man have remain much unchanged, or possibly only deteriorated with time. The times of the Nizams were probably far less oppressive than the times of the British, and the times of the British were probably far less oppressive than the modern political rule of independent India. The states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have a clear gap between the upper classes and lower classes. Even though the relationship between the Muslims and Hindus are far more cordial than in the northern states, much like in the modern states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it is the class divide between the rich and the poor that cripples the people of the state. Rich zamindars and powerful clerics have worked closely with the Nizams, the British and the upper caste Hindus who have been the rulers of the Hyderabad state in turns. The working and labouring classes, the indigenous communities and spiritual mendicants have seen their cannabis gradually going further and further out of reach with each passing day, while alcohol, synthetic pharmaceutical drugs - legal and illegal, opium and tobacco have found their way as the leading drugs of choice, especially of the upper classes and castes. The caste-system is practiced in most places, quite often subtly and sometimes openly. Cannabis is still used significantly but it operates underground. Ganja from Andhra Pradesh flows into neighboring Karnataka and Maharashtra, and possibly Tamil Nadu. I suspect that there is a two-way trade with Odisha, which has a strong ganja culture. When much of the ganja-growing regions mentioned in the Hemp Commission's report can be utilized for ganja cultivation once again, offering vast benefits to the state and the people, its political leaders and intellectuals remain ignorant of the power of the herb. The lower-castes, lower classes, indigenous communities, minorities, etc., continue to be passive in the face of the long-standing prohibition of their medical, spiritual and intoxicating herb.
The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission's findings
THE EXISTENCE, PREVALENCE, AND CHARACTER OF THE SPONTANEOUS GROWTH
EXTENT OF CULTIVATION, AND ITS TENDENCY TO INCREASE OR DECREASE.
METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.
The last three Aurungabad names can probably be identified with the similar names used in Satara and Ahmednagar. It is stated that the extirpation of these plants is a heavy item in the labour bill. The Director mentions having seen ganja plants grown by a fakir in the compound of his hut in Warangal, which is in the eastern part of the territory, about seven to eight feet high, and each plant twelve to sixteen feet in circumference, the stem near the root eleven inches round. These were a few plants only. The cultivation is not confined to any particular class. The witnesses, however, lay stress on the fact that it requires special knowledge and skill, which are possessed by very few.
PREPARATION OF THE RAW DRUGS FROM THE CULTIVATED AND WILD PLANT
TRADE AND MOVEMENT OF THE HEMP DRUGS
EXTENT OF USE AND THE MANNER AND FORMS IN WHICH THE HEMP DRUGS ARE CONSUMED
SYSTEMS OF NATIVE STATES
The Hyderabad State marches with the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, Berar, and the Central Provinces, but only for a short distance with the last named. There are no complaints of smuggling from Hyderabad into the Central Provinces, though smuggling from Berar is mentioned. If ganja is systematically treated in Madras, Bombay, and Berar, the arrangements will be incomplete unless a similar change is made in the Hyderabad State; and as the regular cultivation in the latter appears to be confined to certain definite areas, control will probably be quite feasible should the Darbar agree to exercise it. For the present, however, the existing arrangements under which the produce must all be made over to the licensed vendors and a tax levied on all imports and exports will, if they are observed, be sufficient to check the export of ganja to British provinces. When by reason of the perfecting of the system in British territory the inducements to smuggle cheap ganja from Hyderabad are increased, it will then be advisable to suggest to the State the desirability of exercising more complete control over the cultivation of the plant and its produce.
Memorandum on the system of administration in His Highness The Nizam's Dominion in respect to the Hemp Drugs, by M. Hossain, Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Nizam's Dominions
I.—The control of the growth of the Hemp plant.
1. The use of the drugs in question in this dominion being very limited, and having never prevailed in any considerable extent, have drawn no particular attention of the administrators to attach any special rules or regulations in the shape of law in respect of the same. However, it is not allowed that any one may grow the hemp if he likes to.
Though there is no particular staff to take care of growing the hemp, yet the contractors of the ganja sale monopoly watch this very keenly, and at their complaints and bringing the cases to the notice of the local Revenue authorities due action is taken to destroy the crop grown by any person for his private use.
No order or any kind of license is required for growing the hemp: any one if he knows the secrets of growing and curing it can cultivate the same, but it is an understood law that he must sell the produce to the authorized contractors. There not being any strict supervision or control over this, it cannot be said that this rule is invariably and strictly observed. But at the same time it may be noticed here that there are very limited number of cultivators in a very few places in the whole territory who know the art of growing and curing ganja, and it is grown not more than enough for the local wants.
2. As no wild hemp has been found to grow in this country, therefore no notice about it is taken.
3. The export and import of the drugs to and from the British territories are very systematically and strictly controlled by the Custom Department, and a duty of Rs. 10 per maund is levied on the import as well as on the export of ganja and of Rs. 3-5-0 on bhang.
N.B.-Only one kind of ganja, flat, is manufactured here; the broken leaves of the plant go as bhang, which is of very inferior kind. Charas is almost unknown in the whole dominion.
II.-The sale of hemp drugs.
4. The sale of ganja is controlled and restricted by giving the monopoly of it to one person or company for a limited jurisdiction. The system of giving the monopoly as a rule is uniform for the State. It is auctioned at the end of a financial year by the Revenue officers in their districts, in part and parcel for one or more years. In small districts the contract of the sale is given together with other poisons three or four* (* 1. Arsenic. 2. Strychnine. 3. Buchnag.) in number, and even with the opium, because, owing to the small sale of the drugs in question, people do not venture to take them separately. The contract for Hyderabad City is given by the Excise Department. The contract given by the Revenue officers also remain subject to the administration and orders of the Commissioners of the Department.
5. The said contractors are authorized to purchase ganja from the growers—they keep a store of it and sell it to the retail vendors, or keep their own shops in their jurisdiction. These contractors generally sublet the retail vending, and supply the drugs at some fixed or the market rates. The contractors purchase their stock from the places within the State which have reputation for growing ganja. Only in very bad years, when the ganja crop totally fails here, it is imported from the British territory, and the same cause makes it export. The custom duty on the frontier of the State is against the trade.
6. There is no restriction of any other kind in the sale of the drugs-it can be sold at any place, to any person, and up to any quantity.
No site for shops is fixed by the Government authorities, i.e., the Excise or Revenue officers. In the districts no license for the shop is required and no shops are auctioned.
The stock kept by the wholesale contractors and the shops of the retail vendors are under no inspection and supervision.
The sale being so small, and there being no fear or chance of any kind of smuggling, no supervision is necessary.
7. No rate of the whole or retail sales of the drugs is fixed. The average price of the wholesale of ganja has been about Rs. 25 per maund, and to the retail vendors it is sold from Re. 1 to 1 1/2 per seer, who sell it to the consumers at the rate of one tola from about 1/4 to 1/2 an oz. for a quarter of an anna, the bhang from 1 to 2 ozs. for the same money, and the majum about one ounce for one anna.
As far as my inquiries go, about the same prices seem to prevail in all parts of the dominion in an ordinary year; but in a bad year, and when ganja is imported from outside of the State and for which the custom duty at the rate of Rs. 10 per maund is paid, the price rises. In some part it has been double last year, as owing to the excess of rain the ganja crop had failed.
8. No maximum or minimum price or amount is fixed by the Government for any kind of sale, or possession by ordinary consumers, or for retail sale of the drugs.
9. As enough of the hemp is grown in this country, as it is quite a cheap thing, as stated before, and as the customs duty is a great check upon its trade, consequently there is no temptation for any kind of smuggling from other provinces or any other Native State, the illicit cultivation, possession, or the sale of the drugs; hence no special measures to prevent this are necessary.
10. As the Government revenue from this source is very limited and the consumption of the drugs is not great, therefore the modifications of the present excise system have not attracted any particular attention. However, at any want of the kind being felt, due actions certainly will be taken by the Excise Commissioner.
III.—The Government revenue and the duties imposed on the drugs.
Till some five years ago, the drugs in question were sold in Hyderabad City by a few shopkeepers who had enjoyed the monopoly of it for years at the payment of certain sum called "nazrana." In the districts the monopoly of the sale of them together with other poisons was also enjoyed by certain banyas uninterruptedly. The Government circular, No. 52, dated 1294 Hijri, provides that a duty from annas 2 to Rs. 3 per month will be levied on the ganja and bhang shops in the town of Hyderabad, and accordingly the nazrana or mashul was paid.
From the year 1298 F=1889 A.D., this system was changed with giving the monopoly to the highest bidder.
As the drugs under the standing arrangements are generally included with the contract of opium or the contract of other poisons, as stated before, therefore their separate account and statistics are not available; but the following figures and the appended statements will give a fair idea of the financial aspects of the matter under report.
The statements A and B* will show the export and import for last five years of ganja and bhang respectively from and to British territory, as well as the places in His Highness's dominions subject to octroi. They prove that the trade of the drugs is not much.
When the crop in this country fails, a little of it is imported, and the same case is vice versâ. The custom duty, which is Rs. 10 per maund on ganja and Rs. 3-5 per maund on bhang, is perhaps against this trade.
Statement C* will show the rail-borne traffic for last five years of the drug from the tract in which the hemp is sown for the use of about two-thirds of the population of this country. Of course the statistics for the quantity carried by other means are not available. However, the figures and other facts prove that the production of the drug is very limited. For instance, in Hyderabad City and cantonment there are no more than 46 shops, and in the whole dominions only 270 shops of ganja and bhang; 28 shops of majum are at present in Hyderabad, and about 50 shops of the same are in all districts.
Some of the majum shops in the districts are temporary; they make and sell majum only in Moharrum, Holi, and such other festivals.
The revenue derived in the city of Hyderabad for last five years stand thus: —
The monopoly of the districts has been sold for the amount as follows. This includes the sale of other poisonous drugs too:—
The above statement is exclusive of the monopoly given by the Sarfkhas, Paigha, and Jagirs, for which no statistics are available. The Government revenue from the custom duties on the import and export of ganja and bhang for the last five years has been as follows:—
The sale of the drugs in the towns visited by me for the purpose is ascertained thus: —
For further details vide my answer to the printed question forwarded on the 12th of November 1893.
M. HOSSAIN, Director of Agriculture and Commerce, Nizam's Dominions
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