BARO KUTHI

While this old industrial building in the Dutch era has little interest, it has witnessed an important part of the history of the region. The Dutch, then the British, were supplied in indigo in the Rajshahi region. In 1800, there were no fewer than 150 indigo workshops in the district and the zamindars enjoyed their hands. But the peasants who were pushing the plant rejoiced much less, because the culture of indigo was little profitable. From 1850 onwards, they were gradually moving towards more profitable jute and jute cultivation. The zamindars turned back against the villagers, committing themselves against unspeakable crimes and atrocities. Most of these atrocities took place behind the high walls of the kuthis, the indigo production workshops. For peasants, they remained either to grow the indigo and die of hunger or to resist the owner of their land and risk being killed. Between death sure and probable death, they chose to rebel. The Indigo Uprising lasted two years and ended in 1861 by decree of the government; it ended the obligation to plant indigo. The peasants then turned to other crops, so that indigo production had almost disappeared from the country at the beginning of the th century.