VII
AGRICULTURE IN RUINS
India has been the classic land of bumper crops
in the past. If Britain destroyed the Indian industry,
she has equally ruined the vitality and resilience of
our agricultural economy.
Millions and millions of rupees have been wasted
on foreign wars. Nothing, however, has been done to
organise this great national industry on which India's
millions live. If year before the last, millions died of
famine in Bengal, if today there is a prospect of a
terrible famine ahead, it is because of the criminal
neglect of our agricultural economy.
The total area of British India is 1005 million
acres. In 1937-38, out of this total 281 million acres
only were sown with crops. Another 110 million acres
were cultivable waste and 58 million acres were fallow
land.
If we take all India figures 360 million crores were
sown; cultivable waste represent 170 million crores,
and fallow land another 80 million acres.
DECLINING ACREAGE
In British India only a meagre 0,86 acre of land
per head is cultivated. There again is the fact that
per capita acreage is declining. Despite the increase
in the total area cultivated, the rate of increase in po-
pulation has reduced the area of cultivated land per
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