Colonising Plants in Bihar (1760-1950)

About the Book

“This unique study contributes to three important research fields: the history of commodities, the his-tory of the colonial developmental state, and the agrarian history of South Asia. First, it demonstrates the dynamism of cash-crop production systems and how these systems influenced each other. Second, it explores how colonial state policy came to stimulate research-based agronomic interventions, often with unintended consequences. And finally, it shows how cash cropping entangled South Asians and Europeans in new forms of struggle and cooperation. This meticulous and illuminating study deserves a wide readership.” Willem van Schendel, professor of Modern Asian History at the University of Amsterdam.

About the Author

Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff (Ph.D., 1995) was director of research at the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) till 2010. Since 2010 Sinha-Kerkhoff is the South Asia Regional representative for the International Institute of Social History (IISH). Based at Ranchi (India), she has been involved in various research projects and published widely.