DHAKA: In a rewarding reversal of history, marked by a sordid chapter in British colonial rule in India, farmers in Bangladesh have resumed the cultivation of indigo — the source of the famous blue dye.

The so-called ‘Blue Revolution’ is taking place some 150 years after the historic ‘Blue Mutiny’ by the indigo farmers of the then undivided Bengal (now Bangladesh and the province of West Bengal in India) against forced farming.

Ironically, the indigo revival is being funded by Westerners — the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an American nongovernmental organisation which says its project is aimed at “amending a tainted past”.

Bengal Indigo was a leading feature of Indian exports in the mid-1800s, fuelled by European craze for the blue dye, often associated with royalty. However, British traders enforced a range of extremely repressive measures — including torture, rape, murder and arson - in a bid to force farmers to stop growing rice, the local staple, and cultivate indigo instead.

On top of it, farmers were forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices. The result was a serious anti-British rebellion — the so-called ‘Blue Mutiny’ — that flared on the farms of Bengal from 1858 to 1860. A contemporaneous Bengali play called Neel Durpan (The Blue Mirror), powerfully depicted the British cruelty, creating a storm in India and outrage in Europe — it was translated into English by a British humanist, Rev. James Long, who was appalled by what he saw.

With Bengal farmers refusing to plant indigo any more, and fresh supplies opening up in the Americas, the British viceroy in India, Lord Canning, banned indigo cultivation in 1860. Just seven years later indigo was chemically synthesized and produced cheaply in Europe, leading to the plant’s demise in Bengal.

More than a century later, the Bangladesh government, noticing the increasing global interest in natural dyes, began researching the abandoned and derelict ‘Neel Kuthis’ (indigo extraction centres) in different parts of the country. These also doubled up as administrative buildings and living quarters for British traders who would supervise the indigo farming — and enforce their terrible project.

The research results were put to practice under a pilot programme to cultivate indigo on a single acre (0.4 hectares) of land in Dhaka in 1983. It turned out to be a success, sparking further projects involving hill tribes from Madhupur in Tangail district in central Bangladesh. Commercial production and marketing began at the start of 2001.

That year farmers produced 125 kilograms of indigo over five hectares of land. Their target this year is to produce 500 kg of the plant on 12 hectares of land.

“Actually it’s a demand-driven venture,” says Iqbal Hussain of the MCC, who is in charge of indigo cultivation at Madhupur.

Hussain says indigo-dyed products are exported to Italy, America and — once again — Britain. Under the scheme, framers are supplied seeds — procured from India — along with support and advice. After the harvest, project authorities buy indigo leaves to prepare the dye. “We pay the farmers Taka 6,000 per ‘bigha’ [0.13 hectares] of land, which is nearly double the amount they used to get for farming other crops,” said Iqbal.

Indigo experts say the synthetic dye that saw off the 19th century Bengal plantations is harmful to the environment as it is made from crude oil and chemicals. Synthetic dyes are also associated with various skin diseases.

The indigo production method is quite simple - and the modern ways are uncannily similar to the ones used by farmers more than a century ago. The indigo is planted after the first rains in March and is ready for harvesting when tiny pink-red flowers start to grow after about four months. Harvesting begins in August and roots are left for a second cutting after two months. The plants are left to ferment in water tanks for 16-24 hours. The yellow-green water when exposed to air turns blue - indigo. This is then dried.

Researching the forgotten art was not easy. “All our queries about reviving indigo in Bangladesh were at first greeted with alarm and trepidation,” says Ruby Ghuznavi, founder of Aranya, a local NGO which is also involved in the project.

Now policymakers hope farmers will hit the indigo jackpot for their own benefit. One such farmer, Mujibur Rahman of Muktagachha town, knew about indigo only from books and ballads extolling the Blue Mutiny and handed down from generation to generation. Now he finds the experience of cultivating indigo exciting. “We will continue the cultivation, we only need continuation of the necessary support,” he says. As for the Neel Kuthis, the plantation houses that once struck fear in farmers’ hearts, MCC’s Hussain says they are too old to be used for the project. But, he adds, given a facelift and a sweep of the brush, they could be turned into tourist attractions — and generate more local income.—Dawn/Gemini Feature Services