What are canal colonies and why were they built?

The Punjab Canal Colonies or Canal Colonies are the parts of western Punjab that were brought under cultivation by the construction of canals during the British Raj. It is a set of 9 canal colonies. They were built between 1885 and 1940 by the British Government. They were constructed between the valleys east of Beas and Sutlej and west of Jhelum rivers( the above-mentioned rivers are tributaries to the Indus River). With the construction of these canals, the land under agriculture increased rapidly. With the huge increase in agricultural land, people started migrating to these places which lead to the start of the agricultural revolution. The traditionally grown crops were replaced with commercialized products like sugar, wheat, cotton, etc. The main reason to build these canal colonies was to convert the semi-desert wasteland into fertile agricultural land to grow commercially viable crops like wheat, cotton, and sugar to export.

Canal Colonies

Canal Colonies 

Canals were established in Western regions of Punjab for irrigation of vast chunks of semi-arid lands and were made of fertile soils for the exportation of wheat and rice. Many peasants came to settle around the newly fertile lands and the colony of the area around the canal came to be known. After the process of irrigation by modern canals, semi-waste areas of Punjab started to be known as canal colonies, for growing wheat and cotton.

The canal colonies were a network of irrigation canals that were developed in British India for turning semi-desert waste into fertile lands for agriculture. Canal colonies were settled by peasants of other colonies as well.

Types of Canal Colonies in Punjab

There were a total of nine colonies built by the British government:

Sidhnai Colony

It was the first colony built by the British. It was built between 1886 and 1888. This project brought 176,702 acres of land under cultivation. The minimum size of grants was 50 acres, and the settlers were required to grow only Rabi crops. The First Settlers in this area were the Sikh Jatts from Amritsar as the British officials felt that central Panjabis were the most skilled and efficient agriculturists in the region.

Sohag Para Colony

It was started at the same time as the sidhna colony but the only difference was that sohag Para was much smaller in size. This canal was seasonal in nature so the investment required was very high. Only 35 percent of the land was cultivated by the owners the remaining was rented to sub-tenents. The largest number of grants went to people from the districts of Lahore and Amritsar.

Chunian Colony

It was situated in the southern part of Lahore. The construction of this canal began in 1896. This land was auctioned by the government rather than assigning them as grants. Due to this rich landlords bought most of the land and rented them to subtenants. The last stage of this project was allocated only to the peasants. Most of the peasants were from Lahore.  

Chenab Colony

This was the largest colonization project in Punjab. It began in 1892. This project covered the entire districts of Lyallpur, Jhang, etc. This area was mostly barns. The land of this project was divided into categories. In Peasant Grants, in this, the government-owned the lands, and the peasants were just the Tenants. The remaining two were Yeoman and Capitalist grants, in this, they were allowed to own the land after a 5-year term. 80 percent of the total land was granted to the peasants.  

Jhelum Colony

This colony was settled between 1902 to 1906. This colony was constructed in the Shahpur district. Initially, the aim of this colony was the same as the others, to increase the population and agricultural land but after considering the reports of the Horse and Mule Breeding Commission of 1900 it was instructed to the Punjab government that breading of animals will be added as a condition to granting the lands to the peasants. Skilled horse breeders were given more priority over farmers. The majority of the peasants hailed from Gujarat.

Lower Bari Doab Colony

This colony was constructed between the Beas and Ravi rivers. Colonization began in 1914 but lasted over a decade due to the ongoing world war. The main purpose of this colony was the same as the Jhelum colony, to promote horse breeding. One more important feature of the colony was to provide land to the military personnel. This colony was the first time when the land was granted to landless men of lower castes. Due to the ongoing war, the government increased the share of Military personnel as an incentive.

Upper Chenab and Upper Jhelum Colony

Both these colonies were started at the same time as the lower bari Doab colony. These colonies were smaller in size when compared to the remaining colonies. They were constructed to the north of the Chenab and Jhelum rivers. The main purpose of these canals was to transport water from Chenab and Jhelum river to the Ravi River for the irrigation of the lower Bari Dobi Colony. More preference was given to those people who had missed out on the opportunity in the previous canals due to the horse breeding policy.   

Nili Bar Colony

This was the last colony built under the British Government. Colonization of this project began in 1926 but was never completed. In this colony, there was no reserved place for horse breeders like in the last three canals. The land was reserved for  Military personnel. Only those peasants were selected who have not received any land in the previous colonies. When the government was unable to sell the land in the auction it decided to give out temporary leases.

Related Links

1. Irrigation
2. Rahat irrigation system
3. Dhekli Irrigation system

FAQs on Canal Colonies of Punjab

Q 1. What are the canal colonies?

Answer-

The Punjab Canal Colonies or Canal Colonies are the parts of the western Punjab that were brought under cultivation by the construction of canals during the British Raj. It is a set of 9 canal colonies. They were built between 1885 and 1940 by the British Government. They were constructed between the valleys east of Beas and Sutlej and west of Jhelum rivers( the above-mentioned rivers are tributaries to the Indus river). 

Q 2. Why were Canal Colonies constructed?

Answer-

The main reason to build these canal colonies was to convert the semi-desert wasteland into fertile agricultural land to grow commercially viable crops like wheat, cotton, and sugar to export. With the huge increase in agricultural land, people started migrating to these places which lead to the start of the agricultural revolution. The traditionally grown crops were replaced with commercialized products like sugar, wheat, cotton, etc. 

Q 3. In which colony was the Horse breeding policy introduced and why?

Answer-

Lower Bari Doba colony was settled between 1902 to 1906. This colony was constructed in the Shahpur district. Initially, the aim of this colony was the same as the others, to increase the population and agricultural land but after considering the reports of the Horse and Mule breeding Commission of 1900 it was instructed to the Punjab government that breading of animals will be added as a condition to granting the lands to the peasants. Skilled horse breeders were given more priority over farmers. The majority of the peasants hailed from Gujarat.