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YouTube2Text → Transcripts → 150 साल पहले भारत में ऐसी ज़िंदगी थी, देखकर यकीन नहीं होगा! | Life in India 1876 😱

150 साल पहले भारत में ऐसी ज़िंदगी थी, देखकर यकीन नहीं होगा! | Life in India 1876 😱 — Transcript

by 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗮𝘀 · 3,040 words · 443 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00It is 4:00 AM. The year is 1876. A
0:04small village in North India. It is
0:06pitch dark all around because no one
0:08here has even heard of electricity. A
0:11lamp flickers inside a mud house. The
0:13faint scent of mustard oil spreads. The
0:16woman of the house wakes up and starts
0:18the flour mill first. The sound of the
0:20mill echoes through the courtyard. The
0:23flour for today will be ground now,
0:24only then will the bread be made.
0:26Outside, there is already a crowd of
0:28women at the well. They have earthen
0:30pots placed on their heads. There are
0:32no taps or tanks. Water for the whole
0:34day has to be carried from here.
0:36Meanwhile, men have unhitched the oxen
0:38and left for the fields. No one has a
0:41watch. Time is told by looking at the
0:44sun. The village blacksmith is fixing a
0:46slightly broken part. But he will not
0:48take money in return. He will get a
0:50share of the grain when the harvest is
0:52done. The potter, carpenter, barber—
0:55everyone works like this. Coins are
0:58rarely seen in this village. In one
1:00courtyard, talks of a wedding are
1:02underway. You would be shocked to know
1:04the bride's age. In many homes, girls
1:07were engaged at the age of 3-4 and by
1:09the age of 10-12, they would leave for
1:12their in-laws. Now, wait a moment. This
1:15is not a village from a story. This is
1:18the real India from exactly 150 years
1:21ago. The same India where your
1:23great-great-grandfather lived. At that
1:25time, there were about 240 million
1:26people in the country. Nine out of
1:28every ten people lived in villages.
1:30Most people had never seen a train in
1:32their lives. Travel was done on foot.
1:35By bullock cart or in a palanquin. Most
1:38children never went to school, and for
1:41girls, education was almost a dream.
1:43When sick, there were no hospitals or
1:45doctors. Treatment was provided by a
1:48traditional healer, physician, or
1:49village midwife. So imagine, if you
1:52were born in 1876, what would your life
1:55be like? What would you eat in the
1:58morning, what would you wear, how much
2:00would you earn in a day, in what light
2:02would you sleep at night, and how long
2:04would you live? In today's documentary,
2:07we will take a tour of that very India.
2:10From the farmer's hut to the king's
2:12palace, from the village alleys to the
2:14British officer's mansion, every place
2:17is a different world, and in every
2:19world, there is a secret that no one
2:21has ever told you until now. So set
2:25your clocks 150 years back, and let's
2:28start the video. Seen from afar, this
2:36village of 1876 feels like a world in
2:39itself, completely cut off from the
2:41hustle and bustle of the outside. In
2:43that shimmering morning light,
2:45everything here feels so calm and
2:48peaceful. But wait, this peace is just
2:50a deception. As the sun climbs higher
2:53in the sky and the scorching midday sun
2:55beats down on the village. The true and
2:57terrifying reality of this era begins
2:59to emerge. The farmer in the field,
3:01watering the land with his sweat, isn't
3:03actually the owner of that land. He is
3:06living like a bonded laborer on his own
3:08farm. On his shoulders lie three
3:10massive and heavy burdens: the landlord
3:12, the moneylender, and the British
3:14government. If you were a farmer in
3:16Bengal, Bihar, or Odisha at that time,
3:18you would be a slave to the Zamindari
3:21system. The British made the landlords
3:23the owners of the land and implemented
3:25a cruel rule. The Sunset Law. If the
3:28landlord didn't pay taxes to the
3:30British by sunset on the fixed day, his
3:33land was auctioned off. To save their
3:35land, landlords collected taxes from
3:37farmers with great severity. If you
3:40were towards Madras or Bombay, there
3:42was the Ryotwari system. Meaning the
3:44farmer paid taxes directly to the
3:46British government. If the farmer
3:48couldn't pay the tax on time, his land
3:51could be seized. There was no landlord
3:53in between here. The white government
3:55collected taxes directly from you. But
3:57this tax was so terrifying that even if
3:59there was no rain, hailstorms occurred,
4:01or pests destroyed the crop, you still
4:03had to pay every single penny. The
4:05British collector didn't care if your
4:07children were sleeping hungry. He only
4:10wanted his revenue to send to London.
4:13Just imagine, if you were in that
4:15village 150 years ago and couldn't pay
4:17your taxes, what would happen to you?
4:20British soldiers would break down your
4:22door and barge into your home. Your
4:25small stash of seeds hidden in an
4:28earthen pot in the corner, your pair of
4:31bullocks, and even any small silver
4:34jewelry your wife wore would all be
4:36confiscated. You would be tied to a
4:40tree in front of the whole village and
4:42whipped. Your ancestral land would be
4:44auctioned off, and your dignity would
4:46be dragged through the mud in an
4:48instant. To save his family from this
4:50humiliation and terror, a poor farmer
4:53of that era had only one path left. He
4:56would take off his turban and lay his
4:58self-respect at the feet of the
5:00village's most dangerous man. The
5:02village moneylender; in fact, the
5:04British had devised a very cunning
5:06conspiracy. They wanted taxes not in
5:08the form of grain or crops, but in cash
5:11coins, i.e., silver rupees. Back in
5:14that village of 1876, where people
5:17still traded grain to get by. Where
5:20would a poor farmer get hold of cash
5:22coins? The moneylender took advantage
5:24of this helplessness. The moneylender
5:26spun a web from which no farmer could
5:29escape alive. He would give loans, but
5:31the interest rates were terrifying.
5:34From 24%to 38%, our average farmer 150
5:38years ago was illiterate. He did not
5:41know how to read or write. He only knew
5:43how to press his inked thumb onto paper
5:46. The moneylender would get the
5:48helpless farmer to thumbprint a blank
5:50paper or his red ledger. Once that
5:52thumbprint was there, who knew what was
5:54being written in that book? How much
5:56debt was mounting and how much interest
5:58was adding up? Besides God, only that
6:00moneylender knew. What was a farmer's
6:03life like after taking a loan? Just try
6:05to imagine it. You toil day and night
6:07in the soil, sweating in your field.
6:10But as soon as the crop was ripe, the
6:12moneylender's bullock cart would park
6:14at your field. He would load up all
6:17your best harvest, like wheat or cotton
6:19, and take it away. For you and your
6:22hungry children, there remained only
6:24coarse grains like millet or sorghum,
6:26or often just dry rotis and salt. You
6:29worked until your body broke in the
6:31fields, yet you didn't have decent
6:33clothes to wear. Shoes or sandals were
6:36completely out of the question. An
6:37average Indian man would spend many
6:40years wearing just a single cotton
6:42dhoti. If that dhoti tore, it was
6:44patched up and worn again. In India 150
6:48years ago, a very painful saying had
6:50become true. An Indian farmer is born
6:54in debt. He lives in debt and dies in
6:57debt. If a father took a loan from a
7:00moneylender to pay British taxes or his
7:03daughter's wedding, his son paid it off
7:06after he died. After the son, the
7:08grandson would pay it off. Generations
7:10would pass. British Viceroys would
7:12change. But the moneylender’s red
7:14ledger would never close. You remained
7:17a slave and a bonded laborer on your
7:19own land. But amidst the back-breaking
7:22labor in the fields and the stress of
7:24debt, the farmer or laborer would
7:26return home. As evening fell, a strange
7:29silence would cover the village. There
7:32were no streetlights or bulbs. In the
7:34name of light, there was only the help
7:36of fire. The door to that house wasn't
7:39made of iron or heavy wood, but was a
7:41hut woven from bamboo and thatch. As
7:44you enter the house, you don't see any
7:46sofas, TVs, or beds. In 1876, the
7:49entire material wealth of an average
7:52family was often limited to just one or
7:54two cots. The same cot served as a seat
7:57for guests during the day and a bed for
7:59the elders at night. The rest of the
8:02family slept on the cold, mud-plastered
8:04floor on dried grass or tattered rugs.
8:08A sound of coughing comes from a corner
8:10of the house. This is the kitchen,
8:12where there are no gas cylinders. Dried
8:14cow dung cakes and firewood are burning
8:16in a clay stove. The thick smoke rising
8:19from the stove spreads throughout the
8:21house, leaving the women’s eyes red.
8:24If you think that 150 years ago people
8:27ate pure, fancy meals every day, that
8:30is a huge misconception. In 1876, wheat
8:33and fine rice were food for the rich or
8:36for special festivals. The plate of an
8:39average Indian featured heavy rotis
8:41made of coarse grains like sorghum,
8:43pearl millet, maize, or kodo. To go
8:45with these, there were no royal curries
8:48, just raw onions, garlic, spicy chili
8:50chutney, or coarse rock salt. Milk and
8:53buttermilk were definitely available in
8:54the village. But often, they were sold
8:57in the market out of necessity to meet
8:59other household needs. However, amidst
9:03this simple life, there were societal
9:05rules that would surprise you. Look at
9:08that 10 to 12-year-old girl playing in
9:10the courtyard. In today’s world, this
9:13is the age for studying in the sixth
9:15grade and playing around. But 150 years
9:17ago, this child already had vermilion
9:20applied to her forehead. In many places
9:22, girls 'marriages were arranged at the
9:24age of just 3 to 4 years old. As soon
9:26as they turned 11 or 12, they were sent
9:28off to their in-laws. The lives of
9:30women were confined entirely between
9:32the four walls of the house, the stove,
9:34and the fields. The veil was so strict
9:37that a new bride could never utter a
9:39word before her father-in-law or
9:41brother-in-law. Showing her face was
9:43out of the question, and amidst all
9:46this was a fear that loomed at every
9:48doorstep 24 hours a day. The fear of
9:50sickness and death. In 1876, there was
9:53no paracetamol, antibiotics, or
9:56ultrasound. Diseases that we cure today
10:00with a small pill would wipe out entire
10:03villages 150 years ago. People would
10:06tremble at the very mention of cholera,
10:08malaria, and smallpox. Drinking water
10:11came from the same well or pond where
10:13animals also drank water. This was the
10:16reason why every two or three months,
10:17some epidemic or other would break out
10:19in the village. You would be surprised
10:22to know that back then, the average
10:24human lifespan was barely between 21
10:26and 26 years. The infant mortality rate
10:29was so terrible that a mother would
10:31give birth to an average of six to
10:32seven children. But three or four of
10:35them would succumb to high fever or
10:37diarrhea before even seeing their fifth
10:39birthday. There were no doctors in the
10:42village. In the name of treatment,
10:44there were local healers who checked
10:46pulses, or people relied on exorcisms
10:47and herbs. But were people only
10:51miserable 150 years ago? No, despite
10:54such immense hardships and short
10:56lifespans, people had found their own
10:58ways to be happy. At night, when work
11:01ended, a gathering would be held under
11:03the banyan tree in the center of the
11:05village. Amidst the bubbling of the
11:07hookah, folk tales were narrated.
11:10People listened to stories of the
11:11bravery of Alha-Udal and tales from the
11:13Ramayana, and asked each other riddles.
11:17The village fair, held once a year, was
11:19their biggest mall and cinema hall.
11:22Where children would get happy seeing
11:24clay toys, and women would buy glass
11:27bangles. The wheel of time was turning
11:29very slowly for them. But they had no
11:32idea that a massive catastrophe was
11:35rushing towards them, which would soon
11:37change their entire lives. The summer
11:40of 1876 had arrived. Dust-laden hot
11:43winds were blowing in the sky. Every
11:46day, farmers looked at the sky with
11:48hope, praying that dark clouds might
11:50gather and a few drops of rain would
11:52quench the thirst of this parched land,
11:54but that year, the monsoon never
11:56arrived. In South and West India,
11:58especially Madras, Bombay, the Deccan,
12:01and Mysore, the ground dried into stone
12:03and developed deep cracks everywhere.
12:05Whatever little crop was standing in
12:07the fields, it scorched and turned to
12:09ash in the sun. And friends, if you
12:11want to see in detail how horrific that
12:14famine was, you can also watch my video
12:16where I have explained everything in
12:19detail. Anyway, let's return to that
12:22horrific scene of 1876. Without water
12:25and fodder, the situation deteriorated
12:27so much that the livestock—oxen and
12:28cows—were the first to die, suffering
12:30from hunger and thirst. When such a
12:33terrible crisis strikes, or when
12:34someone is sick at home and needs help,
12:36what do you do today? You pull out your
12:39smartphone and, in a second, call or
12:42message your relatives sitting miles
12:44away. But 150 years ago, in that era of
12:481876, how did a person send a message
12:51to another city or village? At that
12:54time, sending a letter or news for an
12:56ordinary Indian was no less than
12:57fighting a war. If good or bad news had
13:00to be shared in the village, the
13:02village barber or a passing traveler
13:05would walk for weeks on dusty roads to
13:07deliver that message to another village
13:10. Often, it would take so many months
13:12for the news to arrive that everything
13:14would already be over. But the most
13:16hair-raising method was the one used to
13:18send official letters or mail for the
13:21wealthy. Have you ever heard of the'
13:23Harkaras '? It was one of the most
13:26terrifying jobs 150 years ago. In the
13:29deep darkness of the night, when the
13:31world was asleep, a man with a leather
13:33bag strapped to his back would run for
13:35miles through dense forests. In one
13:38hand, he held a torch, and in the other
13:40, a long spear. Special bells were tied
13:42to the top of this spear. When that
13:45Harkara ran, the loud jingling sound of
13:47the bells would echo through the entire
13:49forest. Do you know why? It was not
13:51music. This sound was made so that
13:53tigers, bears, or wild animals along
13:55the way would stay scared and keep
13:56their distance. Despite this, many
13:59times the letter would reach its
14:00destination, but the Harkara would
14:03become prey to a wild animal or
14:04ferocious dacoits on the way. But in
14:07the cities, the British had started
14:08their own separate kind of magic. The
14:10telegraph. Where news for a poor man
14:14traveled in weeks at the pace of
14:16bullock carts and human legs, a British
14:18Viceroy in Kolkata could send a message
14:20to an officer in Bombay in an instant
14:22via electric wires. And when just a
14:26single piece of news took weeks or
14:28months to arrive, just think, if a
14:30person had to travel that long distance
14:32themselves, what would their condition
14:34be? Today, we sit in trains or flights
14:37and cover all of India in a few hours.
14:40But in 1876, the situation was
14:42completely different. In that era, 90%
14:45of India's population never left a 20
14:48to 30 km radius of their village in
14:50their entire life. If one had to travel
14:53far from the village due to a great
14:55compulsion or for a pilgrimage, that
14:57journey was like a nightmare. There
14:59were not even shoes to wear on their
15:01feet. Most people walked barefoot or
15:04wore rough, heavy leather shoes,
15:06traveling for weeks on dusty roads.
15:10Those with some money in their pockets
15:13took the bullock cart, while the rich
15:15or new brides traveled in palanquins
15:17carried for miles by four laborers on
15:19their shoulders. The greatest fear on
15:22this long journey was not wild animals,
15:25but humans. Thugs and dreaded bandits.
15:27On the rugged paths of that time,
15:29robbing travelers and killing them to
15:31bury them in the ground was so common
15:33that people could never muster the
15:35courage to travel alone. To save their
15:38lives, they always walked in groups of
15:4020 to 30 people, singing and playing
15:42music all night long to ease the fear
15:44of death. For centuries, people had
15:47been traveling slowly on foot or in
15:49bullock carts with this same fear. But
15:51then the British introduced a fearsome
15:54iron machine that sliced through
15:55India's forests and fields, spreading
15:57terror across the country. That thing
16:00was the train. Today, trains are a very
16:02common thing for us. But 150 years ago,
16:05when for the first time that massive
16:07black steam engine train passed by a
16:09quiet village, spewing smoke and
16:12blowing a loud whistle, people screamed
16:14in terror. Many simple villagers
16:17mistook it for a fire-breathing iron
16:19monster. Rumors spread that the British
16:23had tied a great demon to iron tracks
16:25that runs by eating fire. When the
16:28train passed, people would lie face
16:30down on the ground in fear. They would
16:32cover their ears, and some would fold
16:34their hands and start worshipping the
16:36engine so that this demon wouldn't
16:38swallow them alive. In 1876, most
16:41Indians had never seen a train up close
16:43, and traveling by it was like going to
16:45the moon because no one could afford a
16:48ticket. These trains were not for
16:51ordinary Indians, but were running
16:53solely for the comfort of the British,
16:54their army, and to transport India's
16:56wealth across the sea. So friends, this
16:59was the story of the real India from
17:02150 years ago. This is not just a page
17:04of history. It is the tale of the blood
17:07, sweat, and tears of your own
17:08great-grandfathers and ancestors. They
17:11endured that horrific hell so that 150
17:13years later, you and I could breathe in
17:16a free, open, and peaceful world. If
17:19the truth of this India from 150 years
17:21ago has touched your heart even a
17:23little, then be sure to share this
17:25video with your friends and family so
17:27they too can know where our roots come
17:29from. Do not forget to subscribe to the
17:32channel because we will continue to
17:33turn such untold pages for you. Until
17:36then, Jai Hind.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of 150 साल पहले भारत में ऐसी ज़िंदगी थी, देखकर यकीन नहीं होगा! | Life in India 1876 😱 by 𝗨𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗮𝘀, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 3,040 words across 443 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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