(i) In the rural areas of Bengal and Bihar, there were large number of poor
peasants. They were very given advance money to produce opium by
their village headmen.
(ii) When offered loan, the cultivators were tempted to accept it, hoping to
meet their immediate need and pay back the loan later’.
(iii) But the loan tied the peasant to the headman and through him to the
government.
(iv) The government opium agents were advancing money to headmen,
who in turn gave it to the cultivator.
(v) By taking the loan, the cultivator was forced to grow opium on a specific
area of land and hand over the produce to the agents.
(vi) He had no choice of planting the field with the crop of his choice or
selling his produce to anyone else but the government agent. And he
had to accept the low price offered for the produce.