Indigo and Opium

Image source: indigo and opium Opium is a narcotic drug obtained from the Poppy Plant ( Papaver somniferum ) . A plant of the family papaveraceae . Basically  when flowers are bears and the petals of these flowers fall,  then the  seed pods of the flowers are collected. These seed pods release a milky latex  which coagulates and its color changes into the brown mass after exposure with air. These coagulate brown mass then ground into a powder. This  powder is then sold by making cake, lumps and bricks forms and further it is again treated to make derivatives of these like morphine, codeine and heroin.   Opium is known for its pain relieving and tranquilizing properties but because of its effects on the nervous system, it is abused. It is very addictive and makes the user dependent on the drug.  

Image source: history of opium During the early 18th century, the Portuguese discovered that selling opium to China by importing it from India was very profitable. By the end of the century, the British also got into this business. The main reason was their chronic trade imbalance with China. There was a huge demand for Chinese products in Western countries but Britishers had to pay in silver and gold. With opium trade, Chinese opium addicts created a steady demand which filled the British treasury with silver and gold which was then used by Britishers to balance their trade. The British, by virtue of their East India Company, made it illegal for farmers to cultivate opium without a license from the company. This led to cultivation on private lands and even by government owned farms. India is one of the first countries in the world where cultivating and selling opium was legal as well as being one of the major producers of raw opium. The British had always found it profitable selling ...

Image Source: opium war In 1799, Kia King, a Chinese emperor banned opium completely so the Britishers did not trade opium themselves but gave it to private traders who then smuggled it into China.  Opium addiction caused a major social and economic disaster in China making it a serious issue to tackle. The Qing Dynasty took it seriously and this led to the two opium wars. The first opium war was between China and Britain from 1839 to 42 and the second opium war was between China and Britain, France from 1856 to 1860. China lost both the wars giving trade rights and commercial privileges to Britain. 

  Image source:  Opium India is the world's largest consumer of opium. Opium farming in India is a major problem, due to opiates being illegal in many countries. The cultivation of poppy plants for the illegal drug trade has increased immensely in recent years. The Indian government has tried to eradicate the problem by launching various projects, but it does not seem that these are working. India is the second largest producer of opium globally. There are approximately 370,000 acres of land under poppy cultivation in India today and opium production produces about 80% of the heroin sold around the world.  The opium market in India is an issue that has been on the rise for the past few decades. The opium trade has been so lucrative for drug cartels, it has even surpassed the drug trade of methamphetamine. There are many contributors to the present-day opium situation in India. The government is not immune to these issues either - instead, they are complicit in this proble...

Image source : Indigo Indigo is a natural  ‘ Dye’ . The word indigo is derived from the Latin Indicum and the Greek Indicon meaning ‘ Blue Dye’ from India. It is obtained from the plant “ Indigofera tinctoria” , the species of plant bean family which is the original source of the indigo dye. It is found in the tropical and moderate temperature of  Asia and as well as the African continent. The indigo dye is a brilliant and eye-catching blue color to fabric At the beginning Indigo was used for coloring the wool. It has been cultivated worldwide for centuries. In modern India mostly the synthetic dyes are used for coloring but  Indigofera tinctoria is the natural dye which. In Malaysia it is called nila, tarum in Indonesia and basma in Iran and Soviet Union countries. The naturally occurring Indigo is a shrub. It grows unto height one to two meter height. It is basically an annual, biennial and perennial plant depending on the climate. It has light green leaves and a vi...

The word indigo is derived from the Latin Indicum and the Greek Indikon meaning 'blue dye from India'.5000-6000 years ago ancient time the indio was extracted from plants and popularly known as blue dye. It reached Europe from the Indus valley and the other parts of India from Portuguese and other Europeans so it is named “Opium". It was commercially encouraged and traded by the British, firstly by the cultivation of indigo plant and production of the dye in South Carolina, USA in the mid 18th century, which was then a British colony. Indigo was most probably  exported from India. However, this stopped after the British colonies in the USA gained their freedom after the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). It was then that the British East India Company (BEIC) started its production in Bengal and part of the current Bihar states of India and continued it until the second decade of the 20th century. “The managers of BEIC forced the farmers to grow indigo in place of fo...

Image source:  Contribution Here's the work distribution 1. Indigo by: Nishant 2. Opium by: Mansvini & Kalyani Pawar