A city of traders

History

Bangalore has always been a city of traders and is known for its many markets or petes, including ‘akki pete’, ‘chikka pete’, ‘dodda pete’, etc. The Cantonment area is known for its many streets such as Bamboo Street, Pottery Street and Bamboo Street, writes S Srinivas.

Bangalore has always been a commercial town as the city founder Kempe Gowda I and his son Kempe Gowda II had invited traders and artisans to settle in Bangalore and allotted space for their trading activities.

The result was the numerous pete or markets dotting the City like akki pete (rice market), chikka pete (small market), dodda pete (big market), bale pete (bangle market), maamul pete, nagarath pete, taragu pete, uppara pete (salt market), ganigara pete (oil market), kumbhara pete (pot market), arale pete (textile market), etc.

That Bangalore was a flourishing commercial town during the 17th century is stated in a Marathi work ‘Shivabharath’ wherein the author says that the streets of the town were full of shops selling highly valuable merchandise.

Francis Buchanan who visited Bangalore around 1800, mentions that Bangalore was a prosperous commercial town under Hyder Ali. Betel nut, black pepper, sandalwood, blankets, yarn, drug and salt were major items of trade in Bangalore. He also mentions the existence of other industries like tanning, oil pressing and manufacture of gunny.

With the establishment of the rule of Wodeyars, trade picked its pace in Bangalore and professional moneylenders including the Marwadis, Gujarathis, Jains and the Multani bankers from the North and the Chettiyars and others from Tamil Nadu migrated to Bangalore due to its growing commercial and industrial importance.

In the Bangalore Cantonment region too, traders had their exclusive street like Pottery Street for Potters, Bamboo Street for Basket makers and Tannery Street for tanners.

W S Caine in his book, ‘Picturesque India’, published in 1891, writes that the “Bangalore pete has handsome houses of prosperous merchants”. He says that most of the leading handicrafts of a large Indian city are seen in Bangalore’s bazaars and cotton cloths, gold and silver lace, jewelries’ and leather are sold in Doddapete. “The Bangalore jail is noted for its manufacture of carpets mostly of Persian and Turkish design”, he adds.

Men of affluence

Lewin Bowring who was the Chief Commissioner of Mysore in between 1862-1870 in his book, ‘Eastern Experiences’ writes that the leading merchants of Bangalore were men of substance and bear the honourable appellation of Shetti which entitles them to wear a gold signet ring and to be accompanied in procession by smaller City functionaries.

They trade largely in grains, exporting millets and pulses and importing rice. The city of Bangalore before 1862 comprised 54 wards under the control of these Shettis and Yajamans who were headmen of their respective castes and whose office was hereditary.

The government of the Mysore Maharaja having respect to their office had exempted them from payment of house and shop tax, the privileged which these Shettis enjoyed till 1867.

With the establishment of a municipal board in Bangalore during Bowring’s Commissionership, this privilege was withdrawn.

The main source of revenue to the Bangalore City Municipal Council was from the merchants of the City who paid taxes in the form of octroi, mohatarfa tax, loom tax, license fee and market fee. Octroi was initially levied on betel nuts, betel leaves and tobacco. Later, in 1900, it was levied on timber, tiles, horse gram, oats, bran sugar and chaff.

The mohatarfa tax was levied on shops where piece goods were sold and four different rates were levied on the basis of the shop being considered class I, class II, class III and class IV.

Loom tax was paid by weavers and as it was considered as a burden on the weavers and discouraged local industries, it was abolished in 1896. With regard to license fee, it was compulsory for carrying out business like selling betel leaves, tobacco, firewood, candle manufacturing, etc. Market fee was the rents paid by shopkeepers who had their shops in markets maintained by the municipality like K R Market and Russell Market. 

Public spirited men

When the Municipal Board was established in Bangalore pete in 1862, most of the nominated members to it were merchants. Karnataka Prakasika, an Anglo-Kannada newspaper in its issue dated 5-3-1877, writes the municipal councilors are all merchants always passive and found of securing the pleasure of the sahib even at the sacrifice of their duties.

With such men no improvement could be made and they should be replaced by intelligent and educated men.” From 1920 till 1938 the post of the President of Bangalore City Municipal Council was monopolised by merchants.