The Indigo Revolt occurred in Bengal in 1859. Indigo was an important industry in the region and was largely cultivated according to the system of ryoti. This was an exploitative system in which the planters, who tended to be European, advanced Indian peasants money to grow indigo for them. The method of accounting often left the peasants in debt to the planters. Impoverished by this system, the peasants rebelled in 1859 by targeting Indigo factories and planters. This uprising led to the creation of the Indigo Commission which investigated the system, decided it was oppressive, and proposed reforms. 

Haimabati Sen does not directly reference the Indigo Revolt which took place several years before her birth. However, she does recount how her ancestor Sibnath “fought a fierce war with the indigo planter Mr. Rainy that resulted in many deaths and cost a great deal in resources. Stories were told about how Rainy’s indigo factory was destroyed and thrown into the waters of the River Bhairav as many as twenty-one times.” (4) While probably a little earlier than the Indigo Revolt and seemingly not driven by the peasant class, this “war” shows how persistently unpopular both the indigo industry and European control over it were in Bengal around the time of Sen’s birth. 

“Indigo Revolt in Bengal.” INDIAN CULTURE, indianculture.gov.in/stories/indigo-revolt-bengal.