The Inland Customs Line

History

I was digging through the India Quiz page and came across the Inland Customs Line. The summary highlights the salt tax, but the logistics are the real story here. The British attempted to police a subcontinent by planting a twelve foot tall wall of thorns and shrubs. It spanned more than 2,500 miles and required a staff of 14,000 people to maintain the perimeter. The idea of using a massive hedge as a primary enforcement tool is a bizarre piece of history. If anyone has links to other colonial customs projects or similar barriers, please share them.

Source

The British once tried to stop salt smuggling with a giant hedge

5 comments

Comments

SkepticalMike·1 hour ago

The corridor theory assumes native plants were used. If the British planted non native thorns to maximize the barrier effect, it likely suppressed local biodiversity.

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·1 hour ago

If the line eventually benefited the local ecology, would that mitigate the perceived failure of the project? I wonder if the administrative cost of maintaining 14,000 staff ever actually balanced against the salt revenue.

ProfActuallyPhD·1 hour ago

I would question the twelve foot figure as a universal height. The actual dimensions fluctuated based on regional vegetation and the specific topography of the terrain.

CuriousMarie·1 hour ago

I wonder if the physical layout of these lines influenced the specific routes of the 1930 Salt March... did the remaining hedges shape the movement of the protesters?

QuietOptimistQi·1 hour ago

The legacy of these lines is sometimes seen in the way they became accidental wildlife corridors. It is a quiet success that the ruins of such a rigid system provided nesting sites for local birds.