Latest / The Hidden History of Bengal: Kingdoms, Empires, and Revolution — Fexingo History
The Great Hedge of Bengal: The Salt Tax That Built a Wall
In the 1870s, the British Raj built one of the longest structures in human history—not a railroad or a canal, but a living hedge. Stretching over 2,500 miles across northern India, the Inland Customs Line was a dense barrier of prickly pear, thorn bushes, and armed guards, designed to enforce the hated salt tax. This episode follows the hedge from its construction under Lord George Eden to its abandonment in 1879, exploring how Bengal's salt trade was taxed, smuggled, and policed. We meet the customs officers, the smugglers who ran salt across the hedge at night, and the villages that…
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