what methods did the company adopt to expand areas under indigo cultivation

The East India Company adopted coercive methods to expand the area under indigo cultivation. They would prevent peasants from planting food crops and, instead, forced them to grow indigo. They also forced peasants to take loans at high interest rates, thereby pushing the peasants into a debt trap. Once the peasants got so entrapped, they had to continue to grow indigo in order to keep repaying the debt.