Question

How did peasant movements evolve from pre-colonial days to post-colonial times?

Answer 1

• The movements in the period between 1858 and 1914 tended to remain localised, disjointed and confined to particular grievances.
• Well-known are the Bengal revolt of 1859-62 against the indigo plantation system and the ‘Deccan riots’ of 1857 against moneylenders.
• Some of these issues continued into the following period, and under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi became partially linked to the Independence movement. For instance, the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928, Surat District) a ‘non-tax’ campaign as part of the nationwide non-cooperation movement.
• In the 1920s, protest movements against the forest policies of the British government and local rulers arose in certain regions.
• Between 1920 and 1940, peasant organisations arose. The first organisation to be founded was the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (1929), and in 1936 the All India Kisan Sabha.
• The peasants organised by the Sabhas demanded freedom from economic exploitation for peasants, workers and all other exploited classes.
• At the time of independence, we had the two most classical cases of peasant movements, namely the Tebhaga movement (1946-47) and the Telangana movement (1946-51). The first was a struggle of sharecroppers in Bengal in North Bihar for two-thirds share of their produce instead of the customary half.
• New farmer’s movements began in the 1970s in Punjab and Tamil Nadu.
• These movements were regionally oganised, were non-party, and involved farmers rather than peasants (farmers are said to be market-involved as both commodity producers and purchasers).
• The basic ideology of the movement was strongly anti-state and antiurban. The focus of demand were ‘price and related issues’ (for example, price procurement, remunerative prices, prices for agricultural inputs, taxation, and non-repayment of loans).
• Novel methods of agitation were used: blocking of roads and railways, refusing politicians’, and so on.