29 October 2022

Mains Questions

Q1. Discuss the various types of peasant movements prevalent in India during the British Period.

  Paper & Topic: GS I – Modern Indian History

• The Revolt of 1857, a widespread uprising against the British East India Company, which served as the monarchy of the British Crown, took place in India between 1857 and 1858. On May 10, 1857, sepoys in the Company army staged a mutiny in Meerut, a garrison town 40 miles northeast of Delhi. At that point, the uprising formally began. Later, it sparked more populist upheavals and mutinies, mainly in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, though there were also disturbances in the north and east.

Historical Context of the 1857 Uprising:

• The British launched their initial attempt to seize control of northern India at the Battle of Plassey in 1757.
• The structure and practises of colonial administration after 1757, which significantly impacted British policies toward India, also had an impact on the great “Revolt” of 1857.
• British expansionist strategies, economic exploitation, and administrative innovations had a deleterious impact on everyone throughout time, including Indian state rulers, sepoys, zamindars, peasants, traders, artisans, gurus, maulvis, and others.
• In 1857, the long-simmering animosity finally erupted into a violent storm that shook the British Empire in India to its very foundation.
• Between 1757 and 1857, there were, nonetheless, intermittent outbreaks of tribal movements, peasant uprisings, agrarian riots, political turmoil, and religious and political warfare.

1857 Uprising: Root Causes:

• The social, economic, and political realities of the Indian population’s daily life, which span all classes and sectors, served as the foundation for the 1857 movement, as they did for past uprisings.

Economic Causes:

• The old economic foundation of Indian civilization was destroyed by the colonial practises of the East India Company.
• Peasants were sometimes compelled to abandon their houses for failing to pay debt obligations due to the excessive taxes that pushed them to take out loans from moneylenders/traders at exorbitant interest rates.
• These moneylenders and merchants took over as the new landowners, despite the fact that rural debt and landlessness are still problems in Indian culture.

Partisan viewpoints:

• The East India Company’s avaricious agenda of self-aggrandizement, which also included broken pledges and agreements, led to the creation of policies like “Effective Control,” “Subsidiary Alliance,” and “Doctrine of Lapse,” and they added to the Company’s reputation of being loathed.
• Because of the political honour that was ruined, almost the whole Indian ruling class harboured mistrust.

Administrative Causes:

• The Company’s administration was plagued by a lot of corruption, notably among the police, lower-level officials, and subordinate courts.
• Many historians think that the Company’s rule contributed to the extent of corruption that exists now in India.

Q2. What were the various peasant movements prevalent during the British India Period? Discuss.

Paper & Topic: GS I – Modern Indian History

The peasant movement in modern Indian history:

• In the Bengali village of Govindpur in 1859, the Indigo movement was first established. Bengali farmers wanted to cultivate rice, but Europeans made them produce indigo.
• A peasant campaign was launched in response by Digambar and Vishnu Vishwas of the neighbourhood. Farmers of different faiths participated in this endeavour. In the end, the indigo plant had to be shut down by the authorities. In 1860, the government established the indigo commission and started an inquiry. The Commission’s decision benefited the farmers.
• Deenbandhu Mitra describes this movement in his play Neeladarpan.

Pabana Movement:

• This movement began between 1873 and 1876 as a reaction to the zamindars’ abuse of farmers. As a result, the farmers of Yusufshahi Pargana in the Pabana region founded the “Kisan Sangh” organisation. Ishana Chandra Rai and Keshav Chandra Rai were in charge of this operation.
• Instead of colonialism, the campaign primarily targeted zamindars and moneylenders. Political figures like Bakim Chandra Chatterjee and Dwarikanath Ganguly supported it.

Deccan Revolt:

• Due to the government increasing taxes under the Ryaytwari system and the moneylenders abusing the peasants in Maharashtra’s Poona and Ahmednagar areas, the agricultural revolution spread to the south. Farmers’ discontent increased when the 1864 American Civil War-related tax increases were not repealed even after the war’s end.
• In December 1874, a moneylender by the name of Kaluram was given permission to sell the home despite the farmer’s objections. Baa Baa Sahib Deshmukh Farmers began the movement because of this. Farmers at this time resisted working in Mahajan’s homes, farms, moneylending businesses, or purchasing anything from him.
• To put an end to this insurrection, the “Deccan Farmers Relief Act” protected farmers from moneylenders.

Champaran Satyagraha:

• The Tinkathia system was challenged by the founding of this movement in Champaran, Bihar. By employing this tactic, the British planters were able to reach an agreement with the Champaran farmers that required them to cultivate indigo on 1/30th of the land.
• When synthetic colours were created in the late 19th century, the demand for indigo was greatly reduced. To stop the indigo cultivation, the planters, however, engaged in illegal collecting practises from the farmers.
• The local government invited Gandhi to take part in this campaign. As soon as Gandhiji arrived, the agitation became the talk of the country.
• The opinions of the farmers must be taken into consideration by the government and planters. To quell this movement, the government set up a commission, and the planters consented to give up 25% of the illicit recovery. Gandhi was chosen to be a member of the commission.

Moplah Uprising:

• This peasant insurrection had the landowners as its objective. Because the Mopla farmers were from the Muslim community and the zamindars were from the Hindu community, the colonial rulers made an effort to portray this movement in a communal light.
• The initial aim of this insurrection was to challenge British power. Political figures including Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Shaukat Ali, and Mahatma Gandhi all backed this cause. The main spokesperson for the movement was Ali Musaliyar. The Khilafat and non-cooperation movements coexisted at the same time as this movement.

Kheda Satyagraha

• This campaign began in 1918 in Kheda, Gujarat, when the government carried on tax collection despite agricultural losses. Its founders included Gandhiji and Sardar Ballabhbhai Patel.
• Gandhiji believed that the farmers who are unable to pay their rent shouldn’t be reclaimed, and the farmers who are capable of doing so will gladly pay the full tax. The movement will stop as a result.

Uttar Pradesh protest:

• Home Rule League members worked tirelessly to create the Kisan Sabha, which was created in the state of Uttar Pradesh in February 1918 under the direction of Madan Mohan Malaviya. In the latter weeks of 1919, a planned peasant uprising got underway.
• Jawaharlal Nehru also pledged his moral support for this group of people. In order to increase revenue and collect the revenue as produce, the farmers of Awadh organised a movement known as the “Eka Andolan” in the Uttar Pradesh districts of Hardoi, Bahraich, and Sitapur.

Bardoli Satyagraha:

• Tax hikes were another another element that influenced this transformation. In 1928, it started in Bardoli, Surat.
• Sardar Ballabhbhai Patel achieved national recognition as a result of his efforts. He was able to do this by engaging in a social boycott of the farmers who both paid taxes to the government and refused to pay taxes.

Tebhaga Movement:

• The Tebhaga Movement of Bengal in 1946, when farmers fought to reduce the rate of rent to one-third as per the advice of the “Floud Commission,” was the most significant peasant movement.
• As part of the Bengali “Tebhaga Movement,” two-thirds of the yield was to be handed to the oppressed sharecroppers. Bhavan Singh and Kampram Singh were the movement’s leaders.

Why the Movements of the peasants are crucial:

• Peasant organisations have frequently filled the political void and kept national revolutions moving forward. For instance, the Deccan Revolt, Pabana Movement, and Indigo Movement all filled the political hole left by the Revolt between the Revolt of 1857 and the establishment of the Congress in 1885.
• National leaders like Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, and Mahatma Gandhi gained notoriety and respect as a result of these deeds.
• Additionally, it helped create a climate where agricultural changes were encouraged following independence. As an illustration, consider land settlement practises after independence.
• These anti-colonial movements inspired farmers and other individuals.

Conclusion:

• Farmers regularly defied colonial authority to get what they wanted. But after independence, there was a spike in violence and a political component to the rallies and agitations organised in the name of farmers. The problems facing the farmers will soon be remedied since India now has a government that was chosen by the Indian people and rejects the exploitative colonial practises.