Peasant & Tribal Movements

British rule introduced far-reaching changes in Indian agrarian structure.
old agrarian system collapsed
New land tenures → land ownerships → land marketable commodity
excessive land revenue, ruthlessly extracted by zamindars.
Absentee landlordism, parasitical intermediaries, and greedy moneylenders deepened peasant poverty.

Droughts and famines became common.
Process of pauperization led to a new category of agricultural proletariat.
Peasants faced with adversities rebelled in many areas.
Grievances were local, mainly against zamindars.

Lacked political consciousness and were largely without anti-British sentiments.
Upcoming sections will cover peasant revolts chronologically.

• Santhals: Peaceful agricultural people in Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Permanent Settlement (1793) by Lord Cornwallis
Snatched Santhal lands, giving them to zamindars.
Landlords had perpetual and hereditary rights over land for fixed revenue to the British.

Santhals lost all rights as their lands were auctioned off.
Faced exploitation by zamindars, moneylenders, and the British.
In June 1855, Santhals rose under Sidhu and Kanhu.
Began the Santhal Hul (movement for liberation).

Aimed to reclaim territory and establish their own government.
Despite bravery, their outdated weaponry was a disadvantage.
After a year, the British suppressed the rebellion, killing around 20,000 Santhals.

Outcomes
Led to some British policy changes.
Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act provided tribes some protection → prohibited the transfer of Adivasi lands (urban or rural land) to non-Adivasis
Regular police abolished; village headmen maintained peace and order.

The 1857 revolt showed no uniform pattern of peasant participation.
In Oudh and western UP, peasants joined local feudal leaders to oppose foreign imperialism.
Peasants momentarily forgot oppression by local zamindars.

Revolt against British planters behaving like feudal lords.
From early 19th century, retired British officials acquired land in Bihar and Bengal to cultivate indigo.
Planters forced cultivators to grow indigo under exploitative terms.
April 1860: Cultivators went on strike, refusing to sow indigo.

Government issued a notification affirming cultivators' right to grow crops of choice.
Bengal planters gradually moved to Bihar and UP.
Din Bandhu Mitra wrote 'Nil Darpan' in 1861 based on the revolt.

Eastern Bengal during the 1870s and 1880s saw peasants oppressed by zamindars.
Zamindars extracted rents beyond legal limits and denied occupancy rights under Act X of 1859.
Peasants faced forcible evictions, seizure of cattle and crops, and costly litigations.
Peasants in Yusufshahi Pargana formed an agrarian league to resist.

Organized rent strikes; refused to pay enhanced rents.
Collected funds for court cases; minimal violence occurred.
Efforts continued until 1885, resulting in favorable court verdicts.
Led to the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885, legalizing tenants' rights.

Deccan region's black soil favored cotton cultivation.
American Civil War (1860s) increased demand for Deccan cotton.
Post-war, cotton prices declined, causing hardship for peasants.
Burdened by increased land revenue and bond frauds by moneylenders.

June 1875: Peasants in Poona and Ahmednagar districts rebelled against moneylenders.
Destroyed houses and bond documents.
Deccan Riots Commission investigated causes.
Agriculturists' Relief Act (1879) passed, protecting peasants from evictions.

Early Congress Party did not espouse peasants' causes; resolutions showed class interests.
Sought to extend Permanent Settlement; restricted over-assessment.
Did not demand tenancy reforms in key provinces.
Mahatma Gandhi's entry changed the scene; aimed to expand the national movement's base.

Led peasant-centric satyagrahas like Champaran and Kheda.
Peasants became part of the national movement.

• Mundas: Tribal group in the Chhotanagpur Plateau, present-day Jharkhand.
• Practiced shifting cultivation; relied on forests and natural resources.
• Traditional land system: Khuntkari system—customary rights over land; no landlords.
• British policies replaced it with Zamindari system in 1874.

Created zamindars (landlords) and ryots (tenants).
Tribals had to pay rent; faced evictions for non-payment.
Exploited by landlords, moneylenders, and officials.
Blamed dikus (outsiders) for their misery.
Sought to remove outsiders and establish independent raj.

In 1895, Birsa Munda emerged as leader, called Dharti Abba (Father of the Earth).
Persuaded followers to stop planting rice; claimed his powers would provide.
Predicted a divine fire would destroy outsiders.
British arrested Birsa to undermine his influence.

• Post-release in 1897, Birsa led a revivalist campaign.
• Demanded autonomous control over land.
• Slogan: 'Sirmare Firun Raja Jai' (Victory to the Ancestral Kings).

Munda Revolt led by Birsa started in 1899.
Used guerrilla warfare tactics against the British.
Attacked police, set property on fire.
British suppressed the rebellion, killing hundreds.

Birsa was captured again; died in jail on 9th June 1900 at age 25.
His death and the trial of 300 Mundas gained national attention.
Led to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (1908), restricting land transfer to non-Adivasis.

Mappilas: Muslim cultivators in South Malabar, Kerala.
Worked as tenants or bonded laborers under Hindu landlords.
Faced high land revenue, insecure tenures, and extra exactions.
Rebelled 22 times between 1836 and 1894.

• 1921 uprising fueled by Khilafat Movement.
• Rebellion turned communal, targeting Hindu landlords.
• Government suppressed it with extreme brutality by end of 1921.

Recognized contradictions in Congress's agrarian policy.
Congress focused on relief from excessive land revenue, indifferent to inter-agrarian relations.
Communist and left parties promoted class consciousness among peasants.
Led to formation of Kisan Sabhas in Bengal, Punjab, UP in the 1920s.
First All India Kisan Sabha formed in 1936.

Moratorium on debts.
Reduction in land revenue and rent.
Licensing of moneylenders.
Minimum wages for agricultural workers.

Abolition of zamindari; land ownership to tillers.
Organized struggles against zamindar exploitation.

In Bihar, Sahajanand Saraswati led the Bakasht Movement (1937-1938).
– Opposed eviction from self-cultivated lands.
– Resulted in the Bihar Tenancy Act and Bakasht Land Tax.

• 1910s: Kisan Sabhas organized in UP; led by Baba Ramchandra.

June 1920: Formation of Awadh Kisan Sabha.
– Urged peasants not to till bedakhli land (evicted land).
– Opposed hari and begar (forms of unpaid labor).

• Movement turned violent and declined.

Late 1921: Eka Movement emerged in northern UP.
– Protested high rents, thikadar oppression, and share rent.
– Peasants vowed to pay only legitimate rent, resist eviction, and refuse forced labor.

• 1937: Congress formed governments in several provinces.
• Peasants hoped for land reforms but faced disappointment.

In Bihar, enacted Restoration of Bakasht Land Act and Bihar Tenancy Act (1938).
– Provided some relief but evictions continued.

Allowed tenants to transfer holdings without landlord consent.
Reduced salami rates (initial payments to landlords).
Kisan leaders wanted Kisan Raj: abolition of zamindari and land distribution.
Congress ministries, often backed by zamindars, couldn't abolish zamindari.
Some legislation led to widespread tenant evictions (e.g., Bengal).

Three significant peasant movements before independence
Tebhaga Movement in Bengal.
Telangana Outbreak in Hyderabad State.
Varlis Revolt in Western India.

Tebhaga Movement
Long struggle of bargardars (sharecroppers) against zamindars and jotedars (rich peasants).
Suhrawardy's government (1946-47) passed Bargardari Bill, offering some tenant relief.

Peasants in Nizam's Hyderabad faced oppression from landlords, moneylenders, traders, and officials.
Launched a movement supported by Praja Mandal and Arya Samaj leaders.
Significant role played by the Communist Party.
Continued until 1951 when communists changed tactics.

On independence, India inherited an antiquated agrarian system needing drastic reforms.
70+ years of history have seen limited fulfillment of these hopes.