Peasant Movements in British India
Peasant movements, from the Indigo Revolt (1859 to 1860) to Bardoli (1928) and Telangana (1946 to 1951), showed anger against landlords, moneylenders and planters.
Before 1900
| Movement | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Indigo Revolt | 1859 to 1860 | Bengal (Nadia). Peasants refused to grow indigo on the planters' terms (forced cultivation on small cash advances). Leaders: Digambar Biswas and Bishnucharan Biswas. Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Nil Darpan (1860). Harish Chandra Mukherjee's Hindu Patriot supported them. The Indigo Commission (1860) was set up. |
| Pabna Agrarian Leagues | 1873 to 1876 | East Bengal. Peasants against zamindars' rent hikes. Leaders: Ishan Chandra Roy, Shambhu Pal, Khoodi Mollah. Largely non-violent, legal methods. |
| Deccan Riots | 1875 | Poona and Ahmednagar. Peasants against moneylenders. Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act (1879). |
| Moplah rebellions | 1836 to 1921 | Malabar, Kerala. Mappila tenants against Hindu landlords (jenmis) and the British. The 1921 revolt was linked to Khilafat. |
20th century
| Movement | Year | Leader and details |
|---|---|---|
| Champaran Satyagraha | 1917 | Bihar. Rajkumar Shukla invited Gandhi. Gandhi's first satyagraha in India, against the tinkathia system. The Champaran Agrarian Act (1918). |
| Kheda Satyagraha | 1918 | Gujarat. Peasants refused revenue after crop failure. Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel, Indulal Yagnik. |
| Eka Movement | 1921 to 1922 | Awadh. Madari Pasi. Against high rents. |
| Bardoli Satyagraha | 1928 | Gujarat. Vallabhbhai Patel, against a 22 per cent rise in revenue. After the movement the Broomfield-Maxwell Committee cut the rise (to about 6 per cent). Patel got the title "Sardar". |
| Kisan Sabha | 1918 onwards | UP Kisan Sabha (1918); Awadh Kisan Sabha (1920); All India Kisan Sabha (April 1936, Lucknow) with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati as president and N.G. Ranga as secretary. |
| Tebhaga Movement | 1946 to 1947 | Bengal. Sharecroppers demanded two-thirds of the crop. |
| Telangana Movement | 1946 to 1951 | Hyderabad State. Against the Nizam's feudal landlords (jagirdars, deshmukhs). Led by the Communists. |
| Punnapra-Vayalar | 1946 | Travancore. |
| Warli revolt | 1945 to 1947 | Thane. Godavari Parulekar. |
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Prepared for exam revision from standard sources such as NCERT, Bipan Chandra, Spectrum and official records. Historians differ on some dates, figures and interpretations, so check your exam syllabus and a standard textbook. Found a mistake? Tell us.