Peasant Movements in British India

Now we come to the third pillar of resistance before 1947, namely the Peasant Movements. Earlier, we studied how dethroned rulers led civil rebellions, and how tribals rose in repeated uprisings. But the Indian peasantry — forming the vast majority of the population — too carried out many struggles against colonial oppression.

Let’s understand this:

Peasant Movements: Background

The British agrarian policies systematically pushed peasants into misery. The deterioration of their condition was gradual but deep-rooted.

Causes of Peasant Impoverishment

1. High Revenue Demand
   • In the early phase, peasants were forced to pay land revenue twice as high as Mughal rates.
   • Later, even when rates were reduced, moneylenders, landlords, and intermediaries appropriated most of the peasant’s surplus.
2. Rigid Collection Methods
   • Land revenue had to be paid on time, irrespective of crop failure.
   • If peasants defaulted, their land was auctioned to recover arrears.
3. Loss of Ownership
   • Under the Zamindari system, zamindars were recognised as landowners, depriving actual cultivators of their traditional rights.
4. Overcrowding of Land
   • Collapse of handicrafts due to de-industrialisation pushed ruined artisans into agriculture.
   • Result: land was overcrowded, and productivity per head declined.
5. Growth of Intermediaries
   • Ryots had to maintain a chain of superior landlords (zamindars, taluqdars, etc.), leaving them very little to survive on.
6. Commercialisation of Agriculture
   • Shift from subsistence crops to cash crops (indigo, cotton, jute, opium).
   • Benefited moneylenders and traders, but exposed peasants to market fluctuations and exploitation.
7. Oppression by Moneylenders
   • High-interest loans, often taken to pay revenue, trapped peasants in a permanent debt cycle.
   • Eventually, moneylenders seized their land.

Nature of Peasant Movements

• Most of the time, peasants suffered silently, adjusting to oppression.
• But sometimes, pushed to desperation, they united and revolted.
• Their target was usually the moneylender, who appeared as the immediate exploiter — though in reality, he was part of a larger colonial structure.
• Example: Deccan Riots (1875), where peasants attacked moneylenders directly.

👉 The colonial state often misrepresented these uprisings as “religious” or “caste-based”, to delegitimise their genuine economic demands.

Phases of Peasant Movements

A. Before the Revolt of 1857

1. Narkelberia Uprising (1831) – Led by Titu Mir in Bengal.
2. Pagal Panthi Movement (1825–33) – Tribal–peasant struggle in northern Bengal.
3. Mappila Uprisings (1836–54) – Malabar Muslims rising against landlords and British.
4. Faraizi Movement (1838–57) – Led by Haji Shariatullah and Dudu Miyan in East Bengal, demanding agrarian reforms.

B. After the Revolt of 1857 (Late 19th Century)

1. Indigo Revolt (1859–60, Bengal) – Ryots refused to grow indigo for European planters.
2. Pabna Movement (1873–85, Bengal) – Peasants resisted zamindars’ illegal demands.
3. Deccan Riots (1875, Maharashtra) – Peasants rose against moneylenders.
4. Ramosi Peasant Rebellion (1879–83) – Maharashtra peasants, linked with Ramosi community.
5. Moplah Uprisings (1850–1900, Malabar) – Agrarian discontent mixed with religious grievances.
6. No-Revenue Movement – Protests against oppressive revenue assessments.

C. Peasant Movements in the 20th Century

Now peasant struggles increasingly merged with the national freedom struggle, especially under Gandhi’s leadership.

1. Kisan Movement (1918, Bihar & UP) – Early expressions of organised peasant associations.
2. Eka Movement (1921, UP) – Against high rents and exploitation.
3. Moplah Uprising (1921, Malabar) – Agrarian plus communal tensions, coinciding with Khilafat/Non-Cooperation.
4. Bardoli Satyagraha (1928, Gujarat) – Led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; peasants refused to pay enhanced revenue.
5. Tebhaga Movement (1946, Bengal) – Sharecroppers demanded two-thirds share (tebhaga) of produce, instead of half.
6. Telangana Movement (1946, Hyderabad State) – Armed peasant revolt against feudal landlords (Razakars).
7. Punnapra–Vayalar Movement (1946, Kerala) – Peasants and workers’ uprising against princely state of Travancore.

✅ Summary: The Story of Peasant Resistance

• Early phase (before 1857): Localised, often religiously coloured, targeting landlords/moneylenders.
• Middle phase (1857–1900): Larger in scale, often directed against specific colonial economic policies (indigo, revenue settlements).
• Later phase (20th century): Increasingly nationalist in orientation, integrated with Gandhian and Congress movements, and focused on systemic agrarian reform.

Thus, peasant struggles evolved from isolated revolts to structured movements — becoming an integral part of India’s freedom struggle.