Peasant Movements post 1857

Now we are stepping into the second major phase of peasant movements, after the Revolt of 1857. This period is crucial because it connects agrarian discontent with the emerging nationalist consciousness of the late 19th century. Let’s carefully explore this.

Peasant Movements After 1857 (Peasant Movements & Early Nationalism)

The Changing Nature of Peasant Struggles

• Before 1857, peasant movements were mostly isolated, localised, and spontaneous, often coloured by religion.
• After 1857, we see new features:
  • Middle-class intervention: Educated lawyers, reformers, and nationalist-minded leaders began to act as intermediaries between peasants and the colonial state.
  • Link to press and public opinion: Newspapers and journals highlighted peasant grievances.
  • Beginning of political articulation: Demands were framed in terms of justice, revenue reform, and rights — moving closer to nationalist thought.

Role of the Middle Class

• Bengal (Indigo Revolt, 1859):
  • The Bengali intelligentsia (including journalists, writers, and reformers) strongly supported peasants.
  • They publicised the plight of indigo cultivators, forcing the issue into public debate.
• Bombay Presidency:
  • Peasants sought help from leaders like Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who pleaded their case.
• Punjab:
  • Leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh took up peasant grievances, particularly in the early 20th century.

The Indian National Congress and the Peasant Question

• Early Congress leaders criticised colonial revenue policies:
  • They demanded lower revenue assessments.
  • They asked for permanent fixation of land revenue, instead of periodic hikes.
• Limitations of Congress stance:
  • Congress avoided taking an anti-landlord position, since many of its early leaders came from landlord or upper-class backgrounds.
  • In Bengal, this created a rift — peasant movements (mostly poor Muslims) became estranged from middle-class Hindu nationalist leaders, who leaned towards zamindars.
  • Thus, though sympathetic, Congress did not mobilise peasants directly in this period.

👉 So, while peasants remained central to the economy, they were still marginal in nationalist politics until the Gandhian phase in the 20th century.

Major Peasant Movements After 1857

1. Indigo Revolt (1859–60, Bengal)
   • Against forced cultivation of indigo for European planters.
   • Supported by Bengali intelligentsia through pamphlets, plays, and press.
2. Pabna Agrarian Unrest (1873–85, Bengal)
   • Peasants resisted excessive demands of zamindars.
   • Adopted peaceful methods like petitions, meetings, and legal action.
3. Deccan Riots (1875, Maharashtra)
   • Peasants, trapped in debt, revolted against moneylenders.
   • Attacked sahukars’ houses, destroyed bonds and account books.
4. Ramosi Peasant Rebellion (1879–83, Maharashtra)
   • Linked with the Ramosi tribal-peasant community.
   • Protesting against revenue hikes and loss of traditional rights.
5. Moplah Uprisings (1850–1900, Malabar, Kerala)
   • Agrarian discontent of Muslim tenants against Hindu landlords, intermingled with religious elements.
   • Repeated violent eruptions against both landlords and British.
6. No-Revenue Movements
   • Peasants refused to pay revenue during famine or crop failure, demanding relief from government.

✅ Key Takeaway

• Post-1857 peasant movements were more organised and better connected with educated middle-class leaders.
• They marked the beginning of agrarian issues entering nationalist discourse, though Congress leaders of this period still hesitated to mobilise peasants directly.
• These struggles exposed the exploitative nature of the colonial agrarian system, setting the stage for 20th-century Gandhian peasant movements like Champaran, Kheda, and Bardoli.

Excellent — now the next part will bring us to one of the most famous agrarian struggles in Indian history: the story of Indigo cultivation and the Blue Rebellion (Neel Bidroha). This episode beautifully captures how colonial economic interests were imposed on Indian peasants, leading to exploitation, debt traps, and eventually open resistance. Let’s try to understand this:

Indigo Cultivation and Blue Rebellion

Indigo and Its Global Importance

Indigo vs. Woad (European Dye Plant)

Feature	Indigo Plant	Woad Plant
Dye Colour	Rich, deep blue	Pale, dull blue
Climate	Grows in tropical regions (India)	Thrives in temperate zones (Europe)
Availability	Abundant in India	More common in Europe
Preference of European Dyers	Strongly preferred	Less preferred

👉 Thus, Indian indigo was far superior. Once Britain’s textile industry boomed during the Industrial Revolution, the demand for Indian indigo skyrocketed.

Why Rising Demand?

1. Industrialisation in Britain: Massive cotton production created huge demand for blue dye.
2. Collapse of supplies from West Indies and America (1780s): Global production dropped by 50% (1783–89).

Result: India, especially Bengal, became the main supplier. By 1810, 95% of indigo imported into Britain came from India.

Indigo Cultivation in India

Why Bengal?

• Fertile land with high yields,
• Plenty of water (needed for “rotting” indigo plants).
  👉 These factors attracted European planters in large numbers.

Two Main Systems of Cultivation

1. Nij Cultivation (direct plantation by planters)
   • Planters bought/rented land from zamindars.
   • Employed hired labourers.
   • But only <25% of indigo land was under nij.

Problems for Planters:

1. Fertile lands were already in use for food crops like rice.
2. Required a large labour force — but peak demand clashed with rice cultivation season.
3. High cost of ploughs, bullocks, and maintenance.

2. Ryoti Cultivation (contract farming by peasants)
   • Most widespread system (≈75% of indigo land).
   • Planters forced ryots (peasants) to sign contracts, sometimes by pressuring village headmen.
   • Ryots received cash advances, but in return had to cultivate indigo on at least 25% of their landholding.

Debt-trap system:

2. Contracts could last 1, 3–5, or even 10 years.
3. After harvest, ryots were paid only after deducting advances.
4. If profits were low, debt accumulated → fresh advances given → cycle of perpetual indebtedness.

Legalised Exploitation

• Indigo Planters’ Association lobbied for harsh laws.
• Act XI of 1860 (Breach of Contract Act):
  • Made it a criminal offence for ryots to refuse to grow indigo after signing a contract.
  • Courts and European magistrates openly sided with planters.
• Effect: Peasants were legally trapped in indigo cultivation, with no escape.

Disadvantages for Cultivators

1. Low payment: Indigo fetched poor prices; peasants remained indebted.
2. Soil exhaustion: Indigo’s deep roots depleted fertility, leaving land unsuitable for rice cultivation.
3. Best lands occupied: Planters forced ryots to sow indigo on the most fertile plots, depriving peasants of food security.

✅ Summary

• Indigo cultivation symbolises how colonialism exploited Indian agriculture for global markets.
• Peasants were pushed into a cycle of debt, legalised coercion, and ecological harm.
• This laid the foundation for the Indigo Revolt of 1859–60 (Neel Bidroha), one of the first organised peasant resistance movements that even gained support from the educated middle-class intelligentsia.

Wonderful — now let’s discuss the Indigo Revolt (1859–60), or the Neel Bidroha/Blue Rebellion. This is not just a peasant struggle — it’s remembered as the first organised, large-scale peasant movement against colonial economic exploitation. It also linked peasants with the middle-class intelligentsia, foreshadowing the coming together of classes in India’s freedom struggle.

Blue Rebellion

Causes: Why Did Peasants Revolt?

• The indigo system was inherently oppressive.
• Planters, almost all Europeans, terrorised peasants to cultivate indigo on the best farmlands — often instead of rice.
• Those who resisted were brutally punished:
  • Captured and caged,
  • Men kidnapped,
  • Women and children attacked,
  • Cattle seized,
  • Crops destroyed.

👉 The ryots were trapped in a cycle of debt, coercion, and low returns, with no legal escape.

Outbreak of Revolt (1859–60)

Beginning

• In March 1859, peasants in Nadia district (Bengal) under Digambar Biswas and Bishnu Biswas refused to grow indigo.
• The rebellion spread quickly across Bengal.

Forms of Resistance

• Refusal to pay rent to planters.
• Refusal to accept advances or sign contracts.
• Attacks on indigo factories with spears and swords.
• Beating of gomasthas (planters’ agents) who collected rent.
• Social boycott of those working for planters.
• Participation of women, who fought with household items like pots and pans.
• Legal resistance: Peasants pooled money to hire lawyers, fought cases in courts, and even filed cases against planters.

👉 This made the revolt unique — it combined armed resistance with legal activism.

Role of Educated Indians

• The Bengali intelligentsia strongly supported the movement.
• Writers, journalists, and reformers highlighted peasant suffering.
• Dinabandhu Mitra’s play “Nil Darpan” (Mirror of Indigo) (1860):
  • Dramatised the horrors of indigo cultivation.
  • Translated into English by Michael Madhusudan Dutt, with help from Rev. James Long.
  • The translation angered planters, and Rev. Long was jailed and fined for “defamation.”
• This was one of the first times literature became a weapon of protest.

Role of Zamindars and Missionaries

• Zamindars and village headmen, unhappy with the growing dominance of planters, supported peasants.
• Missionaries also sided with ryots, exposing planter cruelty.

Government Response: Indigo Commission (1860)

The revolt alarmed the colonial government, which feared another mass uprising like 1857.

• Military was brought in to protect planters.
• Indigo Commission (March 1860) set up to investigate.

Findings:

• The system of advances was exploitative.
• Ryots had no say in land choice.

Recommendations:

• Ryots should grow indigo only if they wished.
• Contracts must be short (≤1 year), not long-term traps.
• Expenses of transport and paperwork should be borne by factories, not ryots.

👉 Although limited, this was one of the first official acknowledgments of agrarian exploitation.

Aftermath and Legacy

• Indigo cultivation virtually collapsed in Bengal by 1860.
• Planters shifted their operations to Bihar.
• By the late 19th century, with the discovery of synthetic dyes in Europe, the indigo trade itself declined.

Long-term Legacy

• Called the “Blueprint for India’s national liberty movement” by journalist Shishir Kumar Ghosh (founder of Amrit Bazar Patrika).
• At the Lucknow Congress session (1916), a Bihar peasant urged Gandhi to visit Champaran — leading to the Champaran Satyagraha (1917), Gandhi’s first mass movement in India.

Cultural Contributions

• Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824–1873):
  • Pioneered modern Bengali drama and poetry.
  • Works: Sharmistha, Padmavati, Meghnadbadh Kavya (inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost).
  • Translated Nil Darpan into English.
• Dinabandhu Mitra (1829–1873):
  • His Nil Darpan became a cultural milestone — transforming peasant pain into artistic and political resistance.

✅ Summary: Why Indigo Revolt Matters

• The Indigo Revolt was the first organised peasant movement in modern India.
• It revealed that peasants could:
  • Unite across villages,
  • Resist both economically and legally,
  • Draw support from middle-class intellectuals and zamindars.
• It also showed how literature and journalism became tools of resistance.
• Most importantly, it was a precursor to Gandhian movements like Champaran — linking peasant struggles to the mainstream nationalist movement.

Excellent — now let’s move on to the Pabna Agrarian Unrest (1873–85), a landmark in the history of peasant movements because it introduced a new style of resistance: legal, peaceful, and organised.

Pabna Agrarian Unrest

Background: Why the Unrest Began?

• The Rent Act of 1859 had granted occupancy rights to many peasants.
  • Occupancy tenants = those who cultivated the same land for 12 years or more → protected from arbitrary eviction.
• But zamindars found ways to subvert the law:
  • Raised rents beyond legal limits.
  • Forcibly evicted tenants.
  • Forced peasants to sign agreements turning them into tenants-at-will.
  • Used coercion against those who resisted.

👉 This created widespread resentment, especially in Yusufshahi pargana, Pabna (East Bengal, now Bangladesh).

Outbreak of the Movement (1873)

• In May 1873, peasants formed an Agrarian League in Pabna.
• The movement spread quickly across the district.

Methods of Resistance

• Raised funds to fight legal cases against zamindars.
• Organised non-payment of rent campaigns.
• Adopted strictly legal and peaceful methods:
  • Litigation, petitions, court cases.
  • Violence was rare.

👉 They declared loyalty to the British crown, presenting themselves as “the Queen’s ryots”, in hopes of securing protection against zamindars.

Nature of the Movement

• Aims were limited:
  • Reduce increased rent.
  • Stop zamindari excesses.
• Did not demand abolition of zamindari system itself.
• Religious balance:
  • Though majority of peasants were Muslims (≈70% in Pabna), leaders like Kesab Chandra Roy and Sambhunath Pal were Hindus.
  • The British and zamindars tried to portray it as communal, but in reality there was Hindu–Muslim unity.

Role of Educated Indians

• Like the Indigo Revolt, Bengal’s intelligentsia supported peasants.
• Leaders and reformers such as:
  • Bankim Chandra Chatterjee,
  • Surendranath Banerjee,
  • Anand Mohan Bose,
  • Dwarkanath Ganguli,
    campaigned for the peasant cause.
• They demanded a Tenancy Bill to fix rent rates and secure occupancy rights.
• Landlord-based organisations opposed these reforms.

Government’s Attitude

• The government acted with restraint.
• Peasants penalised only if violent.
• Often mediated between peasants and zamindars, fearing the unrest could grow into a law-and-order problem.

Effects of the Movement

1. Many disputes settled under government pressure; zamindars compromised to avoid prolonged litigations.
2. Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 was passed:
   • Gave legal recognition to occupancy rights.
   • Protected tenants from arbitrary rent hikes and eviction.
   • However, it did not end exploitation — it gave rise to a new class of jotedars (rich peasants/middlemen), some of whom became as oppressive as zamindars.

Noteworthy Features

1. First large-scale organised peasant platform in Bengal, even before kisan sabhas or political parties existed.
2. Unity across religions: Hindu and Muslim peasants stood together against zamindars.
3. Demonstrated the effectiveness of peaceful, legal struggle — foreshadowing later Gandhian methods.

✅ Why Pabna Unrest is Important

• It was not a violent revolt like Indigo or Santhal uprisings, but a constitutional and legal battle.
• It revealed that peasants could organise themselves systematically, even without political parties.
• It also marks the first peasant struggle to influence legislation (Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885).

Perfect — next let’s discuss the Deccan Riots of 1875, one of the most significant peasant uprisings after 1857, because it directly exposed the destructive combination of colonial revenue demands and moneylender exploitation. Let’s unpack it systematically:

Deccan Riots of 1875

Background: Why Deccan was Vulnerable

• In the Bombay Deccan, the British introduced the Ryotwari Settlement:
  • Revenue was settled directly with cultivators (ryots).
  • Land was resurveyed every 30 years, often leading to sharp revisions.
• Problem: Revenue rates were set very high.
  • Many peasants deserted villages, unable to pay.
  • Most borrowed from moneylenders (sahukars, Marwari bankers).
  • Debt became a permanent trap.

The Cotton Boom and Collapse

• Before 1860s → 75% of Britain’s raw cotton came from America.
• American Civil War (1861–65) cut this supply.
• Britain turned to India → by 1862, 90% of its raw cotton came from Bombay Deccan.

👉 Impact on peasants:

• Shifted massively to cotton cultivation (instead of food grains).
• Moneylenders happily advanced credit as long as prices were high.
• After 1865:
  • American cotton revived → Indian demand collapsed.
  • Cotton prices fell sharply.
  • Several years of bad harvests deepened the crisis.

Immediate Cause: Revenue Revision

• 1867 Settlement: Revenue rates increased by 50%, even as prices crashed.
• Peasants forced to borrow more.
• Now moneylenders refused loans (doubting repayment capacity).

👉 Result = A sense of betrayal and desperation.

Outbreak of the Riots (May 1875)

• Began on 12 May 1875 in Supa (Pune) during a weekly bazaar.
• Pattern of resistance:
  • Moneylenders attacked.
  • Account books (bahi-khatas) burnt.
  • Debt bonds destroyed.
• Spread to Ahmednagar and beyond over two months.
• Very little physical violence → mainly symbolic attacks on financial instruments (debt records).

👉 This made the Deccan Riots very different from earlier violent tribal/peasant uprisings.

Role of Educated Indians

• The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha (early nationalist body led by men like M.G. Ranade) took up the peasant cause.
• Advocated relief for ryots, showing early links between peasants and Indian middle-class leadership.

Government Response

• Alarmed by fears of another 1857-type rebellion, the government:
  • Deployed forces to suppress the movement.
  • Set up Deccan Riots Commission (1875) to investigate.
  • The Commission’s report presented to British Parliament (1878).

Commission’s Findings

• Blamed moneylenders, not the revenue system.
• Typical colonial strategy: deny government responsibility, shift blame to intermediaries.

Aftermath: Legislative Relief

• To placate peasants, British passed the Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act, 1879:
  • Prevented imprisonment of peasants for debt non-payment.
  • Offered some legal protection in debt disputes.

👉 However, it was limited: revenue demands remained heavy, and peasants stayed dependent on sahukars.

Historical Significance

1. Unique form of protest → destroying debt records = striking at the heart of moneylender domination.
2. Early rural support base for Indian nationalism → Poona Sarvajanik Sabha involvement showed future Congress leaders were watching peasant issues.
3. Inspired later Gandhian struggles → echoes in Champaran, Kheda, and Bardoli.
4. Produced one of the richest sets of archival sources (Deccan Riots Report) for historians on colonial agrarian society.

✅ In summary: The Deccan Riots (1875) mark a turning point from violent, sporadic tribal uprisings to organised, symbolic, and legally conscious peasant resistance. They exposed both the exploitative nexus of sahukars and colonial policies and the beginning of a peasant–nationalist alliance in western India.

The Ramosi Rebellion (1879–83)

• Leader: Vasudev Balwant Phadke — an educated clerk, often regarded as the “Father of Indian Armed Rebellion”.
• Base of support: The Ramosis (a martial peasant community), along with Koli, Bhil, and Dhangar tribes.
• Strategy:
  • Formed a guerrilla-style peasant army.
  • Raided wealthy English merchants and officials to raise funds.
  • Briefly captured control of Pune city.
• End:
  • Phadke was captured, transported to Aden, escaped in 1883 but was re-arrested.
  • Died during a hunger strike (17 February 1883).
• Significance:
  • Early attempt to merge peasant discontent with nationalist political consciousness.
  • Unlike other peasant revolts (largely defensive), Phadke’s rebellion had a clear anti-colonial objective.

Moplah Uprisings (1850–1900, Malabar)

• Background:
  • Moplahs = Muslim peasant tenants of Malabar.
  • Oppressed by Jenmi landlords (mostly Hindu) with full support of colonial police, courts, and revenue machinery.
• Nature of revolt:
  • Between 1850–1900, a series of uprisings.
  • Peasants looted property, burned houses of landlords, and even desecrated temples.
• Colonial framing:
  • The British deliberately gave a communal colour (Hindu landlords vs Muslim peasants), masking the class nature of the conflict (rich vs poor).
  • By the 1890s, this peasant struggle itself slipped into communal overtones, losing its original agrarian focus.
• Significance:
  • Shows how colonial divide-and-rule tactics succeeded in diverting a class struggle into communal lines.

No-Revenue Movements

These were non-payment of land revenue campaigns in different provinces, often triggered by excessive revenue demands or famine conditions.

• Assam (Kamrup & Darrang):
  • Revenue hikes of 50–70% → village assemblies resisted.
  • Social boycott of those who paid.
  • Result: Administration conceded some reduction.
• Maharashtra (1896–97 & 1899–1900 famines):
  • Poona Sarvajanik Sabha led a no-revenue campaign.
  • Spread to Surat, Nasik, Kheda, Ahmedabad.
  • Direct link between famine suffering + nationalist organisation.
• Punjab (late 19th century):
  • Peasants rebelled against moneylenders who seized their land.
  • Some moneylenders assaulted and killed.
  • Led to Punjab Land Alienation Act (1902) → banned transfer of peasant land to moneylenders for 20 years.

Comparative Table of Major Peasant Revolts

Revolt	Immediate Cause	Role of Educated Indians	Outcome/Impact
Indigo Revolt (1859–60, Bengal)	Forcing ryots to grow indigo under oppressive contracts	Bengali intellectuals (Dinabandhu Mitra, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, press support)	Govt declared ryots free from forced indigo contracts; Indigo Commission reforms
Pabna Agrarian Unrest (1873–85, East Bengal)	Zamindars raising rents, illegal evictions, coercion	Supported by Bankim Chandra, Surendranath Banerjee, Anand Mohan Bose	Bengal Tenancy Act (1885) gave peasants some rights
Deccan Riots (1875, Bombay)	Debt-burden + refusal of loans by sahukars; revenue hike	Poona Sarvajanik Sabha supported peasants	Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act (1879) protected peasants from imprisonment

Broad Significance of These Movements

1. Shift in character: From isolated tribal risings to more organised, semi-political peasant struggles.
2. Legal consciousness: Peasants increasingly used courts, petitions, boycotts, rather than only violence.
3. Educated middle-class links: Intellectuals, journalists, reformers, and proto-nationalists began championing peasant causes.
4. Colonial strategy: Government often blamed intermediaries (zamindars, sahukars) while shielding its exploitative revenue system.
5. Legacy: These struggles laid the groundwork for Gandhian mass satyagraha in the 20th century (Champaran, Kheda, Bardoli).