Towards Independence:

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Module XX: Modern History: Towards Independence

Towards Independence:

Module XX

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Wavell Plan

● Although war in Europe came to an end in May 1945, Japanese threat still remained. Conservative Government in Britain was keen to reach a solution on the constitutional question in India.

● Lord Archibald Wavell was permitted to start negotiations with Indian leaders & so they were released from jails in June 1945.

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Why the Government was keen on a solution now?

○ The general election in England was scheduled for mid-1945. The Conservatives wanted to be seen as sincere on reaching a solution.

○ There was pressure from the Allies to seek further Indian cooperation in the war.

○ Government wanted to divert Indian energies into channels more profitable for the British.

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The Plan

● Idea was to reconstruct the governor general's executive council pending the preparation of a new constitution.

● For this purpose, a conference was convened Lord Wavell, at Shimla in June 1945.

● The main proposals of the Wavell Plan were as follows:

○ Dominion Status to India

○ With the exception of the Viceroy & the Commander-in-Chief, all members of the executive council were to be Indians.

○ Caste Hindus & Muslims were to have equal representation. Head of Government –Indian, 5 ministers – Hindus, 5 ministers – Muslims, others – Dalits, Sikhs etc.

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● The reconstructed council was to function as an interim government within the framework of the 1935 Act (i.e. not responsible to the Central Assembly).

● Governor- general was to exercise his veto on the advice of ministers.

● Representatives of different parties were, to submit a joint list to the viceroy for nominations to the executive council. If a joint list was not possible, then separate lists were to be submitted.

● Possibilities were to be, kept open for negotiations on a new constitution once the war was finally won. Process of framing the constitution of India will start.

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Muslim League’s Stand

● League wanted all Muslim members to be League nominees, because it feared that since the aims of other minorities—

depressed classes, Sikhs, Christians, etc. were the same as those of the Congress, this arrangement would reduce the League to a 1/3rd minority.

● League claimed some kind of veto in the council with decisions opposed to Muslims needing a 2/3rd majority for approval.

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Congress’ Stand

● The Congress objected to the plan as "an attempt to reduce the Congress to the status of a purely caste Hindu party & insisted on its right to include members of all communities among its nominees".

● Wavell's Mistake: Wavell announced a breakdown of talks thus giving the League a virtual veto.

● This strengthened League's position, as was evident from the elections in 1945-46

● boosted Jinnah's position

● exposed the real character of the Conservative Government of Churchill.

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Elections in the Provinces (1945-1946)

 Muslim League used many slogans

 Congress Government which was formed in 1937 failed to sort out the problems & communal violence started.

 Muslim middle class started supporting Muslim League.

 Pakistan was one of the big agendas through which Muslim League campaigned.

 League used very strong slogans in their campaign like “If you do not vote for Muslim League then you will not be buried in Muslim graveyard”.

 It is to be noted that the top leaders of Muslim League were not practicing Muslims like Jinnah whereas orthodox Muslims like Azad was whole heartedly supporting Congress, Gandhi & Nationalist movement.

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Elections in the Provinces (1945-1946)

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Elections 1945-46

● Congress' Performance

○ It got 91% of non-Muslim votes.

○ It captured 57 out of 102 seats in the Central Assembly.

○ In the provincial elections, it got a majority in most provinces except in Bengal, Sindh & Punjab. The Congress majority provinces included NWFP

& Assam which were being claimed for Pakistan.

● Muslim League's Performance

○ It got 86.6% of the Muslim votes.

○ It captured all the 30 reserved seats in the Central Assembly.

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○ In the provincial elections, it got a majority in Bengal & Sindh.

○ Unlike in 1937, now the League clearly established itself as the dominant party among Muslims.

○ Almost 507 seats were reserved for Muslims from all over India in 11 provinces.

○ Amongst these 492 seats were of Muslim League.

○ Punjab: Unionist-Congress-Akali coalition under Khizr Hyatt Khan assumed power.

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Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

● Royal Indian Navy mutiny (also called the Royal Indian Navy Revolt or Bombay Mutiny) encompasses a total strike &

subsequent revolt by Indian sailors of the Royal Indian Navy on board ship & shore establishments at Bombay harbor.

● From the initial flashpoint in Bombay, the revolt spread & found support throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta &

ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore establishments &

20,000 sailors.

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Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

February 18, 1946): 1100 naval Ratings of HMIS Talwar went on a strike to protest against

 racial discrimination (demanding equal pay for Indian & white soldiers)

 unpalatable food

 abuse by superior officers

 arrest of a rating for scrawling 'Quit India' on HMIS Talwar

 INA trials

 use of Indian troops in Indonesia, demanding their withdrawal.

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Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

• Other ratings soon joined & they went around Bombay in lorries holding Congress flags threatening Europeans & policemen.

• Crowds brought food to the ratings & shopkeepers invited them to take whatever they needed.

• An anti-British mood resulting in the virtual paralysis of Calcutta

& Bombay.

• There were meetings, processions, strikes, attacks on Europeans, police stations, shops, tram depots, railway stations, banks, &

forcible stopping of rail & road traffic by squatting on tracks &

barricading of streets.

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Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

 While the students boycotted classes & organised hartals &

processions to express sympathy with other students & the ratings, there were sympathetic strikes in military establishments in Karachi, Madras, Visakhapatnam, Calcutta, Delhi, Cochin, Jamnagar, Andamans, Bahrain & Aden.

 There were strikes by the Royal Indian Air Force in Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Jessore & Ambala.

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Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

● The rebellious ratings hoisted the tricolour, crescent & the hammer & sickle flags on the mast of the rebel fleet.

● Only the Communist Party supported the strikers.

● Congress & the Muslim League condemned it.

● Patel & Jinnah persuaded the ratings to surrender on February 23 with an assurance that national parties would prevent any victimisation.

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Cabinet Mission Plan 1946

● February 1946 : The Attlee Government announced the decision to send a high-powered mission of 3 British Cabinet members to find out ways & means for a negotiated, peaceful transfer of power to India.

● Pethick Lawrence, Secretary of State for India;

● Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade;

&

● A.V. Alexander, 1^st Lord of Admiralty.

● (Pethick Lawrence was the chairman of the mission.)

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1. The success of nationalist forces in the struggle for hegemony was fairly evident by the end of the War. Nationalism had penetrated into hitherto untouched sections & areas.

2. There was a demonstration among the bureaucracy & the loyalist sections, because the paucity of ICS recruits & a policy of Indianisation had ended the British domination of the ICS as early as the World War I & by 1939, there existed British-Indian parity. The long war had caused weariness & economic worries.

Now only a depleted, war weary bureaucracy battered by 1942 events remained.

Why British Withdrawal Seemed Imminent Now?

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Continued ..

3. The British strategy of conciliation & repression had its limitations &

contradictions—

* after Cripps' Offer there was little left to offer for conciliation except full freedom;

* when non-violent resistance was repressed with force, the naked force behind the Government stood exposed, while if it did not clamp down on

"sedition" or made offers for truce, it was seen to be unable to wield authority, & its prestige suffered;

* efforts to woo the Congress dismayed the loyalists.

This policy of an unclear mix presented a dilemma for the services, who nevertheless had to implement it. The prospect of Congress coming to power in provinces further compounded this dilemma.

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Continued..

4. Constitutionalism or Congress Raj had proved to be a big morale- booster & helped in deeper penetration of patriotic sentiments.

5. Demands of leniency for INA prisoners from within the Army &

the revolt of RIN Ratings had raised fears that the armed forces may not be as reliable if the Congress, started a 1942-type mass movement, this time aided by provincial ministries.

6. The only alternative to an all-out repression of a mass movement was an entirely official rule which seemed impossible now because the necessary numbers & efficient, officials were not available.

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Continued..

7. The Government realised that a settlement was necessary for burying the ghost of a mass movement & for good future Indo- British relations.

Now the overarching aim of the British policy-makers was a graceful withdrawal, after a settlement on the modalities of the transfer of power & nature of post-imperial India Britain relations.

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On the Eve of Cabinet Mission Plan

The Congress demanded that power be transferred to one centre &

that minorities' demands be worked out in a framework ranging from autonomy to Muslim-majority provinces to self determination or secession from the Indian Union—but, only after the British left.

The British bid for a united & friendly India & an active partner in defence of the Commonwealth, because a divided India would lack in defence & would be a blot on Britain's diplomacy.

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On the Eve of Cabinet Mission Plan

The British policy in 1946 clearly Deflected this preference for a united India, in sharp contrast to earlier declarations. On March 15, 1946, the British. Clement Attlee said: "though mindful of the rights of minorities cannot allow a minority to place their veto on advance of the majority.”

This was a far cry from the Shimla conference where Wavell had allowed Jinnah to wreck the conference.

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The mission reached Delhi on March 24, 1946. It had prolonged discussions with Indian leaders of all parties & groups on the issues of—

(i) interim government,

(ii) principles & procedures for framing a new Constitution giving freedom to India.

As the Congress & the League could not come to any agreement on the fundamental issue of the unity or partition of India, the mission put forward its own plan for the solution of the constitutional problem in May 1946.

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Cabinet Mission Plan 1946

Cabinet Mission Plan—Main Points

• Rejection of the demand for a full-fledged Pakistan, because—

(i) the Pakistan so formed would include a large non Muslim population-38% in the North-West & 48% in the North-East;

(ii) the very principle of communal self-determination would claim separation of Hindu-majority Western Bengal & Sikh- & Hindu- dominated 'Ambala & Jullundur divisions of Punjab (already some Sikh leaders were demanding a separate state if the country was partitioned);

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Cabinet Mission Plan 1946

(iii) deep-seated regional ties would be disturbed if Bengal & Punjab were partitioned;

(iv) partition would entail economic & administrative problems, for instance, the problem of communication between the western & eastern parts of Pakistan; &

(v) the division of armed forces would be dangerous.

• Grouping of existing provincial assemblies into 3 sections—

○ Hindu Majority Provinces (provinces like UP, CP, Bombay etc.)

○ Muslim Majority Provinces (Western India – Punjab, NWFP)

○ Muslim Majority Provinces (Eastern India – Assam & Bengal)

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● Each group would form separate constitution for their province &

will collectively make a constitution for India.

● A Constituent assembly(389 members) would be formed. By the provincial assemblies on proportional representation ( voting in 3 groups, general , Muslims, Sikhs)

● Princely states were free to join interim government or could remain with British.

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● Common center would control defense, communication & external affairs.

● A federal structure for India.

● Provinces to have full autonomy & residual powers.

● Interim Government would be formed .

● After the 1^st general elections a province was free to come out of a group & after 10 years a province was to be free to call for a reconsideration of the group or union constitution.

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● Cabinet Mission plan was rejected by Congress

● No wait for 10 years

● They shouldn't join the group in the first place.

● Absence of elected members from the princely states.

● League rejected it

● Grouping should be compulsory

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● July 1946 : Elections held

● July 10 , 1946: Nehru’s Statement

● July 29,1946: league withdrew its acceptance of the long term plan.

● 16th Aug 1946: League declared the infamous Direct Action Day & gave controversial statements like ‘ladke lenge Pakistan’.

Acceptance & Resignation

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Interim Government

● 2nd September 1946: Jawaharlal Nehru was chosen as the head of interim government.

● It was boycotted by Muslim League.

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● After the initial boycott, League joined interim government in the last week of October 1946.

● 5 League members were made ministers in Interim government including Liaquat Ali Khan who was made the Finance Minister.

● Top leaders of League were kept away from the Interim Government as they were active in Pakistan movement.

● 7th Feb 1947: Nehru wrote a letter to Clement Richard Attlee to complain about League.

Formation of Interim Government

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● 20th Feb 1947: Attlee declared that India would be freed by June 1948 & also announced that Lord Mountbatten would be the last Governor General of India.

● Lord Mountbatten announced Mountbatten plan on 3rd June.

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1. Bengal would become an independent state

2. Bengal’s Constitution will be drafted by an assembly of 16 Muslims, 14 Hindus= 30 members.

3. Interim government with Muslim CM & Hindu Home minister, until this Constitution is drafted.

4. Proportional representation of Hindus & Muslims in the legislature.

5. A candidate who wins majority votes of his own community & 25% votes of other community, would be declared elected

6. Hindus (including Scheduled Caste Hindus) & Muslims will have equal share in military & Police jobs.

Bengal Pact / “Suhrawardi-Sarat Bose agreement”

/ “Sarat Formula”

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Mountbatten Plan

● On 15th August India would be freed.

● If one group of Punjab & Bengal assembly demands for partition, it would be done.

● Sindh assembly would decide whether they want partition or not.

● In NWFP plebiscite will be used which will be based on limited suffrage.

● If partition happened, then there would be boundary commission headed by Radcliffe.

● Princely states had to join either state & were not allowed to remain free.

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● Each dominion state will have its own Governor General

● Within Congress 2 groups emerged, one which accepted the plan

& the other which completely opposed the plan.

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Why Congress Accepted Dominion Status?

● The Congress was willing to accept dominion status despite its being against the Lahore Congress,1929 spirit because:

○ it would ensure a peaceful & very quick transfer of power;

○ it was more important for the Congress to assume authority to check the explosive situation;

○ it would allow for some much needed continuity in bureaucracy &

army.

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● For Britain, the dominion status offered a chance to keep India in the Commonwealth, even if temporarily, considering the economic strength, defense potential & greater value of trade &

investment in India.

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India Independence Act July 18, 1947

● The British Parliament ratified the Mountbatten Plan as the

"Independence of India Act-1947". The Act was implemented on August 15, 1947.

● The Act provided for the creation of 2 independent dominions of India & Pakistan.

● Each dominion was to have a Governor-General to be responsible for effective operation of the Act.

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● The constituent assembly of each new dominion was to exercise the powers of the legislature of that dominion, & the existing Central Legislative Assembly & the Council of States were to be automatically dissolved.

● For the transitional period, i.e., till a new constitution was adopted by each dominion, the governments of the 2 dominions were to be carried on in accordance with the Government of India Act, 1935.

● M.A. Jinnah became the 1st Governor-General of Pakistan.

● India, however, decided to request Lord Mountbatten to continue.

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Plan Balkan/ Ismay Plan

● Between March & May of 1947, Mountbatten decided that the Cabinet Mission Plan had become untenable & formulated an alternative plan.

● This plan was prepared by a committee of General Sir Hastings Ismay, Sir George Abell & Lord Mountbatten himself.

● The Plan Balkan was completed and presented on 15-16 April 1947 by Ismay to assembly of provincial governors in Delhi.

● Due to this, this plan was also called “Ismay Plan“.

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Plan Balkan/ Ismay Plan

● The plan envisaged the transfer of power to separate provinces viz. Madras, Bombay, United Provinces of Bengal, Punjab & North West Frontier etc (or to a confederation, if formed before the

transfer), with Punjab & Bengal given the option to vote for partition of their provinces.

● The various units thus formed along with the princely states

(rendered independent by lapse of paramountcy) would have the option of joining India or Pakistan or remaining separate.

● The main proposal of this plan was to that provinces should

become first independent successor states rather than an Indian Union or the two dominions of India & Pakistan.

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Dickie Bird Plan

 This plan was not discussed in details with leaders of India &

Mountbatten discussed just informally.

 He gave the plan a final touch & sent to London.

 Later when he moved to Shimla, Nehru joined him as a guest.

 Here the details of the plan were put by Mountbatten before Nehru.

 Nehru rejected the plan right away & told him that this plan would invite Balkanization of India & would provoke conflict & violence.

 Consequently, Mountbatten cancelled this plan.

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Reasons for Partition

● Communalization of Indian Politics

● Role of certain groups, organisations & political parties during & after the elections.

● Policy of the British (divide & rule)

● Failure of Congress to win the largest minority of India.

● Reasons for Gandhi to accept partition:

○ Demand of partition was not only from Muslims, but Sikhs

& Hindus were also demanding for it.

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Agrarian Revolts during the British Rule (1857 - 1947)

Agrarian Revolts During

British Rule (1857 - 1947)

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Land Tenure System: British Legacy

 In the initial years, East India company faced following problems:

 Demand for British goods in India was negligible. (Because EIC was yet to destroy handicraft & artisans)

 Under the Mercantilism policy of British: one country’s gain required another country/colony’s loss. Therefore, British

Government prohibited EIC from exporting gold & silver from England to pay for Indian goods import.

 EIC needed money to maintain an army for defeating &

subjugating native rulers.

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Company’s solution:

 Start collecting revenue from Indians

 Use that Revenue to buy Indian raw material & export to England.

 Import finished goods back to India & make profit.

 But it had a problem: the revenue system under Mughals & native rulers was too complex for the British to understand.

 Lord Cornwallis comes with a novel idea: just ‘outsource’ the tax collection work to desi-middlemen: Zamindars, Jagirdar,

Inamdars, Lambardar etc.

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 Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Eastern UP & Northern Tamil Nadu

 Revenue amount was fixed at the beginning & remained the same permanently.

 Lord Cornwallis , John Shore

 Company ‘outsourced’ the revenue collection work to Zamindars

 British designated zamindars (local tax collectors) as owners of the land in their district.

 This system was adopted in several other forms such as Jagirdari, Inamdari, etc.

 Dual Ownership

 Zamindars was also a owner of agricultural land, forest land ,fodder land etc.

 Peasant also had to pay tax on usage of forest, fodder for the 1^st time.

 Zamindars were given freedom to decide how much to demand from the cultivators.

 Stiff penalties on defaulters.

 So Zamindar became very powerful in east & central India.

Permanent settlement 1793

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 Income to be collected at 1790’s base rate.

 This controlled the fluctuations in collections faced by company from 1772

 Company Peasant to pay rent to Zamindar.

 Zamindar to pay tax to state

 Transfer of Land became regular feature.

 Sunset law-1794- State can reinstall new Zamindars .

 Urban merchants came into their place.

 Absentee landlordism resulted.

 Because they never had traditional bonds with villagers, only sent mediators to collect tax.

 Exploitation increased. Led to many revolts. Hence British didn’t implement it in other parts of India.

 Increase of Rural Indebtedness Impact

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Zamindar’s right over land was

 Alienable.

 Rentable.

 Heritable.

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 The ryotwari system is associated with the name of Sir Thomas Munro, who was appointed Governor of Madras in May 1820.

 Madras, Bombay Assam & central province of India

 To remove negatives of Permanent settlement’s Intermediaries &

absence of Zamindars in Madras region

 Ryotwari system had its origin in the Baramahal & Salem which were ceded to the company in 1792 & 1^st introduced by Read & his assistants.

 State officials to collect tax directly from peasants.

 Fixed once every 20 yrs. 50% of produce in most of the times.

 But depending on assess, which didn’t take his investment costs.

Ryotwari settlement

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Madras was initially under Permanent settlement type system but Thomas Munro convinced the directors of EIC to convert this area under Ryotwari system. He then adopted in Bombay & Assam. But Why?

 In permanent settlement areas, land Revenue was fixed. But over the years, agriculture prices/exports should increase but government’s income did not increase.

 Zamindars were oppressive- leading to frequent agrarian revolts in the permanent settlement areas.

 In Bihar, Bengal, there existed Zamindar/feudal lords since the times of Mughal administration. But Madras, Bombay, Assam did not have Zamindars / feudal lords with large estates. So, hard to ‘outsource’ work, even if British wanted.

 No middlemen in tax collection so farmer had to pay less taxes thus increased purchasing power which improved demand for readymade British products in India

 Consequently, all subsequent land tax or revenue settlements made by the colonial rulers were temporary settlements made directly with the peasant, or ‘ryot’ (e.g., the ryotwari settlements).

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Features

 Government claimed the property rights to all the land, but allotted it to the

cultivators on the condition that they pay taxes. In other words, It established a direct relation between the landholder & the government.

 Farmers could use, sell, mortgage, bequeath & lease the land as long as they paid their taxes. In other words Ryotwari system gave a proprietary rights upon the landholders.

 If they did not pay taxes, they were evicted

 taxes were only fixed in a temporary settlement for a period of 30 years & then revised.

 government had retained the right to enhance land revenue whenever it wanted

 Provided measures for revenue relief during famines but they were seldom applied in real life situation.

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Consequences

 Farmers had to pay revenue even during drought & famines else he would be evicted.

 Replacement of large number of zamindars by one giant zamindar called EIC.

 Although ryotwari system aimed for direct Revenue settlement between farmer &

the government but over the years, landlordism & tenancy became widespread.

Because textile weavers were unemployed they started working as tenant farmers for other rich farmers. In many districts, more than 2/3 of farmland was leased.

 Since Government insisted on cash revenue, farmers resorted to growing cash crops instead of food crops.

 And cash crop needed more inputs so more loans & indebtedness.

 After end of American civil war, cotton export declined but government didn’t reduce the revenue. As a result most farmers defaulted on loans & land was transferred from farmers to moneylenders.

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Problems

 State became big Zamindar.

 Moneylenders exploitation-high rate of interest

 Mahajans & other outsiders.

 Transfer of land

 Deccan riots resulted.

Ryotwari settlement

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With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements:

1. The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government.

2. The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots.

3. The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only c) 1, 2 and 3 d) None

2012

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Who among the following was/were associated with the introduction of Ryotwari Settlement in India during the British rule? 2017

1. Lord Cornwallis 2. Alexander Read 3. Thomas Munro

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 3 only c) 2 and 3 only d) 1, 2 and 3

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 The government of William Bentinck later made a thorough review of the scheme of 1822, by which the Mahalwari system was introduced.

 Punjab region Gangetic valley north-west provinces, parts of central India

 Not as controversial as above two

 The word Mahalwari is derived from the term Mahal, referring to a neighbourhood or quarter. Under this system the unit for revenue settlement is the village.

 The village lands belong jointly to the village community technically called the body of co-shares.

 The body of co-shares is jointly responsible for the payment of land revenue, though individual responsibility is always there.

 If any co-sharer abandons his land, it is taken over by the village community as a whole. The community is the owner of village common land area, including the forestland, pastures etc.

 Company ‘outsourced’ revenue collection work to Village community itself. –

Technically village headman (Lambardar) was made responsible for tax collection

 North West Provinces initially had Permanent settlement but transformed to Mahalwari system by Holt Mackenzie.(1822)

Mahalwari Settlement

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 This Regulation also introduced the fixation of the average rents for different classes of soil.

 British periodically revised tax rates.

 It is called Modified Zamindari system because in Mahalwari areas, the Land revenue was fixed for the whole village & the village

headman (Lambardar) collected it. Meaning theoretically Village itself was a landlord/zamindar.

 Other names for this system: Joint rent, ‘joint lease’, ‘brotherhood’

tract (mahal) holding & ‘gram wari’ etc.

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Why did peasant revolts break out time & again during the British rule?

● The British introduced many changes in land relations (The relation of various stakeholders of a piece of land on the produce of the land and with each other).

● It was very different from the agrarian structure of the preceding period.

● Even though the agrarian structure of various regions differed from each other, certain generalizations can be made.

Agrarian Revolts (1857 – 1947)

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❏ In the colonial agrarian structure, a zamindar/ landlord who owned large tracts of land was responsible for collecting land revenue.

❏ In many cases, they were not directly associated with tax collection. Such landlords are often called absentee

landlords.

❏ The responsibility of tax collection was delegated to others.

In many cases the responsibility of tax collection was

delegated again by the person appointed by the landlord.

This person could delegate the responsibility to another. This is called sub-feudation.

Continued...

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● All these intermediaries had to be sustained by the produce of the land.

● So the dependency on land increased & so did the demands made on the farmer/peasant.

● They were squeezed to the maximum possible extent.

● In the years of drought, the situation of the peasant could worsen.

● They had to frequently resort to borrowing money from moneylenders who were often themselves big zamindars.

The moneylenders charged exorbitant rates of interest.

Continued...

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● Many peasants were evicted as they could not pay the revenue & the British Indian land laws allowed it.

● These evicted peasants were forced to become laborers.

● This led to increasing land alienation.

● Thus the number of both non-cultivating landlords &

agricultural laborers increased, while the number of cultivating owners declined.

● The absentee landlord had little interest in investing in land or using the latest innovations to improve agricultural

productivity & looked only for surplus extraction.

Continued...

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● It has to be pointed out that the pre-colonial system was also exploitative & oppressive towards the peasants.

● But there existed a few safeguards in the form of customary rights & practices, which imposed some rules & obligations on the landowners' conduct towards the peasants.

● The British agrarian system offered little safeguards to the peasants.

Continued...

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Some other causes for peasant unrest can be enumerated as follows:

1. Cultivators were often coerced into producing cash crops like tea, coffee, rubber, indigo, cotton etc. This affected the food security of individual households.

2. Population increase & the slow growth of industrialization

retarded the capacity of industries to absorb the increasing labor force resulted in the increasing dependency on land.

Fragmentation of land due to this led to decrease in productivity.

Continued...

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● It increased the movement of goods, especially food grains, within the country.

● This, in many cases, destroyed the largely self-sufficient villages, making it vulnerable to famines.

● (It, however, needs to be mentioned that in many cases improved transportation resulted in better supply of food grains to needy areas.

● Further, it also helped the peasants in different regions to connect with each other & with the leadership, leading to better organization of the peasantry.)

3. Introduction of railways

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1. The adverse conditions of the small peasantry & the

agricultural laborers created a fertile soil for the emergence of social movements.

2. Extreme economic differentiation among the various sections of the society resulted in the formation of diverse class

interests.

Consequences…

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● 3. The formation of diverse class interests led to the

retardation of the caste & religious affiliations of the peasantry which led to their mobilization based on common interests.

● In some cases, caste system & religious affiliations helped the peasants organize & rally against their oppressors.

● Usually peasant revolts occur when conventional methods of appeal & plea fails to avail the required redressal from the state.

Continued...

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● There were at least 77 peasant revolts during the 200-odd years between the beginnings of British rule & the Indian Independence.

● The success of a movement can be gauged by how

adequately the state & other stakeholders responded to the demands of the peasants.

Continued...

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● The revolt of 1857 saw the active participation of peasants.

● The English were able to suppress the uprising of 1857 but this could not end the feelings of bitterness towards their rule-particularly amongst the peasants.

● The revolt marked the beginning of a new phase of peasant resistance as the peasantry gained invaluable organisational experience during the revolt.

Peasant Movements After 1857 Revolt

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● Indigo is a plant extract used as a dye.

● It was of high demand in international markets during that time.

● It was grown mainly in Bengal & Bihar.

Causes of the revolt

❖ Indigo planters who were mainly British, forced tenants to grow Indigo. As per a contract, the tenants were given a token

amount as advance & were required to grow indigo in the best lands & sell the produce to the planters at the price fixed by them.

1.Indigo Revolt (1859 - 60)

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❖ The price fixed by the planters was much below that of the prevalent market prices.

❖ The system took away the freedom of the tenant to grow the crops of his choice & sell the produce to the buyers of his choice.

❖ Coercive methods like floggings, kidnappings of tenants &

their family members, physical attacks & destruction of

property were resorted to compel the cultivators to obey the dictates of the planters.

Continued...

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❖ The colonial government was indifferent to the plight of the peasants.

❖ Appeals to the authorities by way of sending petitions &

representations were not heeded by the government.

❖ The state often explicitly supported the planters.

Continued...

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● The significant incident that triggered the revolt took place in Govindpur village, in Nadia district, Bengal.

● Led by Digambar Biwas & Bishnu Biswas, the villagers stopped cultivating indigo.

● The planters sent a gang of armed men to beat the villagers into submission which was countered by the villagers using lathis &

spears.

● Similar protests by the cultivators took place in other villages of Bengal.

Course of the revolt

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Course of the revolt

● At times the cultivators had violent clashes with the police &

administration as they were seen as supporters of the planters.

● Social boycott of the planters was also organized by the cultivators.

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The revolt was largely successful in freeing the tenants from the clutches of the planters. By 1860 the planters began to close

their factories & leave the area.

Factors that contributed to the success of the revolt

❖ Cultivators across sections like the landless agricultural

laborers, peasants & medium sized landlords participated in the revolt.

❖ Leadership was provided by medium sized landlords who had some leverage over the administration.

Outcome

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❖ There was almost perfect unity between the Hindu peasants &

the Muslim peasants.

❖ The government response was not harsh. A commission was appointed to study the conditions in which indigo was grown.

The government after receiving the report, banned some of the unlawful & oppressive practices.

❖ The movement received support from the Indian & British press who publicized the details of the oppressive system to the general public in India & Britain.

Continued...

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❖ Intellectuals like Harish Chandra Mukherjee gave wide

publicity to the plight of the cultivators. Din Bandhu Mitra's famous play 'Neel Darpan' highlighted the injustices taking place in the Indigo production.

❖ Missionaries also played a role in mobilizing the public opinion to pressurize the government into taking action.

Continued...

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Epicenter: Pabna, East Bengal Time Period: 1870s

Leaders: Ishwar Chandra Roy, Shambhu Pal, Khoodi Mollah.

Causes of the movement

● High demand of rent by landlords

● Attempts of landlords to raise rent by using dubious means of measuring cultivated land.

● The revolt was directed against landlords. Protesters pledged

loyalty to the crown & called themselves the subjects of the queen.

2.Pabna Movement

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Demands of the peasants

● Cessation of zamindari excesses. Protesters did not demand structural changes like the end of the zamindari system.

Methods employed by the peasantry

● Litigation, mobilization of people, raising of funds, refusal to pay rent.(seldom used violence)

Course of the movement

● The Agrarian League was formed in Yusufshahi pargana by the peasants. They were the 1^st to organise. Others followed.

Continued...

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● Successful

● The Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 gave some protection to the peasants.

Factors that contributed to the success of the revolt

● Support of the government. The government acted as mediators between the zamindars & the peasants.

Outcome

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● Most intellectuals of Bengal supported the peasant cause.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, & later S N Banerjee, A M Bose, R C Dutt, Dwarkanath Ganguli campaigned for the peasants

& supported the tenancy bill.

● Hindu-Muslim unity though most of the zamindars were Hindus & most of the tenants were Muslims.

Continued...

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Epicenter: Poona, Ahmednagar

Time Period: 1875 - (slowly died down as the demands were met)

Causes of the movement

❖ Increase in rent to be paid by tenants to landlords.

❖ Drop in price of cotton after the end of the American Civil war. Cotton fetched high prices during the war which led many peasants to cultivate cotton. But prices slumped once the war was over.

3. Deccan Peasant Movement

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❖ Bad harvest of 1875.

❖ Increase of revenue by 50% by the British government.

❖ Charging of exorbitant rates of interest by moneylenders (who were mostly Marwaris)

The movement was mostly directed against moneylenders.

Continued...

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● In 1875, riots broke out in 6 taluks of Poona & Ahmadnagar.

● Debt bonds were seized from the moneylenders & destroyed.

● Social boycott of moneylenders was organized.

● Many small owner-cultivators refused to pay revenue to the government.

● The peasants got support from social reformers based in Bombay & Poona.

● Justice M.G Ranade & his Poona Sarvajanik Sabha supported the peasants' struggle.

●

Course of the movement

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● Largely successful.

● In 1879 the Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act was passed which gave relief to the peasant by making available legal remedies to counter unreasonable demands.

Outcome

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1. Kisan Sabha Movement

2. Eka Movement(Unity Movement)

3. Moplah Uprising 1921

4. Bardoli No-Tax Peasant movement, 1928

Peasant Movements in early 20

^th

century

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With the beginning of the 20^th century, the agrarian movement in India entered a different phase, the reasons for which are:

❏ The change in the nature of the national freedom movement from being an elite dominated movement with limited

objectives to that of a mass movement with broader objectives.

Peasant Movements in early 20

^th

century

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❏ The coming of new ideologies like Communism, socialism, nationalism & extremism of various types, competing with each other for increasing their adherents & their sphere of influence.

❏ Important international events like the 1^st world war & the Russian revolution which gave new hope & at the same time raised new fears in the government as well as among the people.

Continued...

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● The WW1 led to shortage of food grains & rise in prices which had adverse effects on peasant communities throughout the country.

● The Russian revolution offered an alternative to the capitalist economic system. The rise of socialism & communism had to be contained as they were thought to have grave

consequences for the British empire. Many peasant movements were inspired by these ideologies.

Continued...

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● Epicenter : Awadh

● Causes

● The rise in prices of various commodities due to WWI.

● The failure of monsoon in 1918 had disastrous consequences resulting in famine.

● Arbitrary enhancement of rent, eviction from the land, forced labor & various other forms of landlord-imposed taxes

1.Kisan Sabha Movement

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● The Home Rule members formed Kisan Sabhas in Awadh in 1918 to organise the peasants.

● Later, the Non-cooperation movement provided the peasants an opportunity to voice their grievances & to link their

movements with the nationalist mainstream.

● The Congress & the non-cooperators established the Oudh Kisan Sabha in 1920

Course of the movement

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❖ The association of peasants’ movement with the Congress gave rise to strong Kisan Sabha movement in many parts of the country since 1918

❖ The presence of the Congress leaders such as J L Nehru in UP provided the peasants & their leaders much needed

encouragement in their struggles.

Outcome

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❖ The peasants & their local leaders sought in the Congress an all-India organisation which would listen to their grievances

& present their demands to the colonial authorities.

❖ The support received from the peasants provided the

Congress much needed legitimacy to be a mass party which represented the Indians as a whole rather than the interests of the narrow upper & middle classes.

Outcome Continued...

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● Epicenter: Northern Awadh (Hardoi, Bahraich, Barabanki &

Sitapur)

● Time Period : 1921-22

● Background: Awadh had been annexed by the British in 1856. The new revenue administration of the British

government proved inimical to the peasants.

2. Eka Movement

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❖ The high rents collected by landlords

❖ Increase in revenue demanded by the government & forced eviction of tenants.

❖ Rise in food prices due to the WW1.

Causes of the movement

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● It was a product of the Khilafat movement.

● It was more of a ‘no-rent’ campaign than a ‘no-tax’ campaign

& the landlords feared the campaign more than the government.

● The Eka movement in Barabanki district was led by Madari Pasi.

Course of the movement

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● The movement had an associated religious ritual in which the assembled peasants vowed that they would

● pay only the recorded rent but would pay it on time;

● not leave when evicted;

● refuse to do forced labor;

● give no help to criminals;

● a dip in Ganges

● abide by panchayat decisions

Course of the movement

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● Better mobilization of peasants due to the formation of UP Kisan Sabha was a factor that propelled the movement.

● The UP Kisan Sabha had 450 branches and the support of leaders like Madan Mohan Malaviya & J L Nehru.

Continued...

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● When the movement turned violent, it was suppressed by the government using brute force & by 1922 the movement was controlled.

● But it indeed proved that peasant organizations were a force to reckon with.

● The Oudh Rent (Amendment) Act, 1921 brought limited relief to the-tenants.

● Note: Big landlords were called Taluqdars in Awadh

Outcome

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● Epicenter : Northern Kerala (Malabar)

● Time period: 1920-21

● Causes:

● High rent extracted by the landlords (The landlords were mostly Hindus while the tenants were mostly Muslims)

● Immediate cause : Police brutality towards community leaders

3. Moplah Uprising

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● August 1920: the DM of Ernad (Taluk in Malabar district, Madras Presidency), led the police to raid a mosque to arrest a Khilafat leader who was also a priest.

● The police did not heed the peaceful appeals of the leaders of the community & resorted to violent suppression.

● This led to mob violence and attack on policemen & public persons.

● The violence soon spread to other areas in Malabar.

● Attacks continued to take place on public property & increasingly on the Hindu landlords.

Course of the movement

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● The British were alarmed by the violent mass protest of the Moplahs & declared martial law to suppress the movement.

● Peasants’ cause had the support of Khilafat & Congress leaders.

● But this support ended when the Moplahs used violent methods.

● By December 1921 the movement was totally suppressed by the government. The rebellion had cost more than 2000 lives.

The British government was too strong to be challenged by violent methods.

Continued...

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● The rebellion undoubtedly was the one of the most serious challenges to the government but it was guided by

fundamentalist religious ideology.

● Its support base could not extent beyond the Muslim community, which was its weakest feature.

Outcome

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