Peasant Movement In British India

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Introduction In the period during which India was occupied by Britain the poorer population suffered the brunt of colonial exploitation and taxation. During the colonial reign there were numerous incidents of peasants revolting against the government due to the harsh conditions that occurred due to the Land revenue system implemented by the British. Colonial land reform and agrarian policies were large burdens for the poorer population and many of the revolts that took place occurred in agricultural states Such as Bengal and Gujarat. Along with the rise of nationalism in India these revolts signified a changing landscape in which peasants has started to become an important part in state politics. Many earlier Peasant movements had not been political in nature , they had simply been reactions to the harsh conditions, but during the late colonial era certain Peasant movements were acknowledged by the Indian National Congress and became symbols of the struggle for freedom against the British. Key movements such as the Bardoli Satyagraha and the movements of Kheda and Chamapara were very important to the move towards independence. This essay will examine the extent to which, peasant movements in the early 20th century …show more content…

The system that was implemented was the “Permanent settlement” system in which landlords proprietors of land called Zamindars were in charge of collecting revenue from citizens and delivering it to the government. Zamindars had already existed in India since the time of the Mughals. Under which they were considered as nobility. Many of the Zamindars owned large areas of land, had military powers as well as administrative responsibilities . These responsibilities and powers had been inherited from the days of the Mughal Empire and had continued up until the policy changes of the

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