3. THE GADKARI REVOLT (1844)

The Gadkaris were the hereditary servants of the Marathas. Gadkaris were displeased by the British on account of arbitrary methods of land revenue collection from service and placing of their land under the supervision of mamlatdars. The revolt was abolished after much material loss and bloodshed

THE SANYASI REBELLION (1763-1800)

Forced eviction of peasants and the Bengal famine of 1770, propelled the movement that originally started with a small group of Hindus sanyasi who resisted the restriction imposed on their movement to religious places. Further, Muslim fakir also rebelled. They formed small units of mobile troops that raided and attacked storehouses and local rich men merchants zamindars and government institutions and officials. Sanyasi and fakir rebellions rocked Northern Bengal and adjacent areas of Bihar between 1763-1800. In fact, they established an independent government in Bogra and Mymensingh in which Hindus and Muslims, participated enthusiastically.

This is evident from the names of important leaders like Majnu Shah and his son Chirag Ali, Musa Shah, Bhawani Pathak, Debi Chowdhurani, etc. Warren Hastings was able to control the Sanyasi rebellion only after military action. However, he did not succeed in quelling the movement altogether. It was made famous by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, through his novel Anandmath.

EKA MOVEMENT, 1921

Towards the end of 1921, peasant discontent surfaced again in the districts of Hardoi, Bahraich and Sitapur, with grievances relating to the extraction of a rent that was generally 50% higher than the recorded rent. It was started by Madari Pasi. Congress and Khilafat leaders provided the initial thrust to the peasant grievances and the movement grew under the name Eka or Unity Movement. With grassroots leadership not in favour of non-violence taking over the movement, the authorities succeeded in bringing it to an end. The main demand of the movement was the conversion of produce (Batai) into cash.

PEASANT MOVEMENTS IN AWADH

In Awadh, there was no security of tenure for the peasants and they had to pay Nazarana (extra premium) to get and retain their holdings. Forced labour, Assad (forced supplies) and various other forms of illegal cesses were extorted by the landlords.

During 1918, many Kisan Sabhas (peasant associations) were organised. Baba Ram Chandra, who had earlier been an indentured labourer in Fiji, started organising the peasants and built up a strong movement. In June 1920, he marched with about 500 peasants to Allahabad in order to draw the attention of Gandhiji. In December 1920, a massive peasant meeting was held in Ayodhya. Temples and Mosques were thrown open to the peasants to stay. In January 1921, a massive peasant uprising took place in Awadh. It coincided with the Non-Cooperation Movement. In fact, it was an offshoot of the latter. In many villages, peasants established Swaraj. The government crushed the uprising with a heavy hand. Many peasants lost their lives in police firings. The government was compelled to pass the Oudh Rent (Amendment) Act, in 1922. An important feature of this movement was that it was during this period when Jawaharlal Nehru experienced the misery of the peasants and took up their cause.

POLIGAR REVOLT

Revolts in South India (1801-1805), uprising in Visakhapatnam (1830-1834), Ganjam (1835) and Kurnool (1846-1847) were other peasant revolts/ rebellions of significance. There were uprisings in Udaipur and Mewar under the leadership of Motilal Tejawat and in Darbhanga under the leadership of Swami Vidyanand.