Describe the Peasants’ Movements of Rajasthan.

The peasantry in the former princely states of Rajasthan was under the weight of double exploitation of British imperialism and native feudalism. Beginning with 1920 the peasants were in revolt against their horrible conditions of life. The peasantry in Rajasthan had to pay a large number of lag-bags (cesses), customs duties and also perform begar (forced labour) in addition to paying heavy land-revenue which was half of the gross produce.

• The Bijolia Peasants Movement (Bhilwara) - The Bijolia movement was a peasant movement in the Bijolia jagir of the former Mewar state (in present-day Rajasthan in India) against excessive land revenue exactions. The Bijolia Peasant Movement may be divided into three main phases –

o The first phase between 1897 – 1915 was marked by a spontaneous movement which was advanced by the local leadership.

o The second phase 1915 -1923 saw a rise in the consciousness of the peasant class and the movement was led by trained and matured leaders of national level.

o The third phase saw a decline in the movement as leadership was lost due to differences in opinion and the peasant's reluctance to surrender their lands indefinitely.

The movement continued till 1941 after a bitter struggle lasting about half a century, gained national attention and resisted state oppression

• Sikar Peasants Movement - Peasant struggles in Shekhwati originated in 1922 as protests against arbitrary increases in demands of land revenue by the Rao Raja (thikanedar) of Sikar in a year that had seen widespread drought and crop failures in Sikar.

o The first phase, from 1922 to about 1930, was of incipient attempts to demand relief against excesses of the Jagirdars, in particular, Rao Raja of Sikar. During this phase, representatives of peasants took advantage of contradictions between the Jagirdars and the Jaipur state, which was then directly under British administration, and appealed to the Jaipur state and British authorities against excesses of Rao Raja. The major success of the peasant movement in this phase was the reversal of increases in land revenue as a result of interventions by the Jaipur state.

o The second phase, from 1930 through 1938, was a period of organisational consolidation of the Sikar Peasant Movement. Kisan Jat Panchayats and Kisan Sabhas were organised during this period. In August 1934, under pressure from the British, the Rao Raja of Sikar agreed to a number of demands of the peasants including waiver of taxes, permission to use pasture land for grazing, and the abolition of the bag (unpaid labour services). However, the agreement was not implemented and peasants further intensified their struggle.

o The third phase, from 1938 until end of the 1940s, was a period in which the Indian National Congress, through the Jaipur State Praja Mandal, became involved in issues of the peasantry in Sikar. Involvement, and coming to dominance, of Praja Mandal critically determined the future course of the peasant movement and eventual abolition of Jagirdari system in the early 1950s.

• Begun Peasants Movement (Chittorgarh) - The Begun Peasants Movement was one of the farmer's movements of Rajasthan during British Raj in India. Farmers from the Bengu thikanas in Chittorgarh was suffering under the British rule as they had to pay a large number of cesses and customs duties and also very high land revenues. Inspired by the Bijolia Peasants Movement, the Bengu farmers gathered in Bhairokund, Menal in 1921 which signifies the beginning of their movement against the oppressive British Rule. The initial leadership of this movement was under Vijay Singh Pathik who later transferred it to Ramanrayan Chaudhury.

• Barad Peasants Movement (Bundi) – Similar to the other peasant movements in Rajasthan, this movement was also a result of the oppression faced by the peasants in the Bundi area. Nayanuram Sharma led this movement. During a meeting held on 2^nd April, 1923 in Dabu village, police open fired on the peasants leading to the deaths of Nanak Bheel and Devraj Gurjar. But with the failure of leadership, this movement ended in 1927.

• Neemuchana Peasants Movement (Alwar) – This movement was a result of differences in taxes paid by different castes. On 14^th May, 1925, the farmers of Alwar had organized a Kisan Sabha in Neemuchana village against the taxation difference. The royal army of Alwar surrounded and opened fired on them killing around 800 farmers.

Peasant struggles in Rajasthan in the first half of the twentieth century brought an end to the shackles of the Jagirdari system. Jagirdari Abolition brought about a fundamental change in the structure of control over land in Rajasthan with tenants-at-will getting ownership rights over land.