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Shift in Character of Peasant Move post 1857

Shift in Character of Peasant Move post 1857

Section titled “Shift in Character of Peasant Move post 1857”

2020-04-27 15:12:41

  • peasants emerged as the main force in agrarian movements as against Princes, Chiefs and landlords.
  • demands almost wholly on economic issues and against their immediate enemy.
  • Colonialism not target.
  • Territorial reach limited.
  • Lacked continuity of struggle/ long term organisation
  • instinctive and spontaneous response to its social condition marked by excessive exploitation and oppression.
  • was moved by strong notions of legitimacy of what was justifiable and what was not
  • developed a strong awareness of legal rights and asserted them in and outside the courts.
  • great courage and a spirit of sacrifice, remarkable organizational abilities, solidarity cutting across religion and caste lines.
  • considerable concession from the state. state contempt as uprising not against the rule itself.
  • major weakness of the 19th century peasant movements was the lack of an adequate understanding of colonialism it was within the conformities of the old social order.
  • They lacked a positive conception of an alternative society to unite the people against a common struggle.
  • Greater awareness of colonial policies ex Pabna Agrarian Revolt
  • middle class their spokesman
  • Hindoo Patriot, Amrita Bazar Patrika took pro landlord stance
  • Ranajit Guha - Peasant movt should not be looked as pre history of freedom mvt as they have history of their own

PYQs

Section titled “PYQs”
  1. Identify the various forms of ‘rural protest’ in India in the second half of the nineteenth century. Were they expressions of anti-landlord or anti-foreign discontent? [1987, 60m]

2.”The peasant movements of the second half of the nineteenth century lacked a positive conception which would unite the people in a common struggle on a wide regional and allIndia plane and help develop long-term political developments.” Critically evaluate. [2012, 10m]