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Describe Bijolia peasant movement.

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Bijolia Peasant Movement: 

In India, the first non – violent struggle against the tyranny of feudalism started in an organized way in the Thikana of Bijolia in the state of Mewar. 

Bijolia Peasant Movement began on the following grounds:

1. Over land revenue (rent revenue) 

2. The increasing number of palatial havelis and buildings for the kings and nawabs families, their decoration and luxuries resulted into the introduction of new taxes and the increase in the old taxes. In addition to these taxes, forced labour imposed on the formers,women and children was both inhuman and back – breaking. There was extreme scarcity of the sources of income. The jasirdars also had levied other taxes besides the taxes levied by the kings and the nawabs. 

3. The jasirdars ill – treated the peasants. They snatched the land of the peasants, and beat them mercilessly.

1. The first phase of Bijolia Peasant Movement (1897 – 1916): 

Sadhu Sitaram Das led the first phase of the Bijolia Peasant Movement. In 1903, Rao Krishan Singh levied a new tax on the peasants called chanwari tax which was extracted % Rs 5% per family on the occasion of marriage of the daughter of the family.

As a reaction to this new tax, the peasants rented their lands to others and left Bijolia and proceeded into the bordering area of Gwalior. In 1913, Rao Prithvi Singh imposed the tax called Talwar Bandhai on his people. The peasants under the leadership of Sadhu Sitaram Das opposed the Rao of the Thikana. But, the movement failed for want of strong organisation and effective leadership.

2. The second phase of Bijolia Peasants Movement (1916 – 29): 

The second phase of Bijolia peasant movement started under the leadership of the revolutionary Pathikji. On his advice, the peasants refused to pay grant for the World War I and the lag – bag imposed by the Jagirdar. The nationalist newspaper Pratap from Kanpur and Maratha by Bal Gangadhar Tilak published their write – ups in favour of the peasants.

The Thikana masters continued their suppressive policy and began to extract the lag-bag forcibly. Pathik ji, Manikyalal Verma, Sadhu Sitaram Das, Ganpati Mathur and Prem Chandi Bhil were accused as traitiors and were taken prisioners. Pathikji, being underground, could not be arrested. Maharana of Mewar appointed two commissions, in April, 1919, and in February, 1920, but the grievances of the peasants could not be redressed.

The peasants of upermal left their lands uncultivated and left the Bijolia Thikana. They went to other neigbouring places to cultivate the lands. At that time, Pathik ji was directing the peasant movement from Badhana (Gwalior state). With the mediatorship of the A.G.G. Sir Roberts Holland (1922), an honourable compromise was reached between the Thikana and the peasants. This was a grand victory of Bijolia peasant movement. The law suits against the farmers were taken back.

3. The third phase of Bijolia Peasant’ Movements:

 The leadership of third phase of the movement, on the request of Manikya Lai Verma, was entrusted to Jamnalal Bajaj and Hari Bhau Upadhyay. The purpose of the movement was to get back the surrendred revenue land ultimatetly after the peasant satyagrah in 1931.

Seth Jamnalal Bajaj and the prime minister of Mewar Vijay Raghavacharya succeeded in getting back the revenue lands for the old farmers. Thus, after a long struggle (1879 – 1940), in 1941, the Bijolia peasant movement came to a successful end. With the passage of time, this movement had a far-reaching effect. Consequently, at other places also, the farmers got their grievances settled through various movements.

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