Presentation on Workers and peasants movement

Presented by- Neelu Gupta

Roll no.- 6

Course- B.A.(H.)

Submitted to- Pankaj Sir

Workers and Peasants Movement

Working class movement

The working class was the new class which emerged as a result of the plantations and modern industries started under the ageis of British colonialism during the later half of nineteenth century.

The peasantry as a class gained consciousness during the national movement.

It began to move, through very slowly, to build up its own organization, formulates it own class movement.

The India nationalists also felt that without the support of the peasantry, who formed a large section of the population, they could not win freedom.

Swadeshi movement

During 1905-1908 the Swadeshi movement is considered a period of industrial unrest in India.

An official survey entitled administration of Bengal under Andrew Frazer 1903-08 described industrial unrest and the rise of professional agitator as quite a novel phenomenon.

the first labour union, the printers union, was formed in October 1905. in July 1906, a strikes of clerks of east Indian railways led to the formation of railwaymen,s union.

Four Swadeshi leaders- Aswinicoomar Banerjee, P.K.Roy Chowdhuri, Premtosh Bose and A.K.Gosh- dedicated themselves to the labour struggle.

Swadeshi was advocated because through it ‘ the work in mills would increase and the employees would be benefitted.

The first political strike occurred in Bombay in 1908 following the arrest to Tilak but after that there was no nationalist interest in the workers movement till the first world war.

GANDHIJI DECIDED TO LAUNCH THE NON- COOPERATION MOVEMENT BECAUSE

First World War added to the misery of the Indian people. Heavy taxes, high prices, famines and epidemics made people’s life miserable.

• Rowlett Act invited large scale protests throughout the country

.• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and the injustice done to Punjab made Indians angry.

• Muslims became unhappy due to the ill treatment of Turkey. They started Khilafat Movement.

• The Congress session at Nagpur (1920) adopted Gandhiji’s the idea of Non-co operation.

NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT

Non co operation was launched under Gandhiji’s leadership in 1920.

• It aimed at protesting against the injustices done to Punjab and Turkey and to attain Swaraj.

• Educated middle class led the movement in towns and cities. Educational institutions, Law courts and foreign goods were boycotted.

• Peasants organized movements against Talukdars and Landlords in villages under the leadership of Baba Ramchandra.

• Tribal people started an armed struggle in the Gudem hills of Andhra Pradesh under the leadership of Alluri Sitaram Raju.

• Workers in the plantations of Assam started a struggle to get the right to free movement.

• Chauri-Chaura incident forced Gandhiji to call off the Movement.

Beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement

-> The Simon Commission

-> Rejection of the Nehru Report

-> Demand of Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence.

Civil disobedience movement

The Civil Disobedience Movement then spread all over the country. People started cutting trees. They broke the forest laws. Peasants refused to pay land revenue. The mill workers observed hartals.

Kasturba Gandhi Hansaben Mehta Kamala Nehru Sarojini Naidu Some of the women who actively participated ……..

Women participated in large numbers. They opposed shops selling foreign goods. They opposed shops selling liquor. Many suffered imprisonment. They faced the police courageously.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT1930-1932 .HOW DID THE

PARTICIPANTS SAW THE MOVEMENT ?

Civil disobedience Movement 1930-1932. how did the participations saw the movement? Groups of people who joined: patidars of Gujarat and Jats of Uttar Pradesh active in C.D.M. problems:

a. Affected by trade depression and increasing prices as they were commercial crop producers.

b. Cash income disappeared and so, difficult to pay govt. revenue demands.

c. Govt. refuse to reduce the revenue demands which led to anger

Swaraj struggle against high revenue : Groups of people who joined Swaraj are poor peasants:

a) Reduce revenue demands

b) Wanted unpaid rents to the land lord to be remitted. Joined by radical movements and led by socialists and communist. Congress unwilling to support rent campaign in most places. So relationship between the poor peasants and the congress remained uncertain.

Bardoli Satyagrah

The main issue of the Bardoli Satyagrah was the non-payment of revenue.

Bardoli movement was virtually a movement of the Patidars.

The Bombay govt. announced a revenue hike of 22% in Bardoli in 1927 and turn down the proposal of the roots to pay at the old rates.

When the civil disobedience movement was launched in 1930, the Bardoli peasants once again refused to pay revenue and showed extraordinary courage in facing repression.

Hardeman writes that many patidars were ruined for life and Gandhi-Irwin pact broke patidars morals.