Account for the rise and growth of peasant and working class movements and their contribution in…

Question

Account for the rise and growth of peasant and working class movements and their contribution in anti-feudal and anti-colonial struggles.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Peasant and working class movements grew from colonial revenue exploitation, the collapse of traditional livelihoods and feudal oppression, and fought feudal and colonial power together through Kisan Sabhas, trade unions and mass protests. In Telangana and coastal Andhra, the Telangana struggle and zamindari abolition reshaped landholding.

**Introduction**

The rise of peasant and working class movements in colonial India was driven by economic exploitation, feudal oppression, and political awakening, playing a crucial role in anti-feudal and anti-colonial struggles. These movements reflected the growing discontent against both colonial policies and traditional hierarchies, becoming a vital force in India’s freedom struggle.

**Causes Behind the Rise and Growth**

1. **Colonial Economic and Feudal Exploitation**: British land revenue systems like Zamindari and Ryotwari imposed heavy taxes, causing widespread indebtedness; landlords and moneylenders extracted high rents and forced labour, while deindustrialisation pushed artisans into landlessness.  
2. **Critique and Organisation**: Jyotiba Phule’s Shetkaryacha Asud (‘Kisan Ka Koda⟦2⟧’, 1883) exposed the exploitation of cultivators, and later the Kisan Sabhas and trade unions such as the AITUC (1920) organised peasants and workers.

**Contributions in Anti-Feudal and Anti-Colonial Struggles**

1. **Mobilizing Marginalized Groups**: Movements united landless labourers and outcastes, weakening feudal hierarchies and promoting social equity, exemplified by the 1921 Chargola exodus⟦3⟧ of plantation women showing intersectionality.  
2. **Political Integration and Empowerment**: Peasant and worker movements linked economic struggles with nationalist politics, with Kisan Sabha and trade unions playing key roles; in Telangana, the armed struggle against the Nizam’s jagirdars combined anti-feudal and political goals.  
3. **Sustaining Mass Mobilization**: These movements provided a broad base for protests and strikes, amplifying campaigns like the Champaran Satyagraha and Quit India Movement, strengthening anti-colonial resistance.

**Way Forward**

1. **Inclusive Agrarian Reforms and Political Education**: Strengthening land redistribution and rural political awareness is vital for sustaining empowerment.

**Conclusion**

Peasant and working class movements reshaped rural India’s socio-political landscape, advancing anti-feudal and anti-colonial objectives by challenging exploitation and fostering political consciousness.

Account for the rise and growth of peasant and working class movements and their contribution in anti-feudal and anti-colonial struggles.

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