Bijolia Peasant movement in Rajasthan

2.  INTRODUCTION
 ORIGIN
 FIRST PHASE
 SECOND PHASE
 THIRD PHASE
 C0NCLUSION

3.  The Bijolia movementwas a peasant movement in
the Bijolia jagir of the former Mewar state (in
present-day Rajasthan in India) against excessive
land revenue exactions. Originating in the
former jagir (feudal estate) of Bijolia (near the town
of Bijolia in Bhilwara district), the movement
gradually spread to neighbouring jagirs.
Leadership to the movement was provided, at
different times, by Sitaram Das, Vijay Singh Pathik,
and Manikyalal Verma.[1] The movement
continued till 1941 after a bitter struggle lasting
about half a century, gained national attention and
resisted state oppression

5.  Land revenue and other taxes were the main issues
behind the movement. Bijolia was a jagir in Mewar
State, ruled by the Parmar jagirdar, one of the leading
16 nobles (solah umrao) in Mewar State. Peasant
discontent started after the accession of Rao Sawai
Kishan Singh ji to the jagir in 1894. "Rao Sawai" was the
title given to the Jagirdars of the Pawar /Parmar
dynasty who ruled on Bijolia; Rao Sawai Kishan Singh
ji shuffled the administrative personnel of the jagir and
the new officials were encouraged to realize more
revenue from peasants. Certain taxis (lagat) which were
formerly imposed under extraordinary circumstances
for short periods were now made to last longer.

7.  In 1897, a delegation of peasants consisting of Nanji
Patel of Berisal and Thakari Patel of Gopal Niwas went
to Udaipur and attempted, in vain, to get an audience
with the Maharana.[ But the Maharana did institute an
inquiry which concluded that certain taxes had been
arbitrarily imposed by the jagirdar. The Maharana
issued a warning to thejagirdar, which only resulted in
him retaliating against the two delegates who had gone
to Udaipur. The peasants continued appeals to
the jagirdar who ultimate granted some concessions to
the peasants in 1904.

8.  The concessions granted in 1904 did not last. In 1906,
Prithvi Singh ascended to the jagir and withdrew the
concessions granted in 1904 and instructed officials to
collected increased taxes. Failing to get a hearing from
the jagirdar, some peasants chose not to cultivate their
lands and migrated to neighboring Gwalior and Bundi.
 Some more concessions were promised to the peasants
on 1914, but never implemented.

10.  In 1916, war fund contributions were further imposed on the
peasants which lead to renewed dissatisfaction. It was in
1916 that Bhoop Singh alias Vijai Singh Pathik arrived in
Bijolia and organized the peasants under the Bijolia Kisan
Panchayat to oppose payments to the war fund and other
taxes. Petitions were sent to the Maharana, and stories of the
agitation started receiving publicity in various
newspapers. Partially because of the negative publicity in
the press, the Maharana appointed a commission of inquiry,
which found the peasants' grievances to be genuine and
recommended the abolition of some taxes and begar (unpaid
or forced labor). But the Maharana failed to act on the report
and the oppression as well as the movement led by Pathik
continued.

11.  After the failure of the inquiry to yield results, Pathik
advised peasants to cultivate unirrigated lands which
were subject to lower taxes. In February 1920, the
Maharana appointed another commission of inquiry
which also reached the same conclusions as the earlier
commission. Other jagirdars feared that the Maharana's
intervention would result in a chain reaction, and
influenced the Maharana to not act on the
commission's report.
 Leaders of the Bijolia movement attempted to obtain
the support of the Indian National Congress (INC). In
December 1919, Pathik succeeded in putting a
resolution before the INC in support of the Bijolia
peasants, but the resolution failed, largely because the
INC leadership disfavored agitation in the princely
states. Nonetheless, these efforts attracted the attention
of national leaders towards the Bijolia movement and
the movement obtained the support of some of the
leaders.

12.  Meanwhile, the peasant movement of Bijolia continued to get
increased publicity and began to spread to other jagirs such as
Begun, Parsoli, and Bhinder. In December 1921, the Mewar State
Resident reported:
 The unrest is now spreading to Bhinder, an estate under
the darbar management, where the cultivators are refusing the pay
revenue. The situation in Bijolia and in the
neighbouring thikanas of Parsoli, Begun and Basi has distinctly
deteriorated. There is a general refusal to pay revenue. There is
threat of violence if any attempt is made to collect revenue or to
enforce official orders...An atmosphere of discontent is being
created and the movement is spreading.
 This compelled the Agent to the Governor General to visit the
various jagirs of Mewar and direct the jagirdar and Mewar State to
conclude an agreement with the peasants. Finally, the Bijolia
Agreement was signed on February 11, 1922. The agreement
brought about the following changes: reduction in amount
of talwar bandhi, no taxes when there was no cultivation, reduction
in chatoond tax and land revenue, etc.

14.  By 1928, there was a general complain among the
peasants of Bijolia that the agreement of 1922 had been
violated by the jagirdar. The peasants also complained
that taxes on unirrigated lands were very high
and jagir authorities were interfering in the affairs of
the Bijolia Kisan Panchayat.

16.  The bijolia peasant movement could not maintain its
ultimate goal but it did succeed is infusing anti-fended
consiousuess among the peasants of rajasthan. It also
proved a serve attack on feudalism. It also inspired &
encourged such type of monuments in the other parts
of Rajasthan. This prepared the ground for mass
struggle & social development.

18. SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:
DEPT. OF HISTORY GEETIKA MATHUR
KANORIA P.G. COLLEGE, M.A. FINAL HISTORY
JAIPUR (SEMESTER IV)