Modern History : Phase In Between (1922-1930)

Q 9 / 25

UPSC CSE Prelims 2013

The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for

EXPLANATION

Correct Option (A):

The Tebhaga Peasant Movement, which took place in Bengal during 1946-47, was a significant agrarian struggle. Its central demand was for the reduction of the landlord's share of the agricultural produce from one-half to one-third. The movement aimed to ensure that sharecroppers, known as bargadars, would retain two-thirds (tebhaga) of the crop they cultivated, thereby reducing the exploitative share previously taken by landowners.

Incorrect Options:

  • Option 2: The Tebhaga Movement primarily focused on the division of the crop share, not on the complete transfer of land ownership to the peasants.
  • Option 3: While the Zamindari system was a broader issue of land tenure, the specific demand of the Tebhaga Movement was a fairer crop division for sharecroppers, not the outright abolition of the Zamindari system or the end of serfdom.
  • Option 4: The movement's objective was related to the sharecropping system and the distribution of agricultural produce, not the relief or writing off of peasant debts.
SOURCEIndia's Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra, Chapter 29: The Last Phase (1942-47)