Bihar Kisan Movement

The Bihar Kisan Movement was one of the most prominent regional agrarian struggles in 20th-century India, shaping the trajectory of peasant mobilization, land reform demands, and radical politics in the province. Driven by deep-seated agrarian distress following the Great Depression, the movement targeted the oppressive features of the Zamindari system, arbitrary rent hikes, illegal extractions (Abwabs), and the widespread eviction of tenants from Bakhasht lands. Under the leadership of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati and the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS), the movement mobilized peasants across caste lines, influenced policy decisions of the first Congress Ministry in Bihar, and provided the organizational bedrock for the launch of the All India Kisan Sabha in 1936.

Background and Socio-Economic Causes

Agrarian Hierarchy in Bihar

The Permanent Settlement of 1793 established a rigid socio-economic hierarchy in Bihar. A small class of hereditary Zamindars held absolute proprietary rights over land, while the majority of actual cultivators functioned as insecure tenants, sharecroppers, or landless laborers.

Impact of the Great Depression

The global economic crash of 1929 collapsed agricultural commodity prices by over 50 percent across Bihar. Small farmers and tenants struggled to pay fixed cash rents to landlords, leading to widespread indebtedness, land forfeitures, and mass evictions.

Core Grievances of Peasants

Peasants faced systemic exploitation through institutionalized landlord practices.

• Landlords routinely evicted tenants from Bakhasht lands—self-cultivated lands of Zamindars where tenants held no occupancy rights (Raiyathi status).
• Extortionate non-rent cesses, known as Abwabs, were forcibly collected for personal events in landlord households.
• Under the Bhowli (produce-rent) system, landlords demanded up to half or more of the standing crop, often delaying harvesting through official appraisers (Kankut) to force tenant compliance.
• Forced unpaid labor, known as Begar, was routinely extracted from lower-caste agricultural workers and tenant families.

Evolution and Key Phases of the Movement

Foundation of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (1929)

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati founded the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) at the Sonepur Fair in November 1929. The initial objective was to reform landlord-tenant relations and represent peasant grievances to the colonial administration. Early prominent leaders included Karyanand Sharma, Rahul Sankrityayan, Yadunandan Sharma, Ramnandan Mishra, and Panchanan Sharma.

Shift Toward Radicalism (1933–1935)

By 1933, the BPKS abandoned its initial moderate stance of landlord-tenant compromise due to the unrelenting agrarian crisis. The organization adopted a radical stance, calling for the complete abolition of the Zamindari system. In November 1935, the BPKS formally declared the abolition of Zamindari as its central goal at its Hajipur session.

Bakhasht Land Agitations (1936–1939)

The movement reached its peak between 1936 and 1939 through direct action campaigns aimed at recovering Bakhasht lands.

• In the Reora region of Gaya district, Yadunandan Sharma led peasants in resisting evictions and reclaiming confiscated holdings.
• In the Barahiya Tal area of Monghyr district, Karyanand Sharma organized a prolonged struggle from 1936 to 1939, where peasants forcibly harvested crops on disputed Bakhasht plots.
• In the Annawari region of Chhapra (Saran district), Rahul Sankrityayan spearheaded direct peasant resistance and faced multiple imprisonments.
• In Darbhanga, peasant cadres organized agitations against the oppressive administration of the Darbhanga Raj estate.

Confrontation with the Congress Ministry

Expectations and Disillusionment

Following the 1937 provincial elections, the Indian National Congress formed its first ministry in Bihar under Sri Krishna Sinha. Peasants anticipated radical land reforms and the total restoration of confiscated lands.

The Congress-Zamindar Pact

To avoid a total breakdown with the landed elite, the Congress ministry negotiated an agreement with the Bihar Landholders’ Association in late 1937. This pact diluted proposed tenancy reforms, leading to deep friction between the BPKS and the provincial Congress administration.

Legislative Reforms Undertaken

Despite limitations, sustained peasant pressure forced the Bihar government to pass important agrarian legislation.

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati established the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in November 1929 during the Sonepur Fair.
• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati served as the inaugural President of BPKS, while Srikrishna Sinha served as its early Secretary.
• The official organ of the BPKS was the weekly paper Hunkar, published in Hindi and edited by Pandit Rahul Sankrityayan.
• Bakhasht lands referred to landlord-managed lands cultivated by temporary tenants without permanent occupancy rights.
• The Barahiya Tal agitation in Monghyr was led by Karyanand Sharma between 1936 and 1939 against Bakhasht evictions.
• Yadunandan Sharma spearheaded the Reora Satyagraha in Gaya district, securing land rights for peasant cultivators.
• Rahul Sankrityayan led the peasant agitation in the Annawari area of Saran district.
• The BPKS formally adopted the abolition of the Zamindari system as its primary demand at the Hajipur session in November 1935.
• The mobilization by the BPKS in Bihar directly laid the groundwork for the establishment of the All India Kisan Sabha in Lucknow in April 1936.
• The Bihar Congress Ministry passed the Restoration of Bakhasht Lands Act in 1938 to mitigate tenant grievances following widespread protests.