Peasants in the Swadeshi Movement

The Swadeshi Movement (1905–1911) marked an early attempt to bring rural masses into the national struggle. Unlike urban students and workers, peasant participation remained localized and uneven across different regions. In most parts of Bengal, the movement struggled to build a deep peasant base. Swadeshi leaders belonged mostly to the urban intelligentsia and landlord (zamindar) class. They avoided raising agrarian demands such as rent reduction, land tenure security, or abolition of illegal cesses (abwabs) to preserve class unity with nationalist zamindars. The economic program of Swadeshi created unintended burdens for poor cultivators. Imported machine-made cloth and Liverpool salt were cheaper than indigenous alternatives. Poor peasants found it difficult to afford costlier Swadeshi goods. Additionally, the reliance on Hindu religious oaths and temple gatherings alienated sections of the Muslim peasantry in Eastern Bengal.

Pockets of Active Peasant Mobilization

Despite general limitations, specific leaders and regions successfully mobilized agrarian communities around local economic and national grievances.

Barisal District and Swadesh Bandhab Samiti

• Ashwini Kumar Dutta built a strong rural network in Barisal through the Swadesh Bandhab Samiti.
• The Samiti operated 159 branches in rural areas, reaching agricultural laborers and Muslim peasants.
• It established 89 local arbitration courts (Salishi Adalats) that resolved over 5,000 village disputes outside colonial courts.
• It introduced grain banks (Dharma Golas) to assist poor cultivators during food shortages.

Punjab Agrarian Movement of 1907

• Punjab witnessed intense peasant unrest in 1907 over British agrarian policies in canal colonies.
• Cultivators revolted against the Punjab Colonization Bill of 1906, which reduced peasant land rights and converted owners into tenants.
• Peasants protested against increased water rates on the Bari Doab canal and enhanced land revenue demands.
• Sardar Ajit Singh (uncle of Bhagat Singh) founded the Anjuman-i-Mohisban-i-Watan (Bharat Mata Society) to lead the rural protest.
• Ajit Singh and Lala Lajpat Rai addressed massive rural rallies, popularizing the patriotic song Pagdi Sambhal Jatta composed by Banke Lal.
• The agitation forced the British government to repeal the Colonization Bill and withdraw the increased water tax.

Other Regional Agrarian Disturbances

• Mymensingh and Tippera: Tensions erupted in Eastern Bengal over high prices of Swadeshi goods and coercive market picketing, leading to agrarian clashes in Comilla and Jamalpur in 1907.
• Andhra Delta: Nationalist bards toured the Krishna and Godavari river basins, explaining the concept of economic drain to rural cultivators.
• Assam and Chota Nagpur: Plantation laborers and tribal cultivators organized local strikes against British estate managers.

Regional Peasant Mobilization During Swadeshi Era

Causes of Limited Mass Peasant Support

• Avoidance of Land Reforms: Nationalist leaders refrained from taking up tenant issues against zamindars, leaving primary rural grievances unaddressed.
• High Price of Swadeshi Items: Coarse handloom cloth (khadi) and local salt cost more than imported goods, hurting landless agricultural laborers.
• Use of Religious Symbols: Extremist leaders used Hindu rituals and temple vows for political pledges, which colonial officials exploited to divide Hindu and Muslim peasants.
• Coercive Market Picketing: Nationalist volunteers sometimes forcibly blocked rural markets (hats), preventing poor peasants from buying cheap imported essentials.

Essential Facts on Peasants in Swadeshi Movement

The Punjab Colonization Bill of 1906 sought to deny canal colony peasants the right to transfer land and allowed colonial authorities to confiscate property for minor infractions. Banke Lal, editor of the newspaper Jhang Sayal, wrote the famous poem Pagdi Sambhal Jatta during these 1907 canal colony protests. Ashwini Kumar Dutta’s Swadesh Bandhab Samiti in Barisal achieved the deepest rural penetration during the movement, creating village committees that handled education, sanitation, and dispute settlement. Folk theater (Jatras) and itinerant bards like Mukunda Das played a central role in translating political concepts of Swadeshi into simple rural dialects for illiterate peasants. The British government deported Sardar Ajit Singh and Lala Lajpat Rai to Mandalay in May 1907 under Regulation III of 1818 to prevent the spread of peasant rebellion in the Indian army, as many soldiers came from Punjab peasant families.