Q. The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for (UPSC Prelims 2013)
Answer: the reduction of the share of the landlords from one-half of the crop to one-third
Notes: The correct answer is [A] the reduction of the share of the landlords from one-half of the crop to one-third. The Tebhaga movement was a significant peasant agitation initiated in Bengal by the All India Kisan Sabha, the peasant front of the Communist Party of India, just before the independence of India (1946–1947).

• Reduction of Crop Share (Statement A is Correct): The word "Tebhaga" literally means "three shares." At the time, sharecroppers (known as Bargadars, Adhiars, or Bhagchasis) were required to give half of their harvest to the landlords (Jotedars). The central demand of the movement was to reduce the landlord's share to one-third and allow the sharecroppers to retain two-thirds of the produce.
• Ownership of Land (Statement B is Incorrect): While the long-term goal of many peasant movements was "land to the tiller," the specific and immediate demand of the Tebhaga movement focused on the distribution of the harvest (the produce) rather than the legal transfer of land ownership.
• Uprooting Zamindari System (Statement C is Incorrect): Although the movement challenged the authority of the landed gentry (specifically the Jotedars), its primary slogan was "Tebhaga Chai" (We want two-thirds). The total abolition of the Zamindari system was a broader political objective of the Kisan Sabha, but Tebhaga was a specific struggle over the surplus-sharing ratio.
• Writing off Debts (Statement D is Incorrect): Debt relief was a major issue in other movements (like the Deccan Riots or during the Great Depression), but it was not the defining demand of the Tebhaga struggle.