Sahajanand Saraswati and Peasant Politics

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was an ascetic, nationalist leader, and pioneer of the organized peasant movement in colonial India. Operating primarily from Bihar, he transformed localized agrarian distress into a powerful political voice against the landlordism of the Zamindari system and British administrative policies. His efforts laid the foundation for institutionalized peasant unions, leading to the creation of the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha and the All India Kisan Sabha. By mobilizing rural cultivators across caste barriers, he altered the course of Indian freedom struggle politics and pushed agrarian reform to the forefront of the national agenda.

Early Life and Ascetic Transition

Ideological Evolution

Born as Narmada Prasad Rai in 1889 in the Ghazipur district of the United Provinces, he entered the Dandi Sanyasi tradition in 1907 and took the name Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. Initially dedicated to religious scholarship and social reform within the Bhumihar Brahman community, his focus shifted toward the structural economic distress of the peasantry during his stay at the Bihta Ashram near Patna in the 1920s.

Entry into Nationalist Movement

Sahajanand joined the Indian National Congress during the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920 after meeting Mahatma Gandhi. He mobilized rural masses for nationalist causes across Bihar but increasingly realized that political freedom from British rule remained incomplete without economic emancipation for small peasants and agricultural workers.

Institutionalizing Peasant Resistance

Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS)

In November 1929, Sahajanand established the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha at the Sonepur Fair to give structural backing to tenant grievances.

• He served as its founding President, working alongside leaders such as Karyanand Sharma, Yadunandan Sharma, Rahul Sankrityayan, and Panchanan Sharma.
• Under his stewardship, the BPKS grew into the largest provincial peasant organization in colonial India, boasting over 250,000 members by 1935.
• The organization shifted its demand from tenant-landlord compromise to the total abolition of the Zamindari system at its Hajipur session in 1935.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)

Recognizing the need for a national umbrella organization for agrarian workers, Sahajanand coordinated with leaders across India to form the All India Kisan Sabha at Lucknow on April 11, 1936.

• He was elected as the inaugural President of the AIKS, while N. G. Ranga became the General Secretary.
• He presided over the famous Faizpur session of the AIKS in 1936, held alongside the first rural session of the Indian National Congress.
• The organization released the Kisan Manifesto in August 1936, demanding a 50 percent reduction in land revenue, cancellation of rural debts, and complete security of land tenure.

Major Movements and Direct Action

Resistance Against Bakhasht Evictions

Sahajanand led intense agitations against the eviction of tenants from Bakhasht lands—lands confiscated by Zamindars for non-payment of rent during the Great Depression.

• He organized peasant satyagrahas in districts like Patna, Gaya, Shahabad, and Monghyr.
• In the Reora Satyagraha (Gaya) led alongside Yadunandan Sharma, peasants directly tilled disputed lands, forcing the administration to restore cultivating rights.
• His slogan “How will you take Bakhasht? We will take Bakhasht with our sticks” (Danda Pradhan) marked a tactical shift toward active physical defense against landlord henchmen (Lathials).

Clash with Congress and Radical Alignment

Sahajanand clashed with the provincial Congress administration after the 1937 elections over its compromise pact with the Bihar Landholders’ Association.

• He criticized the Congress Ministry for diluting agrarian legislation and restricting peasant protests.
• During World War II, he was arrested in 1940 for leading anti-war agrarian protests and spent two years in Bihta and Hazaribagh jails.
• He collaborated with the Congress Socialist Party, Subhas Chandra Bose’s Forward Bloc, and later the Communist Party of India to advance peasant causes.

Literary Contributions and Publications

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was born in 1889 in Ghazipur district, United Provinces, as Narmada Prasad Rai.
• He founded the Sitaram Ashram at Bihta, near Patna, in 1928, which served as the operational headquarters for the Kisan movement.
• He established the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) at the Sonepur Fair in November 1929.
• He became the first President of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) founded at Lucknow on April 11, 1936.
• He presided over the historic All India Kisan Conference at Faizpur in December 1936.
• He edited and launched the influential Hindi weekly newspaper Hunkar in 1940 alongside Rahul Sankrityayan.
• He authored his famous autobiography titled Mera Jivan Sangharsh (My Life Struggle).
• He pioneered the direct action movement against Bakhasht land evictions in Bihar during the late 1930s.
• He organized the Anti-Compromise Conference at Ramgarh in 1940 in collaboration with Subhas Chandra Bose against the British war policy.
• He passed away on June 26, 1950, in Patna, shortly after India achieved independence.