1. The Evolution and Role of the Nationalist Press
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the press in India did not function merely as a medium for news dissemination; it was a powerful political weapon for the nascent nationalist movement. Early pioneers like Raja Rammohan Roy recognized its potential, using journals like Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali) and Mirat-ul-Akbar (Persian) to advocate for social reform and critique colonial administrative policies. As the national movement matured, the press became the primary instrument for political education, training the public in nationalist ideology, and exposing the exploitative economic policies of the British Raj, such as the “Drain of Wealth” theory popularized by Dadabhai Naoroji.
Unlike modern commercial journalism, early Indian journalism was a dedicated public service. Setting up a press and publishing a newspaper was an act of political activism, often resulting in severe financial loss and government persecution. Prominent leaders edited influential journals: G. Subramaniya Iyer founded The Hindu and Swadesamitran, Surendranath Banerjea edited The Bengalee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak championed the nationalist cause through Kesari (in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English), and Gopal Krishna Gokhale influenced public opinion through Sudharak. These papers acted as institutional links, connecting local grievances to a larger national consciousness.
“The press was not run as a business enterprise but as a national trust. It was an instrument of political education, propaganda, and mobilization.”
To curb this rising tide of nationalism, the colonial state enacted highly restrictive laws. The most notorious of these was the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, introduced by Lord Lytton. Popularly known as the “Gagging Act,” it discriminated heavily against non-English newspapers. In a dramatic turn of events, the nationalist paper Amrita Bazar Patrika (edited by Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh) converted itself overnight from a bilingual weekly into an all-English newspaper to escape the draconian provisions of this Act. Later, during the Swadeshi and revolutionary phases, the British passed the Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act of 1908 and the Indian Press Act of 1910 to suppress radical voices.
2. Peasant Movements: From Localized Grievances to National Integration
Peasant resistance in modern India can be broadly divided into two distinct phases: the localized, spontaneous uprisings of the 19th century, and the organized, politically conscious movements of the 20th century. Under the British Raj, traditional agrarian structures were dismantled and replaced by oppressive land revenue systems like the Zamindari, Ryotwari, and Mahalwari systems. This led to high rents, insecurity of tenure, moneylender exploitation, and widespread rural indebtedness.
The 19th-century peasant struggles were characterized by immediate, localized grievances and targeted the direct exploiters—the landlords (zamindars), moneylenders (mahajans), and European planters—rather than the colonial state itself. Key struggles of this era include:
- The Indigo Revolt (1859–60): Centered in Bengal, this was a highly organized struggle against European planters who forced peasants to cultivate indigo under the exploitative tinkathia-like system (using advances called dadon). Led by figures like Digambar Biswas and Bishnu Biswas, the peasants refused to grow indigo, organized rent strikes, and legally fought the planters. The intellectual community of Bengal actively supported the movement; Dinabandhu Mitra highlighted their plight in his famous play Nil Darpan, and Harish Chandra Mukherjee championed their cause in the Hindu Patriot. This pressure forced the government to set up the Indigo Commission in 1860.
- The Pabna Agrarian Leagues (1873–76): In East Bengal, zamindars frequently enhanced rents beyond legal limits and prevented tenants from acquiring occupancy rights under Act X of 1859. Led by Ishan Chandra Roy, the peasants formed agrarian leagues to wage a peaceful, legal battle. They deposited their rents in courts and refused to pay enhanced rates. The movement was remarkably non-violent and did not aim to overthrow the British Raj (peasants declared they wanted to be “the Ryots of Her Majesty the Queen”). It eventually culminated in the passage of the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885.
- The Deccan Riots (1875): In the Ryotwari tracts of Pune and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, peasants faced exorbitant land revenue demands. When the cotton boom ended after the American Civil War, Ryots fell deep into the debt trap of Gujarati and Marwari moneylenders. The riots began as a social boycott of moneylenders and escalated into systematic attacks on their houses to destroy debt bonds and deeds. The government responded with repression but also enacted the Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act of 1879 to protect debtors.
By the 20th century, peasant struggles became closely aligned with the broader national movement. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and other nationalist leaders, agrarian grievances were integrated into the mainstream freedom struggle. The Champaran Satyagraha (1917) against the European indigo planters, the Kheda Satyagraha (1918) against high revenue demands during a famine, and the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel against an arbitrary 30% revenue hike, demonstrated the power of non-violent Satyagraha. The Bardoli struggle was so successful that it forced the government to set up the Maxwell-Broomfield Commission, which reduced the revenue hike to 6.03%.
The institutional climax of the peasant movement occurred with the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in 1936. Founded by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati (as President) and N.G. Ranga (as General Secretary), the AIKS demanded the abolition of zamindari
