Question

Explain codes of National Cooperation Movement in countryside?

Answer 1

In Awadh, peasants were led by Baba Ramchandra – a sanyasi whohad earlier been to Fiji as an indentured labourer. The movementhere was against talukdars and landlords who demanded frompeasants exorbitantly high rents and a variety of other cesses. Peasantshad to do begar and work at landlords’ farms without any payment.As tenants they had no security of tenure, being regularly evicted sothat they could acquire no right over the leased land. The peasantmovement demanded reduction of revenue, abolition of begar, andsocial boycott of oppressive landlords. In many places nai – dhobibandhs were organised by panchayats to deprive landlords of theservices of even barbers and washermen.
Tribal peasants interpreted the message of Mahatma Gandhi andthe idea of swaraj in yet another way. In the Gudem Hills of AndhraPradesh, for instance, a militant guerrilla movement spread inthe early 1920s – not a form of struggle that the Congress couldapprove. Here, as in other forest regions, the colonial governmenthad closed large forest areas, preventing people from enteringthe forests to graze their cattle, or to collect fuelwood and fruits.This enraged the hill people. Not only were their livelihoodsaffected but they felt that their traditional rights were being denied.When the government began forcing them to contribute begarfor road building, the hill people revolted. The person who cameto lead them was an interesting figure. Alluri Sitaram Raju claimedthat he had a variety of special powers: he could make correctastrological predictions and heal people, and he could surviveeven bullet shots. Captivated by Raju, the rebels proclaimed thathe was an incarnation of God. Raju talked of the greatness ofMahatma Gandhi, said he was inspired by the Non-CooperationMovement, and persuaded people to wear khadi and give up drinking.But at the same time he asserted that India could be liberated onlyby the use of force, not non-violence. The Gudem rebels attackedpolice stations, attempted to kill British officials and carried onguerrilla warfare for achieving swaraj. Raju was captured andexecuted in 1924, and over time became a folk hero.