During the British rule, peasants suffered due to high rents, illegal levies, arbitrary evictions, and unpaid labor. As a result, they emerged as the main force in agrarian movements fighting directly for their own demands.

Nature of the peasant movements in the 19th century:

• Centered around economic issues: The demands of the peasants were centered almost wholly on economic issues such as the Pabna revolt of the 1870s.
• Lack of understanding of colonial motives: There was a lack of an adequate understanding of colonialism and hence colonialism was not the main target of these movements. These movements were directed against the immediate enemies of the peasants i.e. foreign planters indigenous zamindars and moneylenders.
• Limited objectives: The struggles of the peasants were directed towards specific and limited objectives and redressal of particular grievances. It was not the objective of these movements to end the system of subordination or exploitation of the peasants.
• The limited reach of movements: Their territorial reach was limited and there was no continuity of struggle or long-term organization.
• Archaic methods of struggle: The 19th-century peasants did not possess a new ideology and a new social, economic, and political program.
  • These struggles, however militant, occurred within the framework of the old societal order lacking a positive conception of an alternative society.

In contrast, the peasant movements of the 20th century were more organized and nationalistic in nature, which can be evidenced by the following:

• Peasants as part of the Indian national movement: With the appearance of Mahatma Gandhi on the Indian political stage, peasants were brought into the mainstream struggle against colonialism with agrarian movements like the Champaran movement of 1917, Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 and Bardoli Satyagraha in 1926. There was an emergence of nationalist consciousness among peasants.
• Nation-wide organized movements: The nature of these movements was similar across the country in terms of methods adopted like the no rent campaign, no Chowkidars tax campaign, etc.
• Emergence of class-conscious organisations: The movements eroded the power of the landed class, thus, adding to the transformation of the agrarian structure.
  • There was an emergence of independent class organizations of peasants in rural India due to the Congress policy of safeguarding the interests of zamindars and landlords.
  • The first Kisan Congress held at Lucknow in 1935 led to the formation of the All-India Kisan Sabha.
  • These movements were based on the ideology of nationalism.
• National-level leadership: During this period, peasant movements were led by Congress and Communist leaders. For instance, the Tebhaga movement (1946-47) was led by the Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha.

Therefore, the peasant movements of the 20th century were deeply influenced by and had a marked impact on the national freedom struggle.