Question map
Against which of the following hardships and privations the Peasants and the Indian nationalists, under the leadership of the Congress, engineer a great struggle?
Explanation
The Indian National Congress, particularly under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, spearheaded significant peasant struggles against the colonial administration's rigid land revenue policies. A primary grievance was the lack of remission of land revenue during periods of drought, famine, and natural calamities [c2][c3]. For instance, the Kheda Satyagraha (1918) was specifically organized because the British government refused to waive revenue despite crop failure, violating their own revenue code. While the Congress advocated for peasant protection against high rents and illegal levies [c1][c3], the specific 'great struggle' engineered by nationalists often centered on the state's refusal to grant relief during distress. Although extortionate assessments and the absence of Permanent Settlement were systemic issues [t2][t3], the mobilization for non-violent mass resistance frequently pivoted on the immediate hardship of paying fixed taxes during agricultural failure [c2][t6].
Sources
- [1] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 1: Rise of Nationalism in India > Economic > p. 10
- [2] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 5: Period of Radicalism in Anti-imperialist Struggles > 5.4 Karachi Session of the Indian National Congress, 1931 > p. 66
- [3] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 31: Peasant Movements 1857-1947 > Peasantry Under Colonialism > p. 574