Question map
The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for
Explanation
The Tebhaga Peasant Movement (1946–47) in Bengal was a significant struggle led by sharecroppers, known as bargadars or adhiars, against the exploitative jotedars [2]. The primary demand of the movement was to implement the recommendations of the Floud Commission, which suggested increasing the sharecroppers' portion of the harvest to two-thirds, thereby reducing the landlord's share from the traditional one-half (50%) to one-third (33%) [3]. This demand for 'tebhaga' (three shares) was based on the fact that sharecroppers provided all labor, seeds, and cattle. The movement, organized by the Bengal Provincial Kisan Sabha and communist cadres, used the slogan 'nij khamare dhan tolo' to encourage peasants to store grain in their own threshing floors rather than the landlords' [3]. While the movement later added slogans for zamindari abolition, its core and defining demand remained the reduction of the landlord's crop share.
Sources
- [1] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 10: Land Reforms in India > NEED AND OBJECTIVE OF LAND REFORMS > p. 338
- [2] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 9: COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE > 1.4 The rise of the jotedars > p. 231
- [3] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 31: Peasant Movements 1857-1947 > Tebhaga Movement > p. 583