Distinguish between peasants' and new farmers' movements.

(i) Peasants' Movements: Peasants movements or agrarian struggles have taken place from pre-colonial days. The movements in the period between 1858 and 1914 tended to remain localised, disjointed and confined to particular grievances. Well-known are the Bengal revolt of 1859-62 against the indigo plantation system and the 'Deccan riots' of 1857 against moneylenders. Some of these issues continued into the following period, and under the ledership of Mahatma Gandhi became partially linked to the Independence Movement. For instance, the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928, Surat District) a 'non-tax' campaign as part of the nationwide non-cooperative movement, a campaign of refusal to pay land revenue and the Champaran Satyagraha (1917-18) directed against indigo plantations. In the 1920s, protest movements against the forest policies of the British government and local rulers arose in certain regions.

Between 1920 and 1940 peasant organisations arose. The first organisation to be founded was the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (1929) and in 1936 the All India Kisan Sabha. The peasants organised by the Sabhas demanded freedom from economic exploitation for peasants, workers and all other exploited classes. At the time of Independence, we had the two most classical cases of peasant movements, namely the Tebhaga movement (1946-47) and the Telangana Movement (1946-51). The first was a struggle of sharecroppers in Bengal in North Bihar for two thirds share of their produce instead of the customary half. It had the support of the Kisan Sabha and the Communist Party of India (CPI). The second, directed against the feudal conditions in the princely state of Hyderabad and was led by the CPI.

(ii) New Farmers Movement: Certain issues which had dominated colonial times changed after independence. For land reforms, zamindari abolition, declining importance of land revenue and public credit system beganto alter rural areas. The period after 1947 was characterised by two major sociaI movevements. The NaxaIite struggle and the ‘new farmer’s movements. The Naxalite movement started from the region of Naxalbari (1967) in Bengal.

The so called ‘new farmer’s movements began in the 1970s in Punjab and Tamil Nadu. These movements were regionally organised we non-party and involved farmers rather than peasants. (farmers are said to be market involved as both commodity producers and purchasers). The basic ideology of the movement was strongly anit-state and anti-urban. The focus of demand were ‘price and related issues' (for example price procurement, remunerative prices, prices for agricultural inputs, taxation, non-repayment of loans). Novel methods of agitation were used; blocking of roads and railways, refusing politicians and bureaucrats entry to villages, and so on. It has been argued that the farmers' movements have broadened their agenda and ideology and include environment and women's issues. Therefore, they can be seen as a part of the world wide ‘new social movements'.