PEASANT CONSCIOUSNESS AND RESISTANCE IN COLONIAL PUNJAB: A CASE STUDY OF PEASANTS IN THE PUNJAB PROVINCE FROM 1930S-1940S

Abstract

This study examines at the socioeconomic and political causes of the widespread unrest against British colonial rule that accompanied the peasant rebellion in Punjab Province in the 1930s and 1940s. Punjab was an agrarian region that suffered greatly from the Great Depression as a result of high land taxes, revenue policies that were exploitative, and debt to moneylenders. Peasants, who were largely repressed by powerful landowners and colonial rulers, staged marches, strikes, and uprisings in order to seek equitable treatment, debt relief, and land reforms. The rural population was crucially mobilized by the advent of communist ideals, especially through the Kirti Kisan Party. Peasants' resistance was further heightened by their involvement in the Quit India Movement and other minor revolutionary operations. Alongside the brutal repression of the colonial state, this time also saw the communalization of politics leading up to 1947's Partition, which finally caused the disintegration of class-based solidarity. Though mostly overshadowed by communal conflicts during the latter years of British control in the region, the study demonstrates how peasant movements in Punjab challenged colonial authority and contributed to the greater anti-colonial movement.