The Kisan Sabhu Movement

The Kisan Sabha Movement and Land Distribution

In the time, the Gandhian movement become irrelevant to many adivasis, the vacuum was filled by socialists. The latter organized the adivasis in some areas against landlords and shahukars. The first major socialist agitation was led by All- India Kisan Sabha. Under this movement the adivasis drinking problem was considered as a top priority, the main demand was "land to the tiller". In the thirties, leaders from the Kisan Sabha Movement organized several rallys to call the attention on the miserable conditions of the adivasis and to prevent the landlords from exploiting them. In some occasions the Kisan Sabha advised the adivasis to arm themselves with sticks and to make free use of them against the shahukars. The adivasis responded by taking direct action against the landlords, damaging their hedge and fruit-trees, intimidated their labourers and sending threats to them. Share croppers refused to hand-over a share of their crops. After some labourers refused to work for the shahukars, the latter attempted to bring in outside labour. Some of the shahukars were beaten by the adivasis. In the early fourties the adivasis Kisan Sabha activists together with local congress adivasis,carried out a series of attacks on shahukars and Parsis liquor shopkeepers. Adivasis activists raided the villages in which there where shahukars and Parsis liquor shopkeepers. They broke into and looted their houses trying to wipe their debts. The liquor availability decreased progressively due to more control from the government through the prohibition act. The year 1950 saw the demise of the Parsi liquor dealers throughout the region. In 1950 the government eliminated large-scale landlordism to give land to the tillers. Most of the Parsis and urban shahukars lost their estates to their adivasis tenants. The land was not necessary distributed equitably, the bigger adivasis landowners benefited most. Being for the most part small land owning peasants the adivasis still needed an annual supply of credit which was provided to them by richer adivasis rather than the urban shahukars.