Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) was a textbook of disciplined peasant mobilisation under colonial rule. Discuss the methods and the leadership that made it possible.
Subtopic: Modern Indian History · Peasant Movements
How to structure your answer
Introduction: The Bardoli Satyagraha of February–August 1928 in Surat district challenged a 22% revenue enhancement imposed by the Bombay Presidency.
Body — three dimensions: (1) Methods: no-tax campaign by 88,000 peasants of 137 villages; volunteer cadres (sevaks); social boycott of officials; village funds for affected families; preserved discipline through chowkidari and constructive programme. (2) Leadership: Vallabhbhai Patel, requested by Bardoli Taluk Conference; supported by Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh, Mithubehn Petit; Patel earned the title Sardar from women satyagrahis. (3) Outcome and significance: government-appointed Maxwell-Broomfield Inquiry reduced enhancement from 22% to 6.03%; land returned to dispossessed; established Patel as a national leader and a template for organised peasant satyagraha drawn upon in Civil Disobedience.
Conclusion: Sumit Sarkar reads Bardoli as proof that a disciplined regional satyagraha could compel a colonial state to negotiate, validating the Gandhian method between Chauri Chaura and Dandi.
Written within the word limit
143 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: The Bardoli Satyagraha of February–August 1928 in Surat district challenged a 22 per cent revenue enhancement imposed by the Bombay Presidency and became the textbook for disciplined peasant mobilisation under colonial rule.
Body: Methods combined a no-tax campaign by 88,000 peasants across 137 villages, volunteer cadres (sevaks) trained for social boycott of revenue officials, village funds for affected families, and a constructive programme of schools and sanitation. Vallabhbhai Patel, invited by the Bardoli Taluk Conference in January 1928, led the campaign with Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh and Mithubehn Petit's women's volunteer corps. Outcome: the Maxwell-Broomfield Inquiry (1929) cut the enhancement from 22 per cent to 6.03 per cent, dispossessed land was restored, and Patel earned the title "Sardar" from Bardoli women.
Conclusion: Sumit Sarkar reads Bardoli as proof that a disciplined regional satyagraha could compel a colonial state to negotiate, validating the Gandhian method between Chauri Chaura and Dandi.
What an examiner expects to see
- Bardoli Satyagraha February–August 1928
- 22% revenue enhancement by Bombay Presidency
- 88,000 peasants across 137 villages
- Vallabhbhai Patel as leader
- Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh, Mithubehn Petit as lieutenants
- No-tax campaign, social boycott of collaborators
- Maxwell-Broomfield Inquiry, 1929
- Enhancement reduced from 22% to 6.03%
- Patel earns 'Sardar' from Bardoli women
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Bardoli Taluk Conference invitation to Patel, January 1928
- Patidar peasants as core constituency
- Mithubehn Petit's women's volunteer corps
- Maxwell-Broomfield Committee revision of revenue
- Mahadev Desai's 'The Story of Bardoli' (1929)