RAS question
The Kheda Satyagraha (1918) led by Gandhi was against:
Correct answer: (C) Revenue collection despite crop failure.
The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 opposed the government's demand for full land revenue from Kheda peasants despite crop failure.
Explanation
Kheda Satyagraha was an agrarian revenue protest in Kheda, also called Kaira, district of Gujarat. The official Digital District Repository says drought-related crop failure in 1918 worsened peasant hardship, and that the year's crop yield was less than one-fourth of the normal yield. Under the Revenue Code, this entitled peasants to remission, but the government rejected the request and demanded full taxes. Local leaders began a no-revenue campaign, and Gandhi asked peasants to refuse payment. Sardar Patel and Indulal Yagnik helped organise the peasants, and the government eventually suspended collection from poor peasants. The issue was therefore revenue collection despite crop failure.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Forced labour in tea gardens belongs to tea plantation labour issues in Assam, while Kheda was a Gujarat peasant revenue campaign.
- (B) Indigo plantation was the grievance in Champaran, whereas Kheda concerned full tax collection after crop failure.
- (D) Mill workers' wages refer to the Ahmedabad mill strike, a separate event from the Kheda peasant revenue satyagraha.
Concept
Gandhi's early satyagraha phase linked each movement with an immediate economic grievance. Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda sit close together in chronology but involved different social groups and demands.