Consider the following statements related to Bijolia Peasant Movement : A. Vijay Singh Pathik had gone to Wardha to meet Gandhiji to give information regarding the Bijolia Peasant Movement. B. Prayag’s Abhyudaya and Calcutta’s Bharat Mitra newspaper regularly published news related to the Bijolia Peasant Movement. Select the correct answer using the codes given below :

Correct — option (2), Only B is correct.

Statement A is incorrect. Accounts of Vijay Singh Pathik's life record that he went to Bombay, not Wardha, to tell Gandhiji about the plight of the Bijolia peasants. Gandhi wrote to the Maharana about their grievances and sent his secretary, Mahadev Desai, to study the movement.

Wardha enters Pathik's story in another way. The weekly Rajasthan Kesari, which Pathik edited, was brought out from Wardha before he moved to Ajmer.

Statement B is correct, as RPSC's key holds. The agitation drew publicity in newspapers beyond Mewar; Kanpur's Pratap, edited by Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, gave it prominence, and the statement names Prayag's Abhyudaya and Calcutta's Bharat Mitra.

With A incorrect and B correct, the code is option (2).

The idea to remember: Pathik met Gandhiji in Bombay; Wardha is where Rajasthan Kesari came out.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Only A is correct. — This reverses the answer. Pathik took the Bijolia peasants' case to Gandhiji in Bombay; Wardha is linked instead to the weekly Rajasthan Kesari, which Pathik edited.

  Statement B, on reporting by Abhyudaya and Bharat Mitra, is the one RPSC's key accepts.

• (3)
  Both A and B are correct. — Statement B holds, but A does not. Pathik told Gandhiji about Bijolia in Bombay, not at Wardha.

  The Wardha connection belongs to Rajasthan Kesari, the weekly Pathik edited, so statement A moves the meeting to the wrong city.

• (4)
  Neither A nor B is correct. — This rejects statement B, which RPSC's key accepts. The Bijolia agitation reached newspapers outside Rajputana: Pratap of Kanpur is one example, and the statement names Abhyudaya of Prayag and Bharat Mitra of Calcutta.

  Only statement A is incorrect.

The Bijolia movement was a long peasant struggle in the jagir of Bijolia, in Mewar, against excessive land revenue and other exactions. It gradually spread to neighbouring jagirs and continued until 1941.

Its leaders at different times included Fateh Karan Charan, Sadhu Sitaram Das, Vijay Singh Pathik and Manikyalal Verma. Pathik arrived in 1916 and organised the peasants under the Bijolia Kisan Panchayat.

Newspapers played a part. Partly because of negative publicity in the press, the Maharana appointed a commission of inquiry, which found the peasants' grievances genuine; he did not act on its report.

Key facts

• Vijay Singh Pathik arrived in Bijolia in 1916 and organised the peasants under the Bijolia Kisan Panchayat.
• Negative press publicity helped lead the Maharana of Mewar to appoint a commission of inquiry, which found the grievances genuine.
• Gandhi sent his secretary Mahadev Desai to study the Bijolia movement.
• The Bijolia Agreement was signed on 11 February 1922, reducing talwar bandhi, chatoond and land revenue.
• Leaders of the movement at different times included Fateh Karan Charan, Sadhu Sitaram Das, Vijay Singh Pathik and Manikyalal Verma.

Common traps

• Swapping two Pathik places: he told Gandhiji about Bijolia in Bombay, while Wardha is where Rajasthan Kesari came out.
• Treating Pratap as the only paper that covered Bijolia: statement B names Abhyudaya and Bharat Mitra, and RPSC's key accepts it.
• Starting the movement with Pathik: Fateh Karan Charan and Sadhu Sitaram Das were among its leaders, and Pathik joined in 1916.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021, 2016 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which newspaper, edited by Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, gave prominence to the Bijolia peasant movement?

  • (a)Pratap
  • (b)Rajasthan Kesari
  • (c)Navin Rajasthan
  • (d)Tarun Rajasthan
  Answer(1) — Vidyarthi's Pratap, from Kanpur, gave the movement prominence. Option (2) was edited by Vijay Singh Pathik; option (3) was brought out by Pathik from Ajmer; option (4) was another Hindi weekly through which Pathik expressed his views.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  In which year was the Bijolia Agreement signed between the peasants and the authorities?

  • (a)1897
  • (b)1916
  • (c)1922
  • (d)1941
  Answer(3) — The agreement was signed on 11 February 1922. Option (1) is the year the movement began, 44 years before it ended; option (2) is when Pathik arrived in Bijolia; option (4) is when the movement ended.