Gandhi and Agrarian classes

Abstract

Gandhi treated British colonial interests as a distinctly non-Indian category and so long as peasant interests were adversely and directly affected by government policies and actions, Gandhi defended peasant interests with vigour. But when peasant interests were circumscribed by indigenous landed interests, the Congress under Gandhi counselled mutual trust and understanding and compromised continuously in favour of Indian vested interests. This paper traces the development of Gandhi's views on the relationship between zamindars and kisans in colonial India and discusses how his ideology on the peasant question influenced his actions as the leader of the national movement.