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Bijolia peasant movement

Bijolia, a first-class thikana of Mewar in the Uparmal area, saw the long peasant struggle against its levies and begar, in three phases from 1897 to 1941.

⏱ 2 min read✓ Facts checked 16 October 2026

Contents

At a glance

  1. Pathik met Gandhi in Bombay (not Wardha); Gandhi then sent Mahadev Desai to inquire (1918).
  2. Its example spread: unrest reached Begun, Bassi and Parsoli, and the Bundi (Barad) peasants and Tejawat's Bhils drew on it.
  3. Pathik's real name was Bhoop Singh; the peasants called him Mahatmaji.

Facts

Years1897–1941, about 44 years
PlaceBijolia thikana in the Uparmal area of Mewar (Bhilwara district)
PeasantsMostly Dhakad
GrievancesAbout 84 kinds of levies (lag-bag), heavy land revenue and begar
End1941 (1939 in some accounts): Mewar's revenue minister Dr Mohan Singh Mehta settled it and the peasants got their land back

The three phases

PhaseYearsLed byEvents
First1897–1915Nanji Patel and Thakri Patel, then Sadhu Sitaram Das1897: at a death feast at Girdharpura the peasants sent the two Patels to Udaipur to petition Maharana Fateh Singh, without result. 1913: under Sitaram Das, with Fateh Karan Charan, they left Bijolia's land unsown for a year, and the Rao withdrew 6 of the 84 levies
Second1915–1923Vijay Singh PathikIn 1915 Sitaram Das met Pathik and asked him to lead. 1916: a Kisan Panch Board under Mannalal; 1917, on Hariyali Amavasya: the Upar Mal Panch Board. Manikya Lal Verma left the thikana's service and joined. Mewar's inquiry commissions brought little relief. 1922: talks under AGG Robert Holland led to an agreement that ended about 35 levies and begar
Third1923–1941Manikya Lal Verma, Haribhau Upadhyaya, Jamnalal BajajPathik was arrested in 1923 and the thikana broke the agreement. 1927: on Pathik's advice the peasants gave up their barani (rain-fed) land, and lost it. 1931: Jamnalal Bajaj held talks with the Maharana (20 July)

Phase years differ: the RBSE book gives 1897–1915 and 1915–1923; some books put the break at 1916, the year Pathik joined.

Remember: often mixed up

  • NewspapersPratap (Kanpur), Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi's paper, carried Bijolia to the whole country; Abhyudaya (Prayag), Bharat Mitra (Calcutta) and Maratha (Poona) also reported it · Uparmal ka Danka was Pathik's own paper · Naveen Rajasthan (Ajmer, 1922) was the Rajasthan Seva Sangh's.
  • LeviesChanwari, Rs 13 (Rs 5 in some records) on every girl's marriage, imposed in 1903 by Rao Krishna Singh; the peasants stopped marrying their daughters for two years and set out for Gwalior, and he promised to withdraw it · Talwar-bandhai, the succession fee that Rao Prithvi Singh (from 1906) passed on to the peasants.

Test yourself: asked in exams

CET Graduation Level 2022 · Q7

Through which newspaper did Vijay Singh Pathik propagate the Bijolia farmer movement all over India?

  1. (1)Naveen Rajasthan
  2. (2)Tarun Rajasthan
  3. (3)Yugantar
  4. (4)Pratap
Show answer

✓ (4) Pratap

See the full paper

CET Graduation Level 2022 · Q10

Which among the following Thikanas imposed ‘Chanwari tax’?

  1. (1)Kuchaman
  2. (2)Didwana
  3. (3)Bhainsrorgarh
  4. (4)Bijolia
Show answer

✓ (4) Bijolia

See the full paper

RAS Prelims 2024 · Q124

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 :

  1. (1)Only A is correct.
  2. (2)Only B is correct.
  3. (3)Both A and B are correct.
  4. (4)Neither A nor B is correct.
Show answer

✓ (2) Only B is correct.

See the full paper

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