Peasant Unrest in Gampalagudem Estate

During 1930’s when the struggle for independence was being waged in different parts of the country, the peasant unrest was also growing at a considerable scale against the zamindari system. At many places including Gampalagudem in NTR district of Andhra Pradesh, Kisan Sabhas and political organisations emerged which sought to achieve political independence as well as liberation from economic exploitation. The Zamindars of Gampalagudem estate were infamous for their atrocities against the peasants. Instead of collecting revenue in cash, they took it in kind, and in the process, carried out excessive extraction. Furthermore, in the late 1930s they attempted to convert previously public lands to their personal lands, which would have severely damaged the economic conditions of the peasantry, which was reeling under economic hardship. The Zamindars persuaded the government to issue orders prohibiting the entry of peasants into the land belonging to the community. The peasants with the help of Kisan Sabha opposed this move and refused to pay taxes, boycotted cultivation, and petitioned the government to protect their interests. The Zamindars retaliated with terrible atrocities against the ordinary farmers and the political activists. The efforts of Kisan Sabha to mediate and seek protection for the peasant and their leaders from the government failed. Such atrocities and harsh torture inflicted upon the peasants by the zamindars and the government played a crucial role in radicalizing the rural masses and convincing them to join the freedom struggle.