Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Specific actions that caused Congress discomfort:
As the Awadh peasant movement spread in 1921, peasants began attacking houses of talukdars and merchants, looting bazaars, and seizing grain hoards. Local leaders told peasants that Gandhiji had declared no taxes were to be paid and land would be redistributed among the poor. Thus, the name of the Mahatma was being invoked to sanction all kinds of radical action that went beyond Congress's programme.

The underlying tension in goals:
The Congress wanted a disciplined, non-violent non-cooperation movement aimed at ending British rule. The rural poor, however, were driven by immediate economic grievances — oppressive rents, forced labour (begar), insecurity of tenure, and hunger. For them, swaraj meant redistribution of land and relief from landlord exploitation. The Congress, wary of alienating talukdars and propertied classes, was unwilling to endorse such demands. This revealed a fundamental difference: Congress sought political independence, while the peasants sought social and economic liberation.

Source: Chapter 2, Section 2.2 — Rebellion in the Countryside

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• Examiners expect two clear parts: (1) the specific violent/radical actions, and (2) the analysis of contrasting goals. Both must be present for full marks.
• Directly quote or closely paraphrase the textbook phrases ("houses of talukdars and merchants were attacked, bazaars were looted, grain hoards were taken over") — these signal you've read the source.
• The key insight is the Congress–peasant ideological gap: Congress = political swaraj; peasants = economic/social swaraj. State this explicitly.
• Do not generalise vaguely; name specific actions and specific fears (alienating landlords/propertied classes).