Rich peasant communities like the Patidars and Jats were enthusiastic supporters of the Civil Disobedience Movement when it was launched in 1930, but many refused to participate when it was relaunched in 1932. What specific grievance drove their initial enthusiasm, and why did the same grievance cause them to withdraw later?
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:00 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Specific Grievance: Rich peasants like Patidars and Jats were severely hit by trade depression and falling agricultural prices. Their cash income disappeared, making it impossible to pay the government's high revenue demand. Since the government refused to reduce revenue rates, they joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930, seeing the fight for swaraj as a struggle against high revenues.
Reason for Withdrawal: When the movement was called off in 1931, the revenue rates had not been revised. Their core demand remained unmet. Deeply disappointed, when the movement was relaunched in 1932, many of these rich peasants refused to participate.
Source: Chapter 2, Section 3.2 — How Participants saw the Movement
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Explanation
- The examiner expects you to clearly identify one specific grievance (high government revenue demand/falling prices) — not a general answer about "economic hardship."
- The key logic is: they joined because of high revenues → they left because revenue rates were still not revised when the movement was suspended in 1931 → felt betrayed, so boycotted the 1932 relaunch.
- Both parts of the question (initial enthusiasm + withdrawal) must be answered to get full 3 marks.
- Use phrases from the textbook like "cash income disappeared," "fight for swaraj was a struggle against high revenues," and "deeply disappointed" — examiners recognise and reward these.