All India Kisan Sabha (Ashoka Road)
Encyclopedia
All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), is the peasants front of Communist Party of India (Marxist)
(CPI(M)), and works for farmers rights and anti-feudal movement in India, which traces its origin to All India Kisan Sabha
founded in 1936.
It is sometimes referred to as All India Kisan Sabha (Ashoka Road), to distinguish it from the AIKS of Communist Party of India
. Both the Kisan federations are derived from the All India Kisan Sabha
started by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
in 1936. The AIKS of CPI is sometimes called AIKS (Ajoy Bhavan)
.
under the leadership of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
who had formed in 1929 the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in order to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights.
Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India
. All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha
(AIKS) at the Lucknow
session of the Indian National Congress
in April 1936 with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
elected as its first President. The other prominent members of this Sabha were N.G. Ranga
, Ram Manohar Lohia
, Jayaprakash Narayan
, Acharya Narendra Dev and Bankim Mukerji.
The main aim of the sabha were:-
1)To save the peasants from exploitation by any section of the society.
2)Abolition of zamindari and jagirdari system
3)To save the peasants from economic exploitation
4)Ownership of land by the peasants
5)Reduction in the rates of land revenue
6)Waiving of debts
7)Better arrangements of irrigation
8)To give recognition to Kisan Sabhas
The Kisan Sabha started agitations against the landlords. In the 1937-38 ,they started a movement for the ownership of the lands by the peasants who worked on it and to bring about the end of forced labour. The farmers revolted against the Jagirdars who did not give them any rights on the land.As a result, the conflict between the peasants and the landlords became more intense. The government arrested 600 Kisan demonstrators and suppressed the movement.
In 1939,when the second world war began, the Government enforced the Defence of India Rules strictly to crush the peasant movement. But the Kisan union continued struggle forcefully.
.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
(CPI(M)), and works for farmers rights and anti-feudal movement in India, which traces its origin to All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha , was the name of the peasants front of the undivided Communist Party of India , an important peasant movement formed by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati in 1936, and which later split into two organizations, by the same name.-History:...
founded in 1936.
It is sometimes referred to as All India Kisan Sabha (Ashoka Road), to distinguish it from the AIKS of Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
. Both the Kisan federations are derived from the All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha , was the name of the peasants front of the undivided Communist Party of India , an important peasant movement formed by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati in 1936, and which later split into two organizations, by the same name.-History:...
started by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
in 1936. The AIKS of CPI is sometimes called AIKS (Ajoy Bhavan)
All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhavan)
All India Kisan Sabha is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India. The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, who had formed in 1929 the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks...
.
History
The Kisan Sabha movement started in BiharBihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
under the leadership of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
who had formed in 1929 the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) in order to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights.
Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. All these radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha
All India Kisan Sabha , was the name of the peasants front of the undivided Communist Party of India , an important peasant movement formed by Swami Sahajanand Saraswati in 1936, and which later split into two organizations, by the same name.-History:...
(AIKS) at the Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
session of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in April 1936 with Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati , born in a Jijhoutia Brahminfamily of Ghazipur of Uttar Pradesh state of India, was an ascetic of Dashnami Order of Adi Shankara Sampradaya as well as a nationalist and peasant leader of India...
elected as its first President. The other prominent members of this Sabha were N.G. Ranga
N.G. Ranga
Gogineni Ranga nayukulu , better known as N. G. Ranga , was an Indian freedom fighter, parliamentarian, and kisan leader...
, Ram Manohar Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader.-Early life:Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. He was born to Marwari Maheshwari family. His mother died when he...
, Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...
, Acharya Narendra Dev and Bankim Mukerji.
The main aim of the sabha were:-
1)To save the peasants from exploitation by any section of the society.
2)Abolition of zamindari and jagirdari system
3)To save the peasants from economic exploitation
4)Ownership of land by the peasants
5)Reduction in the rates of land revenue
6)Waiving of debts
7)Better arrangements of irrigation
8)To give recognition to Kisan Sabhas
The Kisan Sabha started agitations against the landlords. In the 1937-38 ,they started a movement for the ownership of the lands by the peasants who worked on it and to bring about the end of forced labour. The farmers revolted against the Jagirdars who did not give them any rights on the land.As a result, the conflict between the peasants and the landlords became more intense. The government arrested 600 Kisan demonstrators and suppressed the movement.
In 1939,when the second world war began, the Government enforced the Defence of India Rules strictly to crush the peasant movement. But the Kisan union continued struggle forcefully.
Organisation
The address of AIKS (Ashoka Road) is 4, Ashoka Road, New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
- National President: S. Ramachandran PillaiS. Ramachandran PillaiS. Ramachandran Pillai is a communist politician from Kerala, India, Politburo member of the Communist Party of India since 1992 and General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha...
- National Vice-president: Amra Ram (CPI(M) MLA)
- National general secretary: K. Varadharajan.
- National joint secretary: N.K. Shukla
Membership development chart
This chart uses the Indian numeral systemState/Union territory | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999–2000 |
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third... |
2,11,465 | 1,37,100 | 2,25,137 | 2,25,234 | 1,00,808 | 2,15,933 | 1,00,000 |
Assam Assam Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country... |
1,44,538 | 1,59,723 | 1,01,324 | 1,44,545 | 1,18,611 | 1,61,277 | 1,44,588 |
Bihar | 2,10,000 | 2,30,100 | 1,52,000 | 2,00,000 | 2,04,000 | 2,17,000 | 1,84,000 |
Gujarat | 13,000 | 9,140 | 11,500 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 8,400 | 10,440 |
Haryana Haryana Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south... |
14,500 | 12,500 | 12,300 | 13,000 | 15,000 | 14,100 | 16,150 |
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east... |
5,200 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 13,000 | 12,780 | 10,000 |
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the... |
4,500 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 7,000 |
Karnataka Karnataka Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava... |
52,000 | 75,000 | 89,633 | 92,568 | 67,160 | 73,515 | 70,775 |
Kerala Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.... |
10,05,760 | 12,26,488 | 11,91,666 | 13,23,562 | 13,33,620 | 17,66,606 | 19,45,366 |
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city.... |
19,000 | 19,252 | 36,012 | 37,482 | 48,965 | 37,534 | 50,411 |
Maharashtra Maharashtra Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India... |
69,800 | 70,000 | 85,343 | 92,273 | 90,371 | 92,340 | 1,21,807 |
Manipur Manipur Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of... |
5,740 | 4,100 | 4,720 | 5,140 | 4,700 | 4,960 | - |
Orissa Orissa Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April... |
22,000 | 18,349 | 26,392 | 21,700 | 22,000 | 31,364 | 30,000 |
Punjab | 80,000 | 1,05,600 | 1,30,120 | 90,000 | 1,02,000 | 1,06,000 | 1,20,000 |
Rajasthan Rajasthan Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with... |
32,432 | 71,659 | 36,000 | 54,040 | 55,893 | 59,496 | 50,950 |
Sikkim Sikkim Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains... |
500 | 1,600 | 2,000 | - | 1,600 | - | - |
Tamilnadu | 2,50,000 | 2,50,000 | 2,46,289 | 3,00,000 | 2,71,355 | 3,00,000 | 4,01,029 |
Tripura Tripura Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are... K.S. |
1,01,000 | 1,11,920 | 1,26,500 | 2,12,000 (KS+GMP) | 1,21,500 | 1,38,000 | 1,35,650 |
Tripura Tripura Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are... G.M.P Ganamukti Parishad Tripura Rajaer Upajati Ganamukti Parishad is a leftwing movement working amongst the tribal peoples of Tripura, in north-eastern India.-Origins:... |
52,000 | 60,000 | 85,000 | see above | 92,000 | 92,000 | 70,000 |
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity... |
89,655 | 1,28,450 | 1,26,000 | 1,60,000 | 1,15,844 | 1,37,499 | 1,15,084 |
West Bengal West Bengal West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP... |
99,54,652 | 1,05,38,499 | 1,11,06,406 | 1,14,59,519 | 1,00,55,121 | 1,12,18,075 | 1,10,11,153 |
Total: | 1,23,37,742 | 1,32,39,480 | 1,36,25,726 | 1,44,49,063 | 1,28,45,248 | 1,46,90,879 | 1,45,94,403 |
Further reading
- A History of the All India Kisan Sabha, by Md. Abdullah Rasul. Published by National Book Agency, 1974.
- All India Kisan Sabha (2 Volumes), by O P Ralhan (ed.). Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. 1998. ISBN 9788174884039.
- The Constitution of All India Kisan Sabha Encyclopaedia of Political Parties, by O. P. Ralhan, Published by Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2002. ISBN 8174888659. Page 1-10.