• Anindita Basu Biswas

On the eve of Indian Independence Bengal had to face a violent peasant resistance in the form of Tebhaga movement. It was a major peasant movement of Bengal. It began immediately after the horrible communal atrocities followed by the Direct Action Day of the Muslim League (on 16th August, 1946). The call for Tebhaga was raised by the sharecroppers of Bengal under the leadership of Bangiya Pradeshik Krishak Sabha for enforcing the demand mentioned in the report of the Floud Commission that the sharecroppers should have the right on two third share of the produce instead of half. The call for Tebhaga soon culminated in the movement commencing in Sept 1946 and ultimately it took a violent form within a few months. The slogan was `Adhi noy Tebhaga chai’ that means, we want two third share of the harvest instead of half. There is no denying the fact that, it was the last largest peasant movement of undivided Bengal. The term `Tebhaga’ was not simply a slogan, rather it was a protest against the age long domination and oppression of the Jotedars or Zamindars on the peasants of rural Bengal. In different districts of the Northern part of undivided Bengal such as, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogura, Malda, Jalpaiguri, the movement became popular and violent too. Here in North Bengal, the Oraon, Muslim, Santhal and Ranjbanshi peasants joined the movement in large numbers. But one of the striking features of the movement was the participation of peasant women who were the prominent players of the movement and gave the movement the push that it needed in order to be successful. They did not belong to any upper strata of the society, rather belonged to the poor,downtrodden and middle class section of peasant society of our rural North Bengal. Most of these women folk were the Rajbanshis . We are bound to accept the fact that much have been said and much have been written on the various aspects of peasant movement in Bengal. But it is willingly or unwillingly the historians or the researchers have retained their long silence in glorifying or highlighting the role of women in historical events. The Tebhaga movement of Bengal was no more exception. Recently attempts have been made in this direction by Sunil Sen, Peter Caster and a few others. Yet such attempts were not up to the satisfaction. Later on the researchers and a few historians of North Bengal have taken an effort in this direction. It is against this historical backdrop I shall try to highlight and asses their specific role played by the women in the Tebhaga movement of undivided North Bengal.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE TEBHAGA MOVEMENT OF UNDIVIDED NORTH BENGAL (1946-47)

"THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE TEBHAGA MOVEMENT OF UNDIVIDED NORTH BENGAL (1946-47)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 3, page no.700-702, March-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1903N91.pdf

"THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE TEBHAGA MOVEMENT OF UNDIVIDED NORTH BENGAL (1946-47)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 3, page no. pp700-702, March-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1903N91.pdf