2013 GS Paper I, all questions
UPSC Prelims 2013 · GS Paper I
Question 20: History and Culture
The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for
athe reduction of the share of the landlords from one-half of the crop to one-third
bthe grant of ownership of land to peasants as they were the actual cultivators of the land
cthe uprooting of Zamindari system and the end of serfdom
dwriting off all peasant debts
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).
In the Tebhaga movement of 1946-47, sharecroppers (bargadars) in Bengal demanded that the landlord's share of the crop be cut from one-half to one-third, which is what 'tebhaga' (three shares) means: two-thirds to the cultivator. The Kisan Sabha led it. It was a demand about the crop share, not for ownership of land, abolition of the zamindari system or cancellation of debts.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Correct. The demand was to cut the landlord's share from one-half to one-third.
- (b) Wrong. It did not ask for ownership of land for the cultivators.
- (c) Wrong. It did not seek to abolish the zamindari system.
- (d) Wrong. Writing off debts was not its main demand.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2013, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.