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{{For|the earlier Kisan Sabha|Kisan Sabha (1919-1922)}}
{{short description|Farmers' wing of Communist Pary of India}}
{{For-multi|the earlier Kisan Sabha|Kisan Sabha (1919-1922)|the farmers' wing of CPIM|All India Kisan Sabha (36 Canning Lane)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox organization
{{Infobox organization
| name                = All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)
| name                = All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)
| logo                = Aiks photo.jpg
| logo                = [[File:AIKS Flag.png|250px]]
| image              =
| image_border        =  
| image_border        =  
| size                =  
| size                =  
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| mcaption            =  
| mcaption            =  
| motto              =  
| motto              =  
| abbreviation        = AIKS
| formation          = {{Start date and age|df=yes|p=y|1936|4|11}}, [[Lucknow]], [[United Provinces of British India|United Province]], [[British India|British Raj]]
| formation          = {{Start date and years ago|df=yes|p=y|1936|4|11}}, [[Lucknow]], [[United Provinces of British India|United Province]], [[British Raj]]
| headquarters        = Ajoy Bhavan, 15, Indrajit Gupta Marg, [[New Delhi, India]]-110002
| type                = Peasant Organisation
| type                = Peasant Organisation
| leader_title        = National President
| leader_name        = Rajan Kshirsagar
| leader_title2      = General Secretary
| leader_name2        = R. Venkaiah
| leader_title3      =
| leader_name3        = 
| purpose            =  
| purpose            =  
| location            =  
| location            = India
| region_served      = [[India]]
| region_served      =  
| membership          =  
| membership          =  
| language            =  
| language            =  
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| remarks            =  
| remarks            =  
}}
}}
'''All India Kisan Sabha''' (All India Farmers Union, also known as the ''Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha''), was the name of the peasants front of the [[Communist Party of India]], an important [[peasant movement]] formed by [[Sahajanand Saraswati]] in 1936. It later split into two organizations known by the same name: [[All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhavan)|AIKS (Ajoy Bhavan)]] and [[All India Kisan Sabha (Ashoka Road)|AIKS (Ashoka Road)]].
'''All India Kisan Sabha''' ({{small|abbr.}} '''AIKS'''; [[Literal translation|lit.]] ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the '''Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha''') is the peasant or farmers' wing of the [[Communist Party of India]], an important [[peasant movement]] formed by [[Sahajanand Saraswati]] in 1936.<ref>{{cite book | first = Śekhara  | last = Bandyopādhyāya | title = From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India  | publisher = [[Orient Longman]] | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-81-250-2596-2 | pages = 523 (at p 406)}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=75 Years of AIKS: A Saga of Glory |url=http://www.newageweekly.in/2011/06/75-years-of-aiks-saga-of-glory.html|website=newageweekly.in |language=en}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
The Kisan Sabha movement started in [[Bihar]] under the leadership of 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, and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.<ref>{{cite book
The Kisan Sabha movement started in [[Bihar]] under the leadership of Sahajanand Saraswati who had formed in 1929 the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) to mobilise peasant grievances against the [[zamindari]] attacks on their occupancy rights and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = Śekhara
  | first = Śekhara
  | last = Bandyopādhyāya
  | last = Bandyopādhyāya
Line 44: Line 52:
  }}</ref><ref name=pea>''Peasant Struggles in India'', by Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai. Published by Oxford University Press, 1979. ''Page 349''.</ref>
  }}</ref><ref name=pea>''Peasant Struggles in India'', by Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai. Published by Oxford University Press, 1979. ''Page 349''.</ref>


Gradually the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India. The formation of [[Congress Socialist Party]] (CSP) in 1934 helped the Communists to work together with the [[Indian National Congress|INC]], however temporarily,<ref>'' Peasants in India's Non-violent Revolution: Practice and Theory'', by [[Mridula Mukherjee]]. Published by SAGE, 2004. {{ISBN|0-7619-9686-9}}. ''Page 136''.</ref> then in April 1935, noted peasant leaders [[N. G. Ranga]] and [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]], then secretary and joint secretary respectively of South Indian Federation of Peasants and Agricultural Labour, suggested the formation of an all-India farmers body,<ref name=ma/> and soon all these radical developments culminated in the formation of the AIKS at the [[Lucknow]] session of the Indian National Congress on 11 April 1936 with Saraswati elected as its first President,<ref>{{cite book
Gradually, the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of [[India]]. All of those radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha at the [[Lucknow]] session of the [[Indian National Congress]] in April 1936, with Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first president.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = Śekhara
  | first = Śekhara  | last = Bandyopādhyāya
  | last = Bandyopādhyāya
  | title = From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India
  | title = From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India
  | publisher = [[Orient Longman]]
  | publisher = [[Orient Longman]] | year = 2004
| year = 2004
  | isbn = 978-81-250-2596-2 | pages = 523 (at p 407)}}</ref> The other prominent members were [[N.G. Ranga]], [[Ram Manohar Lohia]], [[Jayaprakash Narayan]], [[Acharya Narendra Dev]] and Bankim Mukerji. It involved prominent leaders like [[E.M.S. Namboodiripad]], [[Indulal Yagnik]], [[Sohan Singh Bhakna]], [[Z. A. Ahmed]], [[Karyanand Sharma]], [[Yamuna Karjee]], [[Yadunandan Sharma]], [[Rahul Sankrityayan]], [[P. Sundarayya]], [[Yogendra Sharma]] and [[Bankim Mukherjee]]. The Kisan Manifesto, released in August 1936, demanded the abolition of the [[zamindari]] system and the cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, it adopted the red flag as its banner.<ref name="ma">''Mahatma Gandhi'', by Sankar Ghose. Published by Allied Publishers, 1991. {{ISBN|81-7023-205-8}}. Page 262.</ref> Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments in [[Bihar]] and in [[United Province]].
  | isbn = 978-81-250-2596-2
| pages = 523 (at p 407)
}}</ref> and it involved people such as Ranga, Namboodiripad, [[Karyanand Sharma]], [[Yamuna Karjee]], [[Yadunandan (Jadunandan) Sharma]], [[Rahul Sankrityayan]], [[P. Sundarayya]], [[Ram Manohar Lohia]], [[Jayaprakash Narayan]], [[Acharya Narendra Dev]] and [[Bankim Mukherjee]]. The Kisan Manifesto released in August 1936, demanded the abolition of the [[zamindari]] system and cancellation of rural debts, and in October 1937, it adopted red flag as its banner.<ref name=ma>''Mahatma Gandhi'', by Sankar Ghose. Published by Allied Publishers, 1991. {{ISBN|81-7023-205-8}}. ''Page 262''.</ref> Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress, and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments, in Bihar and United Province.<ref name=ma/><ref name=sta/>


In the subsequent years, the movement was increasingly dominated by Socialists and Communists as it moved away from the Congress,<ref name=pea/> by 1938 Haripura session of the Congress, under the presidency of [[Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose]], the rift became evident,<ref name=ma/> and by May 1942, the [[Communist Party of India]], which was finally legalised by then government in July 1942,<ref>''Caste, Protest and Identity in Colonial India: The Namasudras of Bengal, 1872-1947'', by Shekhar Bandyopadhyaya. Routledge, 1997. {{ISBN|0-7007-0626-7}}. ''Page 233''.</ref> had taken over AIKS, all across India including [[Bengal]] where its membership grew considerably.<ref name=sta>''States, Parties, and Social Movements'', by Jack A. Goldstone. Cambridge University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-521-01699-1}}. ''Page 192''.</ref> It took on the Communist party's line of People's War, and stayed away from the [[Quit India Movement]], which started in August 1942, though this also meant its losing its popular base. Many of its members defied party orders and joined the movement, and prominent members like Ranga, [[Indulal Yagnik]] and Saraswati soon left the organisation, which increasing found it difficult to approach the peasants without the watered-down approach of pro-British and pro-war, and increasing its pro-nationalist agenda, much to the dismay of the British Raj which always thought the Communists would help them in countering the nationalist movement.<ref>''Peasants in India's Non-violent Revolution: Practice and Theory'', by [[Mridula Mukherjee]]. Published by SAGE, 2004. {{ISBN|0-7619-9686-9}}. ''Page 347''.</ref><ref>http://www.newageweekly.in/2011/06/75-years-of-aiks-saga-of-glory.html</ref>
In subsequent years, the movement was increasingly dominated by Socialists and Communists as it moved away from the Congress. By the 1938 [[Haripura]] session of the Congress, under the presidency of [[Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose]], the rift became evident<ref name="ma" /> and by May 1942, the [[Communist Party of India]], which was finally legalised by the government in July 1942,<ref>''Caste, Protest and Identity in Colonial India: The Namasudras of Bengal, 1872-1947'', by Shekhar Bandyopadhyaya. Routledge, 1997. {{ISBN|0-7007-0626-7}}. Page 233.</ref> had taken over All India Kisan Sabha all across India, including [[Bengal]] where its membership grew considerably.<ref name="sta">''States, Parties, and Social Movements'', by Jack A. Goldstone. Cambridge University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-521-01699-1}}. Page 192.</ref> It took on the Communist Party's line of [[people's war]] and stayed away from the [[Quit India Movement]], which started in August 1942, and so lost its popular base. Many of its members defied party orders and joined the movement. Prominent members like [[N. G. Ranga]], [[Indulal Yagnik]] and [[Swami Sahajananda]] soon left the organisation, which increasingly found it difficult to approach the peasants with its watered-down pro-British and pro-war approach. That made increase its nationalist agenda, much to the dismay of the British Raj.<ref>''Peasants in India's Non-violent Revolution: Practice and Theory'', by Mridula Mukherjee. Published by SAGE, 2004. {{ISBN|0-7619-9686-9}}. Page 347.</ref>
 
{{Further|All India Kisan Sabha delegation to Europe, 1955}}
The Communist Party of India split into two in 1964.  Following this, so too did the AIKS, with each faction affiliated to the splinters.


==Conferences and office bearers==
==Conferences and office bearers==
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! National Conference !! Year !! Place !! President !! General Secretary
! National Conference !! Year !! Place !! President !! General Secretary
|-
|-
|1<br />(founder conference)||11 April 1936|| Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh ||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]||[[N. G. Ranga]]
|1<br/>(founder conference)||11 April 1936|| Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh ||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]||[[N. G. Ranga]]
|-
|-
|2||25,26 December 1936||Faijpur||[[N. G. Ranga]]||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|2||25–26 December 1936||Faijpur||[[N. G. Ranga]]||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|-
|-
|3||11–14 May 1938
|3||11–14 May 1938
||Comilla<br /> (now in Bangladesh)||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]||[[N. G. Ranga]]
||Comilla<br /> (now in Bangladesh)||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]||[[N. G. Ranga]]
|-
|-
|4||9–10 April 1939||Gaya, Bihar||[[Narendra Deo]]||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|4||9–10 April 1939||Gaya, Bihar||[[Narendra Dev]]||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|-
|-
|5||26–27 March 1940||Palasa, Andhra Pradesh||[[Rahul Sankrityayan]]||[[Indulal Yagnik]]
|5||26–27 March 1940||Palasa, Andhra Pradesh||[[Rahul Sankrityayan]]||[[Indulal Yagnik]]
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|rowspan=2|[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|rowspan=2|[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|-
|-
|7||1–4 April 1943||Bhakhna,Punjab||[[Bankim Mukherjee]]
|7||1–4 April 1943||Bhakhna, Punjab||[[Bankim Mukherjee]]
|-
|-
|8||14–15 March 1944||Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
|8||14–15 March 1944||Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh||[[Sahajanand Saraswati]]
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|22||7–10 June 1979||Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh
|22||7–10 June 1979||Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh
|-
|-
|23||28–31 December 1986||Barabanki Uttar Pradesh||[[Indradeep Sinha]] ||Y.V.Krishna Rao
|23||28–31 December 1986||Barabanki Uttar Pradesh||[[Indradeep Sinha]] ||[[Y. V. Krishna Rao]]
|-
|-
|24||16–19 June 1993||Madhubani, Bihar||Y.V.Krishna Rao||[[Bhogendra Jha]]
|24||16–19 June 1993||Madhubani, Bihar||[[Y. V. Krishna Rao]]||[[Bhogendra Jha]]
|-
|-
|25||||Bihar
|25||||Bihar
|rowspan=2|[[Bhogendra Jha]]  
|rowspan=2|[[Bhogendra Jha]]  
|Y.V.Krishna Rao
|[[Y. V. Krishna Rao]]
|-
|-
|26||
|26||1997
|Thrissur
|Thrissur
|rowspan=5|[[Atul Kumar Anjan]]
|rowspan=5|[[Atul Kumar Anjan]]
|-
|-
|27||
|27||2001
|Kauntai, West Bengal||[[C. K. Chandrappan]]
|Kauntai, West Bengal||[[C. K. Chandrappan]]
|-
|-
|28||9–12 December2010||Aurangabad, Maharashtra
|28||9–12 December 2010||Aurangabad, Maharashtra
|rowspan=2|[[Prabodh Panda]]
|rowspan=2|[[Prabodh Panda]]
|-
|-
|29||27–29 March 2015||
|29||27–29 March 2015||Hyderabad, Telangana
|-
|||16 November 2021||In CC meeting||R. Venkaiah
|}
|}
*First conference held at Lucknow
President:Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
General secretary:N.G.Ranga
*Second conference held at Faijpur on 25,26 December 1936
President: N.G.Ranga
*Third conference held at Comilla now in Bangladesh on 11–14 May 1938
President:Swami Sahajanand Saraswati
*Fourth conference held at Gaya, Bihar on 6–10 April 1939
President: Acharya Narendra Deo.
Swagtadhyaksh: Pandit Yadunandan Sharma
*Fifth conference held at Palasa Andhra Pradesh on 26–27 March 1940 in presidentialship of Baba Sohanasing Bhakhna.
Pandit Rahul Sanskrityan was set as president but he was arrested before conference so Sohansing Bhakhna elected as president.
*Sixth conference held in Patna on 29-30-31 May 1942.
President: Indulal Yagnik
*Seventh conference held at Bhakhna,Punjab on 1–4 April 1943.
President: Bankim Mukherjee.
*Eighth conference held at Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh on 14–15 March 1944
President: Sahajanand Saraswati
*Ninth conference held at Netrakona now in Bangladesh on 7–9 April 1945
President: Muzaffar Ahmed
*Tenth conference held at Secunderabad Aligarh on 22–26 May 1947
President: Karyanand Sharma.
*Eleventh conference held at Kananoor Kerala on 22–23 April 1953
President: Indulal Yagnik
General secretary: N. Prasad Rao.
*Twelfth conference held at Moga Punjab on 13–19 September 1954
President: Indulal Yagnik
General secretary:N.Prasad Rao
*Thirteenth conference held at Talasari, Dahanu-Maharashtra on 17–22 May 1955
President: Com.Nana Patil
General se: N. Prasad Rao.
*Fourteenth conference held at Amritsar 28–30 September 1956
President: A.K.Gopalan.
*Fifteenth conference held at Bangaon West Bengal on 28 October to 3 November 1957.
*Sixteenth conference held at Mayuram District Tanjaur Tamil Nadu.
*Seventeenth conference held at Gazipur on 17–19 May 1960.
President:A.K.Gopalan
General secretary: Bhavani Sen.
*Eighteenth conference held at Thrisoor on 30 March to 2 April 1961
President:A.K.Gopalan.
General Secretary: Kavitet Sing Layalpuri.
*Nineteenth conference held at Amravati on 10–12 January 1968
President: Com.Teja Sinh Swatantra
General Secretary: Z.A. Ahmed.
*Twentyth conference held at Barasat, West Bengal on 1–5 April 1970
President: Teja Sinh
General Secretary: Z.A.Ahmed
*Twenty-first conference held at Bhatinda on 19–23 September 1973.
*Twenty second conference held at Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh on 7–10 June 1979
President: Z.A.Ahmed
General Secretary: Indradeep Sinha
*Twenty third conference held at Barabanki Uttar Pradesh on 28–31 December 1986
President: Indradeep Sinha
General Secretary:Y.V.Krishna Rao.
*Twenty fourth conference held at Madhubani Bihar on 16–19 June 1993
President:Com. Y.V.Krishna Rao
General Secretary: Com. Bhogendra Jha.
*Twenty fifth conference held at Bihar.
President:Com.Bhogendra Jha
General Secretary:Com. Y.V.Krishna Rao.
*Twenty sixth conference held at Thrisur.
President: Com.Bhogendra Jha
General Secretary:Com. Atulkumar Anjan
*Twenty seventh conference held at Kauntai West Bengal
President:Com.C.K.Chandrappan
General Secretary:Com. Atulkumar Anjaan
*Twenty eighth conference held at Aurangabad Maharashtra on 10–12 December 2010
President:Com. Prabodh Panda
General Secretary:Com. Atulkumar Anjaan
*Twenty ninth conference held at 27–29 March 2015
President:Com.Prabodh Panda<br />
Working President: Com. Bhupindar Sambar
General Secretary: Com.Atulkumar Anjaan


==Present organisations==
== Activities ==
'''Currently two organizations work under the name of AIKS:'''
=== Protest against three Agri-bills ===
*[[All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhavan)]], attached to [[Communist Party of India]]
AIKS led nationwide protests against the [[Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020]]; the [[Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020]]; and the [[Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020]].
*[[All India Kisan Sabha (36 Canning Lane)|All India Kisan Sabha (36, Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane)]], attached to [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]
 
*'''2 October 2018''': The AIKS organized a march of farmers at the bundary of [[Delhi]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-kisan-krant-march-aiks-terms-police-action-as-barbaric-says-centre-s-acceptance-of-demands-hoax-2670818|title=Kisan Krant March: AIKS terms police action as 'barbaric'; says Centre's acceptance of demands 'hoax'}}</ref>
* '''26 January 2021''': The AIKS organised a tractor rally in the national capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/farmers-delhi-police-gear-up-for-republic-day-tractor-rally-unions-announce-parliament-march-on-1-feb-9238731.html|title=Farmers, Delhi Police gear up for Republic Day tractor rally; unions announce Parliament march on 1 Feb|newspaper=[[First Post]]|date=2021-01-26|access-date=2021-01-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/delhi-police-flags-threat-to-farmers-tractor-rally-on-january-26-121012500005_1.html|title=Delhi Police flags threat to farmers' tractor rally on January 26|newspaper=[[Business Standard, India]]|publisher=Agencies|date=2021-01-24|access-date=2021-01-26}}</ref>
*'''26 February 2022''': The AIKS led thousands of farmers started marching to the Collector's Office in [[Dhule district]], [[Maharashtra]], to demand forest land certificates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarkarnama.in/maharashtra/uttar-maharashtra/trible-farmers-march-to-collector-office-start-at-shirpur-sd67|title = वनपट्ट्यांसाठी रणरणत्या उन्हात शिरपूर ते धुळे लाँग मार्चला सुरवात| date=26 February 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarkarnama.in/maharashtra/uttar-maharashtra/angry-triblefarmerssaid-governers-break-the-centres-law-sd67|title = राज्यपाल कोशियारी यांनी आदिवासींच्या वनहक्क कायद्याची मोडतोड केली?| date=March 2022 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}
 
==External links==
*[https://m.facebook.com/Aiksncofficial/ Official Facebook Page]
*[https://twitter.com/aiks_official?s=20 Official Twitter Handle]


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
{{refbegin|2}}  
{{refbegin|2}}
* ''Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] along with the unedited [[Hindi]] original ([[Manohar Publishers]], paperback, 2005).
* ''Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] along with the unedited [[Hindi]] original ([[Manohar Publishers]], paperback, 2005).
* ''Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
* ''Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor'' translated and edited by [[Walter Hauser]] Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
Line 257: Line 188:
* ''Peasants in History: Essays in Honour of Daniel Thorner'', by Eric J. Hobsbawm, Daniel Thorner, Witold Kula, Sameeksha Trust.Published by Oxford University Press, 1981.
* ''Peasants in History: Essays in Honour of Daniel Thorner'', by Eric J. Hobsbawm, Daniel Thorner, Witold Kula, Sameeksha Trust.Published by Oxford University Press, 1981.
* ''Bihar Peasantry and the Kisan Sabha, 1936-1947'', by Rakesh Gupta. Published by People's Pub. House, 1982.
* ''Bihar Peasantry and the Kisan Sabha, 1936-1947'', by Rakesh Gupta. Published by People's Pub. House, 1982.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=729dKCZwym8C&pg=PA1&dq=All+India+Kisan+Sabha#PPA1,M1 The Constitution of All India Kisan Sabha] ''Encyclopaedia of Political Parties'', by  O. P. Ralhan, Published by Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2002. {{ISBN|81-7488-865-9}}. ''Page 1-10''.
* "The Constitution of All India Kisan Sabha" ''Encyclopaedia of Political Parties'', by  O. P. Ralhan, Published by Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2002. {{ISBN|81-7488-865-9}}. ''Page 1-10''.
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


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[[Category:Organizations established in 1936]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1936]]
[[Category:1936 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1936 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Peasants]]
[[Category:Organisers of 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest]]

Latest revision as of 11:37, 19 September 2025


Template:For-multi

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS)
Formation11 April 1936 (90 years ago) (1936-04-11), Lucknow, United Province, British Raj
TypePeasant Organisation
HeadquartersAjoy Bhavan, 15, Indrajit Gupta Marg, New Delhi, India-110002
Location
  • India
National President
Rajan Kshirsagar
General Secretary
R. Venkaiah
AffiliationsCommunist Party of India

All India Kisan Sabha (abbr. AIKS; lit. All India Farmers Union, also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha) is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 1936.[1][2]

History[edit | edit source]

The Kisan Sabha movement started in Bihar under the leadership of Sahajanand Saraswati who had formed in 1929 the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha (BPKS) to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights and thus sparking the farmers' movements in India.[3][4]

Gradually, the peasant movement intensified and spread across the rest of India. All of those radical developments on the peasant front culminated in the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936, with Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first president.[5] The other prominent members were N.G. Ranga, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Dev and Bankim Mukerji. It involved prominent leaders like E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Indulal Yagnik, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Z. A. Ahmed, Karyanand Sharma, Yamuna Karjee, Yadunandan Sharma, Rahul Sankrityayan, P. Sundarayya, Yogendra Sharma and Bankim Mukherjee. The Kisan Manifesto, released in August 1936, demanded the abolition of the zamindari system and the cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, it adopted the red flag as its banner.[6] Soon, its leaders became increasingly distant with Congress and repeatedly came in confrontation with Congress governments in Bihar and in United Province.

In subsequent years, the movement was increasingly dominated by Socialists and Communists as it moved away from the Congress. By the 1938 Haripura session of the Congress, under the presidency of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the rift became evident[6] and by May 1942, the Communist Party of India, which was finally legalised by the government in July 1942,[7] had taken over All India Kisan Sabha all across India, including Bengal where its membership grew considerably.[8] It took on the Communist Party's line of people's war and stayed away from the Quit India Movement, which started in August 1942, and so lost its popular base. Many of its members defied party orders and joined the movement. Prominent members like N. G. Ranga, Indulal Yagnik and Swami Sahajananda soon left the organisation, which increasingly found it difficult to approach the peasants with its watered-down pro-British and pro-war approach. That made increase its nationalist agenda, much to the dismay of the British Raj.[9]

Further information: All India Kisan Sabha delegation to Europe, 1955

Conferences and office bearers[edit | edit source]

National Conference Year Place President General Secretary
1
(founder conference)		 11 April 1936 Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Sahajanand Saraswati N. G. Ranga
2 25–26 December 1936 Faijpur N. G. Ranga Sahajanand Saraswati
3 11–14 May 1938 Comilla
(now in Bangladesh)		 Sahajanand Saraswati N. G. Ranga
4 9–10 April 1939 Gaya, Bihar Narendra Dev Sahajanand Saraswati
5 26–27 March 1940 Palasa, Andhra Pradesh Rahul Sankrityayan Indulal Yagnik
6 29–31 May 1942 Patna Indulal Yagnik Sahajanand Saraswati
7 1–4 April 1943 Bhakhna, Punjab Bankim Mukherjee
8 14–15 March 1944 Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh Sahajanand Saraswati Bankim Mukherjee
9 5–9 April 1945 Netrakona
(now in Bangladesh)		 Muzaffar Ahmad
10 22–26 May 1947 Secunderabad, Aligarh Karyanand Sharma M.A. Rasul
11 22–23 April 1953 Kannur, Kerala Indulal Yagnik N. Prasad Rao
12 13–19 September 1954 Moga, Punjab
13 17–22 May 1955 Talasari, Dahanu, Maharashtra Nana Patil
14 28–30 September 1956 Amritsar A. K. Gopalan
15 28 October – 3 November 1957 Bangaon, West Bengal
16 29 April – 3 May 1959 Mayuram, Tanjaur, Tamil Nadu Bhabani Sen
17 17–19 May 1960 Gazipur, Uttar Pradesh
18 30 March – 2 April 1961 Thrissur, Kerala Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri
19 10–12 January 1968 Amravati Teja Singh Sutantar Z.A. Ahmed
20 1–5 April 1970 Barasat, West Bengal
21 19–23 September 1973 Bhatinda Z.A. Ahmed Indradeep Sinha
22 7–10 June 1979 Vijayawada Andhra Pradesh
23 28–31 December 1986 Barabanki Uttar Pradesh Indradeep Sinha Y. V. Krishna Rao
24 16–19 June 1993 Madhubani, Bihar Y. V. Krishna Rao Bhogendra Jha
25 Bihar Bhogendra Jha Y. V. Krishna Rao
26 1997 Thrissur Atul Kumar Anjan
27 2001 Kauntai, West Bengal C. K. Chandrappan
28 9–12 December 2010 Aurangabad, Maharashtra Prabodh Panda
29 27–29 March 2015 Hyderabad, Telangana
16 November 2021 In CC meeting R. Venkaiah

Activities[edit | edit source]

Protest against three Agri-bills[edit | edit source]

AIKS led nationwide protests against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

  • 2 October 2018: The AIKS organized a march of farmers at the bundary of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.[10]
  • 26 January 2021: The AIKS organised a tractor rally in the national capital.[11][12]
  • 26 February 2022: The AIKS led thousands of farmers started marching to the Collector's Office in Dhule district, Maharashtra, to demand forest land certificates.[13][14]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. pp. 523 (at p 406). ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  2. ↑ "75 Years of AIKS: A Saga of Glory". newageweekly.in.
  3. ↑ Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. pp. 523 (at p 406). ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  4. ↑ Peasant Struggles in India, by Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai. Published by Oxford University Press, 1979. Page 349.
  5. ↑ Bandyopādhyāya, Śekhara (2004). From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. Orient Longman. pp. 523 (at p 407). ISBN 978-81-250-2596-2.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mahatma Gandhi, by Sankar Ghose. Published by Allied Publishers, 1991. ISBN 81-7023-205-8. Page 262.
  7. ↑ Caste, Protest and Identity in Colonial India: The Namasudras of Bengal, 1872-1947, by Shekhar Bandyopadhyaya. Routledge, 1997. ISBN 0-7007-0626-7. Page 233.
  8. ↑ States, Parties, and Social Movements, by Jack A. Goldstone. Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-521-01699-1. Page 192.
  9. ↑ Peasants in India's Non-violent Revolution: Practice and Theory, by Mridula Mukherjee. Published by SAGE, 2004. ISBN 0-7619-9686-9. Page 347.
  10. ↑ "Kisan Krant March: AIKS terms police action as 'barbaric'; says Centre's acceptance of demands 'hoax'".
  11. ↑ "Farmers, Delhi Police gear up for Republic Day tractor rally; unions announce Parliament march on 1 Feb". First Post. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  12. ↑ "Delhi Police flags threat to farmers' tractor rally on January 26". Business Standard, India. Agencies. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  13. ↑ "वनपट्ट्यांसाठी रणरणत्या उन्हात शिरपूर ते धुळे लाँग मार्चला सुरवात". 26 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "राज्यपाल कोशियारी यांनी आदिवासींच्या वनहक्क कायद्याची मोडतोड केली?". March 2022.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

  • Swami Sahajanand and the Peasants of Jharkhand: A View from 1941 translated and edited by Walter Hauser along with the unedited Hindi original (Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
  • Sahajanand on Agricultural Labour and the Rural Poor translated and edited by Walter Hauser Manohar Publishers, paperback, 2005).
  • Religion, Politics, and the Peasants: A Memoir of India's Freedom Movement translated and edited by Walter Hauser Manohar Publishers, hardbound, 2003).
  • Swami And Friends: Sahajanand Saraswati And Those Who Refuse To Let The Past of Bihar's Peasant Movements Become History By Arvind Narayan Das, Paper for the Peasant Symposium, May 1997 University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Bagchi, A.K., 1976, "Deindustrialisation in Gangetic Bihar, 1809- 1901" in Essays in Honour of Prof. S.C. Sarkar, New Delhi.
  • Banaji, Jairus, 1976, "The Peasantry in the Feudal Mode of Production: Towards an Economic Model", Journal of Peasant Studies, April.
  • Bandopadhyay, D., 1973, "Agrarian Relations in Two Bihar Districts", Mainstream, 2 June, New Delhi.
  • Judith M. Brown, 1972, Gandhi's Rise to Power: Indian Politics, 1915–1922, London.
  • Chaudhuri, B.B., 1971, "Agrarian Movements in Bengal and Bihar, 1919-1939" in B.R. Nanda, ed., Socialism in India, New Delhi.
  • Chaudhuri, B.B., 1975, "The Process of Depeasantisation in Bengal and Bihar, 1885-1947", Indian Historical Review, 2(1), July, New Delhi.
  • Chaudhuri, B.B., 1975a, "Land Market in Eastern India, 1793-1940", Indian Economic and Social History Review, 13 (1 & 2), New Delhi.
  • Arvind Narayan Das, 1981, Agrarian Unrest and Socio-economic Change in Bihar, 1900-1980, Delhi : Manohar.
  • Arvind Narayan Das (ed.),1982, Agrarian Movements in India : Studies on 20th Century Bihar, London : Frank Cass.
  • Arvind Narayan Das, 1992, The Republic of Bihar, New Delhi : Penguin.
  • Arvind Narayan Das, 1996, Changel : The Biography of a Village, New Delhi : Penguin.
  • Datta, K.K., 1957, History of the Freedom Movement in Bihar, Patna.
  • Diwakar, R.R., ed., 1957, Bihar Through the Ages, Patna.
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1921, "The Zamindar and the Ryots", Young India, Vol. III (New Series) No. 153, 18 May.
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, 1940, An Autobiography or The Story of My experiments in Truth, Ahmedabad.
  • Mishra, G., 1968. "The Socio-economic Background of Gandhi's Champaran Movement", Indian Economic and Social History Review, 5(3), New Delhi.
  • Mishra, G., 1978, Agrarian Problems of Permanent Settlement: A Case Study of Champaran, New Delhi.
  • Mitra, Manoshi, 1983, Agrarian Social Structure in Bihar: Continuity and Change, 1786–1820, Delhi : Manohar.
  • Pouchepadass, J., 1974, "Local Leaders and the Intelligentsia in the Champaran Satyagraha", Contributions to Indian Sociology, New Series, No.8, November, New Delhi.
  • Prasad, P.H., 1979, "Semi-Feudalism: Basic Constraint in Indian Agriculture" in Arvind N. Das & V. Nilakant, eds., Agrarian Relations in India, New Delhi.
  • Shanin, Teodor, 1978, Defining Peasants: Conceptualisations and Deconceptualisations: Old and New in a Marxist Debate, Manchester University.
  • Solomon, S., 1937, Bihar and Orissa in 1934-35, Patna.
  • Socialism in India, by Bal Ram Nanda, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Published by Vikas Publications, 1972.Page 205.
  • A History of the All India Kisan Sabha, by Md. Abdullah Rasul. Published by National Book Agency, 1974.
  • Peasants in History: Essays in Honour of Daniel Thorner, by Eric J. Hobsbawm, Daniel Thorner, Witold Kula, Sameeksha Trust.Published by Oxford University Press, 1981.
  • Bihar Peasantry and the Kisan Sabha, 1936-1947, by Rakesh Gupta. Published by People's Pub. House, 1982.
  • "The Constitution of All India Kisan Sabha" Encyclopaedia of Political Parties, by O. P. Ralhan, Published by Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2002. ISBN 81-7488-865-9. Page 1-10.
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