Punjab has been unanimously described by all historians as a land of peasants proprietors. This simplistic observation has obscured the whole historical reality of this province. Dr. Gajrani in this book explodes this myth in unequivocal words and brings the hidden facts to surface that correct the historical view of the peasant movement in the land of the five rivers. The author insists that the pattern of land-holding here was highly differentiated. Another significant issue the author has highlighted is that the bureaucracy was particularly sensitive to leftist movement in view of the strategic importance of the province. The leftist movement here was sustained mainly by the, "small Sikh Jat peasant proprietors of the central Punjab", who were inspired by religious causes and were traditionally hostile to the British.
Unlike the traditional historical works it does not present day-to-day account of events but goes deeper in its analysis to lay bare the economic roots of the agrarian unrest and the manifestation along class lines. It has not only challenged the thesis of Punjab peasants loyalty to British rule but provided an interesting account of their history of resistance to colonial administrative apparatus since the beginning of the 20th century. Thus Dr. Gajrani recasts the facts connected with the peasant movement in the Punjab to provide a realistic understanding of an exciting movement. |
