The Tebhaga Movement

The area linked to the Tebhaga movement of the 1940s, a pivotal event in Indian peasant history, is located approximately 18 km from Balurghat, along the Trimohini-Patiram road. In the first half of the 20th century, most farmers worked on the land of zamindars (landlords) and were entitled to only one third of the produce. The Tebhaga movement demanded that farmers receive two thirds (‘tebhaga’ means ‘three shares’). The struggle in this region was fierce and is remembered in local consciousness. The old zamindar estate at Patiram, still standing by the Atreyee River on the Balurghat-Malda state highway, bears the memory of the Tagore family connection and offers a poignant physical reminder of the pre-Independence feudal order.