Which one of the following statements about the Eka Movement and Bardoli Satyagraha is correct?

• The Eka Movement was throughout supported and organised by the Congress, while the Bardoli Satyagraha was initially independent of Congress influence and was only in the last stages supported by the Congress.
• The Eka Movement was provided leadership by the taluqdars of Awadh, whereas the Bardoli Satyagraha was a movement of the landless labourers.
• The Bardoli Satyagraha was a campaign against the enhancement of land revenue, while the Eka Movement was a protest against excessive extraction of rents.
• The Eka Movement was located in the Varanasi and Mirzapur districts of the present-day U.P., while the Bardoli Satyagraha took place in Saurashtra.

Answer: (c) The Bardoli Satyagraha was a campaign against the enhancement of land revenue, while the Eka Movement was a protest against excessive extraction of rents.

• Option (c) is correct (Core Demands): The Bardoli Satyagraha (1928, Gujarat) was launched because the colonial government raised land revenue by 22% during a severe agricultural downturn. The Eka (Unity) Movement (1921–22, UP) was a peasant protest against local landlords (taluqdars and zamindars) who were demanding exorbitant cash rents that exceeded recorded rates by over 50%.
• Option (a) is incorrect: The Congress and the Khilafat committee initially helped launch the Eka movement, but they stepped back when it turned militant under the radical leadership of Madari Pasi. Conversely, the Bardoli Satyagraha was organised from start to finish by the Congress, under the direct supervision of Vallabhbhai Patel (who earned the title Sardar here).
• Option (b) is incorrect: The Eka movement fought against the extraction practices of the taluqdars. The Bardoli Satyagraha was led by land-owning peasants (Patidars), though it counted on the support of local landless labourers (Kaliparaj).
• Option (d) is incorrect (Geography): The Eka Movement was centered in northern Awadh districts (Hardoi, Bahraich, Sitapur, and Barabanki). The Bardoli Satyagraha took place in the Surat district of mainland Gujarat, not in the Saurashtra peninsula.

📌 Eka Movement vs. Bardoli Satyagraha:

The Eka Movement (1921–1922)

• Geographical Zone: Northern Awadh districts of UP (Hardoi, Sitapur, Bahraich, Barabanki).
• Leadership Shift: Initially linked to the Congress/Khilafat network, it was quickly taken over by Madari Pasi and other low-caste leaders, adopting a more militant stance.
• Core Grievance: Protest against excessive rents (actual rents exceeding recorded rents by more than 50%), illegal cesses (nazrana), and begar (forced labor) practiced by the taluqdars.
• Key Ritual Element: Peasants took a religious oath (symbolized by a symbolic holy ditch water ritual, hence Eka or “Unity”) pledging to pay only recorded rents, refuse forced labor, and remain united against landlord evictions.

The Bardoli Satyagraha (1928)

• Geographical Zone: Bardoli Taluka (Surat district, Gujarat).
• Leadership: Organized and disciplined by Vallabhbhai Patel, who earned the title of Sardar (Leader) from the women of Bardoli during this campaign.
• Core Grievance: Direct resistance against the Bombay Presidency government’s decision to increase land revenue by 30% during a severe agrarian depression.
• Strategy & Outcome: Exceptional grassroots mobilization using local caste networks (Ashram workers, Patidars, and Anavil Brahmins). Faced with total non-cooperation and the resignation of local village officials, the British government set up the Broomfield-Maxwell Inquiry Committee, which slashed the revenue hike down to a nominal 6.03%.