"Why, in the 1917-42 period, did no radical challenge to the social order develop? Why did the peasants of north Bihar seek merely to reform existing social and political arrangements instead of attempting to transform the social structure to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth and power? This book seeks to answer these questions. After portraying the economy and society of north Bihar in the early twentieth century, it examines the peasant movements in detail. It explores their general context and particular setting, their leadership and following, their general characteristics and course of development, and their interactions with the colonial state and with the Bihar branch of the Indian National Congress"--Page 2.