Question

In Hyderabad state, Vetti meant ________
(a)Paid labour
(b)Unpaid labour
(c)Annual tax
(d)None of these

Answer 1

Hint: Hyderabad State was a princely state in the territory of British India. Nizams who were Muslims were the ruling elite in the state. This state was largely based on the principles of feudalism.

Complete answer: Vetti means unpaid labour. It was a practice of unpaid labour in the princely state of Hyderabad. In this practice, the lower caste people were forced to provide unpaid services to the so-called “Savarnas” or upper caste people. It was supposed to be the duty of the lower caste people to provide their free services to the upper caste people. Even the children and women of the farmers were obliged to serve the landlords. Each lower caste family was forced to send one man every day to do the household labour and other jobs for the landlord. Even the lower caste girls were kept by landlords as their slaves for their pleasure. People started a peasant movement in Telangana during 1938 against these oppressive practices, the peasants organized mass protests and agitations against the Vetti practice. These all attempts finally led to the Telangana Peasant movement in 1946-51 which was a very important peasant movement in which peasants fought against the despotic rule of Nizams and Feudal lords.

Option “b” is the correct answer.

Note: It was the Communist Party of India that took up the issues of the peasants and declared the Telangana Peasant movement. Later, as an outcome of the struggle the A.P. (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1950, was passed.