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Civil Rebellions
Civil Rebellions
MODULE -7
CIVIL REBELLIONS IN INDIA DURING BRITISH RULE
The civil uprisings were led by deposed rajas and nawabs or their descendants,
uprooted and impoverished Zamindars, landlords and poligars. They revolted
because of their local grievances with the British rule.
The sanyasis retaliated by organizing raids on the Company’s factories and state
treasuries. Only after prolonged military action could Warren Hastings contain the
raids by the sanyasis which included massacre of 150 sanyasi in 1771. After
nearly half a century long strife, the Sanyasi Uprising ended in the second quarter of
the nineteenth century. Area affected included Murshidabad and
Baikunthupur forests of Jalpaiguri, in West Bengal.
AHOM REVOLT
The British had pledged to withdraw after the First Burma War (1824-26) from
Assam. But after the war, instead of withdrawing, the British attempted to
incorporate the Ahom’s territories in the company’s dominion. This sparked off a
rebellion in 1828 under the leadership of Gomdhar Konwar. Finally, the Company
decided to follow a conciliatory policy and handed over Upper Assam to Maharaja
Purandar Singh Narendra and part of the kingdom was restored to the
Assamese king.
WESTERN INDIA
CUTCH REBELLION
The British interfered in the internal feuds of the Cutch and, in 1819, defeated and
deposed the ruler Rao Bharamal in favour of his infant. A British resident governed
the areas as the de facto ruler with the help of a regency council.
The administrative innovations made by the regency council coupled with excessive
land assessment caused deep resentment. The news of the British reverses in
the Burma War emboldened the chiefs to rise in revolt and demand the restoration
of Bharamal. After extensive military operations failed to control the situation, the
Company’s authorities were compelled to follow a conciliatory policy.
SURAT SALT AGITATIONS
A strong anti-British sentiment resulted in attacks by local Surat population on the
Europeans in 1844 over the issue of the Government’s step to raise the salt duty
from 50 paise to one rupee.Faced with a popular movement; the Government
withdrew the additional salt levy. And, again in 1848, the government was forced to
withdraw its measure to introduce Bengal Standard Weights and Measures in
face of people’s determined bid to resort to boycott and passive resistance.
NORTH INDIA
KUKA MOVEMENT
The founder of Kuka movement was Bhagat Jawahar Mal. Initially it was started as
a religious movement with a view to reform the Sikh religion by purging it of the
degenerate features, Kuka movement, founded in 1840 in the Western Punjab,
turned into a political struggle against the British.
The Kuka movement sought to abolish the caste system in the Sikhism and create
a society based on equality. It advocated woman’s freedom and abstinence from
alcohol and drugs and discouraged non-vegetarianism.
The British took several measures to crush the Kuka revolt between 1863-1872.
Ram Singh, one of the famous leaders of the Kuka movement, gave a call to his
followers for boycott of British goods, government schools and government posts.
Known to his followers as Satguru, he was deported by the British to Burma where
he died in 1885.The Kuka Revolt also came to be known as Namdhari Movement.
SOUTH INDIA
DIWAN VELU THAMPI REVOLT
The East India Company’s harsh conditions imposed on the state of Travancore,
after both of them agreed to a subsidiary alliance arrangement under Wellesley
in 1805, caused deep resentment.
The ruler failed to pay the subsidy and fell in arrears. The high-handed attitude of
the company compelled the Diwan, Velu Thampi, to rise against the Company,
assisted by the Nair battalion. A large military operation had to be undertaken to
restore peace. The revolt was ruthlessly suppressed and Velu Thampi was publicly
hanged.
POLIGAR REBELLION
The poligari system had evolved with the extension of Vijayanagar rule into Tamil
Nadu. Each poligar was the holder of a territory or palayam (usually consisting of a
few villages), granted to him in return for military service and tribute.
Given their numerical strength, extensive resources, local influence and
independent attitude, the poligars came to constitute a powerful force in the political
system of south India. The East India Company, eager for revenue, opposed the
manner and scale in which the poligars collected taxes from the people. The
issue of taxation—more specifically, who was to collect it, the traditional rulers or
the rapacious new collectors from overseas —lay at the root of the subsequent
uprising.
SIGNIFICANCE
The historical significance of these civil rebellions lies in that they established
strong and valuable local traditions of resistance to British rule. The Indian
people were to draw inspiration from these traditions in the later nationalist
struggle for freedom