Tribal and Peasant

Movements in India
Resistance to Raj
Reasons
Reasons
 Sanyasi Rebellion (1763-1820s)
• Growing burden of taxation, eviction from land and the Bengal famine of 1770 led
to the impoverishment of a large section of the peasantry.

• Many of these people being evicted from lands joined the bands of Sanyasis and
Fakirs. These sanyasis were also joined by a large number of dispossessed small
zamindars, disbanded soldiers and rural poor.

• They raided Company factories and the treasuries, and fought the Company’s forces.
It was only after a prolonged action that Warren Hastings could subdue the sanyasis.

• Important leaders of this movement were Majnum Shah, Chirag Ali, Musa Shah,
Bhawani Pathak and Debi Chaudhurani.
 Fakir Uprising (1776-77)
• Fakirs were Muslim religious mendicants.

• Not happy with colonial rule.

• Leader was Majnu Shah, who joined the distressed farmers and
zamindars of Bengal.
 Pagal Panthis (1813-33)
• Karam Shah founded a semi-religious sect (Pagal Panthis).

• His son Tipu Shah organized a rebellion against zamindars and local
agents of British officials. He was captured

• Followers included Hindus, Muslims, Garo and Hajong tribes.

•
• Brutally suppressed by the British authorities.
 Moplah (or Mappilas)/
Malabari Rebellion (1835-1921)
• The Moplahs were descendants of Muslim Arab traders who had settled
in Malabar.

• The British system reduced the Moplah Muslims to the status of tenants
and leaseholders.

• There were also overassessment, illegal cesses and the pro-landlord

attitude of the state.
• More than 22 outbreaks in 1836, 1841, 1849, 1856.

• The revolts was suppressed by the British but it reappeared

in the 1870s and followed a similar trajectory.
 Kuka Revolt (1854-72)
• Kukas, also called Namdharis, were a sect within Sikhism.

• Started out as a group for religious purification in Sikhism.

• Wore only white, hand-woven clothes.

• Boycotted British education, products, and laws.

• Under Ram Singh, the movement established aim of restoring Sikh rule in
Punjab and ousting the foreign powers.

• In 1872, Ram Singh was captured and exiled to Rangoon.

 Vellore Mutiny (1806)
• Commander-in-chief, John Cradock, and William Bentick introduced
European turban. Prohibit to wear earrings and other caste marks.

• Racial antagonism by Europeans.

• Rebels unfurled the Tipu Sultan’s tiger striped flag.

• Declared Futteh Hyder (Tipu’s first son) as the new ruler.

• Brutally crushed by Colonel Gillespie.

 Velu Thampi (1808-09)
• Velu Thambi was the Diwan of the Kingdom of Travancore.

• Heavy financial burden imposed on the kingdom by the Subsidiary

Alliance Treaty.

• He took his own life to avoid capture by the British in 1809.

 Paikas Rebellion (1817)
• Paika engaged in various service under the Gajapati ruler. Entitled to
rent free lands in lieu of their military service.

• Company officials imposed new repressive revenue policies.

• Led by Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar (military chief of the Kingdom of

Khurda).
 Ramosi Uprising (1822-26)
• Ramosis served in the lower ranks of the Maratha army and police.

• Leader: Chittur Singh.

• Against heavy assessment of land revenue and the harsh collection methods.

• Again rose up in 1825-26 under the banner of Umaji on account of acute

famine and scarcity in Pune.

• British Government offered them land grants and recruited them in the Hill
Police.
1824-32 1858-59 and 1868 1921-22
Chenchus (Nallamala
Kittur Rebellion (Karnataka) Naikdas (Gujarat)
Hills, Andhra Pradesh)

Sawantwadi Revolt
Tana Bhagat Movement
and Gadkari Revolt
(Chottanagpur and Jharkhand)
(Maharashtra)
1844 1882
Peasant Uprisings
 Colonial economic policies
Ruin of the handicrafts
leading to overcrowding
of land
The new land revenue
system

Colonial administrative
and judicial system
 Rangpur Rebellion (1783)
• The Company was intent on squeezing out maximum revenue from the
peasants.

• Ijardar was not interested in the welfare of the farmers.

• Debi Singh, who was the ijardar of Rangpur and Dinajpur was especially
severe.

• Famines became commonplace and rural indebtedness surged.

• The tax rates were so high.

• Debi Singh practised extremely harsh measures against the peasants.

• Uprising started on January 18, 1783, when peasants and zamindars

took control of the Parganas of Kakina, Kazirhat and Tepa in district
Rangpur.

• One of the main leaders was Kena Sarkar.

 Indigo Revolt (1859 - 60)
v Indigo is a plant extract used as a dye.

v It was of high demand in international markets during that time.

v It was grown mainly in Bengal & Bihar.

Causes of the revolt

❖ Indigo planters who were mainly British, forced tenants to grow Indigo. As
per a contract, the tenants were given a token amount as advance & were
required to grow indigo in the best lands & sell the produce to the planters
at the price fixed by them.
❖ The price fixed by the planters was much below that of the prevalent
market prices.

❖ The system took away the freedom of the tenant to grow the crops of
his choice & sell the produce to the buyers of his choice.

❖ Coercive methods like floggings, kidnappings of tenants & their family

members, physical attacks & destruction of property were resorted to
compel the cultivators to obey the dictates of the planters.
Course of the revolt

v The significant incident that triggered the revolt took place in Govindpur
village, in Nadia district, Bengal.

v Led by Digambar Biwas & Bishnu Biswas, the villagers stopped

cultivating indigo.

v The planters sent a gang of armed men to beat the villagers into
submission which was countered by the villagers using lathis & spears.

v Similar protests by the cultivators took place in other villages of Bengal.

Course of the revolt

• At times the cultivators had violent clashes with the police &
administration as they were seen as supporters of the planters.

• Social boycott of the planters was also organized by the cultivators.

Outcome
The revolt was largely successful in freeing the tenants from the clutches of
the planters. By 1860 the planters began to close their factories & leave the
area.

Factors that contributed to the success of the revolt

❖ Cultivators across sections like the landless agricultural laborers,

peasants & medium sized landlords participated in the revolt.

❖ Leadership was provided by medium sized landlords who had some

leverage over the administration.
Continued...
❖ There was almost perfect unity between the Hindu peasants & the Muslim
peasants.

❖ The government response was not harsh. A commission was appointed to

study the conditions in which indigo was grown. The government after
receiving the report, banned some of the unlawful & oppressive practices.

❖ The movement received support from the Indian & British press who
publicized the details of the oppressive system to the general public in
India & Britain.
Continued...
❖ Intellectuals like Harish Chandra Mukherjee gave wide publicity to the
plight of the cultivators. Din Bandhu Mitra's famous play 'Neel Darpan’
highlighted the injustices taking place in the Indigo production.

❖ Missionaries also played a role in mobilizing the public opinion to

pressurize the government into taking action.
 Pabna Movement
Epicenter: Pabna, East Bengal
Time Period: 1870s
Leaders: Ishwar Chandra Roy, Shambhu Pal, Khoodi Mollah.
Causes of the movement
• High demand of rent by landlords
• Attempts of landlords to raise rent by using dubious means of
measuring cultivated land.
• The revolt was directed against landlords. Protesters pledged loyalty to
the crown & called themselves the subjects of the queen.
• Demands of the peasants

Cessation of zamindari excesses. Protesters did not demand structural

changes like the end of the zamindari system.

• Methods employed by the peasantry

Litigation, mobilization of people, raising of funds, refusal to pay rent.

(seldom used violence)

• Course of the movement

The Agrarian League was formed in Yusufshahi pargana by the

peasants. They were the 1st to organise. Others followed.
Outcome
• Successful

• The Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 gave some protection to the peasants.

Factors that contributed to the success of the revolt

• Support of the government. The government acted as mediators

between the zamindars & the peasants.
● Most intellectuals of Bengal supported the peasant cause.

● Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, & later S N Banerjee, A M Bose, R C Dutt,

Dwarkanath Ganguli campaigned for the peasants & supported the
tenancy bill.

● Hindu-Muslim unity though most of the zamindars were Hindus & most
of the tenants were Muslims.
Deccan Peasant Movement
Epicenter: Poona, Ahmednagar

Time Period: 1875 - (slowly died down as the demands were met)

Causes of the movement

❖ Increase in rent to be paid by tenants to landlords.

❖ Drop in price of cotton after the end of the American Civil war. Cotton
fetched high prices during the war which led many peasants to cultivate
cotton. But prices slumped once the war was over.
❖ Bad harvest of 1875.

❖ Increase of revenue by 50% by the British government.

❖ Charging of exorbitant rates of interest by moneylenders (who were

mostly Marwaris)

The movement was mostly directed against moneylenders.

Course of the movement
• In 1875, riots broke out in 6 taluks of Poona & Ahmadnagar.

• Debt bonds were seized from the moneylenders & destroyed.

• Social boycott of moneylenders was organized.

• Many small owner-cultivators refused to pay revenue to the government.

• The peasants got support from social reformers based in Bombay & Poona.

• Justice M.G Ranade & his Poona Sarvajanik Sabha supported the peasants'
struggle.
Outcome

• Largely successful.

• In 1879 the Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act was passed which gave
relief to the peasant by making available legal remedies to counter
unreasonable demands.
Tribal Movements
 Through different forest
policies like Indian
Introduction of land Increasing demand for
Forest Act of 1878,
revenue settlements in the wood from the early
thousands of acres of
tribal area 19th century
forest land was declared
as reserve forest.

Oppression & extortion

Entry of Christian by policemen & other
Influx of Money lenders
missionaries in tribal government agents led
& traders in tribal areas
areas to distress in the tribal
area
Tribal movements of mainland

Sl.No. Tribal Movements Period Region Causes

British expansion on their

1. Pahariya Rebellion 1778 RajMahal Hills
lands

Rise in demands and

Midnapore &
2. Chuar Uprisings 1776 economic deprivation by the
Bankura
British.
 Expansion of British rule on
3. Kol Uprisings 1831 Chotanagpur their lands and transfer of
their lands to outsiders.

Revenue settlement
4. Kharwar Rebellion 1870s; Bihar
activities
 The practices of
1855-56
5 Santhal Rebellion Jharkhand zamindars &
moneylenders

Madhya Pradesh & Oppressive rule of

6 Naikada Movement 1860s
Gujarat British & caste Hindu
 Singhbhum &
Ho Uprisings( led by Occupation of Singhbhum by
7. 1827 Chotanagpur
Raja Parahat) British

Introduction of feudal,
zamindari tenures and
8. Munda Uprisings 1860-1920 Chotanagpur Region exploitation by moneylenders
and forest contractors.
 Interference in tribal
Hilly region extending customs & imposition of
1837-56 and
9. Kondh uprisings from Tamil Nadu to new taxes. Leader:
later in 1914;
Bengal; in Orissa in 1914 Chakra Bisoi

Khonda Dora Dabur region in

10. 1900
Campaign Visakhapatnam
 Against Company
Region of
11. Bhil Revolts 1817-19 & 1913; Rule (in 1817-19) &
Western Ghats
to form Bhil Raj
 The installation of a British protégé
Bhuyan & Juang 1867-68; on the throne after the death of their
12. Keonjhar, Orissa
Rebellions 1891-93 raja in 1867

Oppression by police,
Eastern Godavari
moneylenders; new regulations &
region
13. Koya Revolts 1879-80; 1886 denial of their rights over forest
Andhra Pradesh
areas.
 New feudal & forest levies
14. Bastar Revolt 1910 Jagdalpur

Tana Bhagat Interference of outsiders; began as

15. 1914-1915 Chotanagpur
Movements Sanskritisation movement

1916, British
Rampa region in
16. Rampa Revolts 1922-1924 interference
Andhra Pradesh
Kol Uprising of 1831:

q The Kol tribesmen of Chota Nagpur led by Buddho Bhagat rebelled

against the British for imposing on them outsiders as money-lenders &
landlords.

q Thousands of Kols perished before British authority could be re

imposed.
Santhal rebellion
q 30 June 1855: 2 Santhal rebel leaders, Sidhu & Kanhu Murmu,
mobilized ten thousand Santhals & declared a rebellion against British
colonists.

q The causes of the Uprising were primarily economic & it was

directed against the money-lenders & their protectors, the British
authorities.

q They proclaimed a government of their own in the area between

Bhagalpur & Rajmahal.

q Soon after the declaration the Santhals took to arms. The open
rebellion caught the British Government in surprise.
Santhal rebellion
q Initially a small contingent was sent to suppress the rebels but it could
not succeed & this further fueled the spirit of the revolt.

q When the law & order situation was getting out of hand the British
Government finally took a major step & sent in large number of troops
assisted by the local Zamindars & the Nawab of Murshidabad to quell
the Rebellion.

q The primitive weapons of the Santhals, weren't a match against the

musket & cannon firepower of the British.

q The revolt was brutally crushed by 1856, the 2 celebrated leaders were
killed.
 Munda Rebellion / Ulgulan uprising
q Led by a great Munda leader Birsa Munda.
q The main rebellion took place in the region south of Ranchi in 1899-1900.
q The rebellion aimed to drive away the British & establish Munda Raj or Munda rule.
q Birsa Munda strongly protested against non-tribals occupying tribal lands .
q He also disliked the moneylenders & the zamindars who ill-treated the Mundas . He
advised the Munda Farmers not to pay rent to the zamindars.
q He was against introduction of feudal, zamindari tenures & exploitation by moneylenders
& forest contractors.
q Birsa Munda started the revolt in the Chotanagpur region . They attacked British officials
missionaries and police stations.
q However the British captured Birsa Munda & suppressed the rebels.
Chuar Uprisings

q Chuar Uprisings by the Chuar aboriginal tribesmen; against rise in demands

& economic deprivation by the British.

q Leader of this revolt was Durjan Singh, a displaced Zamindar who along with
his followers created havoc.

q Some historians want this revolt to be named as ‘Freedom Struggle of the

Jangal Mahal’.
List of Tribal Movements of Frontier Regions :

Tribal
Sl.No. Period Region Causes
Movements

1 Ahoms’ Revolt 1828-33 Assam The non-fulfilment of the

pledges of the Company
after the Burmese War
 Occupation of the hilly
Khasis’ Hilly region between region. Leader :
2 1830s
Revolt Jaintia & Garo Hills Nunklow ruler, Tirath
Singh

Singphos’
3 1830s Assam British Rule
Rebellion

British policies of
4 Kukis’ Revolt 1917-19 Manipur recruiting labor during
the 1st World War.
 Hike in house tax rates &
1863;1942-43; against settlement of
5 Revolts in Tripura; Tripura
1920s outsiders in the region

The failure of British to

Zeliangrong protect them during the Kuki
6 1920s Manipur
Movement violence in 1917-19
 Led by Jadonang; against British
Naga movement 1905-31 Manipur rule & for setting up of a Naga
7
raj.

Led by Gaidinliu; the movement

was suppressed but Kabui Naga
8 Heraka Cult 1930s Manipur
Association was formed in 1946.
Characteristics of Tribal movements :

● Tribal identity or ethnic ties were a binding force for these

movements.
● These identities united them to fight against the outsiders. But all
outsiders were not recognized as enemies.
● Poor who supported the tribal economy were left alone.
● The anger was against money lenders & traders who were
recognised as agents of the colonial government.
● The common cause for these movements was the laws imposed by colonial
governments which tried to destroy the traditional socio economic framework
of the tribal society.

● Many uprisings were led by messiah-like figures.

● Example: Munda revolt started by Birsa Munda. These god-like figures

created faith among the tribal people that colonial rule was responsible for
their misery.

● Most of these leaders claimed to derive their authority from God.

● They also often claimed that they possessed magical powers, for example,
the power to make the enemies’ bullets ineffective.

● Filled with hope & confidence, the tribal masses tended to follow these
leaders to the very end.

● These uprisings were localized & isolated, & lacked any modern feeling of
nationalism. The movements were mostly violent & frequent.
● The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities
was the common factor for all the tribal revolt.

● These uprisings were broad-based, involving thousands of tribal, often the

entire population of a region.

● Most of the tribal revolt was spontaneous in nature. They did not have a
well organized structure to fight against colonial rule.
● Often they attacked the outsiders, looting their property & expelling them
from their village.

● The warfare between tribal rebels & British armed forces was totally unequal.

● Britishers were equipped with modern weapons but tribal rebels had primitive
weapons.
Weaknesses of Tribal Uprisings
● Though these movements were powerful in their region & raised their
dissent against unjust rule of British government, these movements had
certain limitations.

○ They were a localised & isolated revolt which did not get the support
of the mainland freedom struggle movement. Due to this they could
not sustain themselves for longer periods of time.
○ Most of the movements arose against local grievances. Due to this,
these movements could not get the support at all India levels as people
were not able to associate with these local demands.

○ The leaders of these movements had conservative & traditional outlook.

○ They did not have a long term vision for reform in the society or to
protect society from the British rule.

○ They were easily satisfied if the British agreed to their specific demands.
○ The movements were not revolutionary in ideas & mostly focused on
local demands.

○ These movements did not provide an alternate solution to the public &
failed to galvanize into action.

○ The warfare strategy of these movements were not modern. Due to this,
they were not able to counter the British Army.
Remedial measures by British Government :

● The tribal rebels were followed by reforms in the administration of tribal

areas.

● British authorities realized that it was difficult to keep tribal areas quiet for
a longer period.

● They understood the limitation of the use of power. So many remedial

measures were adopted.

● They also adopted the policy of non interference in the case of tribal
customs & traditions.
Some of the measures are :

● Government of India Act, 1870:

○ The act conferred upon the Governor-General-Council the power to

approve as laws, the regulations made by local, (Provincial) or State
Government for the administration of certain special areas.

○ So it provided some form of regulatory mechanism to protect the

interest of the tribal areas. Many remedial measures were taken under
this act to protect the interest of the tribal people.
● Scheduled District Act, 1874:

○ The Scheduled District Act may be called the 1st significant measure
taken to deal with all the tribal areas.

○ The Act empowered the local government to declare any area as a

scheduled district for better administration of these areas
§ Government of India Act, 1919:

○ The Act empowered the Governor-General-in council to declare any

territory a backward tract.

○ By this Act backward tracts were classified as wholly excluded areas &
Modified excluded areas.

○ Central & provincial legislatures had no power to make law with respect
to wholly excluded areas.

○ The power of legislation was vested in the Governor-General-in council.

○ So it helped in better administration of tribal areas & protect the interest

of tribal people.
Government of India Act, 1935 :

● Under the GoI Act of 1935, the backward tracts were classified as

'Excluded' & 'Partially Excluded Areas'.

● The Excluded Areas were placed under the provincial rule of the
Governor acting in his direction.

● The 'Partially Excluded Areas' were left within the ministerial

responsibility.
Summary