TRIBAL AND

PEASANT
UPRISINGS
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 TRIBAL UPRISINGS
Causes-
• Colonial rule ended their relative isolation and brought them fully within
ambit of colonialism om
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• Recognized tribal chiefs as zamindars andrayintroduced an
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a new land revenue
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and taxation of tribal products e w.n
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• Influx of large number of “dikus”-Onlmoneylender,
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traders and revenue
farmers as middlemen amongst tribals.
• Land alienation of tribals. Reduced to status of sharecroppers, labourers
• Radically altered relation with forests- usurped forest land, placed
restriction on access to forest products, stopped practice of jhum
cultivation.
 Characteristics of tribal rebellions

1. Tribal identity: ethnic ties were a basic feature of tribal rebellions

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2. Religious leadership- Messiahs: provided leadershipma g
to rebellions,
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promised divine intervention & end to suffering an at hands of
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3. Militant but unequal battle: the tribal rebellions were violent but
were pitted against better trained and equipped british armed
forces.

4. Localized nature of revolts.

 Tribal uprisings

1. Kols of Chottanagpur- 1820-1837.

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2. Santhal uprising of Rajmahal Hills- 1854-1866: a n@
g Sidho and Kanhu.
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Nearly 60,000 santhals had been mobilized. . n ara Rebellion was crushed,
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more than 15,000 santhals were killed.
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3. Munda uprising-1899-1900: Birsa Munda. They had been struggling

against the destruction of their common land holding system.
 PEASANT REVOLTS IN PRE 1857 ERA
From 1763 to 1856, there were more than forty major rebellions

1. Sanyasi rebellion-Bamkin Chandra Chaterjee- om

a il.cAnanad Math-1763-
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1800- displaced peasants and demobilized y an
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religious monks & dispossessed zamindars.
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2. South India- Dewan Velu thampi of Travancore organized a historic
revolt in 1803-05.

3. Western India- koli uprising in gujarat during 1830’s & Bhil uprisings
in Maharashtra.
PEASANT MOVEMENTS AFTER 1857
• Indigo revolt- 1859-60: the indigo planters, nearly all europeans
compelled the tenants to grow indigo which they processed in
factories. co
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• In practice, planters were above the law. Magistrates,
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• Led by Bishnu Biswas & DigambarOn
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Biswas, rebellious ryots organized
rent strikes and raised funds to fight court cases against planters.
• Role of intelligentsia: organized a powerful campaign in support of
rebellious peasantry.
• Harish Chandra Mukherji- editor Hindoo Patriot.
• Din Bandhu Mitra- play- Neel Darpan.
 Pabna Agrarian revolt- 1870-1880:

• In 1873, an agrarian league was formed in Pabna, East Bengal to

resist the demands of zamindars.
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• Illegal demand for rent beyond legal limits g& to prevent the tenants
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from acquiring occupancy rights under .na
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y 10 of 1859.
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• The league organized rent strikes y
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for & challenged the zamindars in
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courts. The main form of struggle was legal resistance.
• The movement argued for reinforcement of legal rights and neither
an overthrow of zamindari or the colonial rulers, consequently
Bengal tenancy act of 1885 was passed.
 Deccan Agrarian Riots-1875-79
• Major agrarian outbreak happened in Poona & Ahmednagar in 1875.
• Cause: the increase in land revenue demands in 1867 by 50%,
worsened by bad harvests & the crash in cotton export prices due to
the end of american civil war in 1864. ail.
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• Strategy: There was social boycott of zamindar a ray
a and moneylenders
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where they resorted to forced evictions ew of peasants. This social
a nje
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boycott soon transformed intoOnagrarian
l y f riots when it did not prove
effective.
• Colonial government repressed movement, Deccan Agriculturists
relief act of 1879 was passed.
• 1873-74: Poona Sarvjainik Sabha led by Justice Ranade organized
successful campaign amongst peasants
 FEATURES OF PEASANT MOVEMENTS
1. Their struggles were directed towards specific & limited objectives &
redressal of specific grievances.
2. Their struggles were directed against immediate om enemies-foreign
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planters, indigenous zamindars & moneylenders.
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3. The intelligentsia played a critical srole e
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movement. n ly f
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4. Adopted constitutionalist mode: rather than relying on violent

mobilization, they developed a strong awareness of their legal
rights.
5. The territorial reach of these movements was also limited.

6. A major weakness of 19th century peasant movements m

was the
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lack of adequate understanding of colonialism ail. economic
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7. Their movements lacked a positive conception of an alternative
society.
8. Most of these weaknesses were overcome in 20th century where
peasant discontent merged with wider anti-imperialist discontent &
movement