MODERN INDIAN HISTORY 20/02/17

MODULE - 6
TRIBAL MOVEMENTS IN INDIA DURING BRITISH RULE
The tribal people organized the most militant outbursts and insurrections during the 19thcentury. The
colonial administration ended their relative isolation and brought them fully under the ambit of
colonialism.

THE MAIN CAUSES OF TRIBAL MOVEMENTS

The colonial administration recognized tribal chiefs as Zamindars and introduced a new system of land
revenue and taxation of tribal product. It encouraged the influx of Christian missionaries (especially in
Bengal and Assam) and thus created serious threat to the tribal religion and culture.

It introduced a large number of outsider middleman (money-lenders, traders and revenue farmers) among
the tribal. They increasingly took possession of tribal lands and trapped the tribal in debt-web and this
brought the tribal people within the fold on the colonial economy and exploitation. The large scale influx
of non-tribal region also created serious threat to the tribal identity.

It tightened the control (restriction on shifting cultivation and attempts to curb the use timber and grazing
facilities) of forest zones for revenue purpose (from 1867 onwards) and this shattered the very basis of
tribal economy. The oppression and extortion by policemen and other petty officials aggravated the tribal
distress. The system of beggar (unpaid forced labour) was intensified and expanded

The tribal people, who had depended on the forest for food, fuel and cattle-feed, and practiced shifting
cultivation, witnessed the destruction of their livelihood and identity as they were brought into the ambit of
colonialism. The colonial administration usurped forest lands and introduced the triumvirate of trader,
moneylender and revenue farmer to exploit the tribals. The tribal uprisings were numerous, all marked by
immense courage and sacrifice on their part and brutal suppression and veritable butchery on the part
of the rulers.

TIMELINE
18th century
 1766-72 chuar revolt under the leadership of Raja Jagannath.
 1789- Revolt of the Tamar of Chhota nagpur.
1820-1899
 1831-1832 Kols of chota nagpur
 1822-1829 Ramosi of western Ghats under chittur singh
 1846, 1855 The Kond tribe revolted in Orissa under leadership of chief Bisoi.
 1855-56 The 'Great Rebellion' by the Santhal community against the British in
Eastern India
 1817 Bhil revolted under the leadership of sewaram
 1899-1900 The famous revolt by the Munda tribal community under leadership of Birsa
Munda.Later, Birsa was arrested.
20TH CENTURY
 1922-24 The Koya tribal community revolted at Rampa against the British under
leadership of Alluri Sree Rama Raju.
 1932 The Nagas revolted under leadership of Rani Guidallo in North-Eastern India.

MAJOR REVOLTS
BENGAL AND EASTERN INDIA
SANTHALS OF RAJMAHAL HILLS (1855-56)
The Santals of Hazaribagh, Midnapur, Bankura, Birbhum, Manbhum etc. were the worst sufferers due to
the permanent settlement. The police and other government officials did not protect their interest; rather
exploited them. The Santhals under the leadership of Sidhu and Kanhu raised in 1856 with a view to put
an end to colonial rule in India. They disrupted the railway and postal communications between
Bhagalpur and Rajmahal.

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The British troops became alert and a force under Major Burrough suffered a defeat at the lands of the
Santhals. The British took repressive measures, arrested the Santhal leaders and quelled the rebellion.
The Rebellion was pacified with the creation of a separate district consisting of the Santhal Parganas.

KOLS OF CHOTA NAGPUR

The Kols were tribal people. They considered them to be sons and daughters of forest. They reclaimed
the forest land and started cultivating it in their own traditional way. They had been enjoying certain
rights which no one questioned so far.
The Kols of Chotonagpur became very much aggrieved as they found that their territories were being
increasingly encroached by the non-tribal planters, zamindars and other agents of the British.

Besides, the oppression of the merchants and money-lenders from the plains forced the Kols to raise the
banner of revolt. Under the leaders like Buddhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat and Madara Mahato the Kols
raised the banner of rebellion in 1831. The insurgents adopted most cruel means and spared no one.
They torched houses and killed the enemies. Only carpenters and blacksmiths were spared since they
made weapons and other useful goods for them. After two years of intense resistance they lost to modern
weapons of the British. Thousands of tribal men, women and children were killed and the rebellion was
suppressed.

MUNDA REBELLION (1899-1900)

One of the most important and prominent rebellion which took place after 1857 was the Munda
Rebellion. The Mundas traditionally enjoyed certain rights as the original clearer of the forest which was
not given to the other tribes. But this land system was getting destroyed in the hands of the merchants
and moneylenders long before the coming of the British. But when the British actually came into these
areas they helped to destroy this system with a rapid pace when they introduced contractors and
traders. These contractors needed people to work with them as indentured laborers. This dislocation of
the Mundas at the hands of the British and their contractors gave birth to the Munda Rebellion. The most
prominent leader of this rebellion was Birsa Munda who was more aware than the others as he had
received some education from the Missionaries. He encouraged his tribe people to keep the tradition
of worshipping of the sacred groves alive. This move was very important to prevent the Britishers from
taking over their wastelands. For this, Birsa Munda fought against the moneylenders/mahajans and
English officials. He attacked Police Stations, Churches and missionaries. Unfortunately the rebels
were defeated and Munda died in prison soon after in 1900. But his sacrifice did not go in vain. The
Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 provided some land ownership rights to the people and banned
bonded labour of the tribal. Birsa Munda became the architect of Munda Rebellion and somebody who
is remembered even today.
Result of Munda Ulgulan:
 Government enacted Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908.
 Government recognized Khuntkatti rights
 Government banned Beth Begari (forced labour)
 Birsa Munda became a legend to the tribals of Chota Nagpur, and a symbol of the anti-feudal, anti-
colonial struggle of that time.

KHASI UPRISING
After having occupied the hilly region between Garo and Jaintia Hills, the East India Company wanted to
build a road linking the Brahmaputra Valley with Sylhet. For this, a large number of outsiders including
Englishmen, Bengalis and the labourers from the plains were brought to these regions.

The Khasis, Garos. Khamptis and the Singhpos organized themselves under Tirath singh to drive away
the strangers from the plains. The uprising developed into a popular revolt British rule in the area. By 1833,
the superior English military force had suppressed the revolt.

KHOND UPRISINGS
The Khond uprising included tribals from Ghumsar, China-ki-Medi, Kalahandi and Patna. The movement
was led by Chakra Bisoi in the name of the young Raja. The main issue was the attempt by the
government to suppress human sacrifice (mariah), introduction of new taxes by the British and the
influx of zamindars and sahukars (moneylenders) into their areas, which was causing the tribals untold
misery.

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The British formed a Mariah Agency, against which the Khonds fought with tangi, a kind of battle axe,
bows, arrows and even swords. Later, Savaras and some local militia clans also joined in, led by
Radhakrishna Dandasena.

CHUAR UPRISING
Famine, enhanced land revenue demands and economic distress goaded the Chuar aboriginal tribesmen
of Midnapore district to take up arms. The uprising lasted from 1766 to 1772 and then, again surfaced
between 1795 and 1816.

RANI GAIDINLIU’S NAGA MOVEMENT

A leader of the Naga tribals of Manipur, Jadonang(1905-31) resented the presence of the British in his
state. He also wanted to purge his community of decadent orthodox customs and at the same time
preserve the community’s real culture. From this internal reform and unity, the movement turned
outward during its second phase to become a political struggle against the British rule and for the
establishment of ‘Naga Raj’. Jadonang declared himself and the 17 year old Gaidinliu as deities to be
worshipped.
WESTERN INDIA
BHILS OF KHANDESH
They controlled the mountain passes between the north and the Deccan. Their region was devastated by
Maratha Wars, Pindari depredations, misgovernment and famine. On top of all this came the occupation
of their country by British in 1818. The revolt lasted nearly 30 years.

KOLI RISINGS
The Kolis living in the neighborhood of Bhils rose up in rebellion against the Company’s rule in 1829, 1839
and again during 1844-48. They resented the imposition of Company’ rule which brought with it large-
scale unemployment for them and the dismantling of their forts.

RAMOSI RISINGS
The Ramosis, the hill tribes of the Western Ghats, had not reconciled to British rule and the British
pattern of administration. They rose under Chittur Singh in 1822 and plundered the country around
Satara. Again, there were eruptions in 1825-26 and the disturbances continued till 1829.

The disturbance occurred again in 1839 over deposition and banishment of Raja Pratap Singh of Satara,
and disturbances erupted in 1840-41 also. Finally, a superior British force restored order in the area.

SOUTH INDIA
KOYAS OF ANDHRA
In the ‘Rampa country’ tribal Koya and Kondadora hill chiefs had risen against their overlord on a number
of occasions in the 19th century. The major revolt of 1879-80 was rooted in the manasabdar’s efforts to
enhance taxes on timber and grazing, while police exactions, new excise regulations restricting
domestic preparation of toddy, exploitation by low country traders and money-lenders, restrictions on
shifting cultivation (podu) in forest provided additional grievances. It could be suppressed only with the
use of six regiments of Madras Infantry.
Rampa again became a scene of a veritable guerilla war between 1922 and 1924 led by Alluri Sitarama
Raju. The grievances were basically the old ones of exploitation by money-lenders and forest laws
restricting shifting cultivation and age-old grazing rights. An unpopular Tashildar, Bastian of Gudem,
provided the immediate occasion by trying to construct forest roads with unpaid tribal labour. The
movement combined primitive rebellion with modern nationalism. It cost the Madras governments Rs. 15
lakhs to suppress the rebellion with the help of the Malabar Special Police and Assam Rifles.

CHENCHUS OF NALLAMALA HILLS

Another tribe of Andhra, the Chenchus, found its traditional rights to forest produce being increasingly
restricted by the government from 1898 onwards. The tightening up of restrictions for conservancy and
revenue purposes in 1913 directly contributed to a powerful ‘Forest Satyagraha’ under the leadership of
Hanumanthu in the Cuddapah District during the Non-cooperation Movement.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE TRIBAL MOVEMENTS

 Ethnic ties were a basic feature of the tribal rebellions. The rebels saw themselves not as discreet class
but as having a tribal identity. At this level the solidarity shown was of a very high order. Fellow tribals

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 were never attacked unless they had collaborated with the enemy. At the same time not all outsiders
were attacked as enemies. Often there was no violence against the non-tribal poor, who worked in
tribal villages in supportive economic roles, or who had social relations with the tribals, such as telis,
gwalas, lohars, carpenters, potters, weavers, washerman, barbers, drummers, and bonded
labourers and domestic servants of the outsiders.
 The tribals fought against their enemies with their traditional weapons i.e. bows, arrows, lathis and axe.
Their movement often took a violent turn resulting in the murder of oppressors and the burning of
their houses. Most of the movements were ruthlessly suppressed by the government.
 The tribals responded to their exploitation and oppression in the form of rebellious movements. They
identified their enemies in the outsiders (dikus) -landlords, money-lenders, thekedars and missionaries
and European government officials.
 They launched movements against their oppressors in their respective regions. Their agitations against
the outsiders could be called anti-colonial. They revolted against them because of their exploitation in
the form of encroachment on their land, eviction from their land, annulment of their traditional
legal and social rights and customs, against enhancement of rent, for transfer of land to the tiller,
abolition of feudal and semi-feudal form of land ownership. On the whole, these movements had
social and religious overtone.
 But they were directed against the issues related to their existence. These 'movements were launched
under the leadership of their respective chiefs. Although the movements initially began on social and
religious issues and against the oppression of outsiders, in course of time, they merged with the
National movement and with the no-tax campaign.
 The tribals had to comply with British policies which were detrimental to their interests. The
government introduced protective administration in tribal areas. The government thought that the
normal laws could not be applied in the tribal areas.
 The government passed the Scheduled District Act (1874) and categorized the tribal areas as
excluded area in the Govt. of India Act of 1935.
 On the whole, however, these rebellions were able to establish valuable traditions of local resistance
to authoritarianism.

PREVIOUS YEARS’ QUESTIONS (PRELIMS)

1. Which amongst the following provided a common factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century?
(2011)
(a) Introduction of a new system of land revenue and taxation of tribal products
(b) Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal areas
(c) Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders and revenues farmers as middlemen in tribal areas
(d) The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities
2. With which one of the following mountain tribes did the British first come into contact with after the
grant of Diwani in the year 1765? (2002)
(a) Garos (b) Khasis (c) Kukis (d) Tipperahs
3. Match List I with List II given below: (1997)
List I List II
A. Moplah revolt 1. Kerala
B. Pabna revolt 2. Bihar
C. Eka Movement 3. Bengal
D. Birsa Munda revolt 4. Awad
A B C D A B C D
(a) 1 3 4 2 (b) 2 3 4 1
(c) 1 2 3 4 (d) 3 4 1 2
4. The word Adivasi was used for the first time to refer to the tribal people by: (1995)
(a) Mahatma Gandhi (b) Thakkar Bappa
(c) Jyotiba Phule (d) B.R. Ambedker

PREVIOUS YEARS’ QUESTIONS (MAINS)

1. Discuss the character of major tribal uprisings in British India in the nineteenth Century. (2003)

2. Discuss the outstanding Tribal uprisings against the British rule during the nineteenth century. (1994)

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