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Peasant Movements and Tribal Uprisings in the 18th and 19th Century

Peasant Movements and Tribal Uprisings in the 18th and 19th Century

Section titled “Peasant Movements and Tribal Uprisings in the 18th and 19th Century”

2020-05-07 13:57 :40

Historians Views 1

Section titled “Historians Views 1”

Types of Rebellions 2

Section titled “Types of Rebellions 2”
  • popular resistance took three broad forms: civil rebellions, tribal uprisings and peasant movements

Background

Section titled “Background”
  • Colonial economic policies, New land revenue system, colonial administration, judicial system and ruin of handicraft had impoverished the peasant
  • One form that was taken to was to resort to petty crimes like robbery, dacoity etc

Civil Rebellion

Section titled “Civil Rebellion”
  • Led by deposed Rajas their descendents, landlords, zamindars, poligars etc
  • Peasants, artisans and demobilised soldiers were their support and man at arms
  • Reasons were local grievances introduced through rapid change in economy, administration and land revenue system
  • Landowners lost control of their land, peasants and artisans were indebted and forced into selling their property
  • This was exacerbated by the rapid corruption in admin., police, judiciary etc
  • religious preachers, priests, pandits and maulvis and men of arts and literature incited hatred against the foreign rulers

Limitation of These Rebellions

Section titled “Limitation of These Rebellions”
  • were wholly local in their spread and isolated from each other
  • They were result of local grievances which were common to almost all the rebellions
  • Leaders were backward looking and traditional They did not represent a societal alternative and was old in ideological and cultural form

Significance

Section titled “Significance”
  • Established a strong local tradition of resistance to the British Rule
  • Suppression of civil rebellions was the major reason why the Revolt did not spread to South India, Most of the East and West India

Tribal Revolts

Section titled “Tribal Revolts”

Reasons for Tribal Revolts

Section titled “Reasons for Tribal Revolts”
  • Colonisation under the British
  • Recognised tribal chief as zamindar and introduced new system of revenue and taxation
  • Influx of Christian missionaries into the tribal areas
  • Influx of money lenders, traders, revenue farmers as middlemen. They ostracised the tribals, took their land and acted as henchmen of the British.
  • Change in their traditional way of life, agrarian order.
  • Ostracisation by officials, police

Characteristics of These Revolts

Section titled “Characteristics of These Revolts”
  • Ethnic ties were the basic feature, tribals did not see themselves as a different class.
  • Solidarity b/w tribals was unwavering they did not attack each other
  • Non-tribal poor who worked in supporting role were not attacked. They were seen as allies.
  • Attacks were spontaneous and done only when there was no alternative
  • Religious leaders emerged as leader of the resistance in many areas.

Various Different Movements and Uprisings 3

Section titled “Various Different Movements and Uprisings 3”

Pabna Agrarian Crisis (1870s and 1880s)

Section titled “Pabna Agrarian Crisis (1870s and 1880s)”
  • Caused due to Zamindars to enhance rents beyond legal limits and ==prevent tenants from acquiring occupancy rights under Act X of 1859==. The act defined rights and obligations of different categories of interest in land.
  • May 1873 the Pabna Agrarian League was found to resist demands of the zamindars.
  • Rent strikes were organised, procession to frighten zamindars were taken out.
  • ==Main form was that of legal resistance, there was very little violence==.
  • Disputes were settled under official pressure and the govt supported the Zamindars wherever violence took place. But was neutral in cases of legal battles and peaceful agitations.
  • Gov passed the 1885 Bengal Tenancy Act protect tenants from zamindari oppression.

Characterstics

Section titled “Characterstics”
  • Aims were limited to the redressal of the immediate grievances of the peasants and the enforcement of the existing legal rights.
  • not aimed at the zamindari system nor was it anti-British.
  • within the bounds of law and used the legal machinery.
  • Hindu Muslim solidarity.
  • Intellectuals like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and RC Chatterjee discussed the Bengal Tenancy Bill.
  • Indian Association led by Surendranath Banerjee, Anand Mohan Bose and Dwarkanath Ganguli campaigned for the ryots.

Sanyasi Revolt ( 1763-1800 ) Aka Fakir Rebellion

Section titled “Sanyasi Revolt ( 1763-1800 ) Aka Fakir Rebellion”
  • originally by peasant but joined by a large number of dispossessed small zamindars , disbanded soldiers and rural poor.
  • against harsh economic order aka Fakir Rebellion.
  • Majnum Shah , Chirag Ali , Musa Shah, Bhawani Pathak and Debi Chaudhurani were important leaders.
  • Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novels Anandmath and Devi Chaudharani was written on this.

Revolt in Midnapore and Dhalbhum (1766-74).

Section titled “Revolt in Midnapore and Dhalbhum (1766-74).”
  • Against introduction of new land revenue system by the zamindars.
  • Dhalbhum , Manbhum ,Raipur , Panchet , Jhatibuni , Karnagarh, and Bagri .
  • led by Damodar Singh and Jagannath Dhal.
  • were dispossed of their Zamindari rights.

Revolt of Moamarias (1769-99)

Section titled “Revolt of Moamarias (1769-99)”
  • peasant were against the Ahom kings who requested the help of Engilsh.
  • Rangpur R (now in Bangladesh) and Jorhat J headquarters was at Bhatiapar B.

Civil Uprisings in Gorakhpur, Basti and Bahraich (1781)

Section titled “Civil Uprisings in Gorakhpur, Basti and Bahraich (1781)”
  • Major Alexander Hannay opressed the izardars/ revenue farmers of the region with excessive revenue demand.
  • was dismissed and izara removed.

Revolt of Raja of Vizianagaram ( 1794 )

Section titled “Revolt of Raja of Vizianagaram ( 1794 )”
  • was demanded tribute of 3 lakh rupees as tribute and disband his troops.
  • Raja rose in revolt, he died in a battle at Padmanabham.

Poligars’ Revolt ( 1795-1805 )

Section titled “Poligars’ Revolt ( 1795-1805 )”
  • major centres were Thirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Sivagiri , Madurai, and North Arcot .
  • Sovereignty of poligars were encroached and over Taxation were the reason. Kattabomman Nayakan, leader between 1795 and 1799.
  • 2nd phase started in 1801 after poligars imprisoned in the fort of Palamcotta were able to escape. 1803 and 1805.
  • the poligars of North Arcot rose again when they were deprived of their right to collect the kaval fees was a hereditary village police.

Resistance of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (1797 1800-05)

Section titled “Resistance of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (1797 1800-05)”
  • Kerala Simham (Lion of Kerala) against Company levying exorbitant rates of tax on the peasants.
  • Diwan Velu Thampi’s Revolt (1808-1809): after Company’s harsh conditions imposed on the state of Travancore after subsidiary alliance arrangement.
    • Assisted by Nair Troops. He addressed a gathering at Kundara calling for taking up of arms against British to oust them -> called Kundara proclamation.
    • Maharaja of Travancore had not wholly supported the rebellion and defected to side of EIC.
    • After Velu Thampi died the rebellion fizzled out.

Civil Rebellion in Awadh (1799) by

Section titled “Civil Rebellion in Awadh (1799) by”
  • Wazir Ali Khan WAK, the fourth Nawab of Awadh got replaced by his uncle, Saadat Ali Khan II.
  • Killed a British resident killed two other Europeans aka Massacre of Benares defeated by General Erskine.

Uprisings in Ganjam and Gumsur (1800, 1835-37) :

Section titled “Uprisings in Ganjam and Gumsur (1800, 1835-37) :”
  • Strikara Bhanj, a zamindar of Gumsur in Ganjam district, refused to pay revenues in 1797 joined by Jlani Deo of Vizianagar.
  • Zamindari of Gumsur was forfeited.

Uprisings in Palamau ( 1800-02 )

Section titled “Uprisings in Palamau ( 1800-02 )”
  • against agrarian landlordism and feudal system.
  • Bhukhan Singh BS, a Chero chief, was the leader.

Paika Rebellion (1817)

Section titled “Paika Rebellion (1817)”
  • Orissa Paikas were traditional land-owning milita who were employed by the British.
  • were deemed as a threat to the British regime.
  • were to be disbanded and their Jagirs were to be confiscated.
  • Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar , Mukunda Deva and Dinabandhu Santra were important leaders.
  • Raja of Khurda lost his primacy when the EIC ran over much of Odisha in 1803 leading to the rebellion.
  • A ==commission under Walter Ewer was set up to look into the issue== which recommended hereditary rent free lands to be taken away from the Paikas.
  • Certain other reasons for discontent was the rise of price of salt, abolition of cowrie currency for payment of taxes, extortionist land revenue policy.
  • It ended with the surrender of Bakshi Jagandhu in 1825.

Kuka Movement (1840-1872) Punjab

Section titled “Kuka Movement (1840-1872) Punjab”
  • religious movement by Bhagat Jawahar Mal transformed into political one.
  • Ram Singh, a noted leader was deported to Rangoon.

Rampa Rebellion 1920s

Section titled “Rampa Rebellion 1920s”
  • It was led by Alluri Sitaraman Raju against the British for the imposition of 1882 Madras Forest Act that restricted the free movt of tribal community in the forest.
  • This also affected their traditional podu shifting cultivation system.
  • It ended in 1924 when Sitaramn Raju was executed.

Various other Smaller Uprisings

Section titled “Various other Smaller Uprisings”
  • Revolt of Dhundia in Bednur (1799-1800) by Dhundia Wagh local leader in Mysore region.
  • Parlakimedi Outbreak ( 1813-34) in Orissa led by Narayan Deo and Gajapathi Deo.
  • Kutch Rebellion (1819) in Gujarat led by Rao Bharamal.
  • Rising at Bareilly ( 1816 ) in Uttar Pradesh led by Mufti Muhammad Aiwaz, a religious leader against municipal tax turned into a religious jehad.
  • **Upsurge in Hathras (1817) in Aligarh and Agra in Uttar Pradesh. Dayaram and Bhagwant Singh were the important insurgents.
  • Revolt of Savantavadi (1844-59) North Konkan Coast. Phond Savant, Subana Nikam, Daji Lakshman and Har Savant Dingnekar were important insurrectionists.
  • Ahom Revolt (1828) Assam led by Gomdhar Konwar and Maharaja Purandhar Singh. Narendra Gadadhar Singh and Kumar Rupchand were other leaders.

PYQs

Section titled “PYQs”

Peasant movements and tribal uprisings in the 18th and 19th centuries

  1. “Tribal revolts were a reaction to an alien, unfeeling administration.” Elucidate with reference to the British tribal policy in Eastern India in the nineteenth century. [1982, 60m]
  1. Discuss briefly the tribal revolts in Eastern India from 1817 to 1857. Were they directed against landlordism and colonialism? [1988, 60m]
  1. Discuss the origins and character of major peasant and tribal uprisings in the late 18th and 19th centuries were these protest movements backwards-looking? [1992, 60m]
  1. Tribal movements should be viewed as‚ ‘History from below‛. Discuss the objects and nature of the movements in 19th century India. [1997, 60m]
  1. “The tribal and peasant rebellion laid the foundation of the revolt of 1857.” Comment. [2001, 20m]
  1. “Tribals revolted more often and far more violently than any other community including peasants in India.” Elaborate [2011, 30m]
  1. How far is it correct to say that the 19th century tribal uprisings are a part of subaltern nationalism? [2016, 20m]

Footnotes

Section titled “Footnotes”

  1. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay ↩

  2. Bipan Chandra ↩

  3. Rajiv Ahir ↩