ಅಧ್ಯಾಯ 10. ವಸಾಹತು ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು ಮತ್ತು ರೈತರ ಚಳವಳಿಗಳು

ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು ಅಥವಾ ಆದಿವಾಸಿ ದಂಗೆಗಳು

The Uprising of the Bhils, 1818-31

The Bhils were mostly concentrated in the hill ranges of Khandesh. The British occupation of Khandesh in 1818 enraged the Bhils because they were suspicious of outsiders' incursion into their territory. Moreover, it was believed that Trimbakji, rebel minister of Baji Rao II, instigated the Bhils against the British occupation of Khandesh. There was a general insurrection in 1819 and the Bhils in several small groups ravaged the plains. There were similar types of insurrection quite often by the Bhil chiefs against the British. The British government used its military force to suppress the rebels and at the same time tried to win them over through various conciliatory measures. But the British measures failed to bring the Bhils to their side.

 

The Kol Uprising, 1831-32

The Kols of Singhbhum hr long centuries enjoyed independent power under their chiefs. They successfully resisted all attempts made by the Raja of Chota Nagpur and Mayurbhanj to subdue them. British penetration into this area and the attempt to establish British law and order over the jurisdiction of the Kol Chiefs generated tensions among the tribal people. As a result or British occupation of Singhbhum and the neighbouring territories, a large number of people from outside began to settle in this area which resulted in transfer of tribal lands to the outsiders. This transfer of tribal lands and coming of merchants, money-lenders and the British law in the tribal area posed a great threat to the hereditary independent power of the tribal chiefs. This created great resentment among the tribal people and led to popular uprisings against the outsiders in the tribal area. The rebellion spread over Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamau and Manbhum. The target of attack was the settlers from other regions whose houses were burnt, and property looted. The insurrection was ruthlessly suppressed by the British militia.

 

The Santhal Rebellion, 1855-56

The Santhals were inhabitants of the districts of Birbhum, Bankura, Murshidabad,  Dumka, Bhagalpur and Purnea. The area of maximum concentration of Santhals was called Daman-i-koh or Santhal Pargana. When the Santhals cleared the forest and started cultivation in this area the neighbouring Rajas of Maheshpur and Pakur leased out the Santhal villages to Zamindars and money-lenders. Gradual penetration by outsiders (called dikus by the Santhals) in the territory of the Santhals brought misery and oppression for the simple living Santhals. In Calcutta Review of 1856 a contemporary writer depicted the condition of the Santhals in the following words :

"Zamindars, the police, the revenue and court alas have exercised a combined system of extortions, oppressive exactions, forcible dispossession of property, abuse. and personal violence and a variety of petty tyrannies upon the timid, and yielding Santhals. Usurious interest on loans of money ranging from 50 to 500 per cent; false measures at the haut (weekly market) and the market; wilful and uncharitable trespass by the rich by means of their untethered cattle, tattoos (small ponies), ponies and men elephants, on the growing crops of the poorer race; and such like illegalities have been prevalent."

The oppression by money-lenders, merchants, Zamindars and government officials forced the Santhals to take up arms in order to protect themselves. Initial protests of the Santhals were in the form of robbery and looting of Zamindars and money-lenders houses. But violent suppression of these activities and harassment of Santhals at the hands of police and local officials made them more violent. The rebel Santhals found their leaders in two brothkrs, Sidhu and Kanu, who were believed to have received blessingp from the gods to put an end to the ongoing oppression of the Santhals and to restore "the good old days". Several thousand Santhals armed with their traditional weapons of bows, arrows, axes assembled and took the decision to give an ultimatum to the Zamindars and the government officials to stop oppression immediately. They decided to get back control of their lands and to set up their own government. The authorities however paid no serious attention to this ultimatum: Ultimately the grievances of the Santals flared up in open armed insurrection against the local government officials, Zamindars and money-lenders. The insurrection spread rapidly

in the whole ~anthal Pargana a Large numbers of low caste non-Santhals also came out in support of the Santhals. The government and Zamindars started counter-attacking the insurgents. The heroic struggle of the Santhals ultimately failed because of British superiority of arms.

 

ರೈತರ ದಂಗೆಗಳು

The Sanyasi Rebellion, 1763-1800

The East India Company's official correspondence in the second half of the eighteenth century referred many times to the incursion of the nomadic Sanyasis and Fakirs, mainly in northern Bengal. Even before the great famine of Bengal(1770) small groups( of Hindu and Muslim holy men travelled from place to place and made sudden attack on the store houses of food crops and property of the local rich men and government offices. Though the Sanyasis and Fakirs were religious mendicants, originally they were peasants, including some who were evicted from land. However, the growing hardship of the peasantry, increasing revenue demand and the Bengal famine of 1770 brought a large member of dispossessed small Zamindars, disbanded soldiers and rural poor into the bands of Sanyasis and Fakirs. They moved around different parts of Bengal and Bihar in bands of 5 to 7 thousand and adopted the guerilla technique of attack. Their target of attack was the grain stocks of the rich and at later stage, government officials. They looted local government treasuries. Sometimes the wealth looted was distributed among the poor. They established an independent government in Bogra and Mymensingh. The contemporary government records describe these insurrections in their own way, thus, "A set of lawless banditti known under the name of Sanyasis and Fakirs, have long infested these countries and under the pretence of religious pilgrimage, have been accustomed to traverse the chief parts of Bengal, begging, stealing and plundering wherever they go and as it best suits their convenience to practice. In the years subsequent to the famine, their ranks were swollen by a crowd of starving peasants, who had neither seed nor implements to recommence cultivation with, and the cold weather of 1772 brought them down upon the harvest fields of lower Bengal, burning, plundering, ravaging in bodies. Sanyasi Rebels: A Sketch One noticeable feature of these insurrections was the equal participation of Hindus and Muslims in it. Some of the important leaders of these movements were Manju Shah, Musa Shah, Bhawani Pathak and Debi Chaudhurani. Encounter between the Sanyasis-Fakirs and the British forces became a regular feature all over Bengal and Bihar till 1800. The British used its full force to suppress the rebels.

 

Peasant Uprising of Rangpur, Bengal, 1783

The establishment of British control over Bengal after 1757 and their various land revenue experiments in Bengal to extract as much as possible from peasants brought unbearable hardship for the common man. Rangpur and Dinajpur were two of the districts of Bengal which faced all kinds of illegal demands by the East India Company and its revenue contractors. Harsh attitude of the revenue contractors and their exactions became a regular feature of peasant life. One such revenue contractor was Debi Singh of Rangpur and Dinajpur. He and his agents created a reign of terror in the two districts of northern Bengal. Taxes on the Zamindars were increased which actually were passed on from Zamindars to cultivators or ryots. Ryots were not in a position to meet the growing demands of Debi Singh and his agents. Debi Singh and his men used to beat and flog the peasants, burn their houses and destroy their crops and not even women were spared. Peasants appealed to the company officials to redress their grievances. Their appeal however remained unheeded. Being deprived of justice the peasants took the law in their own hands. By beat of drum the rebel peasants gathered large number of peasants, armed with swords, shields, bows and arrows. They elected Dirjinarain as their leader and attacked the local cutcheries and store houses of crops of local agents of the contractors and government officials. In many cases they snatched away the prisoners from the government guards. The rebels formed a government of their own, stopped payments of revenue to the existing government and levied 'insurrection charges' to meet the expenses of the rebellion. Both Hindus and Muslims fought side by side in the insurrection. Ultimately the government's armed forces took control of the situation and suppressed the revolt.

 

The Rebellion at Mysore, 1830-31

After the final defeat of Tipu Sultan the British restored Mysore to the Wodeyar ruler and imposed on him the subsidiary alliance. The financial pressure from the company on the Mysore ruler compelled him to increase revenue demands from the Zamindars. The increasing burden of revenue ultimately fell on the cultivators. The corruption and extortion of local officials added 'to the existing miseries of the peasants. The growing discontent of the peasants broke out into an open revolt in the province of Nagar, one of the four divisions of Mysore. Peasants from other provinces joined the rebellious peasants of Nagar and the rebel peasants found their leader in Sardar Malla, the son of a common ryot of Kremsi. The peasants defied the authority of the Mysore ruler. The British force regained control of Nagar from the rebel peasants after strong opposition and ultimately the administration of the country passed into the hand of the British.

 

The Mappila Uprisings, 1836-54

Though the various peasant uprisings that posed serious challenge to the colonial rule the Mappila uprisings of Malabar occupy an important place. Mappilas are the descendants of the Arab settlers and converted Hindus. Majority of them were cultivating tenants, landless labourers, petty traders and fishermen. TheBritish occupation of Malabar in ihe last decade of the eighteenth century and the consequent changes that the British introduced in the land revenue administration of the area brought unbearable hardship in the life of the Mappilas. Most important change was

The transfer of 'Janmi' from that of traditional, partnership with the Mappila to that of an independent owner of land and the right of eviction of Mappila tenants which did not exist earlier. Over-assessment, illegal taxes,\eviction from land, hostile attitude of  government officials were some of the many reasons that made the Mappilas rebel Peasant and against the British and the landlords.

The religious leaders played an important role in strengthening the solidarity of the Mappilas through socio-religions reforms and-also helped in the evolution of anti-British consciousness among the Mappilas. The growing discontent of the Mappilas broke out in open insurrections against the state and landlords. Between 1836 and 1854 there were about twenty-two uprisings in Malabar. In these uprisings the rebels came mostly from the poorer section of the Mappila population. The target of the rebels were generally the British officials. Janmis and their dependents. The British armed forces swung into action to suppress the rebels but failed to subdue them for many years.

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