Tribal revolts: Santhal, Munda, Kol and others
Tribals lost forests and land to traders, moneylenders and British laws. The Santhals under Sidhu and Kanu and the Mundas under Birsa Munda rose in revolt.
Tribal life and why it was disturbed
Before the British took over their lands, tribal groups had their own social and economic systems. A chief ran each community, and it managed its own affairs. Land and forests gave them food and almost everything they needed, and they lived apart from non-tribals. British rule brought in traders, moneylenders, zamindars and new laws. This broke their self-sufficient economy. Their revolts were anti-colonial, because they were aimed at the colonial government. They fought with traditional weapons, mainly bows and arrows. The British treated them harshly: rebels were called criminals, their property was seized, and many were jailed or hanged.
Santhal rebellion (1855 to 1857): how it unfolded
- 1The Santhals farmed peacefully in Daman-i-Koh (Santhal Pargana), which ran from Bhagalpur in Bihar towards Orissa, and from Hazaribagh to the Bengal border.
- 2British officials brought in traders, moneylenders, zamindars and merchants.
- 3Santhals bought goods on credit and had to repay at harvest with heavy interest.
- 4They gave the mahajan their crops, then their ploughs and bullocks, and finally their land. Many became bonded labourers serving only their creditors.
- 5In 1855, led by Sidhu and Kanu, they rose against British officials, zamindars and moneylenders. They burnt account books and government buildings and declared their own rule in their land.
- 6★British troops crushed the rising with great loss of life in an unequal fight. The British then made the Santhal Pargana a separate district. The rising became an inspiration for later peasant struggles.
★ key step
Santhal or Munda? Do not mix them up
Both were in the same broad forest belt of today's Jharkhand, so link each to its leader and its date.
Other tribal revolts in your lesson
| Tribe and years | Area | Cause | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mundas, 1899 to 1900 | Chhotanagpur (Ranchi area) | As the first clearers of the forest, the Mundas held special land rights. Merchants and moneylenders, and then British contractors, broke this system, and many Mundas were taken away as indentured labourers: workers bound by contract to work for a fixed time in a new place, in return for travel, food and shelter | Birsa Munda, who had some schooling from missionaries, urged his people to keep up worship at their sacred groves so that their land could not be taken. He fought moneylenders and British officials and attacked police stations and churches. The rebels were defeated and Birsa died in prison in 1900. The Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 gave some land rights and banned the bonded labour of tribals. |
| Kols, 1831 to 1832 | Singhbhum, Chhotanagpur | British entry ended the chiefs' freedom; tribal land passed to outsiders; moneylenders, merchants and British laws arrived | So strong that the British rushed troops from far away to crush it. |
| Bhils, 1818 to 1831 | Khandesh (in today's Maharashtra and Gujarat) | British occupied Khandesh in 1818; the Bhils saw them as outsiders | They rose, urged on by Trimbakji, a rebel minister of Peshwa Baji Rao II. |
| Jaintias and Garos, from 1827 and in the 1860s | North east (today's Meghalaya) | A British road from the Brahmaputra valley to Sylhet for moving troops; later house tax and income tax | The British burnt villages; Jaintia leader U Kiang Nongbah was publicly hanged and Garo leader Pa Togan Sangma was defeated. |
| Mappilas, 1836 to 1854 | Malabar (in today's Kerala) | Muslim tenants, landless labourers and fishermen hit by British land laws and the cruelty of mainly Hindu landlords | Took the British many years to crush. |
Common features of the tribal revolts
- They were anti-colonial, aimed at British rule and the outsiders it brought.
- They used traditional weapons such as bows and arrows, and often turned violent.
- They stayed confined to certain regions.
- The British put them down severely: rebels were jailed, hanged or had their property seized.
- Even so, tribals did not lag behind other groups in the fight against colonial rule.
On the map
- Faqir and Sanyasi rebellions (a peasant rising): Bengal and Bihar; mark it in northern West Bengal and north-eastern Bihar, north of the Ganga.
- Santhal Pargana (Daman-i-Koh): the hills of north-eastern Jharkhand, south of the Ganga near Bhagalpur, on the border of West Bengal; Santhal rebellion, 1855.
- Ranchi and Chhotanagpur: around Ranchi on the Chhotanagpur plateau of southern Jharkhand; Munda rebellion of Birsa Munda, 1899 to 1900.
- Singhbhum: south-eastern Jharkhand, on the Odisha border; Kol uprising, 1831 to 1832.
- Jaintia and Garo hills: today's Meghalaya, south of the Brahmaputra valley and north of Bangladesh; Jaintia and Garo resistance from 1827 and in the 1860s.
- Khandesh: north-western Maharashtra along the Tapi river, on the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh border; Bhil uprising, 1818 to 1831.
- Malabar: the northern coast of Kerala on the Arabian Sea; Mappila risings, 1836 to 1854.
Birsa Munda's birthday, 15 November, is now marked as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (tribal pride day), and it is also the day Jharkhand state was formed. The Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act still limits the sale of tribal land in Jharkhand.
1 marks: “Where did the Kol uprising of 1831 to 1832 take place?” In Singhbhum, in the Chhotanagpur area.
2 marks: “Who was Birsa Munda? Name the law that followed his rebellion.” The leader of the Munda rebellion in Chhotanagpur. He attacked police stations and churches and died in prison in 1900. The Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 gave tribals some land rights and banned their bonded labour.
6 marks: “Why did the Santhals rise against the British in 1855? Describe the course and result of their rebellion.” Open: a tribal rising of 1855 to 1857 in Daman-i-Koh. (1) Officials brought traders, moneylenders and zamindars into a peaceful land. (2) Goods on credit, heavy interest, loss of crops, cattle and land. (3) Many became bonded labourers. (4) Sidhu and Kanu led the rising. (5) Account books and government buildings were burnt. (6) Troops crushed it; the Santhal Pargana became a separate district. Close: it showed tribal anger at colonial rule.
Santhal = Sidhu and Kanu, 1855. Munda = Birsa, died 1900, Act 1908. Kol = Singhbhum, 1831. Bhil = Khandesh, 1818.