EHI - 5

13th Part

Block -8

Q  Analyse the nature of popular movements before 1857.   12

Q  Discuss the nature and significance of popular revolts till 1857.  

A  Leadership - These movements were led by the leaders who were not outsiders, they rose and fell with the movement. The leadership of these movements were in the hands of men or women who belong to the same cultural background of the peasants that they led. They were able to articulate the problems of the oppressed in a more efficient way. The sanyasi rebellion showed how holy men spearheaded the movement as leaders. They wanted to return to the past glorious period. Thus the notion that all land belongs to the god and everyone had an equal share in it, strikes a chord with the peasantry and mobilized the oppressed peasants in large numbers. 

Participation and Mobilization - Some features of the peasant and tribal protest movements demonstrate a certain level of political & social consciousness. For example, the Kols in 1832 did not attack the tribal population in clear recognition of who their allies were. Attack on Kacharis by tribals in 1783 points out the recognition of place and source of peasant's oppression. Sometimes tribal revolts broadened its ambit to include other issues that were different from the grievances which started off a protest movement. For example the Moplah rebellions in the nineteenth century in Malabar, it started as the struggle against the landlords but ended up as a protest against British rule itself. 

           In spite of the attempt of British officials to portray tribals as criminals, these movements were political in nature. For example, the Santhals gave ample warning in advance to the villages they attacked. The tribals claimed they were righteous as they had approval from a higher authority. For example the Santhal leaders Sidho and Kanho claimed in fact that it was the 'thakoor' (local god) who himself would fight the white soldiers in a clear indication that they had approval from god. The public legitimacy to the struggle led to the public conference, planning, assembly, and attack. 

        Different types of tensions between class, caste or ethnic and religious groups helped in uniting the rebels against the perceived enemy. For example in Mapilla rebellion religion formed a bond in uniting the poorer and more affluent sections of the peasantry to fight against landlord oppression who belonged to a different religion. Protest movements of the oppressed peasants and tribals did not emerge all of a sudden. Often an insurgency was preceded by the rise in the rate of rural crimes. For example in 1854, a year before the Santhal rebellion, a number of dacoities were committed against the local money-lenders.

Q  Write an essay on the major peasant and tribal uprisings in India prior to the Revolt of 1857.                   20

A  The Sanyasi Rebellion, 1763-1800

 Even before the great famine of Bengal in1770, small groups of Hindu and Muslim holy men traveled from one place to another and made sudden attacks on the storehouses where food crops were kept and property of the local rich men and government officials. Though the Sanyasis and Fakirs were religious men, originally they were peasants, including some who were evicted from the land. The growing hardship of the peasantry due to increased revenue demand and the Bengal famine of 1770 brought a large member of disposed of small Zamindars, disbanded soldiers and rural poor into the bands of Sanyasis and Fakirs. They moved around in different parts of Bengal and Bihar in bands of 5 to 7 thousand and adopted the guerrilla technique of attack. Their target of the attack was the grain stocks of the rich and at a later stage, government officials. They looted local government treasuries.

Sometimes the wealth looted was distributed among the poor. One noticeable feature of these revolts 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. The 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.

The Mappila Uprisings, 1836-54

Mappilas are the descendants of the Arab settlers and converted Hindus. The majority of them were cultivating tenants, landless laborers, petty traders, and fishermen. The British occupied of Malabar in the last decade of the eighteenth century. Thereafter the British introduced changes in the land revenue administration which brought unbearable hardship in the life of the Mappilas. Over-assessment, illegal taxes, eviction from the land, hostile attitude of government officials were some of the many reasons that made the Mappilas rebel rose up in revolt against the British and the landlords. The religious leaders played an important role in creating consciousness among the Mappilas against the landlords and the British. 

The growing discontentment of the Mappilas resulted in open rebellion 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 was 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.

The Santhal Rebellion, 1855-56

The area of maximum concentration of Santhals was called Daman-i-koh or Santhal Pargana. When the Santhals cleared the forest and started cultivating the area the neighboring 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 to the simple living Santhals. 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 brothers, Sidhu and Kanu, who were believed to have received the blessing from the gods to put an end to the ongoing oppression of the Santhals.

Q  Discuss the nature and significance of the Revolt of 1857. 20

A   There is no unanimity among history scholars regarding the nature of the revolt of 1857 and there is a general debate between scholars regarding the reasons for the Revolt of 1857. Some of the reasons for the revolt are - sepoy mutiny, national struggle or the first war of independence and attempts by Feudal lords to reestablish their domination.

British Historians - All the British historians, in particular, Sir John Lawrance and Seelay are of the view that it was a sepoy mutiny as the sepoys refused to use the greased cartridges of the Enfield rifles and opposed the move. This was an attempt by British historians to minimize the grievances of Indians and to restrict it only to a section of the army’s revolt. Further, the British tried to portray civil disturbances as the actions of selfish vested interests of the landholders and the princes. Some considered it was a conspiracy hatched by the Hindus and the Muslims against the British.

Indian -  it was the first war of Indian independence inspired by the ideal of self-rule by Indians through nationalist upsurge. It is believed that it is very difficult to make a generalization of the 1857 event as the response of the people varied from one area to another and as such it is argued that the revolt of 1857 was not one movement but many. 

Significance - The 1857 revolt though failed and crushed by the superior military force of the British was a significant event of far-reaching consequences in the history of British rule in India. It marks the end of an era of mercantile capitalism and early colonial rule and the beginning of direct imperial hegemony of the British crown. The results of the 1857 revolt may be subdivided as:

(i) Constitutional changes,

(ii) Changes in the army,

(iii) Religious, judicial and diplomatic effects, and

(iv) Social effects.

Constitutional Changes:

The most significant result of the mutiny was the transfer of power from a trading company to a sovereign power of Britain by the Government of India Act of 1858. This Act of 1858 completed the process initiated by the Charter Act of 1853. In the place of the President of the Board of Control, the Secretary of State for India was appointed. The Secretary of State for India was assisted and helped by a 15-member body of India Council. The designation of the Governor-General of India was changed to Viceroy. 

Changes in the Army: - The artillery section was exclusively kept under the British. As a consequence of more European soldiers in the army, the expen­diture on the army doubled up. The Bengal Army was virtually abolished.