CBSE ACTIVITY

SINDHI HIGH SCHOOL

VEER GATHA 4.0
Name:- Kushaala K
Class X
 Introduction
The tribal population has always been conservative
and protective of their culture, tradition, and
hierarchical customs. The rise of British colonization
agitated the tribals. As the British government rose
to power, they started introducing policies and laws
which contradicted tribal beliefs and traditions.
When even their woods and native areas became a
target of the British government, many tribal
factions started coming together, causing a series of
Tribal Uprisings. Some of the major tribes involved in
these uprisings were the Kol tribe, the Santhal tribe,
the Munda tribe, and the Kondh tribe.
 Santhal Rebellion
The Santhal Rebellion, also known as
the Santhal Hool, was a revolt against
the East India Company and the
zamindari system by the Santhal tribe
in the present-day states of Jharkhand
and West Bengal The rebellion began
on June 30, 1855 and lasted for a year
The rebellion took place in the
Rajmahal hills of eastern India, in the
present-day state of Jharkhand The
rebellion was led by the brothers
Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, and Bhairav,
along with their sisters Phoolo and
JhanoThe Santhals were farmers who
were exploited by the British,
moneylenders, and landlords
 The Santhals formed a large army
and used guerrilla warfare tactics
The East India Company declared
martial law on November 10,
1855, and suspended it on
January 3, 1856. The rebellion
was suppressed by the
presidency armies.

The Santhal Rebellion is considered one of the most

significant examples of indigenous resistance to colonialism
before the Great Uprising of 1857. Jharkhand celebrates June
30 as 'Hul Diwas' to mark the beginning of the
rebellion. . They fought to reclaim their land and achieve
economic freedom.
 Munda Revolt
The Munda Revolt, also known as the
Munda Ulgulan, was a tribal uprising
that took place in the late 19th
century in the Chhotanagpur region of
India. The revolt was led by Birsa
Munda and was a fight for the rights of
tribal people against British colonial
oppression.

The revolt took place from 1899–1900. The revolt took

place in the Munda belt of Khunti, Tamar, Sarwada, and
Bandgaon, which is now in the state of Jharkhand. The
revolt sought to establish Munda Raj and independence.
The revolt was caused by many factors, including Land
alienation Exploitation by landlords Religious interference
The British suppressed the revolt by force and
captured Birsa Munda. The revolt showed that tribal
people could protest against injustice and express
their anger against colonial rule. The revolt forced
the colonial government to introduce laws
protecting tribal lands, such as the Chhotanagpur
Tenancy Act of 1908.
 Koya Revolt
The Koya Revolt was a tribal
uprising against the British colonial
rule and the oppressive zamindari
system in the 1880s. The Koya
people, along with the Khonda
Sara chiefs, rebelled against the
British in 1803, 1840, 1845, 1858,
1861, 1862, and 1879-80. The
revolt was led by Tomma Dora, the
Koya leader, who captured a police
station in 1880 and was hailed as
the "King" of Malkangiri by the
Koyas
The Koya people's grievances
included: Oppression by
moneylenders and police, New
regulations, and Denial of their
customary rights over forest
areas. After Tomma Dora's
death, Raja Anantayyar
organized another rebellion in
1886.
 Paika rebellion
In several recent descriptions, the 1817
Paika Rebellion in Odisha’s Khurda is
referred to as the “original” first war of
Indian Independence.
That year, the Paikas – a class of military
retainers traditionally recruited by the
kings of Odisha – revolted against the
British colonial rulers mainly over being
dispossessed of their land holdings.
In the run-up to the revolt, the British
had dethroned and exiled the Khurda
king in 1803, and then started
introducing new revenue settlements.
 Kol Mutiny

The Kols, alongwith other tribes, are

inhabitants of Chhotanagpur. This covered
Ranchi, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Palamau
and the western parts of Manbhum.
The trouble in 1831 started with large-scale
transfers of land from Kol headmen to
outsiders like Hindu, Sikh and Muslim
farmers and money-lenders who were
oppressive and demanded heavy taxes.
The Kols resented this and in 1831, under the
leadership of Buddho Bhagat, the Kol rebels
killed or burnt about a thousand outsiders.
Only after large-scale military operations
order was restored.
 The Roots of the Mainland as well as
North East Tribes Uprisings:
A major reason for tribal uprisings during colonial British rule was
the protection of their traditions and customs. Another reason why
the mainland tribal communities started a revolution was the
native areas or woods.
The Colonial property settlements had an impact on tribal
communal holdings and damaged their societal framework. The
main cause of the Ulgulan revolt or the Munda uprising was the
feudal-state system imposed by the British Government
As the company systematically extended farming, the tribal people
lost their lands, and there occurred an influx of non-tribal into
these regions hence contributing to tribal uprisings
Shifting agriculture in woods was prohibited, adding to the tribal’
dissatisfaction with British policies. The government increased its
grip over forested regions by establishing protected woodlands as
well as banning wood usage and grazing
These tribal people had their distinct traditions and
rituals, and general rules which were rejected by the
British colonial government making them aggressive and
thus leading to tribal uprisings
With the development of colonialism, Christian
missionaries arrived in these territories, and their
actions collided with native tribes’ ancient rituals. The
tribal hated the priests, whom they saw as servants of
foreign domination. This led to the Ulgulan movement
Some of the revolts were against the landlords who tried
to impose taxes on grazing and use of timber, the
exploitation by money lenders and low country traders,
and the increasing influx of outsiders (known as Dikus)
due to the extension of settled agriculture
The tribal groups of all north-eastern boundary revolts are
distinct
The tribes that had ethnic as well as cultural connections with
countries beyond the frontier were unconcerned with the
nationalistic fight. Those tribal uprisings were frequently in
support of political freedom inside the Indian State or total
freedom.
These were neither forest nor agricultural uprisings as such
tribes often possessed land and woodland regions. The British
conquered the north-eastern districts much later than these
non-frontier tribes’ regions.
De-Sanskritization activities had developed among the border
tribes. The Meiteis started an initiative to criticize the neo-
Vaishnavite Brahmins’ wrongdoings under the era of Church
and Maharaja (from 1891 to 1941). Sanskritization activities
were almost totally missing around the northeast border area
during the British era.
 Tribal Uprising Characteristics
Even if the various tribes’ revolutions were divided by
time as well as space, they shared certain basic
qualities. Solidarity: Unity was founded on group
identity through cultural relationships. Consequently,
not every ‘newcomer’ was viewed negatively. The revolt
was directed against creditors and businessmen, who
were viewed as British administrative puppets. The
solidarity of the Munda rebellion is noticeable. Foreign
authority: Hatred against the British administration’s
application of regulations, which was considered as an
effort to undermine the tribal customary social
framework, was a prominent factor in the tribal
uprisings.
This situation played a major role in the
Kol rebellion. Personality guided: Many
revolutions were guided by the Messiah-
like personalities who motivated their
community to fight and offered the
promise that individuals could eliminate
their suffering caused by those
‘newcomers’. An example is the Birsa
Munda-led Munda revolt.
 Table of Tribe Uprisings
Chuar Uprisings: Durjan Singh Midnapore and Considering the sharp rise in
The revolt Bankura District consumption and financial
persisted from hardship imposed by the British
1766 through Colonizers, Durjan Singh, a
1772 later displaced zamindar, led 1500
reviving around people to the Chuar rebellion.
1795 through
1816.

Ho as well as Ho and Munda Chhota Nagpur Against the Colonial occupancy of

Munda tribal tribe leaders Plateau Area Singhbhum, its freshly
leaders initiate implemented farming income
an uprising, and strategy, the establishment of
the name of feudalism, Zamindari tenancies.
that uprising is
Ho Uprising.

The Halba Ajmer Singh Bastar, The reason behind this revolt was
rebellion and Halba Chattisgarh the lack of money and food
persisted from Dongar among the common people. The
1774 to 1779 drought had affected the people
especially those who had very
little cultivable land
Pahariya Sardar’s Raja Jagannath Chhota Nagpur, This rebellion was
revolution in 1778. Rajmahal area against the British
Government as a
response to their
invasion of land.

The Ahoms revolt Gomdhar Konwar Assam Against the non-

persisted from fulfillment of promises
1828 to 1833 and pleasures by the
British Empire and the
annexation of the
territories under them,
post the First Anglo
Burmese war.

The Khasi and Garo Nunklow Ruler and Jaintia and Garo hills This rebellion was
rebellion from Teerut Singh of Meghalaya against the act of
1829 to 1830. British colonization of
the hilly regions in
their territory.
 CBSE ACTIVITY
The revolt of 1857 changed the course of rebellions drastically

Hailed as the VEER GATHA

‘watershed’ 4.0of British
in the history
colonization of India, the revolt of 1857 was different
SINDHI HIGH SCHOOL
from any other revolt. Before the revolt of 1857,
most of the revolts were sporadic or local affairs.
Role of Tribal uprising in
Whereas the involvement in the 1857 revolt and its
freedom struggle
scale, both were far larger than in any of the
previous revolts. The revolt of 1857 wasn’t limited to
certain areas, towns, or districts, instead, it was a
Name
widespread action. The:-leading
Kushaala
forces inKthis revolt
were the North-Western Provinces, hired Bengal
army, and the Awadh.
Class :- X
The Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought for
the British to put down the rebels. All sorts of
aspects such as socio-cultural, political,
economic, as well as the nature of colonial
policies led to the revolt of 1857. It marked the
beginning of the unification of the different tribes
as well as the acceptance of the tribes as citizens
of India.
What were the reasons for the decline of the Tribal revolts?

As Tribal revolts remained confined to the era between 18th and

early 19th Century, they contributed to the very beginning of the
aggression for British Raj. They revolted not against the British but
their policy for Indian’s which were imposed on them without
even knowing their culture and its significance.
Later this led to the revolt of 1857, which took attention of all over
the country. Hence these are the following major reasons for
decline of Tribal revolts:
Revolts were Confined to a particular region and where unable to
spread all over the country.
Specific issues of Tribes were different from the mainstream
population and hence they were unable to relate to their
problems for invoking a feeling of aggression against Britishers.
Lack of a leader: Most of the Tribal revolts were under no
leadership and thus it remained hostile after some time.
The Indian independence movement
was a great movement by various
people from nooks and corners of the
country. They had sacrificed their
lives and soul for the independence
of their country. There are numerous
freedom fighters in India who have
fought against British rule in which
Tribal revolts were among them.
Their contribution is unforgettable
and remained in the pages of History