Type: Prelims Only

Addressing the nation after being sworn in, President Murmu invoked four tribal revolutions that she said had strengthened tribal contribution to the freedom struggle.

[1] Santhal revolution

• On June 30, 1855, over 10,000 Santhals were mobilised by their leaders — Kanho Murmu, Chand Murmu, Bhairab Murmu and Sidho Murmu – to revolt against the East India Company over oppression by revenue officials, zamindars, and corrupt moneylenders.
• The landmark event in tribal history, referred to as Santhal Hul, took place in Bhognadih village in present-day Jharkhand.
• Soon after their open rebellion, Santhals took to arms to resist imposition of East India Company laws.
• The seeds of the protracted rebellion, however, were sown in 1832 where the East India Company created Damin-i-koh region in the forested belt of Rajmahal hills, and invited the Santhals to settle there.
• Over the years, Santhals found themselves at the receiving end of exploitative practices aided by the British.
• After the rebellion broke out in 1855, both sides continued clashing till the uprising was crushed in 1856.
• The British defeated the Santhals using modern firearms and war elephants in decisive action in which both Sidho and Kanho died.

[2] 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.
• For Paikas, who were into rendering martial services in return for hereditary rent-free land (nish-kar jagirs) and titles, this disruption meant losing both their estates and social standing.
• The trigger for the revolt came as some 400 Kondhs descended from the Ghumusar area to rise against the British.
• Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra Bharamarbar Rai, the highest-ranking military general of the banished Khurda king, led an army of Paikas to join the uprising of the Kondhs.
• The Paikas set fire to government buildings in Banapur, killed policemen and looted the treasury and the British salt agent’s ship docked on the Chilika.
• They then proceeded to Khurda and killed several British officials.
• Over the next few months, the Paikas fought bloody battles at several places, but the colonial army gradually crushed the revolt.
• Bakshi Jagabandhu escaped to the jungles, and stayed out of reach of the British until 1825, when he finally surrendered under negotiated terms.

[3] Kol revolt

• The Kols, tribal people from the Chhota Nagpur area, rose in revolt against the British in 1831.
• The trigger here too was the gradual takeover of tribal land and property by non-tribal settlers who were aided by new land laws.
• The simmering discontent over the economic exploitation of the original inhabitants led to an uprising led by Buddhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat and Madara Mahato among others.
• The Kols were joined by other tribes like the Hos, Mundas and Oraons.
• The tribals fought with traditional weapons taking the battle to colonial forces who finally overpowered them with modern weaponry.
• The uprising, which spread to areas like Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamau, and Manbhum and continued for almost two years before being snuffed out, mainly targeted colonial officials and private money-lenders.

[4] Bhil uprising

• After the British intruded into the Bhil territory in Maharashtra’s Khandesh region, the tribals pushed back fearing exploitation under the new regime in 1818.
• The revolt was led by their leader, Sewaram and was brutally crushed using the British military might.
• This uprising again erupted in 1825 as the Bhils sought to take advantage of reverses being suffered by the British in the first Anglo-Burmese war.

Also read:

Important Rebellions and Peasant Movements

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Union Education and Skill Development Minister has urged NCERT and the Education fraternity to include enough information about Anushilan Samiti, especially in the upcoming National Curriculum Framework

Anushilan Samiti

• Anushilan Samiti was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries.
• It was founded by Satish Chandra Pramatha Mitra, Aurobindo Ghose and Sarala Devi.
• In the first quarter of the 20th century it supported revolutionary violence as the means for ending British rule in India.
• The organisation arose from a conglomeration of local youth groups and gyms (akhara) in Bengal in 1902.
• It had two prominent, somewhat independent, arms in East and West Bengal, Dhaka Anushilan Samiti (centred in Dhaka), and the Jugantar group (centred in Calcutta).
• It challenged British rule in India by engaging in militant nationalism, including bombings, assassinations, and politically motivated violence.

Revolutionary activities

• The Samiti collaborated with other revolutionary organisations in India and abroad.
• It was led by the nationalists Aurobindo Ghosh and his brother Barindra Ghosh, influenced by philosophies like Italian Nationalism, and the Pan-Asianism of Kakuzo Okakura.
• The Samiti was involved in a number of noted incidents of revolutionary attacks against British interests and administration in India, including early attempts to assassinate British Raj officials.
• These were followed by the 1912 attempt on the life of the Viceroy of India, and the Seditious conspiracy during World War I, led by Rash Behari Bose and Jatindranath Mukherjee respectively.

Defiance from militant nationalism

• The organisation moved away from its philosophy of violence in the 1920s due to the influence of the Indian National Congress and the Gandhian non-violent movement.
• A section of the group, notably those associated with Sachindranath Sanyal, remained active in the revolutionary movement, founding the Hindustan Republican Association in north India.
• A number of Congress leaders from Bengal, especially Subhash Chandra Bose, were accused by the British Government of having links with the organisation during this time.
• The Samiti’s violent and radical philosophy revived in the 1930s, when it was involved in the Kakori conspiracy, the Chittagong armoury raid, and other actions against the administration in British-occupied India.

Other personalities associated with Anushilan Samiti

• Legends like, Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das, Surendranath Tagore, Jatindranath Banerjee, Bagha Jatin were associated with Anushilan Samiti.
• Dr Hedgewar who established the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was also an alumnus of the Samity.

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