Santal uprising

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The Santal uprising, known as hool , was the greatest rebellion by an indigenous Indian tribe ( tribals , Adivasi ) from 1855 to 1856 against the ruthless collection of land and poll taxes, which were excessively high by the British colonial government .

root cause

The Santal traditionally settle in the Daman-i-koh region between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal in Bihar . With the increased establishment of a direct colonial administration corrupt cops, courts, distributors and came zamindars , to the region. The strangers were called dikus by the Santals . Interest rates of 50 to 500% were common, false weights were used in the markets, the police and courts protected the fraudsters and landlords. In many cases the animals of the wealthy committed grazing crimes .

course

The tribal chiefs , so-called majhi or parganite, began to meet at meetings at the end of 1854 to discuss how they could drive away the exploitative strangers. The first attacks on zamindars and moneylenders took place.

On June 30, 1855 in Bhaganidhini , a gathering of about 6,000 tribesmen, representing 400 villages, decided to forcibly expel the foreign invaders and bring about a rule of "true justice" ( Satyug ). The two most important leaders, the brothers Sido and Kanhu, claimed to have received instructions from the god Thakur .

The tribesmen were mobilized through parades in villages. From the 60,000 people, groups of 1,500–2,000 people were formed, who were mobilized in individual cases by beating drums. They were also supported by the armies of other groups. All symbols of foreign rule and their representatives, such as police officers, were attacked. They had few firearms, but showed themselves to be extraordinarily brave in battle.

When the government realized the strength of the rebellion, they mobilized a force of 10 regiments under a major general, declared martial law, and offered Rs 10,000 as a reward for the leaders. Sido was betrayed, captured, and killed in August 1855. Kanhu was captured by accident in February 1856. Around 15,000 tribesmen were killed and around 100 villages razed to the ground.

literature

  • IL Narajan; The Santhal Insurrection; in: AR Desai (Ed.); Peasant Struggles in India; Delhi 1979
  • Biswas, AK; Santhal Rebellion: A study of little known facts of their life and culture; in: Bulletin of Bihar Tribal Welfare Research Institute, Ranchi Vol. XXXV (December 1995), pp. 13-24.
  • Rottger-Hogan, El .; Insurrection ... or ostracism: A study of the Santal rebellion of 1855; Contributions to Indian Sociology, Vol. 16 (1982), pp. 79-96.
  • SP Sinha; Bihar Tribal Welfare Research Inst .; Santal Hul: 1855-56; exploits of Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairab; Ranchi 1980

Remarks

  1. ↑ contemporary report of the Calcutta Review quoted. in Chandra (1989), p. 47.
  2. ↑ Ranajit Guha; Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India; Delhi 1983, pp. 28, 112

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