Tribal Movements in India

Introduction Tribals such as Chuars, Kols, Bhils, Santals, Oraons, Hoes, Hays, Manipuris and Garos organised uprisings against oppression by the English East India Company and the British Administration.

Tribe Meaning: a group of people of the same race, and with the same customs, language, religion, etc. living in a particular area and often led by a chief.

Uprisings of Tribals Numerous uprisings of tribals have taken place beginning with one in Bihar in 1772, followed by many revolts in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland.

The important tribes involved in revolt in the nineteenth century were Mizos (1810), Kols (1795 and 1831), Mundas (1889), Daflas (1875), Khasi and Garo (1829), Kacharis (1839), Santhals (1853), Muria Gonds (1886), Nagas (1844 and 1879), Bhuiyas (1868) and Kondhas (1817)

Scholars worked on Tribal Studies Some scholars like A.R. Desai (1979), Kathelen Gough (1974) and Ranajit Guha (1983) have treated tribal movements after independence as peasant movements. but K.S. Singh (1985) has criticized such approach because of the nature of tribals’ social and political organisation, their relative social isolation from the mainstream, their leadership pattern and the modus operandi of their political mobilization.

Nature of Revolt Tribals’ community consciousness is strong. Tribal movements were not only agrarian but also forest based. Some revolts were ethnic in nature as these were directed against zamindars, moneylenders and petty government officials who were not only their exploiters but aliens too.

Reasons for the revolt When tribals were unable to pay their loan or the interest thereon, moneylenders and landlords usurped their lands. The tribals thus became tenants on their own land and sometimes even bonded labourers. The police and the revenue officers never helped them. On the contrary, they also used the tribals for personal and government work without any payment.

Cont… The courts were not only ignorant of the tribal agrarian system and customs but also were unaware of the plight of the tribals. All these factors of land alienation, usurpation, forced labour, minimum wages, and land grabbing compelled many tribes like Munda, Santhals, Kol, Bhils, Warli, etc., in many regions like Assam, Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra to revolt.

Cont… The management of forests also led some tribes to revolt, as forests in some regions are the main sources of their livelihood. The British government had introduced certain legislations permitting merchants and contractors to cut the forests. These rules not only deprived the tribals of several forest products but also made them victims of harassment by the forest officials. This led tribes in Andhra Pradesh and some other areas to launch movements.

How did the tribal groups live? Jhum cultivation This type of cultivation is usually found in forests and hilly areas Some were hunter’s and gatherer’s They hunted deer, pig etc and gathered for their survival Some were herderer’s Many tribal's lived by herding and grazing animals they are nomads

Problem of British with shifting cultivation They wanted shifting cultivators to settle down and become peasants. As people engaged in shifting cultivation move around a lot, so calculating tax is very hard. Settled cultivation in those areas where water was scarce. Jhum cultivators who were forced to take up settled cultivation suffered, because their fields hardly gave good yield. Facing widespread protests, the British had to ultimately allow them the right to carry on shifting cultivation in some parts of the forests.

How did colonial rule affect tribal lives? During pre-colonial time tribal chiefs enjoyed many administrative and influencing rights. but during the colonial period there was a loss of power for the tribal chiefs they had to obey. British law and the government restricted the rights of the tribal chiefs.

Forests law and their impact The British extended their over all forests and declared that forests were state property. Some forests were classified as reserve forests which was used to produce timber which the British wanted. The colonial officials allowed some land for Jhum cultivation that they would provide labor for the forests department for looking after forests.

Impact Many tribal groups reacted against the colonial forest laws. They disobeyed the new rules, continued with the practices that were declared illegal . Such was the revolt of Songram Sangam of 1906 in Assam. Many people for example like moneylenders, traders for purchasing raw goods and lending money, these traders made huge profits but only a meager amount reached the producers. The condition of people who went to towns for work was not also better.

The Tribals were paid low wages, and prevent them from returning home. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Tribal's rebelled against the forest laws . The Kolas rebelled in 1831-32 Santhal rose in revolt in 1855 The Bastar Rebellion in central India broke out in 1910 . Warli revolt in Maharashtra on 1940

After independence, the tribal movements may be classified into three groups: Movements due to exploitation by outsiders (like those of the Santhals and Mundas), Movements due to economic deprivation (like those of the Gonds in Madhya Pradesh and the Mahars in Andhra Pradesh), and Movements due to separatist tendencies (like those of the Nagas and Mizos).

The tribal movements may also be classified on the basis of their orientation into four types: Movements seeking political autonomy and formation of a state (Nagas, Mizos, Jharkhand), Agrarian movements, Forest based movements, and Socio-religious or socio-cultural movements (the Bhagat movement among Bhils of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, movement among tribals of south Gujarat or Raghunath Murmu’s movement among the Santhals).

S.M. Dubey (1982) has classified them in four categories: (a) Religious and social reform movements (b) Movements for separate statehood (c) Insurgent movements and (d) Cultural rights movements.

Tribal Revolts Chuar revolt Khol revolt Santhol revolt Khond Revolt and Manipuri, Khasia and Garo uprisings in the north-east after 1826 Sanyasi Rampa revolt Birsa Munda revolt

Santhal Revolt (1855 – 1856)

The Santhal Revolt (1855-56) The Santhals were a hardworking, peace-loving and simple folk, living mainly off agriculture in the dense forests of Bankura, Midnapur, Birbhum, Manbhum, Chota Nagpur and Palamou. The Permanent Settlement brought these lands under Company’s revenue control. The Santhals fled oppressive zamindars and Company staff and settled down in the hill tracts of Rajmahal and clearings in Murshidabad forests.

They started farming here as well, calling it Damin-i-Koh. But here too their oppressors followed them and exploitation started in full swing. Local moneylenders cheated them with high interest rates of 50% to 500%. The simple-minded Santhals reeled under loans and often had to lose everything, even themselves, if loans were not paid back. Shopkeepers gave them short weight. British soldiers and employees forcibly took away their livestock; even the women were not spared.

Course Two brothers,Sidhu and Kanhu, rose against these dreadful activities. On 30 June 1855, 10,000 Santhals assembled at the Bhagnadihi fields and pledged to establish a free Santhal state. Common people like blacksmiths, potters, carpenters and weavers supported them. Other leaders were brothers Chand and Bhairav, Bir Singh and Pramanik. The rebels’ ranks swelled and they numbered nearly 50,000.

Postal and rail services were thoroughly disrupted. The rebels targeted railway stations, post offices, police stations, European bungalows and zamindars’ houses. They bravely fought with only bows and arrows with the armed British soldiers and nearly brought British rule down from Bhagalpur to Munghyr. Trouble spread to Birbhum and Murshidabad as well. Several British armies were dispatched to quell the rebellion.

Result At last in February 1856 the uprising was suppressed and 23,000 rebels were slaughtered. Sidhu, Kanhu and other leaders were hanged, prisoners got jail terms of 7 to 14 years and 36 Santal villages were destroyed. The Santhal Revolt was essentially a peasant revolt. People from all professions and communities such as potters, blacksmiths, weavers, leather workers and doms joined in. It was distinctly anti-British in nature.

Birsa Munda Uprising (1895 - 1900)

Birsa Munda Uprising In 1895 Birsa, a tribe urged his followers to recover the past glory, a golden age were the tribals held their heads high. He talked of a golden past were Mundas led a good life, constructed embankments, tapped natural springs, planted trees and orchards, practiced cultivation to earn their living. As the movement spread the British officials decided to act. They arrested Birsa in 1895, convicted him on charges of rioting and jailed him for 2 years.

When Birsa was released in 1897, he began to gather support against the British by using traditional methods. They attacked police stations and churches, and raided the property of moneylenders and zamindars. They raised the white flag as a symbol of Birsa Raj. In 1900 Birsa Munda died of cholera and the movement faded out.

Significance of the movement of Birsa Munda It showed that the Tribals could protest against injustice and express their dissatisfaction over the colonial rule It introduced laws so that the govt. could not take away the land of the tribals