Santhal Rebellion (Santhal Revolt)-1855-56

Santhal Rebellion (Santhal Revolt) or Santhal Uprising (1855-56)

Peasant Movement

Peasant revolts or movements of the 18th and 19th centuries are a very important segment of modern Indian history.

Santhal Rebellion is one such revolt against the oppression of Santhals (agricultural people) settled in Rajmahal Hills in Bihar (present-day Jharkhand).

Introduction

The Santhal rebellion (commonly known as Santhal Hool), was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand, in eastern India against both the British colonial authority and Zamindari System by the Santhal people.

• This was the first peasant revolt that occurred in India. The revolt can be attributed to the introduction of the Permanent Land Settlement of 1793.
• It started on June 30, 1855, and on November 10, 1855, martial law was proclaimed which lasted until January 3, 1856, when martial law was suspended and the movement was brutally ended by troops loyal to the British.
• The rebellion was led by the four Murmu Brothers – Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav.
• This was one of the most massive revolts. A determined attempt to expel the outsiders-the dikus and Proclaimed the complete ‘annihilation’ of the alien regime.

Background

• The Santhals are the largest tribal group in India. They are native to the Indian states of predominantly Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
• Until the 19^th century, they lived their lives in harmony with nature and practiced shifting agriculture and hunting. They lived in the hilly regions of Birbhum, Barabhum, Manbhum, Palamau and Chhotanagpur.
• These areas came under the Bengal Presidency whose rule passed onto the British after the Battle of Plassey in 1757.
• British turned to them for the expansion of the revenue through agriculture. Santhals agreed to clear forests to practice settled agriculture. 
• In 1832, the British demarcated a large number of areas as Damin-i-Koh or Santal Pargana. and invited Santhals to settle in the region. Due to promises of land and economic amenities, a large number of Santhals came to settle from Cuttack, Dhalbhum, Manbhum, Hazaribagh, Midnapore, etc.
• Soon, Mahajan and zamindars as tax-collecting intermediaries deployed by the British.
• Many Santhals became victims of corrupt money-lending practices. The Santhal life was disrupted by the onslaught of the Zamindari system that they introduced. They were rendered landless bonded laborers in their own homes.

Santhal Rebellion – The Uprising of Santhals

The Santhal Revolt took place in 1855-56. Santhals are a tribal group concentrated in the state of Jharkhand. This was the first peasant revolt that occurred in India.

• The revolt can be attributed to the introduction of the Permanent Land Settlement of 1793.
• The settlement pattern initiated by the British snatched lands that the Santhals had been cultivating for centuries.
• The zamindars took land on auction from the British government and gave it to the peasants who took it for cultivation
• The zamindars, moneylenders, Europeans and the British government officials raised the land tax and exploited farmers. They were so oppressed that they resolved to rebel against the landlords and the government.
• Zamindars, police, revenue & courts exercised a combined system of extortions, oppressive
• exactions, forcible dispossession of property, abuse & personal violence and a variety of petty tyrannies
• Usurious interest on loans (50 – 500 %)
• Wilful and uncharitable trespass by the rich by means of their untethered cattle, tattoos, ponies and even elephants, on the growing crops of the poorer race.

Causes of the Santhal Rebellion

• Social & Economic condition: explain the above points
• British Tactics or Introduction of the Permanent Land Settlement of 1793

The course of War / How did the fire broke?

• By 1854, the tribal heads, the majhis and parganites, had begun to meet and discuss the possibility of revolting.
• Stray cases of the robbing of zamindars and moneylenders began to occur.
• 30 June 1855 – tribal leaders called an assembly of 6000 Santhals, representing 400 villages, at Bhaganidihi.
• They decided to raise the banner of revolt, get rid of the dikus once and for all, to usher in Satyug- ‘The Reign of Truth,’ and ‘True Justice’.
• Non-tribal help: Insurrection was helped by a large number of non-tribal and poor dikus. Gwalas (milkmen) and others helped the rebels with provisions and services; Lohars (blacksmiths) accompanied the rebel bands, keeping their weapons in good shape. 
• The Santhals engaged in guerrilla warfare. This was a new occurrence for Bihar. The Santhals formed their own armies composed of peasants marching against their op­pressors. The Santhal army dismantled the rail­way and postal communications.

Suppression of Santhal Rebellion:

• Government realized the scale of the rebellion & organized a major military campaign
• Mobilized many regiments, declared Martial Law, offered rewards of upto Rs. 10,000 for the capture of various leaders
• The rebellion was crushed ruthlessly
• More than 15,000 Santhals were killed while tens of villages were destroyed.
• The landlords supported the British government whereas the local people including the milkmen and the blacksmiths supported the Santhals.
• Kanhu was arrested by accident at the tail-end of the rebellion in February 1866.
• ‘The Rajmahal Hills were drenched with the blood of the fighting Santhal peasantry’.

Surely, the Santhal revolt was very effective for a while but it could not succeed against the absolute power of the government and was suppressed. 

Previous Year Questions on Santhal Revolt / Santhal Uprising – BPSC

1. Evaluate the causes and results of the Revolt of Santhal (1885-56) in Bihar.

2. Discuss the main causes of the Santhal Uprising. What were its consequences?

3. Discuss the causes and results of the revolt of Santhals (1855-56) in Bihar.

4. Santhal Uprising provides a model of popular armed resistance against British colonial India”. Explain.

5.‘The Santhal Uprising was the first fierce reaction of the tribals against British colonial India’. Elucidate.