Tribal Revolts In Bihar

The British Parliament gave the British Crown complete control of the nation by transferring political authority from the East India Company. In order to promote the appointment of English soldiers, the British administration opted to reduce the number of Indian soldiers in the army. The colonial rule of some segments of Indian society led to peasants and tribal revolts. 

The first decades of the 19th century saw the beginning of the Bihar Tribal Revolts. Most of these uprisings were localised and unorganised in nature. The main causes of uprisings were land transfers to foreigners and British colonisers’ exploitation of tribal land holdings. 

This article strives to give all the aspirants of the BPSC Exam and other state exams, a comprehensive list of significant tribal uprisings, along with key information about each one.

Find details about the exam notification, syllabus and exam pattern of the BPSC Exam, by visiting the linked article.

List Of Important Tribal Revolts In Bihar

To make it easier for candidates to succeed in competitive exams like the BPSC and other state-level tests, given below is the list of important tribal revolts that took place in Bihar and contributed to the national struggle:

Candidates willing to check more topics for the general awareness section of various competitive exams can visit the Static GK page.

The details of each of these revolts are discussed in the next section of this article.

Bhumij Revolt

• Ganga Narayan was the leader of the Bhumij Revolt, in 1832-1833. 
• The East India Company’s new land regulations, which were intended to financially exploit the Bihar tribes, were the same causes of this uprising as they were for the Kol Uprising. 
• The tribal farmers’ lands were taken over on the pretext of a security payment for a past-due loan. 
• However, Ganga Narayan’s untimely death made the revolt less violent and had less of an impact on the British.

Read about the Land Revenue Systems In British India, in the linked article.

Ho And Munda Uprising

• Raja Parahat, who inspired the Chotanagpur district’s tribesman population, launched the Ho and Munda Uprising. 
• The early Munda uprising was one of the most well-known uprisings against the country’s dominant British Rule.
• This uprising was started in 1827 by the Ho tribes of Bihar, but they were defeated by the British. 
• In 1831, the Ho tribes once more banded together with the Mundas of the Chotanagpur region to rebel against the British government’s newly enacted land revenue regulations and the denial of entry to the Bengali community of Bihar. 
• The Ho tribes rose up in rebellion against zamindars and moneylenders who were aiding the occupation of Singhbhum.

Kol Uprising

• The Kol Uprising, also known as the Kol Mutiny, took place between 1831 and 1832. 
• The Kols were one of the tribes inhabiting the Chhotanagpur area. 
• They lived in complete autonomy under their traditional chiefs but this changed when the British came.
• The colonial government also introduced the concept of non-tribal moneylenders, zamindars and traders.
• The Kols then lost their lands to farmers from the outside and also had to pay huge amounts of money in taxes. This led to many becoming bonded labourers.
• The transfer of farming lands to outsider communities of Muslims and Sikhs was not accepted greatly by the Kol tribes. 
• Budhu Bhagat, who fought on behalf of the Adivasi Kol community of the Chotanagur, led the Kol Revolt.
• The exploitation of the Kol, Oraon and Bhil people was the main cause of this uprising.

Munda Uprising

• The Mundas revolted roughly seven times between 1789 and 1832 against the persecution brought on by moneylenders and the British Government.
• The main goal of Munda rebels was the eviction of outsiders, or “dikus”.
• In search of a better future, many Mundas joined the “Evangelical Lutheran Mission” after 1857.
• However, many non-believers rebelled against this mission and turned even more hostile after they realised that these missionaries couldn’t provide them with any long-term benefits.
• They intended to strengthen the authority of the Munda traditional leaders over their spheres of influence. However, their march slowed down each time they were without a charismatic leader.
• However, Birsa Munda, a capable and charismatic leader who declared a rebellion in 1894, was able to unite the Munda people.
• He organised his people to overthrow the government in a public uprising. He advised people to avoid making tax and debt payments.
• In December 1899, he launched an armed struggle against the landlords and the government. He was captured and died in jail in 1900, due to cholera.

Santhal Revolt

• People who lived in the forests were known as the Santhals.
• Two courageous leaders named Sindhu and Kanhu led this uprising against the zamindari system and the unfair and deceptive practices of moneylenders.
• The Santhals were enticed by the East India Company to visit and settle in the Damin-i-Koh region in order to gain benefits. 
• When the Zamindari system was introduced in the Bengal presidency, the British and the zamindars claimed the traditional Santhal land as their own.
• The Santhals were exploited mercilessly by the landlords who charged exorbitant rates of interest which ensured that the tribals were never able to repay their loans.
• The Santhals inadvertently became involved in loan fraud and higher interest rates.
• They lost their land and also were turned into bonded labourers. 
• The rebellion started in June 1855 when two brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu organised 10000 Santhals and began an armed uprising. Their primary aim was to completely eradicate the alien or British regime.
• The revolt was violently suppressed by the British. In order to help things calm down, the British established the Santhal Pargana group.

Read in detail about the Santhal Revolt in the linked article.

Sapha Hor Revolt

• The movement began in 1870 and was led by Bhagirath Manjhi, Lal Hembram and Paica Murmu.
• It is also called the Kherwar Movement.
• The main aim of this movement was to popularise the concept of One God and social reform.
• The movement was suppressed by the Britishers but successful in convincing people that the true upliftment lies in purifying themselves and regenerating themselves as Sapha Hor, which means pure man.

Tana Bhagat Movement

• Between 1914 to 1919, a group of Tana Bhagats under the leadership of Jatra Bhagat conducted a tribal uprising.
• This movement was centred in the Chotanagpur region of Bihar.
• Similar to the Munda movement, it was first known as Kurukh Dharam and was solely a religious movement (Meaning the original religion of the Oraons).
• The Tana Bhagats were supporters of nonviolence, much like Mahatma Gandhi.
• They opposed the Zamindars, Moneylenders, and the British Government.
• Finally, this insurrection was brutally put an end to by the British government.

Also, see other NCERT notes on modern Indian history:

Causes Of Tribal Revolts

The following reasons were the main reasons for the tribal revolts against the Britishers:

• British colonialism sparked widespread industrialisation, which deprived the Bihar tribes of their independence and way of life in the forests. The British imposed forest restrictions that limited tribal people’s access to the area and barred the Bihar tribes from using any of the forest’s resources.
• The Bihar tribal people became impoverished as a result of the British imposing tariff charges on the Indian commodities transported. In Bihar, the artisan community had a difficult time making a living.
• The handicraft businesses established among the tribal people of Bihar were being destroyed by the British. The British Raj introduced unrestricted commerce of handcraft products in India, which pulled down the profits and income source of the tribal people in India, upsetting the Bihar tribes.
• When the British tortured and oppressed the indigenous people, they had no choice but to fight back to end the injustice and human rights. On occasion, they attacked English residents, stole their goods, and drove them out of their community. Tribals were generally opposed to the British annexing the agricultural areas and selling them to foreigners.

Read about the Social Causes of the Revolt of 1857, in the linked article.

Lastly, it will not be wrong to say that the policy shift in India’s land revenue system served as the spark that lit the tribal population’s fire. Civil uprisings started when the British invaded the states of Bihar and Bengal to assert their rule and power. Tribals were impacted by the British colonisers’ rapid changes to the laws and practices that governed how the nation’s economy was run. 

Although not all tribal uprisings were successful, a number of them did persuade the British to change their unfair land revenue practices.

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