The Santhal Insurrection (1855-56)
Weekend Plus Desk :
The Santhals are a group of tribals largely concentrated in Bihar. They are mainly agriculturists. The first peasant movement which took place in India dates back to Santhal insurrection of 1855-56. This insurrection has reference to the establishment of the Permanent Land Settlement of 1793.
The settlement pattern initiated by the British took away lands from the Santhals which they had cultivated for centuries.
The jamindars took land on auction from the British government and gave it to the peasants who took it for cultivation.
The jamindars and moneylenders and also groups of Europeans and government officers increased the land tax and oppressed the common peasantry. The Santhals were subdued to an extent that they decided to rise against the jamindars, moneylenders and traders.
In the beginning, following Permanent Land Settlement, the Santhals in Bihar did not resist much. They even took to limits of retreat and moved towards the borders of the plains of the Ganga at the very place where the competition for land was the keenest and the rents were the highest. This was unbearable for the Santhals. They took to insurrection.
The Europeans were employed in Bihar for railroad construction. These Europeans more than often forced abduction of Santhal women and even murder and some unjust acts of oppression. For all this no payment was made by the Europeans employed on the line of the railway. The jamindars, moneylenders, traders and European employees thus oppressed the Santhal peasants to such an extent that there was no alternative left for them rather than to take to insurrection.
The Santhals could not bear the operation any further. The leading Santhals began to rob the mahajans (moneylenders) and the jamindars of their ill-earned wealth. But the officials took the Santhals in a very non-serious way. This was far away from reality the Santhals assembled in early part of 1855 in thousands of number.
The assembly of Santhal complained that their comrades had been punished while nothing had been done to the mahajans whose exactions had compelled them to take the law into their own hands. In course of time the insurrection spread all over the Santhal areas.
The Santhals took to guerrilla fighting. This was a new experience for the whole of Bihar. It was surprising to see the Santhals making their own armies, composed of rebellious peasants marching against their oppressors.
It was a supreme tribute to their organisation and voluntary discipline that without any pervious military training, such a large number of persons, exceeding 10,000 assembled and disassembled at a very short warning. n
The Santhals are a group of tribals largely concentrated in Bihar. They are mainly agriculturists. The first peasant movement which took place in India dates back to Santhal insurrection of 1855-56. This insurrection has reference to the establishment of the Permanent Land Settlement of 1793.
The settlement pattern initiated by the British took away lands from the Santhals which they had cultivated for centuries.
The jamindars took land on auction from the British government and gave it to the peasants who took it for cultivation.
The jamindars and moneylenders and also groups of Europeans and government officers increased the land tax and oppressed the common peasantry. The Santhals were subdued to an extent that they decided to rise against the jamindars, moneylenders and traders.
In the beginning, following Permanent Land Settlement, the Santhals in Bihar did not resist much. They even took to limits of retreat and moved towards the borders of the plains of the Ganga at the very place where the competition for land was the keenest and the rents were the highest. This was unbearable for the Santhals. They took to insurrection.
The Europeans were employed in Bihar for railroad construction. These Europeans more than often forced abduction of Santhal women and even murder and some unjust acts of oppression. For all this no payment was made by the Europeans employed on the line of the railway. The jamindars, moneylenders, traders and European employees thus oppressed the Santhal peasants to such an extent that there was no alternative left for them rather than to take to insurrection.
The Santhals could not bear the operation any further. The leading Santhals began to rob the mahajans (moneylenders) and the jamindars of their ill-earned wealth. But the officials took the Santhals in a very non-serious way. This was far away from reality the Santhals assembled in early part of 1855 in thousands of number.
The assembly of Santhal complained that their comrades had been punished while nothing had been done to the mahajans whose exactions had compelled them to take the law into their own hands. In course of time the insurrection spread all over the Santhal areas.
The Santhals took to guerrilla fighting. This was a new experience for the whole of Bihar. It was surprising to see the Santhals making their own armies, composed of rebellious peasants marching against their oppressors.
It was a supreme tribute to their organisation and voluntary discipline that without any pervious military training, such a large number of persons, exceeding 10,000 assembled and disassembled at a very short warning. n
