Summary

● Factors Responsible for People’s Resistance

Colonial land revenue settlements; heavy burden of new taxes and eviction of peasants from their land.

Growth of intermediary revenue collectors, tenants and money- lenders.

Expansion of revenue administration over tribal lands.

Destruction of indigenous industry and promotion of British manufactured goods.

End of patronage to priestly and scholarly classes. Foreign character of British rule.

● Forms of People’s Uprisings

Civil Uprisings Peasant Movements Tribal Revolts Military Revolts

● Civil Uprisings Before 1857

Sanyasi Revolt (1763-1800)—Bihar and Bengal; Manju Shah, Musa Shah, Bhawani Pathak and Debi Chaudhurani were some important leaders.

Rebellion in Midnapore and Dhalbhum (1766-67)—Bengal; Damodar Singh, Jagannath Dhal, etc.

Revolt of Moamarias (1769-99)—Assam and parts of present Bangladesh; Krishnanarayan was important leader.

Civil Uprisings in Gorakhpur, Basti and Bahraich (1781)—Uttar Pradesh.

Revolt of Raja of Vizianagaram—Northeren Circars; Vizieram Rauze (Chinna Vijayaramaraju) was supported by his subjects.

Revolt in Bednur (1797-1800)—Karnataka; Dhundia Wagh.

Revolt of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (1797-1805)—Kerala; Kerala Varma.

Civil Rebellion of Awadh (1799)—Eastern Uttar Pradesh; Wazir Ali Khan (Vizier Ali).

Uprising in Ganjam and Gumsur (1800, 1935-37)—Eastern Orissa; Strikara Bhanj, Dhananjaya Bhanj and Doora Bisayi. Uprisings in Palamau (1800-02)—Chhotanagpur of Jharkhand;

Bhukhan Singh was the leader of the revolt.

Poligars’s Revolt (1795-1805)—Tinnevelly, Ramnathapuram, Sivagiri, Madurai and North Arcot of Tamil Nadu; Kattabomman Nayakan was an important leader.

Revolt of Diwan Velu Thampi (1808-09)—Travancore; led by Diwan of State, Velu Thampi.

Disturbances in Bundelkhand (1808-12)—Regions of Bundelkhand in present Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh; Lakshaman Dawa, the Killadar of Ajaygarh Fort, Darya Singh, the Killadar of Kalanjar, and Gopal Singh, a military adventurer were the important insurgents.

Parlakimedi Outbreak (1813-34)—Orissa; Narayan Deo and Gajapathi Deo.

Kutch Rebellion (1819)—Gujarat; Rao Bharamal.

Rising at Bareilly (1816)—Uttar Pradesh; Mufti Muhammad Aiwaz, a religious leader; a resistance against municipal tax turned into a religious jehad.

Upsurge in Hathras (1817)—Aligarh and Agra in Uttar Pradesh; Dayaram and Bhagwant Singh were the important insurgents. Paika Rebellion (1817)—Orissa; Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar,

Mukunda Deva and Dinabandhu Santra were important leaders.

Waghera Rising (1818-20)—Baroda region of Gujarat; led by Waghera chiefs of Okha Mandal.

Ahom Revolt (1828)—Assam; led by Gomdhar Konwar and Maharaja Purandhar Singh. Narendra Gadadhar Singh and Kumar Rupchand were other leaders.

Surat Salt Agitations (1844)—Gujarat; attacks on the Europeans by the locals of Surat; over the issue of increase in salt duty.

Gadkari Revolt (1844)—Kolhapur of Maharashtra; Gadakaris, a hereditary military class, revolted in the wake of unemployment and agrarians grievances.

Revolt of Savantavadi (1844-59)—North Konkan Coast; Phond Savant, Subana Nikam, Daji Lakshman and Har Savant Dingnekar were important insurrectionists.

Wahabi Movement (1830-61)—Bihar, Bengal, North West Frontier Province, Punjab, etc., an Islamist revivalist movement started by Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly.

Kuka Movement (1840-1872)—Punjab; A religious movement started by Bhagat Jawahar Mal transformed into political one. Ram Singh, a noted leader, deported to Rangoon.

● Peasant Movements

Narkelberia Uprising (1831)—24 Parganas (Bengal); Titu Mir inspired the Muslim tenants in West Bengal against Hindu landlords.

Pagal Panthis (1825-35)—Mymensingh district (Bengal); Karam Shah and his son Tipu rose against zamindars.

Faraizi Revolt (1838-57)—Faridpur in Eastern Bengal; Shariat- Allah, son of Dadu Mian, was the founder of the religious sect (Faraizi).

Moplah Uprisings (1836-1854)—Malabar region of Kerala; against hike in revenue demand and reduction in field size.

● Tribal Revolts

Pahariyas’ Rebellion (1778)—Raj Mahal Hills

Chuar Uprisings (1766 to 1772, 1795-1816)—Midnapore district of Bengal; important leaders—Sham Ganjan, Durjan Singh and Madhab Singh.

Kol Mutiny (1831)—Ranchi, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Palamau and Manbhum; Buddho Bhagat was an important leader.

Ho and Munda Uprisings (1820-22, 1831-37, 1899-1900)— Chhotanagpur region; Birsa Munda in 1899-1900 led the rebellion.

Santhal Rebellion (1855-56)—Raj Mahal Hill (Bihar); Sidhu and Kanhu were important leaders.

Khond Uprisings (1837-1856)—Hilly tracts extending from Tamil Nadu to Bengal; Chakra Bisoi, an important leader.

Koya Revolts (1803, 1840-1862, 1879-80)—Eastern Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh; Tomma Sora and Raja Anantayyar were important leaders.

Bhil Revolts (1817-19, 1913)—Khandesh, Dhar, Malwa, Western Ghats and southern Rajasthan.

Koli Risings (1829, 1839 and 1844-48)—Western Ghats.

Ramosi Risings (1822-1829, 1839-41)—Western Ghats; Chittur Singh was an important rebel leader.

Khasi Uprising (1829-33)—Hilly region between Garo and Jaintia Hills, Sylhet; Khasis, Garos, Khamptis and Singhphos organised themselves under Tirath Singh.

Singhphos’ Rebellion (1830-31, 1843)—Assam-Burma Border; Nirang Phidu led an uprising in 1843.

● Sepoy Mutinies

Vellore Mutiny (1806)

Mutiny of 47th Native Infantry Unit (1824) Revolt of Grenadier Company (1825), Assam Mutiny in Sholapur (1833)

Mutiny of 34th Native Infantry (1844) Mutiny of 22nd Native Infantry (1849) Mutiny of 66th Native Infantry (1850) Mutiny of 37th Native Infantry (1852)

Chapter 7

The Revolt of 1857

In 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, the British laid the first step towards getting power in northern India. And in 1857 took place the major ‘Revolt’ which was a product of the character and policies of colonial rule after 1757, and after which noteworthy changes took place in the British policy of ruling over India.