✊ Chapter 6: Tribal & Peasant Uprisings

Early Resistance Against British Rule (1765-1900)

📜 Introduction: Nature of Uprisings

🎯 Characteristics

🔥 Causes of Uprisings

Significance: Though failed, these uprisings laid foundation for later nationalist movements and Revolt of 1857.

🔥 Early Uprisings in Bengal

1. Sanyasi Rebellion (1770s-1820s)

Region: Bengal Bengal

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Sanyasis (Hindu ascetics) - Naga Sanyasis, Giri Sanyasis
  • Cause: British restricted movement to pilgrimage sites (1770)
  • Action: Raided British factories & treasury offices
  • Duration: Several decades
  • British View: Called them "bandits"
  • Local View: Freedom fighters

2. Fakir Rebellion (1776-1810s)

Region: Bengal Bengal

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Fakirs (Muslim ascetics)
  • Leader: Majnu Shah Leader
  • Other Leaders: Chirag Ali, Bhawani Pathak, Debi Choudhurani
  • Unity: Joined forces with Hindu Sanyasis
  • Cause: British restrictions on Fakirs

3. Pagal Panthis Movement (1830s)

Region: North Bengal Bengal

📌 Key Points

  • Nature: Semi-religious peasant movement
  • Leaders: Karam Shah, Tipu Shah
  • Cause: Excessive taxation & Zamindar exploitation
  • Action: Urged peasants to refuse tax payments

4. Chuar Rebellion (1766-1799)

Region: Bengal & Bihar Bengal-Bihar

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Chuar tribes
  • Cause: Heavy taxation & famine
  • Trigger: British land revenue policies
  • Result: Brutally suppressed

🏔️ Major Tribal Uprisings

5. Kol Revolt (1831-1832)

Region: Ranchi, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Palamu Jharkhand Super PYQ

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Kol tribes
  • Leader: Budhu Bhagat Leader
  • Cause: British transferred Kol land to Sikh & Muslim landlords
  • Result: Mass displacement
  • Suppression: British burned ~1,000 homes

6. Santhal Rebellion (1855-1856)

Region: Bhagalpur, Rajmahal, Damini-Koh Bihar-Jharkhand Super PYQ

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Santhal tribes
  • Leaders: Sidhu & Kanhu Murmu Leaders
  • Causes:
    • British oppression & high taxes
    • Exploitation by moneylenders & landlords
    • Land alienation
  • Significance: One of the largest tribal uprisings
  • Result: Brutally suppressed by British
  • Impact: Inspired later tribal movements

7. Munda Rebellion (1899-1900)

Region: Ranchi Jharkhand Super PYQ

📌 Key Points

  • Also called: "Ulgulan" (The Great Tumult)
  • Leader: Birsa Munda Leader
  • Causes:
    • Exploitation by British, moneylenders, zamindars
    • Land & resource alienation
    • Forced labor (Beth Begari)
  • Vision: Society free from oppression & exploitation
  • End: Birsa captured, died in custody (1900)
  • Achievement: Led to Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (1908) protecting tribal land rights

8. Khond Uprising (1837-1856)

Region: Niyamgiri Hills, Odisha Odisha

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Khond tribes
  • Leader: Chakra Bisoi
  • Cause: British tried to ban Meriah system (human sacrifice)
  • Nature: Resistance to cultural interference
  • Duration: Prolonged conflict

9. Khasi Uprising (1833-1835)

Region: Brahmaputra Valley-Sylhet Assam-Meghalaya

📌 Key Points

  • Cause: British road construction project
  • Issue: Brought outsiders (Bengalis, English) to tribal areas
  • Leaders: Tirot Singh, Khasi, Garo, Singhpo, Sindh Khamu Pandits
  • Nature: Resistance to British encroachment

🌊 Odisha & South India Uprisings

10. Paika Rebellion (1817)

Region: Odisha Odisha PYQ

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Paikas (warrior community of Odisha)
  • Leader: Bakshi Jagabandhu Leader
  • Cause: British interference in revenue system
  • Significance: Early resistance movement
  • Result: Eventually crushed

11. Rampa Revolt (1879)

Region: Andhra Pradesh AP

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Rampa tribes
  • Cause: British forest laws
  • Issue: Curtailed traditional shifting cultivation
  • Impact: Severely affected livelihood

12. Velu Thampi Revolt (1805)

Region: Travancore (Kerala) Kerala

📌 Key Points

  • Leader: Velu Thampi (Prime Minister of Travancore)
  • Cause: Forced treaty with British
  • Support: Nair warriors of Kerala
  • End: Captured & publicly executed by British

13. Revolt of Raja of Vijayanagaram (1794)

Region: Northern Andhra Pradesh AP

📌 Key Points

  • Cause: British revenue demands
  • Result: Raja killed in battle
  • End: Son surrendered to British

⛰️ Western India Uprisings

14. Koli Uprisings (1818-1896, 1829-1844)

Region: Western India Gujarat-Maharashtra

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Koli tribal community
  • First Uprising (1818-96): Led by Swaraj Singh. Against British land policies
  • Second Uprising (1829-44): British disrupted Koli fishermen's livelihood
  • Nature: Multiple revolts over decades

15. Ramosi Uprisings (1822, 1825, 1839)

Region: Western Ghats Maharashtra

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Ramosi warrior tribe
  • First Revolts (1822, 1825): Led by Chittur Singh. Against British expansion
  • Second Revolt (1839): After British deposed Pratap Singh of Satara

16. Gadar Revolt (1830s-1850s)

Region: Puranpur, Satadro Maharashtra

📌 Key Points

  • Who: Gadaris (military class under Marathas)
  • Cause: Lost status & employment under British
  • Trigger: Economic hardship & unemployment
  • Result: Not widely successful but added to anti-British sentiment

🕌 Religious-Political Movements

17. Faraizi/Khairaji Movement (1838-1857)

Region: Bengal Bengal PYQ

📌 Key Points

  • Founder: Haji Shariatullah (Muslim reformer)
  • Leader: Dudu Miyan (his son)
  • Nature: Islamic revival + anti-British
  • Action: Mobilized peasants against British & Zamindars
  • Achievement: Expelled English traders from parts of Bengal
  • Significance: One of earliest peasant revolts against colonial rule

18. Wahhabi Movement (1820s-1860s)

Region: Pan-India, especially Punjab Pan-India PYQ

📌 Key Points

  • Inspired by: Syed Ahmad Barelvi
  • Influence: Abdul Wahhab of Saudi Arabia
  • Goal: Return to pure Islamic teachings
  • Anti-British: Opposed Western influence on Islam
  • Intensified: After British annexed Punjab (1849)
  • Nature: Armed conflicts against British

19. Kuka Movement (1840s)

Region: Punjab Punjab

📌 Key Points

  • Founder: Bhagat Jawahar Mal
  • Initial Goal: Religious purification (Sikh)
  • Later: Turned against British rule in Punjab

🌄 Assam Uprisings

20. Revolt in Assam (1824-1826)

Region: Assam Assam

📌 Key Points

  • Context: After First Anglo-Burmese War
  • Issue: British pledged to withdraw but tried to retain control
  • Leader: Gondwan Konwar
  • Result: British handed Upper Assam to Purandar Singh Narendra

📊 Quick Reference Table

Uprising Year Region Leader
Sanyasi Rebellion 1770s-1820s Bengal Sanyasis (collective)
Fakir Rebellion 1776-1810s Bengal Majnu Shah
Velu Thampi 1805 Travancore Velu Thampi
Paika Rebellion 1817 Odisha Bakshi Jagabandhu
Kol Revolt 1831-32 Jharkhand Budhu Bhagat
Khasi Uprising 1833-35 Assam-Meghalaya Tirot Singh
Khond Uprising 1837-56 Odisha Chakra Bisoi
Faraizi Movement 1838-57 Bengal Dudu Miyan
Santhal Rebellion 1855-56 Bihar-Jharkhand Sidhu & Kanhu
Munda Rebellion 1899-1900 Jharkhand Birsa Munda

🎯 PYQ Sniper Shots

Q: Who led the Santhal Rebellion?
A: Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu (1855-56)
Q: Birsa Munda's rebellion is also known as?
A: Ulgulan (The Great Tumult)
Q: Chotanagpur Tenancy Act was passed in which year?
A: 1908 (after Munda Rebellion)
Q: Who led the Paika Rebellion in Odisha?
A: Bakshi Jagabandhu (1817)
Q: Faraizi Movement was founded by?
A: Haji Shariatullah (led by Dudu Miyan)
Q: Wahhabi Movement was inspired by?
A: Syed Ahmad Barelvi
Q: Who led the Kol Revolt?
A: Budhu Bhagat (1831-32)
Q: Where did the Santhal Rebellion take place?
A: Bhagalpur, Rajmahal, Damini-Koh (Bihar-Jharkhand)
Q: What was the cause of Khond Uprising?
A: British ban on Meriah system (human sacrifice)
Q: Birsa Munda died in which year?
A: 1900 (in British custody)
UPPCS Modern India