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TRIBAL MOVEMENTS OF JHARKHAND

In 1765, the British were given the Diwani right of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha by the Mughal Emperor,
Shah Alam - II. Jharkhand then was a part of Bihar. Hence, the British got control over it too. The rulers
and tribal people were not happy with the exploitative law, order and policies of the British. This
increased discontent among people of Jharkhand, which led to a number of tribal revolts in Jharkhand.

Dhal Revolt (1767-1770 AD)

• This was the first tribal revolt in Jharkhand which was led by the deposed King of Dhalbhum,
Jagannath Dhal.
• The main cause of this revolt was the advent of the British East India Company in the
Singhbhum and Manbhum area that made people of the region discontented. This revolt
continued for 10 years.
• Lt Rook and Charles Morgan were sent to suppress the revolt but they failed. As a result, in
1777, the British again declared Jagannath Dhal as the ruler of Dhalbhum.

Ramgarh Revolt (1772-1778 AD)

• This revolt was started under the leadership of Raja Mukund Singh.
• On 25th October, 1772, Ramgarh was attacked by Captain Jacob Camac from Chota Nagpur
from one side and Tej Singh from the other side. Due to this, Mukund Singh fled from
Ramgarh. Tej Singh captured Ramgarh and became the ruler.
• In 1774, after the death of Tej Singh, his son Parasnath Singh became the ruler.
• On 18th March, 1778, Mukund Singh was arrested by the Britishers in the Palamu region.
• The supporter of Mukund Singh, Raghunath Singh, started revolted and captured four
Parganas and Jagirdars from Parasnath Singh. Captain Ackerman was called to suppress this
revolt.
• Increasing revenue demand and control of the company forced Parasnath Singh to support
the rebel king of Benaras Raja Chet Singh.
• By the end of 1781 entire Ramgarh was in a rebellious mood.
• By 1782, the British Government relieved the king of Ramgarh from the responsibility of
revenue collection and made direct Revenue settlement with Jagirdars. Thus, the king of
Ramgarh remained only a titular king.

Paharia Revolt (1776-1824 AD)

• Paharia tribe was settled in Rajmahal, Godda and Pakur regions. Their revolt against the British
is considered as the first major revolt in the history of tribal revolts against the British.
• This tribe revolted many times against the British in 1766, 1772 and 1781-82.
• In 1766, they revolted under the leadership of Ramna Aahdi.
• In the revolt of 1772, many leaders, including Changrun Sanwariya, Pachge Domba Paharia
and Kariya Pulhar died.
• In 1781-82, queen Sarveshwari, the wife of king Maheshpur, revolted against the British,
Paharia chiefs helped the queen.
• The British settled Santhals in a large number in this region between 1790 and 1810. The
Paharias became minority, but their movement continued.
• In 1827, British declared the land of Paharias as Damin-e-Koh and declared it as government
property to suppress the revolt.
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Tilka Manjhi Revolt (1783-1785 AD)

• This revolt was started in 1783, under the leadership of Tilka Manjhi (Jabra Paharia). The
objective of this revolt was to chase out the British from the region and to defend tribals’
autonomy.
• Under this revolt, people looted the British treasury and distributed it among the poor.
• Tilka conveyed the message of revolt through sal leaves by circulating them in the villages.
Tilka Manjhi attacked Augustus Cleveland, who died later.
• Tilka was arrested in 1785 and was executed by hanging in Bhagalpur. He is regarded as the
first martyr of the Indian independence struggle.

Tamar Revolt (1782-1820 AD)

• It was started in 1782 in Chota Nagpur by the Oraon tribe. The leader of this revolt was Thakur
Bholanath Singh.
• This revolt happened due to the exploitation of tribals by the company, tehsildars, zamindars
and non-tribals.
• In 1807, 1811, 1817 and 1820, Munda and Oraon tribals rose in revolt against zamindars and
non-tribals.

Chero Revolt (1800-1818 AD)

• This revolt was led by Bhukan Singh in 1800 AD. The estate of Palamu was ruled by Shiv Prasad
Singh on behalf of the minor ‘Rajah’ Churaman Rai.
• Shiv Prasad Singh and other Jagirdars of Palamu took advantage of the young age and
inexperience of Churaman Rai and reduced the rent for their Jagirs. These Jagirdars always
created a disturbance and it did not stop even after Churaman Rai became an adult.
• The situation worsened after 1799, when internal disturbances coupled with foreign
interference.
• In October 1800, Bhukan Singh created disorders in Palamu with the support of people from
Surguja, Chota Nagpur and Tomar. Daljit Singh helped Bhukan Singh, and they revolted against
the British.
• The Commander of Ramgarh Col MS Jones wrote for military help early in March 1801. Lt E
Roughsedge marched into Palamu with his troops and expelled Bhukan Singh.
• Two assistants of Bhukan Singh were Bachu Bhogta and Shiv Bakhsh Bhogta, who surrendered
to Roughsedge. But still, Bhukan Singh posed a threat to the Britishers.
• Bhukan Singh fled from Surguja and took shelter in the Maratha territories of Sambalpur and
Chhattisgarh. After 1802, gradually, the revolt of Bhukan Singh was suppressed.

The Ho Uprising (1821-1837 AD)

• This revolt took place in Singhbhum region. It was against the oppression of British and
Zamindars.
• After the third Anglo-Maratha War (1818), the East India Company made an agreement with
the ruler of Singhbhum, Jagannath Singh.
• The Singhbhum ruler not only declared supremacy over the chiefs of Kharwar and Seraikela
but also made an effort to control the Ho tribe with the help of the company.
• The Hos reacted strongly and denied all the submission to the Raja and chiefs of Singhbhum.
• On 31st January, 1821, Hos attacked the Subedar and his party. But the Britishers
overpowered the Hos and they accepted their subordination to the British.
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Kol Uprising (1831-1832 AD)

• It was the first well organised and extensive tribal revolt of Jharkhand, which was against the
oppressive administrative policy of zamindars, contractors, moneylenders, non-tribal
merchants and king’s agents.
• The main tribes involved in this revolt were Munda, Ho, Oraon, Kharwar and Chero.
• The main leaders of this movement were Buddhu Bhagat (Oraon tribe), Bindrai Manki, Soe
Bahadur, Desai Munda, Surga Munda, Kartik Sardar but this revolt was suppressed by Captain
Wilkinson in 1832.
• The movement spread across Chota Nagpur Khas, Palamu, Singhbhum and Manbhum except
for Hazaribagh, that remained unaffected by this uprising.
• The British-supported zamindars were sucking the blood of these sections of people,
especially the farmers in such a manner that they were even craving for food.
• In order to collect arbitrary taxes from these people, who depended on agriculture and
hunting, they were tortured in various ways and in their inability to pay taxes, their land was
given to ‘dikus’ (outsiders).
• The Munda tribe convened a gathering of tribals in Bandgaon. About seven Kol tribals came
to this meeting and from there, this fierce rebellion started. Diku, the British and their loyal
zamindars, came in its grip. The rebels burned villages one by one.
• Budhu Bhagat was killed along with one and a half hundred colleagues.
• The revolt lasted for about five years, with a great number of rebels dying; the company was
also concerned about it.
• As a result of this revolt, Wilkinson law was implemented in 1834 AD and a new province
called South-East Frontier Agency was formed.
• The company investigated the reasons for the rebellion and radical changes were made in the
governance system of Jharkhand.
• The company enacted a new law called ‘Regulation-XIII’, under which Ramgarh district was
divided.
• A new administrative region was formed, with the Jungle Mahal and the Tributary Mahal, a
non-regulation province.
• This administrative area was given to the governor as the first agent of the general. In this
arrangement, Wilkinson was made the first governor, who was formerly a captain in the army
and sent to suppress this rebellion.
• The ‘Kol rebellion’ occupies an important place in the history of Jharkhand, as it had many far-
reaching consequences. This rebellion laid the foundation to reform the administrative
system.

Bhumij Revolt (1832-1833 AD)

• This revolt was started in 1832 in Birbhum under the leadership of Ganganarayan. He was
supported by Kol and Ho tribes.
• This revolt was also known as Ganganarayan’s Hungama or Turmoil. This revolt was against
the King of Barabhum, police, munsifs and dikus.
• The rebellion was a joint revolt of the tribal zamindars and the tribal people, led by
Ganganarayan, the grandson of Belak Narayan, the king of Barabhum.
• There were some political reasons behind this rebellion, as well as the rebellion originally
stemmed from tribal oppression.
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• Ganganarayan also understood the seriousness of the situation and approached the landlords
who were suffering from the English system. Ganganarayan also got the support of the tribal
people with him, as they were also very disappointed with this system.
• The people of ‘Kol’ and ‘Ho’ caste were badly offended. Thus, came the need for a joint
rebellion under the leadership of Ganganarayan, in which, the tribal people played an
important role.
• It was only in 1832, when efforts were being made to suppress the Kol rebellion, that
Ganganarayan with his rebel group played the bugle of rebellion.
• The rebellion soon was widespread and the Company Army was set out under the leadership
of Lieutenants Bandon and Timer to suppress these rebels. Thakur of Kharsawa fought for the
British.
• In this battle, Ganganarayan was killed and the Thakur of Kharsawa cut off Ganganarayan’s
head and sent it to Captain Wilkinson.
• The rebellion was suppressed, but this made Wilkinson think of something else. He consulted
his superiors by explaining the situation and explained the need for administrative change in
Jungle Mahal.
• This district was adjourned under Regulation XIII and its civil court was closed.
• The new formation policy came into force in which Shergarh, Vishnupur and Sonpahadi were
included in Burdwan and the remaining parts were merged to make Manbhum a district.
• The district encompasses several main areas, including Jhalda, Dhanbad, Supur, Raipur,
Ambika Nagar, Barabhum and Shyamsunderpur.
• Its immediate headquarter was made to be Manbazar, which was changed to Purulia in 1838.
• Thus ‘Bhumij Rebellion’ also became a reason for the improvement of the administrative
system.
• The British officials knew that the tribal people did not get the transparency from the judicial
system and their harassment was the reason behind the new rebellion.
• A meaningful step was taken in this direction by putting the administrative system under the
rule of governor.

Santhal Revolt (1855-1856 AD)

• The Santhals, persecuted by the zamindars of Birbhum, Dhalbhum, Singhbhum, Manbhum
and Bakuda, started settling in the Santhal-Pargana region, known as Damin-e-Koh, from 1790
AD.
• Peasant oppression was a prominent cause of the rebellion. The Santhal tribes also depended
on agriculture and forests, but the zamindari system started evicting them from their land.
• The British-backed zamindars were completely exploiting the zamindars and at the same time,
the company had increased agricultural taxes so much that the Santhals were unable to pay
it.
• These people used to give loans at high-interest rate and then used to do mental and physical
exploitation in the name of recovery. This led to the practice of bonded labour in institutions.
The bonded labour was also called ‘Kamiya’ or ‘Kamyoti’.
• Two young men named Sidhu-Kanhu came to protest against such gross harassment of
Santhals. Both of them dared to revolt for the Santhals day and night and encouraged them
to unite.
• In 1855, thousands of Santhals held a meeting under the leadership of Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand
and Bhairava, the four sons of Chunnu Manjhi of Bhognadih, in which they took an oath to
fight a fierce battle against their oppressors.
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• Declarations were made of disobedience to the Government, to establish their own

Government in Damin region and not to pay rent.
• Two days after the warning, the Santhals selectively started killing their exploiters. The
mansion of the zamindar of Ambar was burnt. The rebels attempted to capture the
Maheshpur Rajmahal.
• It was an open-armed rebellion, which spread from Kahalgaon to Rajmahal. This rebellion also
spread to Birbhum, Bankura and Hazaribagh in 1856.
• Seeing this, the company became worried and attempts were made to hold peace talks with
the Santhals through negotiations, but the anger of the Santhals had crossed the limits of
patience and they were not ready to hear anything.
• The company ordered the army to suppress the rebellion by giving it a free hand. Most of the
rebel leaders were either killed or imprisoned. Chand and Bhairav were killed by bullets. Sidhu
and Kanhu were caught. They were hanged in Barhet.
• This rebellion nevertheless had some success, as the Santhals either killed or drove away most
of the British and their supporters from their region.
• The father of this rebellion, Sidhu-Kanhu became revered to the people of Jharkhand and are
still remembered as the Jannayak of Jharkhand.
• As a result of this Santhal Rebellion, on 30 November 1856 AD, the Santhal Pargana District
was duly established and Ashlee Eden was made the first Collector.
• Every year in the state in memory of this rebellion ‘Viplava Day’ is celebrated on 30 June.
• Santhal Revolt is also known as Santhal Hul or Hul Revolt.

Sardari Movement (1858-1895 AD)

This movement was divided into three phases:

• Bhumi Movement (1858-81) - This movement spread from Chota Nagpur to Sonepur, Basia,
Doisa and Khurbra. In October 1858, Christians of many villages revolted against zamindars.
• Revolutionary Movement for Restoration of Old Values (1881-90) - This was the second phase
of Sardari Movement in which Sikhs broke up with the German and Catholic missionaries.
• Political Movement (1890-95) - In this phase, Sardari Movement took the form of political
movement. In 1892, a conspiracy was made against thikardars and missionaries but it was
failed.

Safahod Movement (1870 AD)

• This revolt was started in 1870, under the leadership of Lal Hembrom or Lal Baba.
• In this movement, Lal Baba gave the volunteers of the movement Mantra of Ram’s name. He
used to give Santhals a white flag and asked them to wear sacred thread.
• Lal Baba organised the ‘Deshoddharak Dal’ in the Santhal Pargana. The prominent rebels of
this revolt were Paiku, Murmu, Bhatu Soren, Rasik Lal Soren and Pagan Marandi.

The Kharwar Movement (1874-1881 AD)

• The Kharwar (Santhal) movement, led by Bhagirath Manjhi, aimed to re-establish ancient
values and tribal traditions.
• Along with this, besides improving the land-related problems, he was also the promoter of
purification in social works. That is why, wines, etc., were opposed to it.
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• People with complete devotion to the movement were called Safahors and indifferent people
were called ‘Babjiya’. Reckless priests were called ‘Melabaragar’. This movement was called
Safa-Hor movement.

The Birsa Munda Movement (1895-1900 AD)

• This movement was considered to be the most organised and widespread in Jharkhand. Birsa
Munda, the protagonist of this movement was recognised as an incarnation of God.
• Like other tribes, the Munda tribes were also dependent on agriculture and forests to preserve
their traditions and beliefs. These tribes were one of the major tribes of the Chota Nagpur
region and its people were quite peaceful.
• One of the main reasons for the rebellion was the influence of other culture on their culture.
• Their land was being grabbed and the burden of taxes on them was also increasing. As a result,
the debt trap was also holding them in its grip.
• The justice system was left only for a few with influence and the biggest shock came to the
Mundas when neither Hindu friends nor Christian missionaries in need provided any help to
them, at whose instance they were far from their traditional rules.
• In time, the young man named Birsa Munda came forward by undertaking the upliftment of
the Munda tribe. Birsa Munda had a spark in his speech and also had the ability to hurt the
system at that time.
• Soon some enthusiastic youth joined him after getting influenced by him and he would also
awaken the people through religious lectures. For this reason, he came to be considered as
Godman in the Chota Nagpur region. His ideas had the ability to motivate almost all subjects.
• He would hold meetings and ask people to stay away from the evils, talk about giving place to
dependency in life and also to know about their organisational power.
• By 1895, Birsa Munda was able to organise about six thousand Mundas into groups. It was the
largest tribal gathering ever.
• Even though it was a myth, Birsa came to be regarded as an incarnation of God. He made
people aware of his motives, which filled the Munda tribe with new zest and energy. Its main
objectives were as follows:
o Completely suppress the British Government
o To drive away the ‘Dikus’ from all other areas, including Chota Nagpur
o Establish independent Munda Stat
• He exhorted all the Mundas to jump into this crusade with courage and planned and attacked
the moneylenders, landlords, missionaries, the Dikus, etc. He was arrested by the Company
Army in Ranchi, but a few days later, he was freed and he returned to his squad.
• This time Birsa Muda gave his plan a good shape and chose to attack on December 25, 1897,
when it was Christmas day and the Christians were about to celebrate this day. In this attack,
he resolved to kill more and more Christians.
• On a certain day, the Munda rebels raged around and the Christians and the Mundas who had
converted to Christianity were killed. This was a major massacre, which shook British rule.
• There was chaos all around, and the company sent troops from Ranchi and this rebellion was
mercilessly suppressed. Birsa Munda and his partner Gaya Munda were arrested and sent to
jail.
• Birsa Munda died while in jail due to some incurable diseases and a lack of proper treatment.
• At the same time, this revolt proved to be a lesson for the company. They changed their
policies.
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• The British made new land rights rules and for the first time under the tenancy act, the
Mundari Khuntkari system was implemented. Administrative facilities were made even better.
An attempt was made to end the hatred of the Adivasis from the hearts of the administration.
• Gumla subdivision was formed in 1908, while Khuti was made a subdivision in 1905. There
were efforts to restore trust between the administration and the tribals.
• The Birsa movement was truly called a successful movement. This awakened the self-respect
of the tribes, the defence of rights, and the defence of righteousness and also inspired them
to stay away from stereotypes and superstitions. This movement forced the British
Government to be sensitive towards the tribes.

Tana Bhagat Movement (1914)

• This movement originated along with the Birsa movement. It was also a multi-dimensional
movement, as its heroes also came forward on issues of their social identity, religious
traditions and human rights. This movement started in 1914.
• Tana Bhagat was not an individual, but a branch of the Oraon tribe, who had adopted the
Kudukh religion. The main leaders of this movement were Jatra Bhagat and Sibu Bhagat.
• The condition of these people was extremely pathetic and they mostly carried out labour
works. From morning to evening, these people used to carry bricks, stones for the
construction of buildings, roads, etc. and they did not get anything special in the name of
wages.
• The young man named ‘Jatra Bhagat’ was recognised as the hero of this movement, who lived
with supernatural beliefs.
• On the basis of Janushruti, this Jatra Bhagat was given a vision by an Oraon deity named
‘Dharmesh’ and gave him some instructions and ordered him to start this movement.
• Jatra Bhagat, after getting order from ‘Dharmesh’ deity, gave up the work of ghosts and
became immortal. He refused to believe in the superstition of the people and gave the
message of bringing sattvikta in the conduct.
• Jatra Bhagat brought agrarian issues to the fore and launched a no-rent campaign. He also
ordered forced labour or low-wage labourers not to do such work.
• He soon became very popular among the people and people started discussing everything
with him. This made the British nervous and they arrested Jatra Bhagat. The British started
arresting all the people related to this movement.
• The Tana Bhagats fought along with the revolutionary Hindu Congress workers. They
participated in Satyagraha Movement and also took part in the Non-Cooperation Movement.
They were also active in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• This movement was a non-violent movement as they were the participants of the non-violent
Indian National Movement.
• They worked with the Congress workers and raided liquor shops, destroyed roads, telegraph
lines, attacked police stations and government offices.
• Tana Bhagat Movement initially started as a religious movement but subsequently changed
into a political movement.
• The main aim of this movement was to establish autonomy in Chota Nagpur regions. They also
participated in Gaya Session and Nagpur Session of the Congress in 1922 and 1923,
respectively.
• During the Indian National Movement, hundreds of Tana Bhagats were imprisoned and
suffered by the British Government.
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• The British brutally suppressed this movement, yet this movement was successful in
awakening social consciousness.