Popular Resistance to the British Rule MODULE - 1 India and the World Through Ages
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Popular Resistance to the British Rule MODULE - 1 India and the World through Ages 7 POPULAR RESISTANCE TO THE Notes BRITISH RULE British colonial rule had a tremendous impact on all sections of Indian society. Can you imagine being ruled by some strangers year after year? No, we cannot. Most of us were born after 1947 when India had already become independent. Do you know when the British conquered India and colonised its economy they faced stiff resistance from the people. There were a series of civil rebellions. These rebellions were led by rulers who were deposed by the Britishers, ex-officials of the conquered Indian states, impoverished zamindars and poligars. It brought together people having different ethnic, religious and class background against the British rule. In this lesson, we will read about some important popular uprisings, their nature and significance. We will also read about the uprising of 1857 which had a major impact on our National Movement. OBJECTIVES After studying this lesson you will be able to: l discuss the causes of the popular resistance movements against the colonial rule before 1857; l explain the nature and significance of the peasant and tribal revolts; l identify the issues that led to the Revolt of 1857; and l analyse the importance and significance of the Revolt of 1857. 7.1 THE EARLY POPULAR RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS AGAINST COLONIAL RULE (1750-1857) Can you think of a reason why these resistance movements are called popular? Was it because of the large number of people who participated in them? Or was it because of the success they met with? After reading this section you will be able to arrive at a conclusion. SOCIAL SCIENCE 145 MODULE - 1 Popular Resistance to the British Rule India and the World through Ages 7.1.1 Causes of Popular Resistance Movements Why do people resist? They resist when they feel that their rights are being taken away. That means all resistance movements started against some form of exploitation. British rule whose policies had undermined rights, status and economic position of Indians symbolised this exploitation. The protest and resistance was mainly offered by the displaced ruling classes, peasantry and tribals. For example, when Warren Notes Hastings attacked Banaras and imprisoned King Chet Singh to fulfill his unjustified demand of money and army, the people of Banaras rebelled. In Madras Presidency, Poligars rebelled, when the British tried to snatch away their military and land rights. Interference in religious practices was another cause of these popular rebellions. Often these revolts were anti-Christian. This was due to the socio-religious reforms introduced by the British which were unacceptable to the people. In some other rebellions, difference between the religion of the ruler and exploited classes became the immediate cause for the rebellion. This happened in Mappila Rebellion of Malabar region. Here the Muslim peasantry fought against the Hindu landlords and moneylenders. In the next section we shall read about the nature of this movement. 7.1.2 Nature of Popular Resistance Movements Violence and plunder were the two most popular tools used by the rebels to express their resistance against their oppressors. Lower and exploited classes often attacked their exploiters. They were the Britishers or the zamindars or the revenue collecting officials, wealthy groups and individuals. Santhal Rebellion saw mass scale violence where account books of moneylenders and government buildings were burnt and their exploiters punished. In a previous lesson we read about the land policies of the British. The purpose was to extract as much money as possible from the peasants and tribal people. This caused so much unrest among the peasants and the tribals that they started expressing their resentment against the British. It is important to know that these popular resistance movements aimed at restoration of old structures and relations which had been done away with by the British. Each social group had its own reasons to raise its voice against the colonial powers. For example, displaced zamindars and rulers wanted to regain their land and estates. Similarly, the tribal groups rebelled because they did not want the traders and moneylenders to interfere in their lives. 7.2 PEASANT MOVEMENTS AND TRIBAL REVOLTS IN THE 19TH CENTURY You would be surprised to know that beginning with the Sanyasi Rebellion and Chuar Uprising in Bengal and Bihar in the 1760s, there was hardly a year without an armed 146 SOCIAL SCIENCE Popular Resistance to the British Rule MODULE - 1 India and the World opposition. From 1763 to 1856 there were more than 40 major rebellions apart from through Ages hundreds of minor ones. These rebellions were, however, local in character and effects. They were isolated from each other because each rebellion had a different motive. We will now read more about these movements in the next section of this lesson. Notes Figure 7.1 Map of India citing various places of Peasant and Tribal Revolts in the 19th century 7.2.1 Peasant Revolt In an earlier lesson you read about the various land settlements and the adverse effects they had on the Indian peasantry. The Permanent Settlement had made the zamindar the owner of the land. But this land could be sold off if he failed to pay the revenue SOCIAL SCIENCE 147 MODULE - 1 Popular Resistance to the British Rule India and the World through Ages on time. This forced the zamindars and the landlords to extract money from the peasants even if their crops failed. These peasants often borrowed money from the moneylenders, who were also called mahajans. The impoverished peasants could never pay back this borrowed money. This led to many hardships like extreme poverty and being forced to work as bonded labourers. Hence the lower and exploited classes often attacked their exploiters. Failure to pay by the zamindars also meant that the land would be taken away by the British. The British then would Notes auction this land to the highest bidder, who often came from the urban areas. The new zamindars from the city had little or no interest in the land. They did not invest money in seeds or fertilizers to improve the fertility of the land but only cared to collect as much revenue as they could. This proved destructive for the peasants who remained backward and stagnant. To get out of this situation, the peasants now started producing commercial crops like indigo, sugarcane, jute, cotton, opium and so on. This was the beginning of commercialisation of agriculture. The peasants now depended on merchants, traders and middlemen to sell their produce during harvest time. As they shifted to commercial crops, food grain production went down. Less food stocks led to famines. It was therefore not surprising that the hungry peasants revolted. Lets us read more about some peasants revolts which took place on account of the British policies: (i) The Faqir and Sanyasi Rebellions (1770–1820s): The establishment of British control over Bengal after 1757 led to increase in land revenue and the exploitation of the peasants. The Bengal famine of 1770 led peasants whose lands were confiscated, displaced zamindars, disbanded soldiers and poor to come together in a rebellion. They were joined by the Sanyasis and Fakirs. The Faqirs were a group of wandering Muslim religious mendicants in Bengal. Two famous Hindu leaders who supported them were Bhawani Pathak and a woman, Devi Choudhurani. They attacked English factories and seized their goods, cash, arms and ammunition. Maznoom Shah was one of their prominent leaders. They were finally brought under control by the British at the beginning of the 19th century. The Sanyasi Uprisings took place in Bengal between the periods of 1770- 1820s. The Sanyasis rose in rebellion after the great famine of 1770 in Bengal which caused acute chaos and misery. However, the immediate cause of the rebellion was the restrictions imposed by the British upon pilgrims visiting holy places among both Hindus and Muslims. (ii) The Indigo Rebellion (1859-1862): The British adopted many ways through which they could increase their profits. They also started interfering with the basic means of livelihood of the people. Not only did they introduce new crops, they also brought new techniques of farming. Heavy pressure was put on the zamindars and peasants to pay high taxes and grow commercial crops. One such commercial crop was Indigo. The cultivation of indigo was determined 148 SOCIAL SCIENCE Popular Resistance to the British Rule MODULE - 1 India and the World by the needs of the English cloth markets. The discontent of the farmers growing through Ages indigo was mainly for three reasons: l They were paid very low prices for growing indigo; l Indigo was not lucrative as it was planted at the same time as food crops; l And loss of fertility of the soil because of planting indigo. Notes Figure 7.2 As a result, food stocks declined. The peasants suffered at the hands of the traders and the middleman on whom they depended to sell their goods, sometimes at very low prices. They supported the zamindars to maintain their dominance and deal with their problems in administering those areas. The peasants launched a movement for non cultivation of indigo in Bengal. Hindu and Muslim peasants together went on strike and filed cases against the planters. They were supported by the press and the missionaries. The government passed orders in November 1860, notifying that it was illegal to force the raiyats to cultivate indigo. This marked the victory for the rebels. SOCIAL SCIENCE 149 MODULE - 1 Popular Resistance to the British Rule India and the World through Ages Notes Figure 7.3 Indigo cultivation in Bengal (iii) Farazi Movement (1838-1848): This was the first ever no-tax campaign against the British Government led by Shariatullah Khan and Dadu Mian.