Get here the summary, questions, answers, textbook solutions, extras, and pdf of Chapter 3 “Resistance and Rebellion: Characteristics and Analysis” of the West Bengal Board (WBBSE) Class 10 (Madhyamik) History (Social Science) textbook. However, the given notes/solutions should only be used for references and should be modified/changed according to needs.
Summary
There were several tribal revolts against British rule in the century following 1857. The Indian Forest Act, passed by the British government in 1865, authorised the appropriation of all forested land. Traditional ways of life for tribal people were drastically changed, in large part because of imperialist ideas. The high land revenue hurt the tribal peasants a lot, and in the end, it caused them to be kicked off their land. More than any other group in India, the tribal people of various regions rose up in violent revolt.
Chuar tribesmen in the Midnapore district resorted to violence. In Dhalbhum and Manbhum, where life was hard, the East India Company raised the rate of land tax. There was a revolt led by the Rajas of Dhalbhum, Kaliapur, Dholka, and Barabhum in the year 1768. Unfortunately, this unsettling state of affairs persisted all the way through the nineteenth century.
The Raja of Singbhum officially recognised the British government’s authority in 1820. In 1832–1833, members of the restless Kol tribe in Chotanagpur rebelled against the agreement they had just signed. Around a thousand landowners were either murdered or had their homes destroyed. It quickly reached Singhbhum, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and western Manbhum. After a massive military operation, the Kols were defeated and peace was restored.
Revenue experiments by the East India Company sparked the 1855 Santhal Revolt. The santhal peasants were denied the right to land ownership by the zamindars. There was a santhal uprising led by Sidhu and Kanhu. By doing so, they proclaimed independence from the East India Company. After years of military efforts, the situation was finally under control in 1856. A new administrative division, Santhal Pargana, was thus established.
Birsa Munda was the leader of the Munda Revolt that swept through Ranchi in 1899–1900. When the British tried to limit the Mundas’ access to forest and agricultural goods, the indigenous people of the area rose up in rebellion. Birsa Munda was put in jail after his group’s revolt shook the British Empire to its core. So, as part of a set of steps meant to make the Mundas happy, the British got rid of “Beth begari.”
In response to the British government’s repressive taxation, a group of Sannyasis and a large number of Fakirs (Muslim mendicants) rose up in rebellion. The British ban on going on pilgrimages to religious sites was a direct cause of the revolt. Bhabani Pathak and Devi Chaudhurani were at the helm of the Sannyasi Rebellion. Majnu Shah’s and Chirag Ali’s Fakirs were also a problem for the East India Company. However, the leadership proved incompetent, and the company’s army easily defeated them.
In India, Syed Ahmed Barelvi spearheaded the Wahabi movement. Titu Mir spearheaded the Wahabi Movement in Bengal. He got the peasants in the area to fight against the zamindars, moneylenders, and indigo farmers who were taking advantage of them. There had never been an armed uprising by Bengal’s rural populace until now. With their lives on the line, Titu and his comrades fought bravely against the British and ultimately lost.
The Farazi Movement, which was led by Haji Shariatullah, began as an Islamic revivalist movement but turned into a fight for independence from the British and the return of Muslim rule in India. Following his father’s passing, Shariatullah’s son, Dudu Miyan, assumed control. He rallied the peasants to fight back against the zamindars’ and indigo farmers’ oppression. He was arrested for helping to set up a rival government, and then he spent some time in jail.
In 1859, Bishnu Charan Biswas and Digambar Biswas led the Indigo Revolt in the Nadia district. The British planters had the ryots grow indigo without paying them a living wage from the very beginning. The commoners vowed to stop growing indigo. The educated Bengali middle class supported the Indigo Rebellion, which was a big deal in history. That caused an irreparable setback for Bengal’s indigo plantation.
In 1870, the poor peasants of the Pabna district of East Bengal rose up in opposition to the Zamindars’ oppression of them. Ishan Chandra Ray and Khoodi Mollah were two of the revolt’s most prominent leaders. To counter the immediate demand of the Zamindars, an agrarian league was established in 1874. The Bengal Tenancy Act, passed in 1885, greatly shielded the ryots’ rights.
Textual (Oriental)
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Of the following who were deprived as a consequence of the Forest Acts ?
(a) Villagers
(b) Tribals
(c) Zamindars
(d) Contractors
Answer: (b) Tribals
2. Of the following who was the leader of the Mundari Movement ?
(a) Birsa
(b) Kanu
(c) Sidhu
(d) Debi Singh
Answer: (a) Birsa
Tick off True/False
1. One of the features of the Chuar Rebellion was that the British immediately stopped the take-over of the paikan lands.
Answer: (a) True
2. Rangpur Rebellion of 1783 was basically a protest of the rich peasants against the oppressions of the ijaradar.
Answer: (b) False
3. The middle class intelligentsia of Bengal was apathetic to the indigo rebels.
Answer: (b) False
Fill in the Blanks
1. Even the Wahabis did not like the Ferazis because of the _____ of the latter. (conservatism/fanaticism/communalism/fundamentalism)
Answer: fanaticism
2. The Pagal Panthis belonged to the _____ tribe. (Khasi/Garo/Tripuri/Jayanti)
Answer: Garo
3. The Indigo Rebellion began in 1859 in _____ district of Bengal. (Nadia/Birbhum/Burdwan/Malda)
Answer: Nadia
Assertion and Reason
1. Which of the following statements about the Pabna movement are true ?
(a) The main cause of the movement was the oppression of the peasantry by the zamindars.
(b) The peasants organized no-rent unions, and even made armed attacks on the zamindars and their agents.
(c) It was finally put down by the use of force.
(d) The government on the basis of the recommendations of a committee, passed an act conferring permanency of tenure upon some classes of tenants.
Select the answer from the codes given below :
(i) a, b and c
(ii) b, c and d
(iii) a, b and d
(iv) All of these
Answer: (iii) a, b and d
2. Which of the following statements are true about the Indigo Rebellion of Bengal ?
(a) The peasants refused to cultivate indigo and put up armed resistance against the oppressive indigo planters.
(b) Bishnucharan Biswas and Digumber Biswas played a prominent role in their resistance.
(c) Bengal intelligentsia organized a powerful campaign in support of the rebellious peasants.
(d) Despite this agitation all the abuses of indigo cultivation continued unabated in Bengal.
Select the answer from the codes given below:
(i) a, b and c
(ii) a, b and d
(iii) a, c and d
(iv) All of these
Answer: (i) a, b and c
Short-answer Type Questions
1. How did the Forest Acts distress the tribal people (adivasi) ?
Answer: The Forest Acts meant hardship to the villagers across the country. The Forest Acts deprived the tribals (adivasi) of all their everyday practices. Cutting of wood for their houses, collecting fruits and roots, hunting, etc. were banned. The tribal women were particularly disturbed as they were unable to cook food using fuel-wood collected from forests. Most importantly grazing and shifting cultivation (jhum) that were the life-blood of millions of Indians suffered immensely as these were banned in areas under control of the colonial government. By enacting Forest Acts the foreign rulers took control of the forests and thereby deprived the tribal people of their age-old rights.
2. Mention one feature of the Kol rebellion.
Answer: The characteristic feature of the Kol rebellion was that the Kol tribesmen did not fight alone against the British; other tribesmen like the Hos, Oraons and Mundas joined hands with them.
3. Who were the Wahabis ?
Answer: The Wahabis were followers of the Wahabi Movement, an orthodox Islamic religious movement founded by Muhammad Abdul Wahab of Nejd (in Arabia), which aimed at purging Islam of all the impurities that crept into it.
4. What did the Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya aim at ?
Answer: The movement initiated by Syed Ahmed Barelvi, known as Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya, was designed to revive the ways of the Prophet. Along with this, it put forward the objective of driving the British out of the country. Barelvi also desired, through the movement, to convert the country from an ‘unholy land’ (dar-ul-harb) into the ‘land of Islam’ (dar-ul-Islam).
Analytical Answer Type Questions
1. Write a note on the Barasat Rebellion.
Answer: The Wahabi movement of Bengal began with the rising in Barasat in 1831. A believer in the Wahabi ideal, Titumir of North 24-Parganas, directed his energies from the very beginning in organizing the peasants against the oppressive zamindars, money-lenders, and indigo planters. Titumir and his followers offered the first armed resistance to the zamindar of Pura who imposed punitive tax on the Wahabis, sparking off an armed rebellion. Seeing that Titumir’s rebellion had assumed an anti-government character, the British deployed military to suppress the rebels. Titumir, with his six hundred followers, hurriedly built a fortress with bamboos and mud at Narkelberia, about 10 kilometres away from Baduria in the district North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. This was the famous Banser Kella (Bamboo fortress). The standard of revolt raised by Titumir and his followers, and the resistance they offered to the British troops from the bamboo fortress is famous in history as the ‘Barasat uprising’ or ‘Barasat Revolt’ of 1831. On November 19, 1831, Titu Mir was defeated and killed by the British, and his ‘Bansher kella’ was seized.
2. What are the consequences of the Ferazi rebellion?
Answer: The Ferazi movement was unsuccessful as the leaders had little political vision. The Ferazis were religious fanatics and thus completely alienated from the Hindus. The Muhammedans of the old Islamic faith were also opposed to the Ferazis. Even the Ferazis were not liked by the Wahabis because of the fanaticism of the former. Thus the Ferazi movement came to an end without achieving anything. The rebellion failed because there were changes in the objective factors, internal feud between the Sannyasis and Fakirs was another cause of the failure, and repressive measures adopted by the British were also responsible for the failure.
3. How did the middle class intelligentsia of Bengal react to the Indigo rebellion?
Answer: Unlike the Santal rebellion or other mid-nineteenth century rebellions which lacked the support of the educated middle class, considerable interest was shown by the middle class in the rebellion of the indigo-cultivators for the first time. Well-known Bengali intellectuals like Harish Chandra Mukhopadhyay, Girish Chandra Basu, and Sisir Kumar Ghosh took up the cause of the indigo-cultivators. Harish Chandra Mukhopadhyay, who came from a middle-class family and was the editor of the Hindu Patriot, was virtually driven to financial ruin offering help to the peasants and did not hesitate to publicize their grievances. Sisir Kumar Ghosh, a petty zamindar of Jessore, threw himself into the Indigo Rebellion and sent eyewitness accounts of popular struggles for publication in the Hindu Patriot to rouse public opinion. Dinabandhu Mitra, a government employee, wrote the highly popular drama Neel Darpan, vividly describing the oppressions and injustice done to the indigo-cultivators based on his first-hand knowledge from staying in Jessore. The play exposed the grim picture of inhuman villainy and torture by indigo planters, mostly Europeans. Largely due to the efforts of Dinabandhu’s Neel Darpan, the Bengalee middle class for the first time came out in open support to the indigo rebels. The Indigo Rebellion saw support lent by the middle class people to the oppressed peasantry of Bengal.
4. What were the features of the Indigo Rebellion?
Answer: The Indigo Rebellion of Bengal constitutes an important chapter in the history of peasant movement and organised political movement in India. Some features of the rebellion are:
- Instead of lodging a silent protest, the indigo-cultivators had unitedly built up a mass movement. The indigo-cultivators of Barasat took a vow unitedly that not to sow indigo anymore.
- The spirit of passive resistance expressed in the Indigo Rebellion may be said to be the forerunner of the Non Co-operation Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi later.
- For the first time, considerable interest and open support were shown by the educated middle class people and Bengali intellectuals to the oppressed peasantry of Bengal.
- A close affinity was first established between the peasants and the zamindars in this rebellion, because indigo cultivation had adversely affected the interests of both groups.
- The Indigo Rebellion made the people of India conscious about their unity against the colonial British rulers.
- Missionaries stationed in rural Bengal, like James Long, were aware of the inhuman atrocities and championed the cause of the indigo cultivators, playing a role in the appointment of the Indigo Commission.
Explanatory Answer Type Questions
1. Explain the concepts of ‘uprising’ and ‘rebellion’. What were the characteristic features of the adivasi rebellion?
Answer: An ‘uprising’ may be described as a protest organized locally against authority or certain governmental policy. There is hardly any difference between ‘rebellion’ and ‘uprising’. A rebellion may also be a violent uprising of the masses for any goal including change to a system of government. The reaction of the adivasi against the Forest Laws did not, however, amount to rebellion in the sense of aiming for fundamental change, though the adivasi rebellion aimed at revocation of the Forest Laws enacted by the colonial rulers.
The characteristic features of the adivasi rebellion include:
(i) Causes: The rebellions were often a response to the colonial Forest Acts which deprived tribals (adivasi) of their traditional rights and everyday practices like cutting wood, collecting fruits and roots, hunting, grazing, and shifting cultivation (jhum). Encroachment on tribal areas by outsiders like moneylenders, contractors, traders, and non-tribal landlords, who resorted to forced labour, fines, and oppression, was another major cause. The breakdown of their traditional socio-economic and agrarian systems under British rule fueled resentment.
(ii) Methods of Protest: Initially, adivasi people tried petitioning the government. When this failed, they resorted to breaking the new regulations, stealing wood from forests, and bribing guards. Some rebellions involved organized, violent uprisings and armed resistance against oppressors and colonial authorities, sometimes taking the form of guerilla warfare. They often fought with traditional, primitive weapons against the better-equipped British forces.
(iii) Goals: The primary goal was often the revocation of oppressive Forest Laws and the restoration of traditional rights and privileges over forest resources. Some rebellions, like the Santal Hool, aimed to take possession of their habitat, end colonial rule (seen as ‘sinful’), and establish their own government (e.g., Mundaraj).
(iv) Nature: The rebellions were fundamentally resistance against colonial control over resources, expansion of state power, and the resulting hardship and curtailment of local communities’ rights. They often had an anti-British character, targeting colonial rulers and their agents (zamindars, moneylenders, contractors, police). Sometimes, different tribal groups joined forces in rebellion.
2. Write a note on the Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion. What were characteristics of the rebellion?
Answer: The Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion (1763-1800) involved sannyasis and fakirs, who were very much a part of Indian society and lived on charitable gifts, kept long hair, and carried knives and arrows. Majnu Shah led the fakirs, while Bhawani Pathak, in league with the dacoit Devi Chaudhurani, led the sanyasis. The rebellion can be divided into two phases: before and after the Bengal Famine of 1769-70. Before the famine, looting property was a primary objective. Actions included attacks on English officers in Burdwan (1760) and the English settlement in Barisal (1763). After the famine, the character of the rebellion transformed due to the breakdown of Bengal’s economy.
The British rulers imposed bans on their movement, levied pilgrim taxes, and interfered with their activities, making revenue collection difficult due to the violence let loose by them. The rebellion was provoked by these oppressive measures and the economic distress following the famine. The rebellion ultimately failed due to changes in objective factors, internal feuds between the Sannyasis and Fakirs, and repressive measures adopted by the British. Opinions vary on its character, with some considering it full-fledged anti-colonial, while detailed analysis suggests economic distress was the primary driver.
Characteristics of the rebellion include:
(i) Participants: Led by religious figures (Sannyasis and Fakirs) like Majnu Shah and Bhawani Pathak.
(ii) Causes: British interference, ban on movement, pilgrim taxes, oppressive measures, and severe economic distress, especially after the Bengal Famine.
(iii) Actions: Armed attacks on British officials and settlements, looting.
(iv) Transformation: The nature of the rebellion changed after the Bengal Famine, shifting from primarily looting to a broader insurgency driven by economic hardship.
(v) Failure: Attributed to internal conflicts, changing circumstances, and British suppression.
(vi) Character Debate: Viewed by some as anti-colonial, but fundamentally rooted in economic grievances.
3. What do you know about the colonial Forest law? What does the Forest Acts mean? Describe the adivasi uprising against the State monopoly of forests.
Answer: The colonial Forest Law represents a concrete outcome of colonialism related to the control of resources, initiating fundamental changes in forest use patterns in India. The first attempt at official control was the Forest Charter of 1855, which made teak wood government property and regulated its trade. This was followed by the first Indian Forest Act of 1865. The Forest Act of 1878 divided Indian forests into three categories: Reserved Forest, Protected Forest, and Village Forest. Villagers or tribal forest-dwellers were restricted to using only village forests. The sole purpose of these Acts was to gradually terminate the century-old system of rights and privileges of forest-inhabiting and forest-dependent communities. The objective of the colonial British Government in enacting these laws was to control forest resources, driven by the needs and greed of the colonial rulers for timber (for Britain, ship-building, railways) and revenue generation through commercialization. It also aimed at expanding state power and curtailing local communities’ rights.
The Forest Acts meant hardship for villagers across the country. They deprived tribals (adivasi) of their everyday practices: cutting wood for houses, collecting fruits and roots, and hunting were banned. Tribal women faced difficulties cooking as they couldn’t collect fuel-wood. Crucially, grazing and shifting cultivation (jhum), the life-blood for millions, were banned in areas under colonial control.
The adivasi uprising against the State monopoly of forests involved various strategies. Initially, many adivasi people tried petitioning the government to repeal the Acts. When this failed, they continued their activities by breaking the new regulations. Protests included stealing wood from forests and bribing guards if caught. In some areas, like the hilly tracts of Gudem and Rampa in Andhra Pradesh, tribesmen organized major revolts against the steady penetration of the state in the forest.
4. Write about the Rangpur revolt of 1783 of the Adivasis. Write about the Chuar rebellion. Write briefly about the Bheel revolt. Also describe very briefly about Kol revolt, the Santal, Hool, The Munda rebellion, the Sannyasi and Fakir rebellion of 1763-1800. Also State What was ‘Pagol Panthi Revolt of 1825-1827.
Answer: The Rangpur Revolt (1783) was basically a protest by the peasants of Rangpur (present Bangladesh) against the oppressions of the ijaradar, Debi Singh, who forced ryots (tenants) and zaminders to pay increased land revenue. The immediate cause was the large-scale disposal of defaulters’ agricultural holdings at nominal prices. When petitions were ignored, the ryots rebelled in 1783 under the leadership of Dirjinarain. The uprising was unsuccessful but highlighted the weakness of the revenue farming system and paved the way for the Permanent Settlement of 1793.
The Chuar Rebellion involved the adivasis known as Chuars living in south-west Bankura and north-west Medinipur, who were oppressed by the British and their agents. They burst out in rebellion in 1798-1799, aligning with Durjan Singh, a zamindar dispossessed under the Sun-set Law of the Permanent Settlement. Durjan Singh led 2000 Chuars who raided the countryside. High land-revenue rates and the resumption of rent-free paikan land (enjoyed by Chuars who acted as private armies for zamindars) were key causes. The British stopped the takeover of paikan land and made concessions to zamindars as a result.
The Bheel Revolt involved the Bheels, a backward and warlike community in central India (Western Ghats of Maharashtra/Gujarat). They held a monopoly of power in Khandesh and resorted to plunder. The British occupied Khandesh in 1818 to end the anarchy. From then, Bheels under leaders like Chil Naik of Satmals, Hiria, and Dusrust rebelled. British conciliatory policy reduced the intensity, but in 1831, Bheels in the State of Dhar rebelled again due to government exactions and encroachments.
The Kol Revolt occurred in 1831 when Kol tribesmen of Chotonagpur, long exploited by colonial agents, rebelled under leaders like Buddhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat, and Madara Mahato. Causes included increasing encroachment by non-tribals (Muslims, Sikhs), forced labour, fines, and cattle theft. The insurrection started when two Sikh thikadars’ farms were plundered. Clashes with armed forces occurred in 1832. A characteristic feature was that Kols fought alongside other tribes like Hos, Oraons, and Mundas, using traditional weapons against the British army.
The Santal Hool (rebellion) took place in 1855-1856 in the Santal Pargana (Daman-i-Koh). Led by Kanu and Sidhu (Sui Munda was another leader), the peace-loving Santals rose up against disturbances caused by British rulers and their agents (zamindars, moneylenders, etc.). When legal redress failed, they took up arms. Armed with primitive weapons, they fought a full-fledged guerilla war, defeating British soldiers initially. They received support from lower classes (doms, chamars, telis). The Hool aimed to end the ‘sinful’ British rule, take possession of their habitat, and set up their own government. Though suppressed, it was the first organized resistance of its kind, led to the creation of the Santal Parganas district, and inspired future resistance.
The Munda Rebellion was rooted in the resentment of the Munda tribe of Chotonagpur against the breakdown of their traditional socio-economic and agrarian systems under British rule. Their joint land ownership was threatened, they faced forced labour (beth-begari), the panchayat system decayed, and middlemen (arkatias) caused havoc. An initial movement in 1858 failed. Birsa Munda led a new movement from 1895. Initially a preacher predicting a golden age, he was arrested. After release in 1897, the movement’s objective became the establishment of Mundaraj (rule of Mundas). The Ulghulan (great revolt) of 1899-1900 involved attacks on churches, missions, and police stations. It was suppressed, and Birsa died in jail. The movement secured some legal land rights and led to administrative reforms like the declaration of beth-begari as illegal. It had a definite anti-British element.
The Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion (1763-1800) involved wandering religious mendicants who turned anti-British. Led by figures like Majnu Shah (Fakirs) and Bhawani Pathak (Sanyasis), they rebelled due to British restrictions (ban on movement, pilgrim tax), interference, and economic distress, particularly after the Bengal Famine (1769-70). They attacked English officials and settlements.
The Pagol Panthi Revolt (1825-1827) involved a religious sect founded by Karam Shah, popular among the Garo tribe. Led later by Tipu, the sect stressed truthfulness and equality. The Garos rebelled against the oppression (unbearable tax) of the zamindar of Sherpur (present Bangladesh). This armed rebellion resulted in the withdrawal of the increased revenue demand and a new settlement.
5. Write about Wahabi and Ferazi Movement of Bengal. Write about Titu Mir (1782-1831). Give an idea of Titumir’s Banser Kella. What do you know about Farazi movement? Who was Tariq Mohammadiya?
Answer: The Wahabi and Ferazi movements were important peasant movements in early nineteenth-century Bengal. The Wahabi movement included the rising in Barasat (1831), while the Ferazi movement occurred in Faridpur and adjoining areas. Though separate, they shared a common programme and ideological inclination.
The Wahabi Movement, originally an orthodox Islamic religious reform movement founded by Muhammad Abdul Wahab in Arabia aiming to purify Islam, was carried to Bengal by Mir Nisar Ali (Titumir). In Bengal, Titumir directed it against oppressive zamindars, moneylenders, and indigo planters. The Wahabis offered the first armed resistance to the zamindar of Pura over a punitive tax. They resorted to armed rebellion because peaceful redress failed, as administration and courts sided with the rich. The rebellion took on an anti-government character, leading to British military suppression. The movement’s real name was Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya, founded in India by Syed Ahmed Barelvi. It aimed to revive the Prophet’s ways and drive the British out, viewing British India as ‘dar-ul-harb’ (unholy land) to be converted to ‘dar-ul-Islam’ (land of Islam). Training centres provided military training, with the peasantry forming the core. Before confronting the British fully, they clashed with the Sikhs in Punjab, leading to Barelvi’s death at the Battle of Balakot (1831). His followers continued fighting the British and other oppressors.
Titu Mir (Mir Nisar Ali, 1782-1831) of North 24-Parganas was a key figure who brought the Wahabi ideal to Bengal. He organized peasants against local oppressors (zamindars, moneylenders, indigo planters) and gained significant influence in North 24-Parganas and Nadia. He led the first armed resistance against the Pura zamindar. His rebellion became anti-government, culminating in the construction of the Banser Kella. He was defeated and killed by the British on November 19, 1831.
Titumir’s Banser Kella (Bamboo fortress) was famously constructed at Narkelberia, near Baduria (North 24 Parganas). Built hurriedly by Titumir and his 600 followers using bamboo and mud, it served as the base from which they raised the standard of revolt against the British. British troops eventually captured and destroyed it after defeating Titumir.
The Farazi Movement was founded in 1820 in Faridpur (present Bangladesh) by Haji Shariatulla as a kindred brotherhood (Ferazi means ‘one who acts upto the commandments of God’). It began as a religious reform movement but transformed into a peasant revolt under his son, Dudumiyan, around 1840. Dudumiyan issued a fervent call for peasants to rise against oppressive zamindars, indigo planters, and moneylenders, declaring that Allah was the real owner of the land and zamindars had no right to levy tax. This led to armed clashes (1840-47), and rebels attacked indigo factories. Essentially an agrarian movement strengthened by peasant participation, it’s not clearly identifiable as anti-British. The movement was ultimately unsuccessful due to limited political vision, religious fanaticism alienating Hindus and other Muslims (including Wahabis), and opposition from established powers. Dudumiyan is remembered for his stand against oppressors.
Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya was the real name of the Wahabi Movement. The term literally means ‘the path as shown by Muhammad’. In India, its founder was Syed Ahmed Barelvi. The movement aimed to revive the ways of the Prophet and had the objective of driving the British out of the country.
6. How did Indigo revolt break out? What were its Causes? Who were its foremost Leaders? Touch briefly about Peasant’s revolt in Pabna (1870).
Answer: The Indigo Revolt broke out in 1859, beginning at Chaugacha of Krishnanagar in the Nadia district of West Bengal. From Nadia, it rapidly spread to other parts of Bengal, including Barasat, Malda, Faridpur, and Jessore (present Bangladesh). A key moment was when all the peasants of Barasat collectively took a vow that they would henceforth not cultivate indigo. The revolt continued for about a year.
The Causes of the Indigo Revolt were rooted in the oppressive system of indigo cultivation introduced by Europeans in the 18th century. While profitable for planters and merchants, it was not at all profitable for the peasants (indigo cultivators), who did not receive wages equal to their labour. Powerful European planters forced peasants to grow indigo, reducing them to a state of slavery. Planters converted the best food-growing lands to indigo cultivation, leading to a decline in food production. To expand plantations, planters employed armed gangs who cleared villages, burned peasants’ huts, and evicted them. Oppression reached its climax with peasants’ families not being spared, and the abduction of peasant women becoming a regular feature. It was against this background of forced cultivation, low payments, loss of land, violence, and extreme oppression that the cultivators rebelled.
The foremost Leaders of the Indigo Revolt included Digambar Biswas and Bishnu Charan Biswas of Chaugacha in Jessore. Other important leaders were Mahesh Chandra Chattopadhyay of Narail and Ramratan Mallick of Jairampur.
The Peasant’s Revolt in Pabna (1870s) serves as an example of how disputes over rent (khazna) created bitter relations between zamindars and ryots. The Tenancy Act of 1859, meant to safeguard richer peasants, failed in practice as zamindars continued to enhance rent at will and evicted peasants who couldn’t pay. This discontent led to organized local resistance, culminating in a revolt in 1873 when an agrarian league was formed in Esafshahi, Pabna district (present Bangladesh). The main cause was the enhancement of rent by zamindars. The revolt took the form of a rent-strike, with peasants refusing to pay rent. A characteristic feature was the unity between Muslim and Hindu peasants. Leaders emerged from among rich peasants, jotedars, and village headmen, including Ishan Chandra Roy (a talukdar called ‘bidrohi raja’), Sambhunath Pal, and Khoodi Mollah (a Muslim jotedar). This revolt eventually contributed to the passing of the Bengal Tenancy Act in 1885, which aimed to better protect the interests of the ryots.
Extras
MCQs
1. Which document made teak wood government property?
A. Forest Charter of 1855
B. Forest Act of 1865
C. Forest Act of 1878
D. Permanent Settlement
Answer: A. Forest Charter of 1855
37. In which year did the Rumpa Rebellion under Alluri Sitaram Raju begin?
A. 1922
B. 1859
C. 1798
D. 1870
Answer: A. 1922
Questions and Answers
1. When was the Forest Charter established in India?
Answer: The Forest Charter was established in 1855.
51. Discuss the significance of Titumir’s rebellion and the construction of Banser Kella.
Answer: Titumir’s rebellion holds significance as it represented one of the early organized peasant resistances against oppression under British rule in Bengal. Titumir, a believer in the Wahabi ideal, directed his energies towards organizing peasants against oppressive zamindars, money-lenders, and indigo planters, gaining considerable influence in the districts of North 24-Parganas and Nadia.
The rebellion’s significance is marked by the first armed resistance offered by Titumir and his followers against the zamindar of Pura, who had imposed a punitive tax on the Wahabis. This act sparked an armed rebellion. As Titumir’s rebellion grew and assumed an anti-government character, the British authorities became concerned, particularly fearing defiance of the land reforms they had introduced (in 1793), and deployed the military to suppress the rebels.
In response, Titumir, along with his six hundred followers, constructed the famous Banser Kella (Bamboo fortress) at Narkelberia. This fortress, built hurriedly with bamboos and mud, became the centre of resistance against the British troops. The standard of revolt raised by Titumir and the resistance offered from the Banser Kella is famously known in history as the ‘Barasat uprising’ or ‘Barasat Revolt’ of 1831. Though Titumir was eventually defeated and killed, and the Banser Kella seized in November 1831, the rebellion and the fortress remain potent symbols of peasant defiance against oppressive landlords and the colonial state.
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.
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