Tribal Uprisings

Introduction

The tribal population has always been conservative and protective of their culture, tradition, and hierarchical customs. The rise of British colonization agitated the tribals. As the British government rose to power, they started introducing policies and laws which contradicted tribal beliefs and traditions. When even their woods and native areas became a target of the British government, many tribal factions started coming together, causing a series of Tribal Uprisings. Some of the major tribes involved in these uprisings were the Kol tribe, the Santhal tribe, the Munda tribe, and the Kondh tribe.

Check out the UPSC Notes

The Roots of the Mainland as well as North East Tribes Uprisings:

A major reason for tribal uprisings during colonial British rule was the protection of their traditions and customs. Another reason why the mainland tribal communities started a revolution was the native areas or woods.

• The Colonial property settlements had an impact on tribal communal holdings and damaged their societal framework. The main cause of the Ulgulan revolt or the Munda uprising was the feudal-state system imposed by the British Government

• As the company systematically extended farming, the tribal people lost their lands, and there occurred an influx of non-tribal into these regions hence contributing to tribal uprisings

• Shifting agriculture in woods was prohibited, adding to the tribal’ dissatisfaction with British policies. The government increased its grip over forested regions by establishing protected woodlands as well as banning wood usage and grazing
• These tribal people had their distinct traditions and rituals, and general rules which were rejected by the British colonial government making them aggressive and thus leading to tribal uprisings
• With the development of colonialism, Christian missionaries arrived in these territories, and their actions collided with native tribes’ ancient rituals. The tribal hated the priests, whom they saw as servants of foreign domination. This led to the Ulgulan movement
• Some of the revolts were against the landlords who tried to impose taxes on grazing and use of timber, the exploitation by money lenders and low country traders, and the increasing influx of outsiders (known as Dikus) due to the extension of settled agriculture

The tribal groups of all north-eastern boundary revolts are distinct

The tribes that had ethnic as well as cultural connections with countries beyond the frontier were unconcerned with the nationalistic fight. Those tribal uprisings were frequently in support of political freedom inside the Indian State or total freedom.

These were neither forest nor agricultural uprisings as such tribes often possessed land and woodland regions. The British conquered the north-eastern districts much later than these non-frontier tribes’ regions.

De-Sanskritization activities had developed among the border tribes. The Meiteis started an initiative to criticize the neo-Vaishnavite Brahmins’ wrongdoings under the era of Church and Maharaja (from 1891 to 1941). Sanskritization activities were almost totally missing around the northeast border area during the British era.

Visit to know more about UPSC Exam Pattern

Tribal Uprising Characteristics

Even if the various tribes’ revolutions were divided by time as well as space, they shared certain basic qualities.

Solidarity: Unity was founded on group identity through cultural relationships. Consequently, not every ‘newcomer’ was viewed negatively. The revolt was directed against creditors and businessmen, who were viewed as British administrative puppets. The solidarity of the Munda rebellion is noticeable.

Foreign authority: Hatred against the British administration’s application of regulations, which was considered as an effort to undermine the tribal customary social framework, was a prominent factor in the tribal uprisings. This situation played a major role in the Kol rebellion.

Personality guided: Many revolutions were guided by the Messiah-like personalities who motivated their community to fight and offered the promise that individuals could eliminate their suffering caused by those ‘newcomers’. An example is the Birsa Munda-led Munda revolt.

Also read about Tips for UPSC Preparation

Table of Tribe Uprisings

The revolt of 1857 changed the course of rebellions drastically

Hailed as the ‘watershed’ in the history of British colonization of India, the revolt of 1857 was different from any other revolt. Before the revolt of 1857, most of the revolts were sporadic or local affairs. Whereas the involvement in the 1857 revolt and its scale, both were far larger than in any of the previous revolts. The revolt of 1857 wasn’t limited to certain areas, towns, or districts, instead, it was a widespread action. The leading forces in this revolt were the North-Western Provinces, hired Bengal army, and the Awadh. The Gurkha and the Punjabi soldiers fought for the British to put down the rebels. All sorts of aspects such as socio-cultural, political, economic, as well as the nature of colonial policies led to the revolt of 1857. It marked the beginning of the unification of the different tribes as well as the acceptance of the tribes as citizens of India.

Conclusion

India is the hub of the tribal population in the world. The tribal world in India remained comparatively placid till the advent of the British colonization. The colonial system bore harshly on the tribal communities who were formed out of isolation and relatively intact social mechanism of control. Hence, they revolted more often than not and much more brutally than to the rest of the community counting Indian peasants. The fight for acceptance and to maintain their identity still rages till now.