Study Guide · Chapter 2
1. EARLY RESISTANCE TO BRITISH RULE (BEFORE 1857)
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1. EARLY RESISTANCE TO BRITISH RULE (BEFORE 1857)
Before the organised nationalist movement, there were several localised revolts — by peasants, tribals, religious mendicants, and soldiers — against the economic exploitation and administrative interference of the East India Company (EIC).
1.1 Sanyasi and Fakir Rebellion (1763–1800, peak 1770s)
- Region: Bengal and Bihar, especially after the Bengal Famine of 1770.
- Participants: Dispossessed peasants, disbanded soldiers, sanyasis (Hindu ascetics) and fakirs (Muslim mendicants) — often shown together, reflecting Hindu-Muslim unity in resistance.
- Cause: EIC's restrictions on pilgrimage/begging routes, high land revenue, famine distress.
- Notable leaders: Majnu Shah (fakir leader), Bhavani Pathak, Debi Chaudhurani (a woman leader).
- Significance: One of the earliest armed resistances to Company rule; fictionalised by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in his novel Anandamath (1882), which also gave India the song "Vande Mataram."
1.2 Tribal Revolts (18th–19th century)
Tribals revolted against loss of forest rights, land alienation to moneylenders/zamindars, and forced labour (begar).
| Revolt | Period | Region | Leader(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chuar Uprising | 1766–1800s | Midnapore, Bengal/Jharkhand border | — | Among earliest tribal revolts |
| Kol Uprising | 1831–32 | Chotanagpur (Jharkhand) | Buddho Bhagat | Against outsiders (dikus) grabbing land |
| Santhal Rebellion (Hul) | 1855–56 | Rajmahal Hills (Bihar/Bengal) | Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu | Against zamindars, moneylenders (mahajans), British revenue system; led to creation of Santhal Pargana |
| Munda Ulgulan ("Great Tumult") | 1899–1900 | Chotanagpur | Birsa Munda | Against feudal & British exploitation (khuntkatti land system); Birsa died in jail in 1900; called "Dharti Aba" (Father of the Earth) |
| Bhil Revolts | 1810s–1830s | Khandesh (Maharashtra/MP) | Various | Repeated uprisings against Company rule |
| Kuka Movement | 1840s–1872 | Punjab | Guru Ram Singh | Religious-reform-cum-anti-British movement among Sikhs (Namdhari sect); opposed cow slaughter and British goods |
1.3 Vellore Mutiny (1806)
- First major sepoy mutiny against the East India Company, predating 1857 by half a century.
- Location: Vellore Fort, Tamil Nadu (Madras Presidency).
- Immediate cause: New dress regulations by Sir John Cradock (Commander-in-Chief) — sepoys ordered to remove caste/religious marks, trim beards, wear a round hat (resembling a European hat/seen as a step toward conversion), banned earrings — seen as an attack on religious/caste customs of both Hindu and Muslim sepoys.
- Sepoys revolted on the night of 10 July 1806, killed several British officers, took over the fort; suppressed swiftly by cavalry from Arcot under Col. Robert Gillespie.
- Significance: An early warning sign of grievances over interference in religious/social customs of sepoys — a theme that recurred in 1857.
1.4 Other Notable Pre-1857 Resistances
- Paika Rebellion (1817), Odisha — led by Bakshi Jagabandhu, by the traditional militia (Paikas) of Khurda against loss of rent-free land and EIC annexation; sometimes called "India's first war of independence" by some historians (a claim contested since 1857 is the conventional marker).
- Polygar Wars (1799–1805), Tamil Nadu — local chieftains (Palayakkarars) like Veerapandiya Kattabomman resisted Company revenue demands.
- Wahabi Movement — a pan-Islamic revivalist/anti-British movement started by Syed Ahmed Barelvi, active from the 1820s into the 1870s in North India and NWFP.
Key Facts / Quick Revision Points — Pre-1857 Resistance
- Vellore Mutiny (1806) — first sepoy mutiny, over dress code/religious symbols.
- Santhal Hul (1855-56) — Sidhu-Kanhu; led to Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act.
- Birsa Munda — "Ulgulan," Munda Rebellion 1899-1900; birth anniversary 15 November observed as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.
- Sanyasi Rebellion inspired the novel Anandamath and the song Vande Mataram.
- Paika Rebellion (1817), Odisha, led by Bakshi Jagabandhu.
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