The Rangpur Dhing Rebellion and Kol Rebellion | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction to Rangpur Dhing Rebellion

• The peasants in Bengal actively resisted British rule, exemplified by the Rangpur rebellion of 1783.
• After gaining the Diwani in 1765, the British East India Company sought to maximize revenue from Bengal, leading to conflicts with the overburdened population.
• Despite the Company's efforts to collect vast sums, the Rangpur district was overwhelmed by excessive tax demands, resulting in a peasant rebellion.
• The situation deteriorated under Henry Verelst, the Governor of Bengal, who noted increased oppression and intrigue following the Diwani acquisition.
• The introduction of the five-year settlement in 1772 further strained the district, with assessments set beyond its capacity.
• By 1777, the five-year settlement was deemed a failure, prompting the Company to revert to annual settlements.
• Revenue farmers (ijardars) and European collectors exploited the peasantry, imposing high revenue demands and illegal cesses.
• The 1783 Rangpur peasant revolt was triggered by the harsh practices of revenue farmers like Debi Singh and Gangagobinda Singh.
• These contractors employed extreme measures to enforce payment, leading zamindars to pass the burden onto the ryots.
• The ryots, facing ruin and poverty, petitioned for relief, but when their appeals were ignored, they took matters into their own hands.

Rebellion of Ryots

• The peasants initially sent a petition to the Company's government asking for redress.
• But when their appeal for justice went unheeded, they organised themselves,
• elected their own leader,
• raised a huge army,
• equipped themselves with primitive bows, arrows and swords
• attacked the local cutchery (a court of law),
• looted grain stores
• forcibly released prisoners.
• On Jan 18, 1783, the uprising took place.
• For full five weeks the rebels were virtually in control of the parganas of Tepa, Kazirhat and Kakina in the district of Rangpur.
• The mass character of the revolt is reflected in the huge assemblage of peasant irrespective of their caste and community.
• Kena Sarkar of Gotamari in the pargana of Kakina was the main leader of the uprising.
• The rebels formed a government of their own.
• The rebels sought to legitimise their movement by invoking what Sugara Bose has ‘called “the symbols of the pre-colonial state system“.
• They called their leader “nawab“.
• They appointed the officers like the Dewan, the Bakshi to run a regular government.
• The rebel government issued proclamations forbidding all payments of revenue to the existing government.
• It levied tax to defray the expenses of the uprising.
• The trouble spread to Dinajpur.
• Both Hindu and Muslim peasants fought side by side.
• On Debi Singh’s appeal, the Company’s government under Warren Hastings sent troops to put down the rebellion and troops with the Collector of Rangpur, Goodland, took measures to put down the insurrection.
• On Feb 22, the rebels made a desperate attempt at Pattong.
• In the battle that ensued, a great many were killed and many taken prisoner. It was an unequal fight.
• A reign of terror unleashed throughout the district of Rangpur.
• Its brutal suppression was, however, followed by some reforms in the revenue farming system.

Kol Rebellion (1832)

• Some of the peasant rebellions in pre-1857 India were participated exclusively by the tribal population whose political autonomy and control over local resources were threatened by the establishment of British rule and the advent of its non-tribal agents.
• The Bhil tribe, for example, was concentrated in the hilly areas of Khandesh, previously part of the Maratha Empire.
• The British occupation of this region in 1818 introduced outsiders and caused disruptions in the Bhil community life.
• A widespread Bhil rebellion in 1819 was suppressed by British military forces. Although some conciliatory measures were implemented to calm the situation, unrest persisted until 1831 when the Ramoshi leader Umaji Raje of Purandhar was captured and executed.
• The Bhils’ local rivals, the Kolis of Ahmadnagar district, also resisted British rule in 1829 but were swiftly defeated by a large military contingent. However, the spirit of rebellion lingered, resurfacing in 1844-46 when a local Koli leader successfully challenged British authority for two years.
• Another significant tribal revolt, the Kol uprising of 1831-32, occurred in the Chota Nagpur and Singbhum regions of Bihar and Orissa.
• The tribal inhabitants of Chota Nagpur, including Kols, Bhils, Hoes, Mundas, and Oraons, led an independent lifestyle. The Chhotanagpur area remained a hotspot of turbulent uprisings throughout the 19th century.
• In 1820, the king of Porhat, under British authority, agreed to pay hefty taxes annually and claimed the neighboring Kol region as his own with British consent.
• The king collected taxes from the Ho segment of the Kols, which they strongly opposed. This led to the killing of a few officials.
• The British intervened by sending troops to support the king.
• The Kols, armed with traditional weapons like bows and arrows, faced British troops equipped with modern weapons.
• Despite their brave resistance, the Kols had to surrender in 1821.

Kol early Rebellion (1832)

• The Kol uprising of 1831-32 occurred in the Chota Nagpur and Singbhum regions of Bihar and Orissa.
• These areas had enjoyed independent power for centuries, but the British penetration and imposition of British law threatened the power of hereditary tribal chiefs.
• The Raja of Chota Nagpur began evicting tribal peasants, renting land to outsiders at higher rates.
• The settlement of non-tribals and the transfer of land to merchants and moneylenders, known as sud or outsiders, sparked a popular uprising as tribal pleas for justice were ignored.
• The transfer of tribal lands and the influx of moneylenders, merchants, and British laws created significant tension:
  (i) The Mahajans charged exorbitant interest rates, leading many Kols to become bonded laborers for life.
  (ii) The Chhota Nagpur region was leased to moneylenders for revenue collection.
  (iii) The oppressive tactics of moneylenders, high revenue rates, and British policies devastated the traditional social structure of the Kols.
  (iv)Large-scale land transfers from Kol headmen (Mundas) to outsiders, including Sikh and Muslim farmers, exacerbated the situation.
• These factors prompted the Kol tribe to organize and rebel.
• The forms of rebellion included:
  (i) The Kol tribals organized an insurrection in 1831-32, primarily targeting government officers and private moneylenders. Other tribes joined in.
  (ii) The rebellion involved attacks on the properties of outsiders, not their lives.
  (iii) Plunder and arson were the main methods of protest, with minimal killings.
  (iv) At times, insurgents resorted to brutal tactics, such as burning houses and killing enemies, mainly outsiders.
  (v) Only carpenters and blacksmiths were spared, as they produced weapons and other essential goods for the rebels.
  (vi) The rebellion spread across a vast area, including Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamau, and Manbhum.
• After two years of intense resistance, the Kols were defeated by the British, who had superior modern weaponry.
• The rebellion briefly disrupted British rule in Chota Nagpur.
• The British army was called in to restore order, with troops dispatched from distant places like Calcutta, Danapur and Benaras.
• Thousands of tribal men, women, and children were killed, and the rebellion was ultimately suppressed.