The perpetual settlement introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bangladesh in 1793 resulted in increased oppression of the tribes. The Santals are one of the main tribes who took the path of rebellion. They were a hardworking, simple-minded farming tribe or tribal class. The Santal Rebellion began in 1855. Dr. Bipin Chandra, Varun Dey and Amalesh Tripathi in their book "Freedom Struggle" say that the Santal Rebellion started with the right to forest trees. The revolt took place in their Damin-i-Koh region.
The Santals lived in an area called Damin-i-Koh between Bhagalpur and Rajmahal. Later the Santals were mainly scattered in Bankura, Medinipur, Birbhum, Malbhum etc. In 1851, there were about 1,437 Santal villages in this "Damin-i-Koh" area and about 82,715 Santal tribes lived here. In 1855 the Santals decided to expel the Diku or outsiders. The Santal revolt against the exploitation and oppression of the zamindars, moneylenders and traders started in 1855 at Bhagnadihi village in Chhotnagpur, Bihar, led by Sidhu and Kanu.
The cause of the Santal Rebellion
1) The Santals worked hard to make the barren land of Chhotanagpur fertile. But the colonial rulers and their allied native zamindars started illegally occupying the lands of the Santals.
2) Santals are the victims of Dikud's brutality. They were often beaten. Santal women were oppressed and exploited by moneylenders' representatives, tenants, European railway workers and others.
3) After the introduction of permanent settlement, if the zamindar of Pora Hat takes over the zamindari, the Santal tribes of Bankura, Medinipur, Birbhum, Malbhum, Chhotanagpur, Palamau, Hazaribagh etc. lose their cultivable land.
4) The quality of life of the Santals deteriorated as a result of colonial rule. The Santals were accustomed to their own administration and judiciary. But the new colonial-era law courts, the police system were unfamiliar to them. On the other hand, the indigo planters used to oppress the Santals for indigo cultivation.
5) Deprivation of land and homelessness due to deprivation and debt of simple Santals by foreign moneylenders and traders.
6) Traders used two types of weights. They used to weigh less weight when selling oil, salt etc. The name of this weight was Becharam. And the grain he took from the Santals was the help of a heavy-weight butcher whose name was Kenaram.
7) When paying the money to the Santals, the moneylenders would sign a kind of bond with them. The first type of bond was called Kamiyati. Until the loan was repaid, the moneylenders were forced to work on the land as per the bond. The second type of bond was called Harwahi. According to this bond, the landlord's land is unpaid
Santal is the leader of the rebellion
The leaders of the Santal Rebellion were Sidhu, Kanu, Chand, Bhairab, Domon Majhi and Kalo Pramanik. Kalyan Haram was the scribe of the history of the Santal Rebellion and the guru of the Santals. He chronicles the Santal Rebellion in an essay entitled "Harkoren Murray Haprambo Riak Kotha". This history contains the struggles of Sidhu and Kanu, the heroes of the Santal Rebellion, such as: "Kill the kings and maharajas", "Cross the Ganges of the Dikuds (foreign moneylenders)", "We want to rule with our own hands".
Area of Santal Rebellion
The Santal Rebellion started in the village of Bhagnadihi in Bihar on 6 July 1855 under the direction of Sidhu and Kanu, the two sons of Murmur in Chuna. They dreamed of forming an independent Santal state from the Nagpas of British rule. The lower caste Hindus supported the Santals. Dighi Khana Daroga killed Mahesh Dutt. Major Baroz from Bhagalpur to suppress the Santals was actually defeated by the Santals at the battle of Pirpaiti. The Santal rebels went on a rampage. Lord Dalhousie suppressed this revolt with a stern hand. The Santals were defeated at the Battle of Barhait. Chand and Bhairab were killed. Sidhu and Kanu were caught.
The failure of the Santal Rebellion
1) The Santals possessed arrows, bows and spears in ancient times, on the other hand the use of modern tools by the English forces.
2) The English army was skilled in war while the Santals were inexperienced in war.
3) The Santals did not have a specific goal.
4) The Santals did not have an experienced commander and were few in number.
Consequences / importance / significance of Santal Rebellion
1) The government apologizes to most of the Santals. The government formed Santal Parganas with parts of Bhagalpur and Birbhum districts for the good governance of the Santals. Recognizes them as a tribe.
2) Interest rates are reduced, separate courts are set up for Santals.
3) Government employees are instructed to pay attention to the complaints of lack of public. The village head and the village middleman are honored.
4) Santal Rebellion was a peasant revolt and mass struggle of different classes of people.
5) This revolt was the inspiration for the subsequent mass struggles, especially the Great Revolt of 1857 AD.
The nature of the Santal Rebellion
The Santal Rebellion was a peasant uprising in India. Modern researchers do not view the Santal Rebellion as merely a tribal rebellion. It was an expression of the resentment of the common peasantry against the exploitation of English imperialism and the local zamindar mahajans accumulated from it. The revolt also spread among the lower caste poor Hindus by spreading the boundaries of the Santal class. It was not just a peasant revolt, it was a war of independence. Although it arose from economic exploitation, the aim of the revolt was to establish the "Kherwar" or independent Santal state.
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