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| Chuar rebellion 1768 expriences.blogspot.co |
Indians who were under the British rule toiled very hard to get the country free Britain. Their two centuries of unjust rule in the subcontinent was beset with exploitation of natural resources, squandering of rich Indian rulers and suppression of common men. Their dishonest and deliberate wheeling and dealing drove the natives to the edge of exasperation. The British not only took over the Indian lands but also forest lands owned by the poor farmers.
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| Chuar revolt, West Bengal. 1700s simoticlasses.com |
Thus when they left India in August 1947 they rendered it into a poor country and split it into two nations. By 1947, Britain enjoyed the imperial status with so many colonies across the globe. All these made possible with the vast revenue generated from (Opium, Indigo, tea, coffee cultivation, etc) the Indian lands. In their long rule, the frustrated people across the subcontinent vented out their anger and abomination by revolting against the English company and later the British crown. Among the many tribal revolts against the British, Chauar rebellion of Bengal (now West Bengal state) exposed the hypocrisy of the British and their greed for forest lands owned and cultivated by various tribes for centuries.
The Chaur revolt was the first Adivasi rebellion against the cunning and corrupt English company that lasted roughly three decades in SW Bengal. It began in 1768 and continued up to 1799 when finally the British released the lands to the tribes. Historians prefer using the term struggle of Jangal Mahal of Bengal for the simple reason that the word Char is a derogatory one meaning vile and vagabond or hobo.
The struggle was primarily confined to SW Bengal where the tribes lived in large number in places like Bakura Midnapore, Sibghbhum, Chotanagpur and part of Orissa. The tribes with many ethnic groups relied on the forest land for their livelihood. Their source of income besides cultivation on the fringe of the forest, included other activities related to jungle, As soldiers (palka) of local landlords (Zamindars) instead of salary, they got a piece of land (called palkan land) with no taxes.
The British as part of their expansion rather land-gabbing spree had their eyes glued on the rich forest lands being cultivated by the palkas for generations. By putting the lands under their control EIC levied taxes on them and at last took over the ancestral lands of Chuar tribes and drove them out along with Zamindars under the pretext that they had failed to pay the taxes. The Zamindars and the tribes had to face hardship with no income. As for the English company, they sold the lands to new land lords and made a fresh deal with them. The so called local soldiers - palka with famine looming on the horizon were to face a bleak future with no hope and no solution insight. In the mean time the British appointed a big posse of police in their place to guard the lands, etc..
Infuriated chuar tribes made a combined protest with support from other people in the village. Later, the small revolt became hell bent and the British were unable to put down a sea of rebels. At the fore- front of the rebellion were courageous men Mohan Singh, Lal Singh, Rahunath Mahato, Madal Singh, et al.
It was a combined efforts by the tribes and the zamindars against the English company. In the very first Chuar revolt guidance and leadership was provided by Raja Jagannath a prominent zamindar of Ghatshila in 1798. The situation was a serious one - nearly 50000 Chuar farmers were affected by the wrong British policy. The second revolt led by Devikram Shyam Gunjan ended in fiasco. During the third revolt in 1799, Rani Shironmani of Midnapore rattled the British, though arrested many times, she got the Zamindari rights later. Later Durijan, a Zamindar of Rajpur Purgana, very much affected by the British move, made a ferocious attack on the EIC offices and establishments with countless Chuar tribes. hell broke out with looting, dacoity and killing in Raipur and adjacent areas.
The revolts in the tribal areas continued without a break and this frustrated the English company's efforts to put them down. Having realized that suppression and coercion won't yield anything to handle massive protests, the English gave in and returned the lands and other facilities to the chieftain of Chuar and Paika.
https://urduspot88.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-chuar-rebellion.html
https://www.simoticlasses.com/2021/09/chuar-movement-1769-1805.html
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