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IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : Modern India - POPULAR UPRISINGS : SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

Modern India 1857-1964

POPULAR UPRISINGS : SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Structure
7.4.1 Orissa
7.4.2 Santhal Rebellion
7.4.3 1857 Popular ~ovemeks After 1857
7.5.1 Indigo Riots
7.5.2 Moplah Uprisings
7.5.3 Pabna
7.5.4 Deccan Riots
7.5.5 Koya Rebellion Birsa Munda Revolt Characteristics of Movements Working Class Movements
7.7.1 Efforts of the Educated Gentry
7.7.2 Strikes
7.7.3 Characteristics Let Us Sum Up
Key Words
Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

7.0 OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you will be able to:

know about the factors responsible for various peasant and tribal uprisings that took place in the second half of the 19th century,
discover the nature and main characteristics of these uprisings,
understand the attitude of the colonial regime towards these uprisings,
know how the working class emerged in India,
explain the problems faced by the working class,
know about the initial struggles waged by the working class, and
understand the importance of these struggles.

7.1 INTRODUCTION

The English were able to suppress the uprising of 1857 but this could not end the feelings of bitterness towards their rule-particularly amongst the peasants and tribals who had to reckon with the oppressive character of the regime in its severest form. They were exploited by both the colonial Government and the landlords because the latter were now looked upon by the Government as "natural leaders" of the people. In many regions the peasants and tribals rose in revolt against the British. In this unit we have attempted to farniliarise you with some of these uprisings of peasants and tribals. With India becoming a part of the British empire more and more British capitalists invested their capital in India to extort profits. A few modem industries, were established after the introduction of railways. As a result of this limited industrialisation, plantations and railways there emerged a new sdcial class-the working class. Initially this explo~ted class had no means to organise itself or raise its voice in an effective manner. But soon the workers staned resisting their exploitation by British capitalists and European planters. The unit also deals with some of these initial efforts made by the workers towards organisation,and therebv raisin^ themagainst ex~loitation. - Modern India 1857 - 1964 Before beginning our discussion on the popular movements of peasants, tribals, artisans and workers in the 1850-1900 period, a few things may be clearly stated. Any discussion of the theme we have chosen should take into account the colonial context. This period roughly coincides with the'second phase of British imperialism i.e. the industrial capital phase. The earlier phase - normally characterised as the commercial, phase of ~ritis'h imperialism was based on trade and commerce. This phase saw the development of industrial, capitalist exploitation of India.

7.2 COLONIAL IMPACT

One has to bear in mind the impact of British imperialism on Indian agriculture and the traditional handicraft industry.

(i) As for agriculture, the land settlements (Permanent, Raiyatwari and Mahalwari) created certain new elements like a market economy and did away with some customary rights like forest and pasturage rights. Theagrarian policies coupled with other developments encouraged moneylending particularly in the context of cash paymenis of land revenue. In the context of sharpening social differentiation, moneylending got associated with a complete control of the rural economy and society by a few moneylenders. And, if it was a tribal tract, this interaction also implied the process of peasantisation i.e. conversion of tribals into peasants.

(ii) Secondly, social differentiation was not a new feature but colonialism accentuated the differences and created a sharper polarisation between those who owned lands; had acquired wealth, and through their new ownership rights, had access to the courts to defend themselves and their property, and those whose customary rights got undermined. This differentiation had certain implications. Besides strengthening and polarising, these differences centred around class (rich-poor), differences around caste and religion also got strained for example if in a particular area the landowner belonged to a particular caste or religion and the peasants were of another caste or religion then the caste/religious differences got strained on account of class differentiation we have noted above. Tribal areas saw the emergence of 'outsiders'
who were moneylenders and landlords, and who ruthlessly exploited the population.

iii) Another major aspect of colonial policy was to forcibly commercialise agriculture, with the obvious idea of providing raw material for British industries. This proved hazardous for the peasants who were forced to grow commercial crops (like indigo and cotton) instead of food grains, even in years of scarcity.

iv) As for the artisans, colonialism spelt doom for them. The colonisation of India implied that India was to be a harket for British goods. These were factory-made goods- cheaper and finer than theproducts of the India artisans. This led to the wiping out of the traditional Indian industries like cotton and salt. Besides throwing a large section of the artisans out of employment, it increased the pressure on land as the artisans tried to turn to agriculture.

7.3 PEASANTS, TRIBALS AND ARTISANS

Before we proceed further it would be useful to mention at this juncture a few things about the peasants, tribals and the artisans:

(i) When one talks of peasants one is refemng to all those people who directly participate in agricultural production. Some of these were poor and some others were comparatively more affluent. This differentiation increased in the colonial period. Besides, the peasant's position sank vis-a-vis the owners of lands since colonialism recognised the property rights of only the landlords, the peasant's having been reduced to mere tenants-at-will. The new laws implied that the peasants could be evicted any
time by their landlords.

ii) As for the tribals, there were different tribal groups like Khonds, Savaras, Santhals, Mundas, Koyas, Koh, etc. When we speak of tribals we are not talking of the classic food gatherers and hunters, but tribal peasants, who had settled down as agriculturists. Of course, they combined agriculture with hunting and food gathering as well as manufactures from forest-based products like canes etc. Their relative isolation
coupled with closer ethnic bonds perhaps differentiated them from peasants.

iii) The artisans were those people who were engaged in the manufacture of traditional handicrafts like cotton products, salt, iron goods etc. In most cases these were persued as caste professions. As already discussed, the unequal competition with the British I I industrial products ruined the artisans. Historical evidence about them is extremely , limited. They were often clubbed with the peasants and tribals.