Santhal Rebellion ( Santhal Hul ) against the British colonialists or to be precise British East India Company (BEIC), landlords and Zamindars occurred a couple of years before India’s First War of Independence in 1857. The rebellion spread a considerable area that comprise the ‘Santhal Pargana’ or ‘Damin-i-Koh’ which includes present-day districts of Dumka, Godda, Sahibganj, Deoghar, Pakur, and parts of Jamtara, in modern -day Jharkhand.
It was June 29, 1855, when two brothers Kanhu Murmu and Sidhu Murmu, belonging to the Santhal community, asked the Santhals to assemble in the valley of Burhyte, modern-day Barhait, in Jharkhand. On the next day more than thousands of Santhals assembled at the Bhognadih village in the Sahibganj district where a divine order was issued asking the Santhals to free themselves from the clutches of their oppressors and “take possessions of the country and set up a government of their own.”
Thus began the Santhal rebellion, also known as the Santhal Hool, which was precipitated by economic reasons.
Hul Diwas (30th June) is observed in memory of four brothers - Sidho, Kanho, Chand, and Bhairav Murmu - along with sisters Phulo and Jhano, who had led the campaign against exploitation by colonial administrators, money lenders, upper castes, and zamindars. Interest on loans, ranging from 50 to 500 per cent, was charged by the diku (outsider) from the tribals many of whom who were also cheated of their lands. The non-payment of wages by the railways was also one of the reasons that drove the Santhals to rebellion. Added to this, the Santhal women were insulted by these authorities.
As the uprising began to take shape, houses of money lenders, zamindars, white planters, railway engineers and British officers were attacked by the rebels. This continued till February 1856 when the authorities crushed the rebellion with severe casualties and devastation. More than 15,000 Santhals lost their lives.
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