23 Tribal Movement in India

Prof. Anup Kumar Kapoor

1.      Introduction

2.      Chronology

3.      Some Important Rebellions

3.1   pre Independence

3.1.1 The Santhal Insurrection (1855-1857)

3.1.2     Munda Revolt (1895-1901)

3.2  Post Independence

3.2.1 Naga Separatist Movement

3.2.2 Naxalite Movement

4.    Current Scenario

Learning Objective

• To know about the tribal issues
• To know the major movements by tribals

INTRODUCTION

India has a long standing history of its people living peacefully with one another. The people have always accepted others as it is. Kings and tribals lived in peace with each other because they had separate territories and none interfered with the others’ way of life. Rural India had been inhabited by the tribal population from the beginning. The tribal communities lived in relative seclusion and isolation for centuries and in varying states of economy. In spite of their contacts with the non-tribals, they maintained their separate identity. Each tribal community maintained its own socio-religious and cultural life and its political and economic organizations. The tribal people were almost entirely dependent on forest produce for their subsistence and other needs as well. Ex: – honey, fruits, roots, firewood and other things. The forest was viewed by kings as their territory and the distance was maintained. Even at the places they came in contact with the village people the interaction was mostly for the purpose of trade only.

But with the advent of ‘BRITISH RAJ’, situations changed. The British wanted to control all the land and did not consider the fact that tribals have always been autonomous groups. They were included under the government rule. New rules were implemented and the boundary between the tribals and the state was broken. This led to clashes between the two. This led to many clashes between the government and the tribal people. The tribals have always struggled to maintain their autonomy and their claim to the land and still continue to do so. These struggles can be named as tribal movements.

Different scholars have evolved different typologies of tribal movements. Mahapatra (1972) applies the typologies widely used for social movements to tribal movements: (1) reactionary; (2) conservative;

(3)   revisionary or revolutionary. The reactionary movement tries to launch a movement to bring back ‘the good old days’, whereas the conservative movement tries to maintain the status quo. The revisionary or revolutionary movements are those which are organised for ‘improvement’ or ‘purification’ of the cultural or social order by eliminating ‘evil’ or ‘low’ customs, beliefs or institutions. Surajit Sinha (1968) classifies the movements into: (1) ethnic rebellion; (2) reform movements; (3) political autonomy movements within the Indian Union; (4) secessionist movements; and (5) agrarian unrest. K.S. Singh (1983a) makes more or less the same classification except that he uses the terms Sanskritisation instead of reform movement and cultural movements instead of ethnic movements. S.M. Dubey (1982) divides the tribal movements in northeast India into four categories:

(1) religious and social reform movements; (2) movements for separate statehood; (3) insurgent movements; (4) cultural rights movements. In fact, there is a very thin line dividing the (2), (3) and (4) types. D. Doley follows more or less the same categories of the tribal movements in the north-eastern region (1998). There is no substantial difference among the scholars who use different typologies. Mahapatra excludes political movements whereas others do not. These typologies do not include the recent movements around the issues of forest rights and environment, and displacement of the tribals due to ‘development’ programmes of the state and the market. Currently, there are many such movements going on in the country.

2. Chronology

India has seen a number of small and big tribal movements since the advent of British raj. Raghavaiah in his analysis in 1970 of tribal revolts from 1778 to 1970 listed as many as 70 revolts and gave their chronology. The Anthropological Survey of India in their survey of tribal movements in 1976 identified 36 ongoing tribal movements in India. At present there are many movements going on mainly due to land deprivation and alienation. For example, Naxalite movement, Jharkhand movement etc.

All-India List of Tribal Revolts in Chronological Order (1778 to 1971)

Source: Raghavaiah, V, 1996 (2nd edition), Tribal Revolts, Andhra Rashtra Adimjati Sevak Sangh, Nellore (1st edition 1971).

Not much work has been done on the earlier revolts, like the one by Pahariya but the only understandable reason is British colonialist policy. Bihar, or more specifically, Chhotanagpur region has seen a number of upheavals and many revolts took place in this region. Other than that, north-eastern part has also been subject to a number of tribal revolts some of which are still going on.

In Gujarat region, the first revolt started in 1809 by bhils, again in 1846 under Kuwai Jai Vasavo, and also in 1856-57 and later in 1868.

In Madhya Pradesh, Murias and Muria Gonds revolted in 1910 against the injustice done by British over them. The bastar area was merged in Indian union in 1948 which led to dissatisfaction among the tribal population resulting in a revolt in the area. About 10,000 tribals collected on March 31, 1961 which had to be dispersed by force. The revolt ended in 1966 with the formation of Pandey Commission.

In odhisha, Sauras of Koraput waged an armed revolt in Pittasingi in July 1864. Later in 1922, there was an uprising among the Koyas and Kondhs led by Alluri Srirama Raju which continued till 1924.

In Andhra Pradesh, four major revolts broke out, not all during British regime. The first is the Kova uprising in the Rampa area of the East Godavari Agency, popularly known as Rampa Fithuri Rebellion. The second one happened in 1879, next one in 1922. The last one occurred after independence during 1967-68 which is a part of naxalite revolt.

North eastern part of the country has seen the largest number of revolts during and after British regime by various different tribes namely, khasis, sighpos, jaintias, lushias, daflas, khamptis and nagas.

On april 4 , 1829, 500 tribals led by teerath singh attacked the British camps in Nangkhlao and freed the tribals bound there for construction works. This was later suppressed by the government

Khamptis started a revolt against the british during 1839 the leader was captured and send to exile along with his followers. Singhpos also rebelled at round the same time. Khamptis again revolted in 1860 and 1862 both iof which were subjugated by British administration. By 1the end of 19th century, most of the part of Assam came under British regime.

3.  Some Important Revolts

3.1 Pre Independence

K.S. Singh (1985) analyzing tribal movements before independence have divided them into three phases: the first phase between 1795 and 1860, the second between 1861 and 1920, and the third between 1921 and 1947.

The first phase coincided with the establishment of the British Empire, the second with intensive colonialism during which merchant capital penetrated into tribal economy, and the third with participation in the nationalist movement and also launching of agrarian as well as some separatist movements.

The movements followed a similar pattern. The British entered the area and brought with them a whole class of people like moneylenders and Zamindars with them. These outsiders were called dikus by the tribals. Thus beginning a whole cycle of exploitation and oppression. This resulted in dissatisfaction and revolts. The movements were small scaled, disorganized and weaker as compared to British. Most of them were ruthlessly oppressed. These uprisings were localized and isolated, and lacked any modern feeling of nationalism. But later with the expanse of nationalist movements, tribals also started participating in them.

A few of the movements are worth mentioning here

3.1.1 The Santhal Insurrection (1855-1857)

The santhal rebellion was the most serious challenge faced by the british east india company.the santhals were a peace loving community of bihar region. The permanent settlement act of 1875 brought their land under the jurisdiction of british. Many government officials were appointed to divide and distribute the land. The santhals fled the area and shifted to rajmahal hills. But the acquisition soon reached up to the hills as well. The officials set up their base there and used santhal labor for the railway project started in the area. With the british came the zamindars, traders and moneylenders. Santhals’ trade worked on barter system but with the new economy, they felt the need of money. The moneylenders gave out loans with very high interest rates. And santhals were forced to give away their possessions in return of the money. Sometimes, the women were taken away forcefully by british officials or zamindars. This led to great dissatisfaction among them. Two brothers, sindhu and kanhu, rose against these dreadful activities. On 30 june 1855, 10,000 santals assembled at the bhagnadihi fields and pledged to establish a free santal state. Common people like blacksmiths, potters, carpenters and weavers supported them. Other leaders were brothers chand and bhairav, bir singh and pramanik. The number of rebels rose up to 50,000.

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They targeted railway stations, post offices, police stations, European bungalows and Zamindars’ houses. They bravely fought with only bows and arrows with the armed British soldiers and nearly brought British rule down from Bhagalpur to Munghyr. Trouble spread to Birbhum and Murshidabad as well. Postal and rail services were thoroughly disrupted. Several British armies were dispatched to quell the rebellion. At last in February 1856 the uprising was suppressed and 23,000 rebels were slaughtered. Sindhu, Kanhu and other leaders were hanged, prisoners got jail terms of seven to 14 years and 36 Santal villages were destroyed.

The Santal Revolt was essentially a peasant revolt. People from all professions and communities such as potters, blacksmiths, weavers, leather workers and doms joined in. It was distinctly anti-British in nature.

Due to the Santhal rebellion, the Santhal areas began to be considered as Santhal Paragana. Due to the insurrection, the British recognized the tribal status of the Santhals and now they came under the uniform administration.

3.1.2 Munda Revolt (1895-1901)

The movement of Birsa Munda is the most popular movement of the Munda tribes of Singhbhum and Ranchi districts of the Chotanagpur region of Bihar. Before the introduction of the British policies in the areas inhabited by Oraon and Munda, their traditional land and social systems had existed. Their land system was known as ‘Khuntkari system’. The land was distributed through customary rights and there were no landlords. The tribals worked on their land and paid tributes to their chiefs. By 1874, the British replaced the traditional khuntkari system by the Zamindaris system. The introduction of Zamindaris system created the classes of Zamindars (landlords) and ryots (tenants). The tribals now had to pay rent to the landlords and failure to do so resulted in their eviction from land. The landlords exploited the tribals in the many ways. Even the social system of the tribals did not remain unaffected by the British policies. Their clan councils which provided them justice without any fees were replaced by the modern courts. Apart from the exploitation and oppression of the Mundas caused by the outsiders and the disruption caused to their traditional social and political systems: natural calamities also worsened their conditions. Two famines in 1896-97 and 1890-1900 made them suffer from starvation. The mundas held the dikus and the missionaries responsible for their miseries.

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The movement was led by Birsa Munda. He felt that this freedom could be achieved by ending the oppression of the dikus and by driving the British out of their territory or by killing them. He announced the establishment of the Birsa Raj, in which nobody but only Birsa could be obeyed. He asked the Mundas not to pay rent. The government arrested Birsa on 22 August 1895. He was convicted along with others on 19 November 1895.The arrest of Birsa increased the anti-government bias of the movement. He was later released. The movement took a violent form. It broke out on 24 December 1899. The tribals attacked the outsiders with traditional weapons i.e. arrows and burnt their houses. On 28 January, two leading Munda Sardars and 32 others surrendered following the attachment of their property. Police arrested Birsa on 3 February 1900. He died of chronic dysentery on 9 January 1900. The result of the trial weakened the Munda movement.

The movement had its impact on the government attitude towards their problems. It decided to abolish the compulsory begar system and passed the Tenancy Act of 1903 which recognised the Mundari Khuntkatti system. The ‘Government ‘also passed the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act in 1908.Birsa became a legend for the coming generations.

The tribal movements in the North-East region of India were also politico-religious in nature. Due to the majority of the tribes in the region, and their economic and social position, the movements were hardly socioeconomic in character. Following were the important tribal movements of North-East India:

Khasi Uprising: The conscriptions of labourers of road construction linking up the acquired Brahmaputra Valley with Sylhet passing through the Khasi region resulted in the uprising of the Khasis supported by the Garos and led by the Tirhut Singh. Though the rebellion continued for four years, it was suppressed in 1833 by the colonial power.

Kuki Uprising: The Kukis of Manipur revolted in 1917 under the leadership of Jadonang and his niece, Rani Gaidinliu. The British policy of recruitment of Kuki labourers during the First World War seriously affected the stability of the agriculture based Kuki economy. Also the system of begar imposed upon the tribes and the ban of shifting cultivation led to the rebellion. Guerilla warfare of the Kukis lasted for two years when it was crushed by the British in 1919.

3.2 Post Independence

After independence also the tribals faced the same issues they faced at the time of British. The situation did not change for them. The government though tried various policies for their upliftment but the approach did not work. Many revolts broke out after independence as well. Tribal movements after independence have been classified by K.S. Singh in four categories: agrarian, sanskritisation, cultural and political. There are marked differences between the tribal revolts of pre independent India and post independent India. The revolts are more organized and on a larger scale. Separate military groups are also a part of such movements. There are some peaceful movements also and with the growing consciousness about the judiciary system, they have tried the help of courts and media as well.

3.2.1 Naga Separatist Movement

The Naga revolt started in 1918 with the foundation of the Naga club in Kohima. They demanded exclusion of Nagas from the proposed constitutional reform in British administration in India. Although their pleas were rejected but the separatist movement started taking hold. In 1946 the Naga club was renamed as Nagaland National Council (NNC). They asked for separate state comprising Naga inhabiting areas as Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Myanmar (then Burma). The leader of the movement was Angami Zapu Phizo.

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On 14 august 1947, the NNC under Phizo’s leadership declared independence, thereby resulting in his arrest. He was later on released. Disappointed with his talks with Nehru, he turned to armed rebellion. However, he failed and fled to Pakistan where he stayed till his death in 1990. In 1975 an agreement known as Shilling Accord was signed between GoI and NNC. Some people were not happy with this pact and led to formation of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland on January 31, 1980 by Isak Chisi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and S S Kaplang.

Later on, differences shelled out within the outfit later, and on April 30, 1988, the group split into two factions- the NSCN (IM) and NSCN (Kaplang). Although their philosophies differ, but their goals remain the same, establishment of a “Greater Nagaland” comprising all Naga inhabited areas within India and Myanmar.

Similar other separatist movements also took place in other parts of India

3.2.2 Naxalite Movement

At present the Naxalite movement is the largest movement going on and has the largest reach. The movement traces its origin from a village in West Bengal, Naxalbari and hence the name. On 2 March 1967, a tribal youth named Bimal Kissan, having obtained a judicial order, went to plough his land. The local landlords attacked him with the help of their goons. Tribal people of the area retaliated and started forcefully recapturing their lands. What followed was a rebellion, which left one police sub inspector and nine tribals dead. The tribals and the lower caste were already severely exploited by the higher caste Zamindars. This movement started as retaliation to such exploitation. Though the United Front Government of West Bengal, headed by the CPI (M) was able to contain the rebellion within 72 days using all repressive measures possible, these units had a formal meeting in November 1967, as a result of which the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR) was formed in May 1968. ‘Allegiance to the armed struggle and non-participation in the elections’ were the two cardinal principles that the AICCR adopted for its operations. However, differences cropped up over how an armed struggle should be advanced and this led to the exclusion of a section of activists from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, led respectively by T. Nagi Reddy and Kanhai Chatterjee. AICCCR went ahead with the formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist- Leninist) in May 1969. The CPI (M-L) held its first congress in 1970 in Kolkata .later on Kanhai Chatterjee split from the movement and formed his own party Maoist party of India. Even in the CPI (ML) there had been numerous splits and today there are over 30 different groups fighting for the naxal rights in India. Initially the movement had its centre in west Bengal. In later years, it spread to southern and eastern India, such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

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3.3 Current Scenario

Currently many tribal populations are facing problems of land deprivation. Tribal land has vast resources beneath them. Large companies are now eyeing these lands for mining and setting up new industries. A large no of tribals have been displaced due to government’s neglect.

According to Ministry of Rural Development,’

3.75 Lakh cases of tribal land alienation were registered covering 8.55 Lakhs acres of land.

Out of the above, 1.62 Lakh cases (43.2%) were disposed of in favor of tribal covering a total of 4.47 (55. 28%) Lakh hectare of land.

1.55 Lakh cases covering an area of 3.63 Lakh acres were rejected by the courts on various grounds.

57,521 cases involving .44 Lakh acres of land are pending in various courts of the country.

(Report quoted in ‘India and the Rights of Indigenous people’ published by ILO).

Large scale mining is going on in these regions. The tribal have been displaced from their own homeland.

Some tribal populations have been protesting against this injustice. In Odisha, the movements to save Niyamgiri hills have now reached internationally. Kondhs tribal have been fighting for their habitat and culture in the area which has been allocated to Vedanta by the government.

Dongria Kondh people of India vow to continue struggle against mining corporation Vedanta

In Chhattisgarh, the tribal are resisting the mining being imposed on them. In the border areas with Andhra Pradesh the tribal are protesting against Polevaram Dam which will uproot over 3 lakh tribal from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

3.4 Conclusion

Tribals are peace loving communities who like to live in relative isolation in womb of their natural forests. But they had been oppressed and exploited and misused by the outsiders which they retaliated, earlier through disorganized force and later through organized peace movements or through militant groups. No tribal group has ever been the first to start violence, but they have been forced to do so. The need of the hour is to understand their culture before making any decisions regarding their land or their upliftment. Also they should be involved in any policies which affect them.

SUGGESTED READINGS

• Raghavaiah, V, 1996 (2nd edition), Tribal Revolts, Andhra Rashtra Adimjati Sevak Sangh, Nellore (1st edition 1971).
• Khan, Ismail. 1986. Indian tribe through the ages. Vikas publishing house, New Delhi.
• Shah, Ghanshyam.2004. Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature. Sage publications, india
• Rao, M. S. 2000. Social movements in India: studies in peasant, backward classes, sectarian, tribal and women’s movements. Manohar Publishers.
• Kujurr, R. (2008). Naxal movement in India: A profile.
• Ghosh , Srikant.1987. Law Enforcement in Tribal Areas . APH Publishing