HUL DIWAS - MODERN HISTORY
News: Hul
Diwas: Remembering the Santal rebellion against the British
What's in the news?
● Prime
Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about Hul Diwas on June 30, remembering the
sacrifice of Adivasis in their fight against British colonial authorities.
Key takeaways:
● Every
year, the state of Jharkhand celebrates
June 30 as ‘Hul Diwas’, marking the beginning of the rebellion, even though
some historical accounts date it to the first week of July instead.
Santhal Rebellion:
● It
was an “organised war against
colonialism” led by the Santals, standing against the myriad forms of
oppression – economic and otherwise – they were subjected to by the British and
their collaborators.
● The
Santal rebellion or ‘Hul’ – literally, revolution – began in 1855, two years before the the uprising
of 1857, often referred to as “the first
war for Indian independence”.
Leaders:
● Led
by two brothers Sidhu and Kanhu, it
saw the participation of as many as 32 caste and communities rallying behind
them.
Uniqueness:
● The
rebellion took place in the lush Damin-i-Koh
region – ‘Damin-i-Koh’ meaning the ‘skirts of the hills’ – and took the
British by complete surprise.
● This
region falls in present-day Jharkhand, more specifically, around the Rajmahal
Hills of eastern Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district.
Who were the santals?
● Today,
the Santal community is the third
largest tribal community in India, spread across Jharkhand-Bihar, Odisha
and West Bengal.
● The
Santal people – or Santalis – were not the original inhabitants of modern day Santhal Pargana – which includes the
six districts of Dumka, Pakur, Godda, Sahibganj, Deoghar and parts of Jamtara.
● They
had migrated from the Birbhum and
Manbhum regions (present-day Bengal), starting around the late 18th century.
○ The
1770 famine in Bengal caused the Santals
to begin moving and soon, the British turned to them for help.
● With
the enactment of the Permanent
Settlement Act of 1790, the East India Company was desperate to bring an
ever-increasing area in its control under settled agriculture.
● They,
thus, chose the area of Damin-i-Koh, at
the time heavily forested, to be settled by the Santals, in order to
collect a steady stream of revenue.
Oppression by Colonial rulers:
● The
Santal migration was “forced” by the
British merely to collect more revenue.
● Predatory money-lenders
and the police were a byproduct of this system.
● Zamindars,
the police, the revenue and court alas have exercised a combined system of
extortions, oppressive extractions, forcible dispossession of property, abuse
and personal violence and a variety of petty tyrannies upon Santhals.
● Usurious interest on
loans of money ranging from 50 to 500 percent,
false measures at the haut and the market, willful and uncharitable trespass by
the rich by means of their untethered cattle, etc.
Rebellion:
● By
1854, there was talk of rebellion in tribal councils and meetings. The
rebellion finally began after a massive assembly of over 6,000 Santhals
representing around 400 villages that took place on June 30, 1855.
● With
Sidhu and Kanhu taking the lead, the rebellion saw the mobilization of Santal
people across the region, who picked up arms and declared their autonomy from
the British.
● Moneylenders
and zamindars were executed or forced to flee, and police stations, railway
construction sites and dak offices – all symbols of colonial rule – were
attacked.
● As
per some accounts, approximately 60,000 Santhals took part in this rebellion.
Why was the Santhal Rebellion meant to be our pride?
● The
evidence of “preparations related to the war such as formation of guerrillas
and military teams, appointment of detectives, fixing of secret bases,
logistics, network of message carriers for mutual coordination, etc.” leading to a “deliberate and well planned political war”.
● It
was not merely the Santal community which fought but had the participation from
32 communities (tribals and non-tribals
both).
● Sisters Phulo-Jhano had
led an army of 1,000 women whose jobs included
providing food supply, gathering information and also attacked the East Indian
camps during the night.
● The East India army was
defeated twice during the rebellion.
The first was in Pirpainti and the second in Birbhum–all part of lower Bengal
then–and the narrative that the East India Company’s army could not be defeated
was exposed.