NOTE= NO NEED TO REMEMBER REASON,NATURE ETC.

ONLY
TRY TO REMEMBER THE YEAR AND Leader. REMAINING ARE
ONLY FOR YOUR CONVINENCE
Major Tribal Revolts
A historical overview of significant uprisings by tribal communities against
colonial rule in India:

Tribal
Characteristics
Revolts
- Leader: Raja Jagganath in 1778
- Reasons: Against the British extension of settled agriculture into the Pahariya
Pahariya territories
Rebellion -British response:
 In the 1770s, the British brutally hunted and killed Paharias.
 By the 1780s, the British had adopted a pacification policy. Chiefs received a
 allowance and were held responsible for men's conduct.
- Developments:
 Paharia chiefs rejected allowances. Accepting allowances would have led to
loss of authority. They retreated to the mountains, waging war against outside

- Location: The region between Chota Nagpur and the plains of Bengal. (1767
1802)
- Leader: Durjan Singh
- Reasons:
Chuar
 By 1798, the tribals rebelled, took to arms, and adopted the guerrilla tactics
Uprising
war when they realised that the British had taken away their land.
- Nature
 The tribes rebelled, took to arms, and adopted the guerrilla tactics of war wh
they realised that the British had taken away their land.
 - Location:
 By Oraon tribes of Tamar in the Chotanagpur region(1789-1832)
- Leader: Bhola Nath Sahay
- Reasons

Tamar  They revolted against the faulty alignment system of the British governmen
Revolts  The alignment system exposed the British failure to secure tenants' land right
causing unrest among Tamar tribes in 1789.
- Developments:
 They were joined in the revolt by the tribals of adjoining areas - Midnapur,
Koelpur, Dhadha, Chatshila, Jalda and Silli.
 The Government suppressed the movement in 1832-33

- Location: Khandesh hill ranges (Maharashtra & Gujarat) (1817-19)

Bhil
Uprising - Reasons:
  Khandesh was occupied by the British in 1818. Bhils saw them as outsiders,
the uprising began. Freedom-loving tribes challenged British rule and lost for
and land rights.
 The Bhils again revolted in 1825, 1836 and 1846.

- Location:
 Ramosis, an aboriginal community in the Western Ghats (Karnataka,
Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh), once served in the lower ranks of
the Maratha army.
- Leader
Ramosi
uprising  In 1822, Chittur Singh of Satara led a Ramosi uprising, plundering Satara.
 In 1826, Ramosis around Poona revolted under Umaji Naik and Bapu Trim
Sawant.
- Causes: Uprisings resulted from the annexation and deposition of popular rulers
After the Peshwa's defeat in 1818, Ramosis lost their livelihood.
- British Response: The British condoned Ramosi crimes, granting them land an
 recruiting them as hill police.
- Location: Assam (1828-1833)
- Leader:
 Gomadhar Konwar, an Ahom Prince, had started a rebellion along with the
Ahom support of Dhanjay Borgohain and Jairam Khargharia Phukan
Revolt - Reasons:
 British occupation despite Treaty of Yandaboo 1826. The British pledge to
after the Anglo-Burmese War raised the Ahom nobility's suspicions and
dissatisfaction.

- Location:
 Chotanagpur region (1831-32)
Kol Uprising  It spread to Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Palamau and Manbhum
- Reasons
  British penetration and law over Kol Chiefs caused tribal tensions.
 Occupation brought settlers, transferring tribal lands.
 Merchants, money lenders, and British law threatened chiefs' power. Resentm
led to uprisings against outsiders.

- Location: A region between the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills (1829-33)
- Leader: U. Tirot Singh
- Reasons:
Khasi
Uprising  The British annexed the independent tribal states of Khasi Hills in 1826.
 The British administration wanted to build a road linking the Brahmaputra
Valley with Sylhet.
 The conscriptions of labourers for road construction led Khasis to wage a wa
Independence (1829-33)

Santhal - Location: Birbhum, Bankura, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Bhagalpur and

Rebellion Monghyr (1855-57)
 - Leader:
 Sidhu and Kanhu, under them around 10,000 santhals rose against these dre
activities in June 1855; pledged to establish a free Santhal state.
 Santhal Revolt (1855-56) led to Santhal Pargana's creation, carving 5,500 sq
miles from Bhagalpur and Birbhum districts.
- Reasons:
 Santhals rebelled against colonial exploitation, and money-lenders due to
Permanent Settlement. The British brought zamindars, traders, and moneylen
imposing heavy taxes, high-interest rates. Santhals revolted for self-rule.
- Nature:
 Mass-scale violence- account books of moneylenders and government buildin
were burnt, and their exploiters punished

Khond Uprising - Location: Orissa from 1837 to 1856

 - Leadership: Chakra Bisoi
- Reasons:
 The Khonds faced issues with colonial administration
stopping 'mariah' sacrifices.
 Other reasons: new taxes, the influx of zamindars, and money lenders.
- Development:
 The uprising was later joined by Savaras and a few other militia clans
by Radhakrishna Dandasena
 After Bisoi disappeared in 1855 and Dandasena's hanging in 1857, the
movement fizzled out.

- Location:
Koli Uprising  Ahmednagar of Maharashtra (1822-29)
 The tribes in the Taranga hills of Mehsana district in Gujarat (1857)
- Leadership
 From 1822-1829, Ramji Bhangre led a revolt against the British Raj
the local Baniya moneylenders.
 The uprising in the Taranga hills was led by Maganlal Bhukhan,
Dwarakadas, and Jetha Madhavji
- Reasons
 1822-29: In 1818, the British took over Pune from Peshwas. Ramji be
Jamadar in Nayakwari police. Disputes over levies and salary led him
resign and start a revolt in February 1829.
 1857: Kolis, affected by colonial rule, feared new legislation and
colonisation's impact on customs.
- Developments:
 1822-29: Ramji led 500-600 rebels, including Kolis like Govind Rao K
who lost jobs under British rule. They attacked moneylenders in Akol
Hills and destroyed their account books.
 1857: Kolis rebelled in September, plundering Company territories fo
 months. Lack of expected support led many to withdraw, and the Briti
easily defeated the rest

- Location: Chotanagpur region (1890s)

- Leadership:
 Birsa Munda, organised and led the tribal movement, giving the triba
call for “Ulgulan” (Revolt) to the tribals.
 He urged the Mundas to give up drinking liquor, clean their village, an
stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery.
Birsa Munda  He called himself Dharti Aba, father of the world.
Revolt
- Reasons:
 The land policies of the British were destroying their traditional land
system (Khuntkatti system or joint tenures), and missionaries were
criticising their traditional culture
 Outsiders and money lenders took over the properties of the Mundas a
forced them into wageless labourers.
 - Significance:
 Authorities prepared land records to safeguard tribal interests, leading
the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908, preventing an easy land takeov
‘Dikkus’.
 The movement showcased tribal people's ability to protest injustice an
express anger against colonial rule.
 Movement faded after Birsa's death.
 Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas: The birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa M
(15 November)

- Location:
 Took place during 1879-80 in the eastern Godavari tract of And
Pradesh and some regions of Malkangiri region in Odisha.
Koya Rebellion
- Leadership:
 It was led by Tomma Dora, the Koya leader
 In 1880, Tomma Dora captured a police station, defeating a colo
 and his contingent. Koyas hailed him as the 'King' of Malkangir
- Reasons:
 Erosion of customary rights over forests,
 Mansabdars effort to enhance taxes on timber and grazing,
 Police exactions & exploitations by money lenders
 New excise regulation restricting domestic production of toddy

- Location:
 Tana Bhagat movement (1914-1920) is a movement that emerg
among the Oraon tribes of Chotanagpur, Jharkhand.
Tana Bhagat
movement - Leadership:
 The leader of the Tana Bhagat movement was called Jatra Bha
- Reasons:
  The economic and cultural exploitation of the Oraon tribes.
 For them, Swaraj meant freedom from British rule and freedom
from the oppression of the ‘Dikkus’, money-lenders, zamindars
feudal overlords.
 Also, the leaders of this movement wanted to stop the evil pract
among the tribes, like the worship of ghosts and spirits and the
practice of exorcism.
- Nature:
 There was an active rebellion against unfair landlords who
exploited them.
 Some of the members refused to pay rent to their landlords an
ceased to cultivate their lands.
- Significance:
 The movement was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and his i
 of non-violence.

- Location:
 Occurred among the Koyas of the Godavari Agency area. Also
known as “Manyam Rebellion” (1922-1924)
- Leader: Alluri Sitarama Raju
 Though not tribal, he grasped British restrictions on tribal life.
Rampa rebellion  Organized Adivasis against police, forest, and revenue officials
touring the forest area.
 Prepared them to fight the Madras Forest Act of 1882, assertin
ownership of forest produce.
 Won grudging admiration from the British for guerrilla tactics.
- Reasons:
 Forced labour, embargoes on collecting minor forest produce an
 bans on tribal agriculture practices led to severe distress.
- Developments:
 In August 1922, Godavari Agency forests saw three-day attack
police stations.
 Alluri Sitarama Raju and 500 tribals attacked the Chintapalli,
Krishnadevipeta, and Rajavommangi stations.
 Stole 26 carbine rifles, and 2,500 rounds of ammo.
 A trademark letter signed by Raju provided details of the booty
the station diary.
- British response:
 Unable to contain the ‘Manyam’ uprising, the British Governm
deputed T G. Rutherford in April 1924 to quell the movement
 Rutherford resorted to violence and torture to get to know the
whereabouts of Raju and his key followers.
 After a relentless chase by British forces, Rama Raju was caugh
 and martyred on May 7, 1924.
 After his martyrdom, repression and violence killed many of Ra
followers. Over 400 activists faced charges, including treason.

- Location: Nallamalai forests of Andhra Pradesh.

- Leader: Venkattappaya and even Gandhiji provided the links f
the movement.
- Development:
Chenchu Tribal
Movement  They launched forest satyagraha during the non-cooperation
movement (1920s).
 Congress wanted a limited social boycott of forest officials, but
peasants sent cattle into the forest without fees.
 In Palnad, people proclaimed swaraj and attacked the police.

Rani Gaidinliu’s - Location:

Naga Movement  In the Zeliangrong territory in Manipur (the 1930s)
- Leadership:
 It was a socio-religious movement (also known as Heraka
movement) initiated under the leadership of Gaidinliu’s
cousin, Haipou Jadonang.
 After Jadonang was hanged, Gaidinliu emerged as the political
spiritual leader of the movement.
 Rani Gaidinliu was born on 26 January 1915 in Luangkao villa
(now in the Tamenglong District of Manipur) and belonged to t
Rongmei tribe
 Gaidinliu’s introduction to the movement was at the age of 13 w
she joined the Heraka Movement.
 In 1937 Jawaharlal Nehru visited Gaidinliu. He conferred upon
her the title “Rani” for her courage.
 An article published by the Hindustan Times described her as th
“Daughter of the Hills”.
  Although Nehru tried to persuade for her early release, it bore n
result. She was released only after India gained independence in
1947.
- Reasons:
 This Tribal movement championed the cause of the Naga’s self
rule.
 Jadonang, the clan’s spiritual leader, preached against the Britis
missionaries, which aimed to convert the Naga tribes to
Christianity.
- Developments:
 Gaidinliu started preaching Gandhian principles at the age of 17
launched an open rebellion against British rule.
 They refused to pay taxes or cooperate with the British and sto
together in the face of the repressive measures imposed by the p
 and the Assam Rifles.
- British response:
 Although it had reformist religious objectives, there were
also political undertones against British rule, which made the
British wary of the movement and its leader.
 This tribal movement received a significant setback with the arr
and hanging of Jadonang after a mock trial in 1931.
 Gaidinliu was finally captured on 17 October 1932 and senten
to life imprisonment.

Peasant Movements Before 1857

During this period, the main reason for a series of spontaneous
peasant uprisings in different parts of the country was the high-
handedness of zamindars or landlords, along with the excessive rates
of land revenue.
Name of the
Peasant Description
Revolt
-Year: 1763-1800
-Area: Bengal
-Maznoom Shah was one of their prominent leaders.
-Supported by: Bhawani Pathak and a woman, Devi
Sanyasi Choudhurani.
Revolt -Immediate cause: The British imposed restrictions
on pilgrims visiting the holy places of both Hindus
and Muslims.
-The Bengal famine of 1770 sparked a rebellion
among landless peasants, displaced zamindars,
disbanded soldiers, and the poor. -
 The Sanyasis and Fakirs joined them.
-The Faqirs were a group of wandering Muslim
religious mendicants in Bengal.
-Nature of the revolt: They attacked English
factories and seized their goods, cash, arms, and
ammunition.
-Book: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's semi-
historical novel Anandmath is based on the Sanyasi
revolt.
-It was a united revolt of Hindu and Muslim monks
against the British led by Warren Hastings.
-Year: 1782-1831
Narkelberia
Uprising -Area: West Bengal
 -Leader: Mir Nithar Ali (Titu Mir)
-Reason for the revolt: Muslim tenants fought back
against landlords, who imposed a beard tax on
Faraizis and British Indigo planters.
-Nature of the revolt: Armed revolt
-Year:1825-1833
-It is a peasant movement guided by religious
mendicants called Pagal Panthis.
-Area: Bengal
Pagal Panthis
-Leader: Karam Shah and Tipu Shah
-Reason for the revolt: The Pagals and their
associates fought against the zamindars and the forces
of the company to protect the peasants from the
 oppressions and undue claims of the zamindars.
-British Reaction: Tipu Shah and some of his
insurgent followers were captured in 1833 and tried.
 The government mitigated many of the demands
of the resisting peasants, including a reduction of
the rent rate. Consequently, the movement was
subdivided, and peace was restored in the area.

Peasant Revolts After 1857

After 1857, there was increasing involvement of middle-class, modern
educated persons in peasant resistance movements. As the idea of
nationalism gripped the persons educated in the modern system, these
ideas, in some form or the other, were carried to the peasantry also.
Name of the
Description
revolt
-Year: 1859-60
-Area: Bengal
-Leader: Biswas brothers (Bishnucaharan Biswas
and Digambar Biswas) of Nadia, Rafique Mondal of
Malda and Kader Molla of Pabna.
Indigo
-Reason for the revolt: The peasants in many parts
Revolt
of Bengal had refused to plant indigo for
the European planters who had been forcing the
peasants to cultivate it. The Bengali
intellectuals brought this issue to the notice of the
Indian public.
-Nature of the revolt: The peasants attacked indigo
 factories with spears and swords.
 Planters who demanded rent were beaten.
 It was especially strong in the Pabna district,
where the ryots were strongly opposed to
sowing indigo.
-British Reaction: The Government appointed
the Indigo Commission in 1869, which worked for
the removal of some of the abuses of indigo
cultivation.
-The play Neel Darpan by Dinabandhu Mitra in
1860 depicted planters’ oppression and peasants’
protests.
-Year: 1875
Deccan Riots
-Area: Poona, Satara and Ahmednagar
-Reason for the revolt: The basis of the Deccan Riots
lay in the evolution of the ryotwari system itself. By
favouring the Vanis (village moneylenders) over the
Kunbis (cultivator caste), the courts and new laws
polarised caste differences.
 This implied an increase in the transfer of holdings
from peasants to moneylenders.
 The Kunbis rose against the Vanis in order to
dispossess them of their title deeds and mortgage
bonds, which were looked upon as instruments of
oppression.
-Nature of the revolt: The peasantry, which had
gathered for the weekly bazaar, launched attacks on
the moneylenders and destroyed the debt contracts and
bonds.
 -British Response: After suppressing the revolt, the
Government passed the Deccan Agriculturists Relief
Act in 1879 to extend protection to them against the
moneylenders.
-Year: 1873-1885
-Area: Pabna, Bengal
-Leader: Ishan Chandra Roy, Shambhu Nath Pal,
Khodi Mulla.
Pabna
-Reason for the revolt: The peasants organised a no-
Movement
rent union and launched armed attacks on the
zamindars and their agents because of illegal seizure of
property, arbitrary enhancement of rent and use of
force, frequent recourses to ejection and harassment,
 The Act of 1859 provided ryots with immunity
 from eviction. The attempts of zamindars to
annihilate the tenant's newly acquired occupancy
rights and to convert them into tenants at will
through forcibly written agreement resulted in
harassment and atrocities that were vehemently
opposed by peasants.
-Agrarian League (1873), organised by peasants
of Yusufshahi Pargana of Pabna, which raised funds
to mitigate litigation expenses, held mass meetings.
-British Reaction: This peasant movement was
suppressed only after armed intervention by the
government. Later an enquiry committee was
appointed to look into the complaints of the peasants,
which led to the enactment of an act.
Champaran -Year: 1917-1918
Movement -Area: Champaran, Bihar
-Leader: Mahatma Gandhi, assisted by J.B.
Kripalani, Babu Brajkishore Prasad and Babu
Rajendra Prasad.
-Reason for the revolt: The tenant farmers were
forced by the British planters to cultivate indigo in
the three-twentieth part of a bigha of their holding;
this was known as the 'Teen Kathia' system.
 Losses were transferred to poor peasants, or they
could give up indigo cultivation by paying higher
rents for the land.
-Nature of the revolt: Gandhiji’s method of
peaceful satyagraha and civil disobedience.
-British Reaction: The government had to relent and
 called Gandhiji for talks and also made him a member
of the committee to enquire into the plight of
the indigo peasants.
 The Teen Kathia system was abolished based on
the committee’s report.

-Year: 1918
-Area: Kheda, Gujarat
-Leader: Mahatma Gandhi
Kheda
-Reason for the revolt: The immediate backdrop to
Satyagraha
the agitation was a poor harvest in 1917-18, which
coincided with an increase in the price of essentials.
 The peasants demanded remission of revenue for
the year to alleviate their suffering, but
 the colonial government ignored their concerns.
 Getting no assurance from the government on the
demands of peasants, Gandhi decided at a meeting
of the Gujarat Sabha to resort to Satyagraha.
-Nature of the revolt: Reports of violence in some
areas disobeying Gandhi’s appeal to passive
resistance.
-British Reaction: Mohanlal Kameshwar
Pandya and other local leaders were arrested for
defying the government.
 The government ordered its local officials to be
restrained in the collection of revenues and not to
confiscate lands because they wanted Indian
support in British war efforts.
 -Year: 1921
-Area: Awadh, Uttar Pradesh
-Leader: Madari Pasi
 The revolt in Uttar Pradesh was led by Fiji-
returned indentured labourer Baba Ramachandra.
Eka -Reason for the revolt: Spanish flu, six years of
Movement drought, price rise and a shortage of food, grains and
fuel.
 charging higher than the recorded rent,
 non-distribution of rent receipts, imposition of
additional and arbitrary cesses,
 grain rents are more prevalent than cash rents,
 practice of nazrana (advance additional payment
as service), hari, begari (forced labour),
  corruption by middlemen like thekedars and
karindas (agents of landlords).
-Nature of the revolt: Because of the involvement of
Congress and Khilafat campaigners, the movement
was initially largely peaceful and worked within the
framework of Gandhian ideology.
 Social boycott (sweepers, barbers and
washermen), picketing and holding mass rallies to
push for their demands.
 However, as the movement became
more militant and began to aggressively resist
Taluqdar and Zamindar
violence, the Congress and Khilafat
leaders distanced themselves from it, and this
peasant movement became completely
 independent of Congress-Khilafat influence.

-Year: 1921
-Area: Malabar region, Kerala
-Reason for the revolt:Nambudiri
Brahmins landlords exploited the Mappila tenants.
This rebellion had started as an anti-government,
anti-landlord affair but acquired communal colours.
Mappila
Revolt  The new land laws enacted by the British
government in the nineteenth century gave
landlords, the majority of whom were upper-caste
Hindus, sole legal ownership of the land. The
Moplahs had been deprived of their formal
or customary rights, which they had held for a
long time.
-In Manjeri in 1920, the Malabar District Congress
Committee supported the tenants' cause and
demanded legislation to regulate landlord-tenant
relations.
-Nature of the revolt: The uprising reportedly led to
the death of around 10,000 people. Many Hindus were
forced to convert to Islam.
 In one incident, Moplah prisoners died of
suffocation while being taken to the Central
Prison in Podanur in a closed railway wagon.
The incident is widely known as the "Wagon
Tragedy."
-British Reaction: The uprising lasted several months,
forcing British authorities to impose martial law to put
an end to it. They also established a new police unit
 called Malabar Special Police to put down the
rebellion.
-Year: 1928
-Area: Gujarat
-Leader: Vallabhbhai Patel
-Reason for the revolt: Against the tax hike of 22%
by the Bombay Presidency in the backdrop of famine
Bardoli and flood.
Satyagraha
-Demands of the Peasants: Either the government
appoint an independent tribunal for a fresh assessment,
or it must accept the previous amount as the full
payment.
-Methods used for mobilising the masses:Bardoli
Satyagraha Patrika was a daily newspaper published
during the satyagraha.
 The other methods used were bhajan mandali, holy
imagery and ‘bhuvas’ (used to communicate with
Adivasis).
 During this time, Vallabhbhai Patel, who was
given the moniker "Sardar" by the women who
participated in the movement, emerged as a
national leader.
-British Reaction: Under the pressure of
the Satyagrahis, the government had begun to run out
of steam by June 1928. A settlement with the farmers
was mediated by Chunnilal Mehta, a key member of
the Governor's Council.
 He proposed a 5.7% increase, and land
confiscated by the administration would be
 returned upon payment of this tax.
 In the meantime, those who resigned from
government jobs in support of the farmers would
be reinstated.

-Year:1936
-Formed at Indian National Congress (INC)
Lucknow Session
-Founder: Swami Sahajananda Saraswati
All India
-Formation of All India Kisan Sabha: In Bihar,
Kisan Sabha
Swami Sahajanand started a movement to protect the
occupancy rights of the tenants, and formed Bihar
Provincial Kisan Sabha in 1929.
 In Andhra, N.G. Ranga also mobilised the
peasants and formed a Kisan Sabha. The Kisan
 Sabha movement spread to other regions of the
country also, and it raised the demand for
the abolition of zamindari.
 At the Congress session in Lucknow in 1936,
the All India Kisan Sabha was formed, with
Sahajanand as its first president.
-Manifesto: It issued the Kisan manifesto, which
called for the abolition of zamindari and occupancy
rights for all tenants.
-After the Elections of 1937: The Congress ministries
undertook certain measures to:
 reduce the debt burdens by fixing interest rates
in all provinces ruled by it, enhancements of rent
were checked,
 In UP, cultivators were given the status of
 occupancy tenants. In Bihar, bakhast lands were
partly restored to tenants; in Maharashtra, the
khoti tenants of landholders were given some
rights.
 Grazing fees on the forest lands were abolished.

-Year: 1946–47
-Area: Bengal
-Organised by: Communist cadres of the Bengal
Provincial Krishak Sabha.
Tebhaga
Movement -Demand: It was the sharecroppers' movement that
demanded two-thirds of the land's produce for
themselves and one-third for landlords.
 Tebhaga literally means 'three shares' of harvests.
Traditionally, sharecroppers held their tenancy on
 a fifty-fifty basis of the produce. Sharecroppers
were referred to as bargadars, adhiars, etc.
 The barga (sharecropping) peasants were
mobilised against the landlord class under their
leadership.
 The tenants who were resisting the Zamindari
system added a new slogan to their campaign: the
total abolition of the Zamindari system.
-Outcomes: Approximately 40% of sharecropping
peasants obtained tebhaga rights willingly granted by
landholders, repeal or reduction of unjust and illegal
exaction. However, the movement's success in East
Bengal districts was limited.
-Year: 1946-1952
Telangana
Movement -Area: Andhra Pradesh
- Against Oppressive landlordism perpetrated by local
landlords (jagirdars and Deshmukh, locally known as
Dora), which Nizam patronised.
- Reasons: Peasants were forced to pay high taxes due
to unhealthy economic policies of Nizam rule, and in
non-payments of the taxes, they were subjected to
forced labour (Vetti) and even forced to be evicted
from their land.
- Nature of the Revolt:
 Indian National Congress, Andhra Jana
Sangam, and Andhra Maha Sabha (AMS) have
raised the issue of Telangana's poor
peasantry. Jagir RyotuSangham was formed in
1940 to bring pressure upon the government to
solve the problems of the peasants working under
 the jagirdars.
 Later, the Guerrilla-styled armed struggle against
both the landlords and razakars was adopted, for
which the arms were provided by the Communist
Party of India leadership.
- British Reaction: Vetti was abolished, lands were
distributed, debts were settled, etc.

Major Civil Uprisings Before 1857

After the British started gaining control of northern India post the Battle
of Plassey in 1757, there were intermittent public eruptions by the
various sections of Indian society for the next hundred years; civil
uprisings were one of them. Some of the significant civil uprisings are
described below:
Civil Uprisings Before 1857
Name of the
Description
revolt
- Year: July 1794
- Governor-General: John Shore
- The Raja of Vizianagaram (modern-day of
Andhra Pradesh) openly declared war on the
Revolt by the British.
Raja of
- Reason for the revolt: British reduced the area of
Vizianagaram
his zamindari and increased the revenue payable
to the British.
 The War of Padmanabham occurred on July
10, 1794, between British Colonel
Pendergast and the Raja of Vizianagaram
 kingdom, 2nd Pusapati Vijaya Rama
Gajapathi Raju after his refusal to pay taxes
and oppose British governance in his kingdom.
- British Reaction: In an encounter with the
British forces. Raja was killed along with his 300
armed men.
 The British adopted a conciliatory
policy towards Raja's son, Narayan Rao, after
this incident.

- Year: 1806
- Area: Tamil Nadu
Vellore Mutiny
- Governor-General: George Barlow
- Under British rule, the Indian military garrison of
Madras was stationed in the fort of Vellore (Tamil
Nadu),which became the site of the
famous Vellore mutiny of 1806 CE.
- Reason for the revolt: In 1805 CE, the sepoys
were given a new dress code in which they were
not allowed to show any caste markings, had to
trim their beards and moustaches, and had to
remove their turbans. This was done to "improve"
the regiment's "soldierly appearance’’.
 It harmed the feelings of
both Hindu and Muslim soldiers in the army,
causing widespread resentment.
 General Sir John Craddock, Commander-in-
Chief of the Madras Army, also ordered
wearing a new round hat made of cow and pig
 hides.
- The Vellore mutiny was precipitated by these
unjust and offensive changes, as well as the brutal
treatment meted out to any voice of dissent within
the fort.
- British reaction: As the sepoys revolted, a
British officer, Major Coopes, escaped and alerted
the Arcot garrison.
 They arrived within 9 hours to find
some Europeans still holding a part of
the ramparts. They quickly attempted to
regain control of the fort.
 In a heinous incident, approximately 100
soldiers seeking refuge within the fort were
lined up against a wall and shot in
 a "summary judgement."
 The new regulations were withdrawn, and all
regiments in the Vellore region were
disbanded.

- Year: 1808-09
- Area: Travancore state (includes several southern
districts of modern-day Kerala)
- Governor General: Lord Minto I
Dewan Velu
- Reason for the revolt:
Thambi Revolt
 The subsidiary alliance, signed between
Travancore and British in 1795, made the state
in debt.
 Also, British residents of Travancore began
interfering with the state's internal affairs.
  Sensing danger, the British sent a large
contingent to demand that the Dewan (Velu
Thambi) be removed, which prompted Velu
Thambi to launch a revolt in 1808.
- British Reaction: Despite the support of the
neighbouring state of Cochin, Thambi was
defeated by the British. He died of serious injuries
after Trivandrum (the capital of Travancore) fell
into British hands in 1809.
- Year: 1816-1832
- Reason for the revolt: British signed a treaty in
1816 with Maharaja Bharamal II of Kutch, granting
Kutch Rebellion
throne power but interfering in Kutch's internal
affairs.
 In 1819, Raja Bharmal II, with the help
 of Arab and African troops, tried to remove
the British from his territory but faced defeat.
 The genuine administration of Kutch was
entrusted to a Council of Regency, which was
overseen by the British Resident. The
administrative innovations made by
the Regency Council, coupled with exorbitant
land assessment, caused deep resentment.
 The news of the English defeat in the
Burma war prompted chiefs to revolt and
authorise Bharmal's recovery.
- The trouble erupted again in 1831.
- British reaction: After extensive military
operations failed to control the situation, the
Company's leaders were forced to adopt a more
conciliatory approach.
 - Year: 1817
- Area: Odisha
- The Paikas were peasant militias
of Odisha's Gajapati rulers who provided military
assistance to the king.
- Reason for the revolt: When the British
Paika Rebellion established new colonial establishments and land
revenue settlements, the Paikas lost their estates.
 Constant interference in
the economy and revenue systems resulted in
peasant and farmer exploitation and
oppression, eventually sparking a uprising
against the British.
- Nature of the revolt: A large number of Paikas
were mobilised under Bakshi Jagabandhu
Bidyadhar's leadership, who then confronted the
British on April 2, 1817.
- From Ghumsur, a 400-strong Kandha
party crossed into Khurda and declared
rebellion.
- The uprising spread like wildfire throughout the
state, resulting in several clashes and encounters
between British and Paika forces.
- Government offices in Banapur were set on fire,
police officers were killed, and the British treasury
was looted.
- British reaction: The revolt raged on for several
months before being crushed by the British
army. Bidyadhar was imprisoned in 1825 and died
 in prison four years later.
- Year: 1818-1820
- Area: Baroda, Gujarat
- Reason for the revolt: The Waghera chief was
forced to take up arms after the Gaekwar of Baroda
Waghera rising was fortified by the British Regime.
- The Wagheras carried on inroads into British
territory during 1818-19.
- British Reaction: A peace treaty was concluded
in November 1820.
- Year: 1840
Satara Revolt - Area: Satara, Maharashtra
- Leaders: Dhar Rao Pawar and Narasingh
Dattatreya Petkar.
- Governor-General: Lord Auckland
- Reason for the revolt: This uprising was caused
as a result of the British deposition of Chhatrapati
Pratapsingh in 1839 when he attempted to assert
his sovereignty and territorial rights and exiled him
to Varanasi.
 The people of the region were filled with
resentment and anger as a consequence of this.
- They gathered over a thousand men for
the uprising and attacked the Badami Fort.
- The insurgents successfully captured the
stronghold and raised the Satara flag on its
ramparts.
 - British reaction: The British retaliated promptly
with a strong-armed force and captured the fort
quickly.
- Petkar and his colleagues were found guilty and
sentenced to life in prison.
- Dhar Rao Pawar remained active in the Shirala
Mahal and Karad regions for several years,
resisting the British. The uprising, however, was
finally put down in 1844.
- Year: 1844
- Area: Kolhapur, Maharashtra
Gadkari Revolt - Governor-General: Lord Ellenborough

- Reason for the revolt: When the British

occupied Satara, they extensively took over the
 lands of the region, particularly of the
agrarian Maratha-militia, the Gadkaris.
- Nature of the revolt: They took over
the Samangarh and Bhudargarh forts and rose
against the British troops at Kolhapur by setting
up a parallel government in the state.
- British Reaction: The Revolt was eventually
curbed by the British army.
- Year: 1844
- Area: Surat, Gujarat
Surat Salt - Reason for the revolt: Salt duty was raised in
Agitation the Bombay Presidency in the year 1844. This
caused considerable excitement among the poorer
classes.
- Nature of the revolt: They organised
demonstrations to submit a petition to express their
'deep resentment'.
 They desired that the magistrate accept their
petition and assure them that the increased salt
duty would not be imposed.
- British Reaction: High officials, after
discussions and negotiations, were 'convinced of
the absolute necessity of yielding to the wishes of
the people’.
 After receiving the report from Surat that the
magistrate had temporarily suspended the
increase in salt duty, the Government of
Bombay issued a proclamation 'abolishing
certain Town Duties' and directed the Agent
to enforce the increased salt duty.