Tribals, Dikcus and the Vision of a Golden Age

How Did Tribal Groups Live?

Some were jhum cultivators

• Jhum cultivation is another name for shifting cultivation.
• The cultivators cut treetops to allow sunlight and burnt vegetation to clear land.
• They used ash, rich in potash, to fertilize the soil.
• Seeds were broadcast (scattered) instead of ploughed and sown.
• After harvest, fields were left fallow for years and they moved to a new area.
• Found mostly in hilly and forested regions of northeast and central India.

Some were hunters and gatherers

• Khonds of Orissa hunted animals and collected forest produce.
• Collected fruits, roots, oils from sal and mahua seeds.
• Used herbs for medicine and sold produce in local markets.
• Traded with traders and moneylenders for goods they didn’t produce.
• Traders sold goods at high prices; moneylenders charged high interest.

→ Tribals came to see traders and moneylenders as exploiters and outsiders.

Some herded animals

• Tribal groups like Van Gujjars (Punjab hills), Labadis (Andhra), Gaddis (Kulu), and Bakarwals (Kashmir) herded cattle, sheep, or goats.

Some took to settled cultivation

• Many tribals started settling permanently and using the plough before the 19th century.
• They gained rights over land; in Munda society, land belonged to the entire clan.
• Over time, some clan members became more powerful and became chiefs.
• British officials considered settled cultivators like Gonds and Santhals as more civilised.

How Did Colonial Rule Affect Tribal Lives?

What happened to tribal chiefs?

• Tribal chiefs earlier had administrative and economic power.

→ Under British rule, they lost administrative powers and had to follow British laws.

→ They could keep land titles but had to discipline tribals for the British.

What happened to the shifting cultivators?

• British wanted tribals to become settled peasant cultivators to collect regular revenue.
• Introduced land settlements with measurement and revenue fixing.
• Declared some as landowners, others as tenants.
• Efforts to settle jhum cultivators failed due to poor soil and water conditions.

→ After protests, British allowed jhum cultivation in some forests.

Forest laws and their impact

• Reserved Forests were created for timber supply to the British.
• Tribals were banned from moving freely, collecting food, or hunting in these forests.

→ Shifting cultivators had to migrate for livelihood.

→ British lacked labour to cut and transport timber.

→ They gave small land patches in forests on condition of labour for the Forest Department.

• Rebellions broke out like Songram Sangma’s revolt (1906) in Assam and forest satyagraha in 1930s Central Provinces.

The problem with trade

• Traders and moneylenders entered forests during 19th century.
• In Hazaribagh, Santhals reared cocoons and sold them cheaply to agents.
• Agents sold them in Gaya at 5x profit; tribals got very little.

The search for work

• Tribals migrated far from home for work in tea plantations (Assam) and coal mines (Jharkhand).
• Received low wages and had poor living conditions.

A Closer Look

• Tribals protested colonial laws, taxes, and exploitation throughout 19th and 20th centuries.
• Kols rebelled in 1831–32.
• Santhals revolted in 1855.
• Bastar Rebellion occurred in 1910.
• Warli Revolt happened in 1940.

Birsa Munda

• Birsa was born in the 1870s, grew up in forests of Bohonda, Jharkhand.
• Played flute, danced, and grazed sheep.
• Led a reform movement to purify Munda society.
• Urged people to stop drinking, clean villages, and stop believing in witchcraft.

→ In 1895, he inspired people to reclaim their past and set up Munda Raj.

→ He opposed missionaries, moneylenders, Hindu landlords, and the British government.

• Arrested in 1895 and jailed for 2 years.
• On release, he gained support, attacked police stations, churches, and raised the white flag of Birsa Raj.
• Died of cholera in 1900; the movement faded.

→ The movement led to laws protecting tribal land rights from outsiders (dikus).

→ It showed that tribals could organise and resist injustice.

MCQs

1. What happened in 1770 in Bengal so that one-third of the population was wiped out?

(a) The British shipped a lot of locals to Britain and the met with an accident.

(b) Robert Clive had to wage a battle with the locals and killed many.

(c) The British and the French had a war in Bengal and many were killed.

(d) Due to a terrible famine, ten million people in Bengal were wiped out.

► (d) Due to a terrible famine, ten million people in Bengal were wiped out.

2. From the given dates, on which date did the Mughal emperor appoint the East India Company as the Diwan of Bengal?

(a) On 12 August 1750

(b) On 12 August 1780

(c) On 12 August 1765

(d) On 12 August 1700

► (c) On 12 August 1765

3. What do you mean by nij and ryoti?

(a) The two main trading centres of indigo

(b) The two main areas where indigo was cultivated in India

(c) The two important systems of indigo cultivation

(d) The two main sets of zamindars

► (c) The two important systems of indigo cultivation

4. A set of statements with respect to the ryot cultivation of indigo is given below. Select the one that is not applicable to the ryot cultivation.

(a) The planter provided the seed and the drill, while the cultivators prepared the soil, sowed the seed and looked after the crop.

(b) The planters were forced to sign a contract, an agreement (satta)

(c) Those who signed the contract got cash advances from the planters at low rates of interest to produce indigo.

(d) The planters produced indigo in the lands that he directly controlled.

► (d) The planters produced indigo in the lands that he directly controlled.

5. From among the regions mentioned below, which region introduced the Mahalwari Settlement System in 1822?

(a) Bombay

(b) Madras

(c) Bihar

(d) Uttar Pradesh

► (d) Uttar Pradesh

6. According to the terms of the Permanent Settlement, who were recognized as zamindars?

(a) Village heads

(b) Farmers and Peasants

(c) Rajas and Taluqdars

(d) British officers

► (c) Rajas and Taluqdars

7. A set of statements on how the Permanent Settlement system was advantageous to the British are given below. Pick out the one that is not applicable

(a) The revenue amount was not a fixed one and the zamindars did not benefit from increased production from the land.

(b) The rajas and taluqdars were recognized as zamindars.

(c) The British could get a continuous flow of revenue.

(d) This system created a new class of landlords who were loyal to the British.

► (a) The revenue amount was not a fixed one and the zamindars did not benefit from increased production from the land.

8. Who among the following introduced the Ryotwari Settlement system?

(a) Thomas Munro

(b) Holt Mackenzie

(c) Lord Dalhousie

(d) Lord Cornwallis

► (a) Thomas Munro

9. From the given possibilities, which year did the British introduce the Permanent Settlement of Bengal?

(a) 1793

(b) 1800

(c) 1815

(d) 1780

► (a) 1793

10. What was the chief advantage of the Company when appointed as the Diwan of Bengal?

(a) The Company helped the artisans to sell their goods at higher prices

(b) Agricultural production saw an increase in Bengal.

(c) The Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control and they could raise revenue

(d) The Company could trade to whichever country they wanted.

► (c) The Company became the chief financial administrator of the territory under its control and they could raise revenue

11. A few statements with respect to the Bengal economy after the Company had become the Diwan are given. Pick out the one that is not applicable to the Bengal economy.

(a) The Bengal economy thrived and progressed.

(b) Artisanal production and agricultural cultivation showed signs of collapse

(c) The artisans started deserting villages as they were forced to sell their goods to the Company at low prices

(d) Peasants were unable to pay the dues that were being demanded from them

► (a) The Bengal economy thrived and progressed.

12. Under the Mahalwari system, the estimated revenue of each plot within a village was added up to calculate the revenue that each mahal had to pay. From the given list of options, which one is closest in meaning to the word mahal?

(a) Landlord(s)

(b) Zamindar(s)

(c) Tenant(s)

(d) Village(s)

► (d) Village(s)

13. Why was there a popular demand for Indian indigo in Italy, France and Britain?

(a) India was the biggest producer of indigo and no other country produced indigo

(b) There was a ban on indigo import in other countries

(c) Indigo imports were tax free

(d) Indigo was used to dye cloth and there was a huge demand

► (d) Indigo was used to dye cloth and there was a huge demand

14. Why many Scotsmen and Englishmen came to India and became planters?

(a) Many rich landlords lost their interest in cultivation, so the Scotsmen and Englishmen became planters to invoke interest among the landlords

(b) The British relaxed rules for the private ownership of land to the Scotsmen and Englishmen, so they thought they could reap huge profits by cultivating crops.

(c) Attracted by the prospect of high profits of indigo, they invested money in indigo cultivation and became planters.

(d) Many Indian farmers auctioned their land because they could not pay the revenue, so the Scottish and Englishmen thought they could become planters and cultivate any crop

► (c) Attracted by the prospect of high profits of indigo, they invested money in indigo cultivation and became planters.

15. In which year did Bengal witness the Great Famine?

(a) 1775

(b) 1770

(c) 1777

(d) 1778

► (b) 1770

16. Given below are some points with regard to the nij cultivation of indigo. Select the one that is not related to the nij cultivation

(a) The planters produced indigo in the lands that he directly controlled.

(b) Planters cultivated in lands either bought by them or rented it from other zamindars and produced indigo by directly employing hired labourers

(c) Planters needed large areas in compact blocks to cultivate indigo

(d) The planters were forced to sign a contract, an agreement (satta)

► (d) The planters were forced to sign a contract, an agreement (satta)

17. In which year was the Permanent Settlement System started?

(a) 1900

(b) 1885

(c) 1890

(d) 1793

► (d) 1793

18. How did the Company ask the Rajas to collect revenue?

(a) Rajas had to give it in the form of jewellery and gold

(b) Rajas had to give it from their treasury.

(c) Rajas had to raise revenue by selling their own land.

(d) Rajas had to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company

► (d) Rajas had to collect rent from the peasants and pay revenue to the Company