Tribal Problems In India : A Comprehensive Study
[Syllabus: UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination ➨ General Studies, Paper-2 ➨ Social Issues ➨ Topic: Tribals in India ➨ Sub-Topic: Tribal Problems in India]
(I) Introduction:
1. Who are the Tribals? The term ‘tribal’ or ‘adivasi’ refers to the earliest inhabitant of a region. The tribals generally lived in deep forests or hilly areas and shared a close bond with their land, forest and forest resources.
2. Source of livelihood: The tribal peasants combined agriculture with hunting and food gathering and even manufacturing from forest-based products.
3. Difference from peasants: Their relative isolation and closer ethnic bonds differentiated them from peasants.
(II) Causes of tribal uprisings:
1. Ended the relative isolation: The colonial administration ended the relative isolation of tribals and brought them within the ambit of colonial economy and exploitation.
2. Interference into tribal affairs: It intruded into tribal polity, encroached upon tribal lands and transformed tribal relationship with land and forests.
3. New system of taxation: It recognized the tribals as zamindars and introduced new land revenue system, taxed tribal products.
4. Restriction on jhum: The tribals had traditionally practiced shifting cultivation or jhum. The colonial administration disallowed this practice by restricting tribal access to new forest lands and forest products.
5. Introduction of outsiders: The colonial administration introduced a large number of outsiders among the tribals. These included middlemen such as the traders, revenue farmers and money lenders who pulled the tribals into the very centre of colonial exploitation.
6. Peasantization of tribals: The money lenders gradually pushed the tribals into indebtedness and landlessness. As a result, the tribals were reduced to the position of farm labourers and tenants on land that had traditionally belonged to them
7. Intensified begar system: The revenue farmers intensified the system of begar. The policemen and petty officers were notoriously corrupt and apathetic towards everyone including the tribals.
8. Activities of Christian missionaries: The colonial administration also encouraged influx of Christian missionaries into tribal regions.
(III) Nature of the tribal uprisings:
1. Aim to overthrow immediate oppressors: The rebels aimed at overthrowing their immediate oppressors-whether it was oppressive zamindars, money lenders or even the colonial British. Example: Tribals did not attack all outsiders as enemies. The non-tribal rural poor were not only spared, they even allied with the tribals in their fight against oppression.
2. Keenness to restore the past conditions: The tribals sought to restore the good old past, before the outsiders acquired control and ‘bad times fell upon them’. Example: Kandh Uprising was against British efforts to put an end to practice of human sacrifice (mariah)
3. Socio-political consciousness: The rebel’s targets were the political sources of their oppression while they simultaneously tried to bring about social reform. Example: Kuka Revolt or Namdhari Movement attacked social evils like caste system, female infanticide, early marriage and barter of daughters in marriage
4. Popular character: The rebellions drew their legitimacy from the people, allowing public meetings, planning and attack. They were broad based and involved the entire tribal population of a region. Example: Santhal uprising were justified by the Santhal leaders as arising from the failure of the government officials to address the genuine grievances of the tribals against the moneylenders
5. Local leadership: These movements threw up local leaders who had themselves been affected by foreign intrusion, whereas leaders of the national movement were often outsiders who intervened into the peasant and tribal movements as and when necessary. Example: Sido and Kanhu of Santhal uprising, GomdharKonwar of Ahom revolt, etc.
6. Drew strength from ethnic ties: In various degrees, the rebels drew their strength for ethnic ties, religious sentiments and messianic leadership.
7. Unequal nature of war: While the peasants and tribals fought with their primitive weapons such as stones, axes, spears, bows and arrows, the British forces were armed with most modern weapons of the time.
(IV) Limitations of tribal uprisings:
1. Regional extent: The extent of the uprisings was limited to the region inhabited by the affected community. Example: Santhals fought for their ancestral land which had been grabbed by outsiders
2. Localized and isolated: They not only arose out of local grievances, they were also local in extent and effect, which limited their impact on national level. Example: Kol Mutiny was against transfer of land from Kol heads to Sikhs and Muslims
3. Traditional outlook: The leaders of these uprisings were backward looking and traditional in outlook, aiming to re-establish previous forms of socio-political order and offered no modern alternative. Example: The tribal leaders often projected themselves as messengers of God, who had ordered them to take up arms against their oppressors
4. Failed to achieve their goal of overthrowing the foreign rule: Such local, disunited, backward looking uprisings were bound to fail in overthrowing the foreign oppressors.
(V) British response to tribal uprisings:
1. Military action: Most of the uprising were suppressed by the British using force through military action. Example: Kol Mutiny was suppressed by large-scale military operations
2. Capital punishments: Often British found the leader of these movements and hanged them to suppress the revolts. Example: British hanged Radhakrishna Dandasena of Savara Rebellion in Odisha, Velu was hanged publicly after death to instil fear among the people in Travancore
3. Arresting the leaders: In order to nip the movement from the bud, they arrested the leaders. Example: Dudu Mian of Faraizi Revolt were arrested
4. Withdrawing unnecessary steps: Sometimes, British followed conciliatory policies and withdrawn the rules that they passed. Example: Bengal Standard of Weights and Measures had to be withdrawn in order to arrest the spread of Surat Salt agitations
5. Pacification: In order to end the revolts, they also created separate districts for the tribals. Example: Separate district of Santhal Pargana was created to pacify santhals in order to end the rebellion
(VI) Conclusion:
The loss of independence, excessive land revenue demands, administrative innovations, foreign intrusion into local autonomy and destruction of village economy were experienced in different regions of India at different points of time, emerging in the form of various tribal uprisings.
Even though these uprisings suffered from various shortcomings and were finally suppressed in the face of superior British might, they were significant in as much as they were the first expressions of protest against oppression in the colonial period, established a tradition of resistance to British rule and formed a valuable prelude to the watershed Revolt of 1857.
