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Class 10 Social Science History Chapter 3 Anti-British Rising and Peasant Revolts in Assam
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Anti-British Rising and Peasant Revolts in Assam
Chapter: 3
HISTORY
VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Q1. After the establishment of the British rule in Assam how did the system of revenue collection change?
Ans: kind to cash. The British began to collect all taxes in cash.
Q2. In which year did Moffat Mills come to Assam?
Ans: 1853.
Q3. Who were the Keyas?
Ans: Keyas were the immigrant Marwari Mahajans in Assam.
Q4. Who led the revolt of 1857 in Assam?
Ans: Maniram Dewan.
Q5. In the revolt of 1857 the rebels of Assam wanted to re-establish which Ahom prince on the throne?
Ans: In the revolt of 1857 the rebels of Assam wanted to re-establish Kandarpeswar Singha Ahom Prince on the throne.
Q6. Who was the Bengali Muktiyar who helped Maniram Dewan?
Ans: Madhu Malik was the Bengali Muktiyar who helped Maniram Dewan.
Q7. Who was hanged along with Maniram Dewan?
Ans: Piyoli Barua was hanged along with Maniram Dewan.
Q8. Who tried the case of Maniram Dewan?
Ans: Captain Charles Holroyd.
Q9. Mention two causes of the failure of the Revolt of 1857 in Assam.
Ans: Two important causes for the failure of the Revolt of 1857 in Assam were:
(i) First of all the number of rebels in Assam was very small. Maniram Dewan’s supporters were confined to Jorhat and Sibsagar. He hardly gained any support in Nowaon, Kamrup and Gauhati.
(ii) Second, the leaders of the rebellion failed to understand the importance of time and so, even after completion of all preparation for the revolt, they failed to begin in time. As a result the British government gained a lot of valuable time for defense.
Q10. In which years were the Stamp tax and Income tax implemented?
Ans: Stamp tax was implemented in 1858 while Income tax was implemented in 1860.
Q11. Write two causes of the pitiable condition of the peasants of Assam during the British rule.
Ans: Two main causes for pitiable condition of the peasants of Assam during the British rule were:
(i) Wasteland Rules: Under the Wasteland Rule in 1838 the local Indians were unable to start any form of plantation. Through this, the British were the only planters and employed the locals as farmers.
(ii) Import of Labour: The labour was being imported from central India to Assam. The labour was Indian but the locals were unable to earn anything.
Q12. Who was Lieutenant Singer?
Ans: Lieutenant Singer was the Assistant Commissioner of Nagaon during the time of Phulaguri revolt in 1861.
Q13. When did the Phulaguri Dhawa take place?
Ans: October 18, 1861.
Q14. When did the peasant’s revolt of Rangia take place?
Ans: 1893.
Q15. Where is Lachima located?
Ans: Lachima is located in the Bajali region of North Kamrup district of Assam.
Q16. When did the peasant revolt of Lachima take place?
Ans: 1894.
Q17. When did the peasant revolt of Patharughat take place?
Ans: 1894.
Q18. Who led the Jaintia revolt of 1861?
Ans: Ukiang Nonbah.
Q19. Who led the revolt of the ethnic tribes of North Cachar in 1881?
Ans: Sambudhan Kachari.
Q20. Who punished Tikendrajit with the death sentence?
Ans: The British.
Q21. In which year was J.W. Quinton murdered?
Ans: J.W Quinton was murdered in 1891.
LONG ANSWERS TYPE QUESTIONS:
Q1. Discuss in brief the causes of the revolt of 1857-58.
Ans: The Revolt of 1857 was a prolonged period of armed uprising as well as rebellions in Northern and Central India against British occupation of that part of the subcontinent. Small precursors of brewing discontent involving incidences of arson in cantonment areas began to manifest themselves in January. Later, a large-scale rebellion broke out in May and turned into what may be called a full-fledged war in the affected region. This war brought about the end of the British East India Company’s rule in India, and led to the direct rule by the British Government (British Raj) of much of the Indian Subcontinent for the next 90 years.
The rebellion of 1857 in Assam was an offshoot of India’s First War of Independence which commenced in Meerut on 10th May 1857 with the mutiny of the Indian soldiers.
Causes of Revolt of 1857-58
(a) The first was the introduction of land revenue and the system of money economy for collecting the land revenue and other taxes. Unaccustomed to money economy the people of Assam were reduced almost to pauper. The new land policy and money economy gave birth to a sense of frustration and resentment in the minds of the people.
Because of limited market facility, natural economy and self-sufficiency of the villages, the people generally suffered heavily from the new system of money economy. The new money economy introduced by the British in the initial stage of their administration helped in the emergence of a class of moneylender. And they made the people of Assam dependent on this class of moneylender. Moneylenders were almost all outsiders- Kaya Marwari and Bengali people.
(b) Secondly, while this was the condition of the mass of the people, the condition of the aristocracy was not happy either. Though a section of the Ahom feudal nobility became involved in the British administration at the initial stage, a large segment of this class became jobless and unemployed. The practice of giving appointment to the educated Bengali people in the services of the Assam administration almost since the beginning rapidly brought the members of the Ahom nobility to the brink of losing employment. On the other hand, the Bengali people serving in the government departments since earlier had been in the habit of bringing their relations to Assam for new recruitment.
Though the title-holders like Phukan, Baruah, Rajkhowa etc., had been appointed to the posts of Mauzadars earlier the district of Sibsagar, in several areas people hailing from Sylhet and Marwar were preferred. As a consequence, the members of the aristocracy were gradually deprived of these Posts and were forced, as Manirarn had complained, to become the ryots of the foreigners.”
(c) Thirdly, the abolition of slavery in 1843 in Assam also created a of resentment in the minds of a section of the people. Due to the abolition of sense slavery, the Brahmins and priests and the nobility had to lose their domestic helps and there had been a shortage of people for performing manual works in the agricultural fields.
(d) Fourthly, The Brahmins and priests and the religious pontiffs of the satras harbor strong resentment against the government for the conduct of an inquiry into the prevailing lakhiraj lands, i.e., revenue-free lands under the possession of the Brahmins and priests and religious pontiffs of the satras The inquiry resulted in the occupation of the excess lands under possession over the actual grants by the government and the assessment to revenue of the rest, caused resentment among the holders of such lands. Historian Dr. Herambakanta Barpujari mentions that due to the abolition of slavery and being deprived of the lakhiraj lands, many Brahmin priests made common cause with Maniram Dewan in 1857 against the British.
Thus it is seen that the thirty years of British rule could not satisfy a single segment of the Assamese society.
Q2. Discuss the role of Maniram Dewan in the revolt of 1857-58 in Assam.
Ans: Maniram Borbhandar Barua was renamed Maniram Dewan. Maniram travelled to Calcutta in early 1857 to petition the British government to restore Kandarpeswar Singha to the throne of Assam. But he never had the chance to meet the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal.
Maniram Dewan was the person behind the place. When the Indian Soldiers declared Mutiny in Meerut, Maniram Dewan was in Calcutta. He had gone there to file an application to the British govt. requesting that a portion of upper Assam to be placed under the rule of Ahom Royal family. He did not even get an opportunity to meet the Lieutenant Governer of Bengal .Then he met Madhu Malik a Bengali Muktiayar and together they hatched a conspiracy to the British out of Assam. Bahadur Gaoleurha, Promud Ali, Piyoli Baruah, Dutiram Barua, Mayaram Nazi etc. were some elites of Assam who responded to Maniram Dewan’s appeal. It was decided that Ahom Prince Kandarpeswar Sinha would lead the soldiers in Assam and Maniram Dewan would brings arms and weapons from Calcutta. The British got the scent of this conspiracy in the middle of August 1857. With the help of interrupted letters of Maniram Dewan, the British a soon arrested Prince Kandarperswar Singha and almost all the other leaders.
Maniram Dewan intended to arrive in Upper Assam with arms and ammunition to join the revolt. Unfortunately, many of these conspiratorial letters ended up in the hands of Captain Holroyd, the officer in charge of the Sibsagar district, and Maniram Dewan was immediately arrested in Calcutta. His supporters in Jorhat and Sibsagar, including Piyoli Barua and Kandarpeswar Singha, were arrested.
The Ahom prince Kandarpeswar Singha was a minor and as such he was kept in the special jail in Bardhaman till 1860. Later on he was allowed to come back to Gauhati where he set up residence. He was not permitted by the British government to go back to Jorhat. He was given a pension of 500 rupees with effect from 1853.
After the Queen’s Proclamation of 1858, Dutiram Barua, Sheikh Formud Ali, Bahadur Gaonburha etc were allowed to come back from the Andamans.
In this manner the attempt of Maniram Dewan in 1857 to overthrow the British in Assam and re-establish the Ahom Monarchy ended in failure.
Q3. Discuss the reasons why the revolt of 1857-58 failed in Assam.
Ans: The causes of the failure of revolt of 1857-58 were:
(i) First and foremost, the number of revolts in Assam was extremely low. Supporters of Maniram Dewan were restricted to Jorhat and Sibsagar. He received little support from Nowgaon, Kamrup, and Guwahati.
(ii) Even after all preparations were done, the rebels dayed in executing the revolt. Resultantly the British had plenty of time to organise counter-measures and suppress the rebellion.
(iii) Maniram Dewan was far away from scene of revolt, Calcutta was far away from Assam, commanding through letters was quite impractical.
(iv) The members of the new Assamese middle class were not sympathetic to the rebellion. They were more inclined to the Bengali lifestyle than to life under the Ahom monarchy.
(v) The Assam rebels failed to keep their activities secret. As a result, the British government learned about their entire plot and was able to successfully suppress the revolt.
(vi) The Indian rebellion of 1857 had its backbone in the sepoys who rose together in revolt against the British. However, in Assam it was chiefly the work of a few disgruntled nobles who could not get the support of the local army units.
(vii) The rebels failed to maintain secrecy of their activities. The rebels had no access to arms and weapons as required. Through Maniram Dewan was supposed to bring weapons, he was arrested before he would do so.
Q4. Discuss the importance of the revolt of 1857 in Assam.
Ans: The 1857 revolt began in Northern India at Meerut. Maniram Dewan, one of the greatest personalities of the time, wanted to organise a similar rebellion in Assam, but he was unable to do so.
Its importance lies in the following aspects:
(i) It was associated with a historical event in India for the first time in Assam’s history.
(ii) After the revolt of 1857 many peasant’s revolts occurred in different parts of the state from 1860 to 1894. The patriotic deaths of Maniram Dewan and Piyoli Barua inspired the people, and many historians consider the peasants’ revolts to be reactions of the failed Rebellion of 1857.
(iii) The failed rebellion encouraged hundreds of freedom lovers of the state to take active participation in the national movement for independence led by Mahatma Gandhi. These men were greatly inspired by the activities and sacrifice of patriotic men like Maniram Dewan, Piyoli Barua, Bahadur Gaon Burah etc.
(iv) The chief organisers of the revolt consisted of eminent men from both Hindu and Muslim communities. This unity greatly boosted the spirit of nationalism as well as brought communal harmony in the state.
Q5. Write a note on the Phulaguri Dhawa.
Ans: The Phulaguri was an agrarian uprising in Phulaguri village in the Brahmaputra Valley, in October 1861 against the new income and farm taxation policies of the British Indian Empire following the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The murders of Lieutenant B H Singer and two police constables on 18 October 1861 led to mass reprisals in which at least 54 Assamese farmers were killed.
When the British government began to sell opium (which was extracted from the Poppy seeds) these peasants were naturally infuriated. In 1861, the British government completely banned the cultivation of Poppy. This agitated the Tiwa ethnic community and more so, because the selling of opium by the British government continued. The British administration’s decision adversely impacted upon the economic condition of this community.
As soon as the news of banning Poppy cultivation spread, on 17th September 1861, more than 1500 peasants from the various adjoining areas gathered in Phulaguri and organized a Raij Mel to opose this decision of the government. In the Mel it was decided to submit, a petition to the Deputy Commissioner requesting the removal of the ban on Poppy cultivation and not to fix any tax on Tamul-pan.
At that time the Deputy Commissioner of Nowgaon was Herbert Sconce. Instead of showing any sympathy towards the public, he misbehaved with them. To protest against this, the public held Raij Mels for five consecutive days from 15th October in Phulaguri. The 1000 strong peasants who gathered on the first day were mostly armed with bamboo sticks. In the following days the number of gathered public increased and on 18th October about 4000 people had gathered.
Deputy Commissioner Sconce sent his Assistant Commissioner Lieutenant Singer to the meeting. When Singer inquired about the objectives of the meeting, one Jati Kalita explained on behalf of the public that since the local authorities had not shown any sympathy towards the demands of the peas-ants, namely to remove the ban on poppy cultivation and not to fix taxes on Tamul-pan, they were now planning to approach the highest authorities. Singer became very excited at this and ordered the people to leave.
Moreover, he also ordered his sepoys to snatch away the bamboo sticks carried by the peasants. While this tussle over the bamboo sticks broke out, one peasant struck Singer on the head with his stick and felled him to the ground. When the other peasants also joined in this attack, Singer died on the spot. His body was thrown into the Kollong river. The police force that had accompanied Singer fled the scene. This incident has been mentioned in the pages of history as the Phulaguri Dhawa.
After this incident many peasants were arrested by the authorities on the charge of the murder of Singer. Thousands were kept imprisoned in temporary jails in Raha and Phulaguri. As a result of the trial Lakkhan Deka, Songbor Lalung and Rongbor Deka were awarded death sentence. Some of the accused peasants were sent away to Koliyapani (Andamand and Nicobar Islands).
Q6. Discuss the peasant revolt of North Kamrup in 1894.
Ans: On January 28, 1894, many local peasants gathered in a protest meeting at Patharughat (also known as Patharighat), condemning the increasing land tax levied by the British. Thousands of people from various villages came forward to take part in this meeting. The frequently increasing tax rates left the poor farmers in a state of despair.
In the month of June 1892, Sir William Erskine Ward, the then Chief Commissioner of Assam, submitted a proposal for the enhancement land revenue in the Brahmaputra valley to be effective from 1893-94 after a new classification of land. As the British-Indian government accorded approval to his proposal, the land revenue in the Brahmaputra valley increased to 35 in 1893-94 over the year 1892-93.
This time too the peasantry, as in the past, first submitted petitions to the government protesting against the enhancement. The number of petitions submitted to the government across the valley was 16,485. These petitions were submitted to the Assam administration several months before the submission of the final proposal for the enhancement of land revenue to the British-Indian government.
When the government of Assam began to collect the land revenue at enhanced rate with the approval of the British-Indian government, despite strong protest from the peasantry, the latter started to meet in rajmels instantly to register their voice of protest against the government action. In several places of North Kamrup hundreds of peasants met in raijmels and determined not to pay land revenue at the enhanced rate.
In the month of December 1893, several hundred peasants in and around Rangia and Tamulpur roughed-up Radhanath Baruah, the Tahsildar of Tamulpur for several times. Besides, they looted the land-mortgaged records from the houses of the Marwari moneylenders and traders of Rangia and damaged the houses at the hat.
As per the decision of the raijmel that had been held at Rajkadamtal near Nalbari, a raijmel of thousands of peasantry of North Kamrup was held at Rangia on 10th January 1894. One Kan Gossain, a leading man of the peas-antry, presided over this raimel.
R.B. MaCabe, the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup, and a police officer, Reily by name, had been taking position there since before 10 January with a view to putting obstruction in holding the raijmel. As a consequence, tussle between the government and the coming for the raijmel became inevitable. According to the government there had been no death or injury to any person. But as per tradition several persons had died in the scuffle and their bodies were buried in a place where now the Inspection Bunglow stands in front of the Haradutta-Biradutta Bhawan. The government collected land revenue in the area by suppressing the rebellion with a heavy hand with the help of the police.
In the Barama region, the raijmel was very much powerful; it raised its own striking troops (lathial), own messengers and spies. In the Bajali area thousands of peasantry met in raijmel in Lachima, Chaukhuti, Panagaon, Sarthebari and in Patacharkuchi. The greatest of these raijmels had its session in the chapori of Panagaon. The peasantry from Rangia, Nalbari, Dharmapur, Bajali etc., and from other parts of North Kamrup met there.
This raijmel, imposed a fine of Rs.5/- on Madhab Chandra Bordoloi, the Sub-divisional Officer of Barpeta, for his misbehaving the public, and was set free after he made the payment. In the Kapla village the people roughed-up Dasoram Chaudhury, the mauzadar and Haliram Misra, the mandal, for forcefully collecting the revenue there. Haliram Misra died a few days later due to the injury he had suffered from the beating. In the raijmel of Panagaon, Pushparam Kalita (a bell-metal worker), and Jogeswar Goswami, the satradhikar of Byashkuchi, took the leading part. Altogether 70 persons were arrested allegedly for their involvement in the incident of Kapla village and were brought before Madhab Chandra Bardaloi, the S.D.O., while the latter was staying at the government Rest Camp. As a large number of people from the neighbouring villages soon surrounded the Rest Camp, Madhab Chandra Bardaloi fled to Barpeta releasing all the arrested people.
MaCabe, the Deputy Commissioner, accompanied by about 30 policemen and the personnel of the Gurkha Regiment, arrested 59 rebellious peasants. He himself tried these people and awarded various punishments. Nearly 16 persons were given various punishments for their alleged involvement in the rebellion as well as the murder of Haliram Misra. In the judgement of the Calcutta High Court later the punishments of these persons were reduced.
Pushparam Kalita, Debidutta Sarma, Jayanti Bez, Nibharsha Kalita, Nausoko Kalita and Mangalu Kalita each was given 2 years rigorous imprisonment.
Hardly had the peasant uprising in North Kamrup come to an end then the peasantry of Patharughat rose in rebellion in the neighbouring district of Darrang. The actual occurrence of the rebellion was on 28th January 1894. Of course, the preparation for the rebellion had been going on there in the region for some time past. The peasantry of Kalaigaon, Mangaldoi, Sipajhar and Patharughat Tahsils of Mangaldoi Sub-division began the rebellion in protest against the enhancement of land revenue. Ransom, the Sub-divi-sional Officer of Mangaldoi, kept a strict vigil on the movement of the peasantry and accordingly kept the district headquarters at Tezpur informed about the happenings. Anticipating trouble he had mustered military forces as per his capacity to face any eventuality.
Q7. Give an account of the peasant revolt of Patharughat in 1894.
Ans: Patharughat peasant revolt began in 1894 in the Mangaldoi Circle of Darrang district. Raij Mels were organised by the public to oppose the increased revenue as well as its collection. In these Raij Mels, peasants from Kalaigaon, Mangaldi, Sipajhar of Mangaldoi circle, and Patharughat tehsil gathered. After holding such public assemblies in their own areas, the peasants planned a three-day public assembly in Patharughat on January 26-28. This information was passed on from the Tehsildars of that area to the Circle Officer, who then informed the Deputy Commissioner, J. D Anderson, about the proposed Raij Mel.
In order to stop this huge public assembly, J. D Anderson, along with a force comprising of police and military personnel and the Police Superintendent J. R. Berington, arrived in Patharughat on 27th January.
With the help of the police and military, the properties of those peasants who had refused to Pay revenue, were confiscated. This infuriated the peasants and about 200 of them surrounded Berington who had gone for the revenue extraction. He somehow managed to save himself from the clutches of the public and reaching the Rest Camp, described everything to the Deputy Commissioner. A few hours later around 2000 peasants marched towards the Rest Camp. Almost each one of them was armed with sticks.
When the peasants reached the Rest Camp, Anderson advised them to go home as soon as possible but they did not move. At this the Deputy Commissioner ordered the Police Superintendent to disperse the peasants by using force, if necessary.
Following this order when the Police Superintendent tried to forcefully chase away the peasants, they retaliated by brandishing their sticks, hurling stones- pebbles and moved in closer. The raining of stones and pebbles was such that the police-military and administrative officers, none could keep their eyes open. Under such conditions the Deputy Commissioner ordered the Police Superintendent to open fire. According to unofficial records, 140 peasants were killed and 150 peasants were injured as a result of the firing.
On the other hand the official records showed 15 killed and 37 injured.
The peasant revolt of Patharughat was crushed by the British imperialist government with an iron hand. On account of participating in this revolt, according to official sources, 37peasants were arrested and tried. The Circle
Officer of Mangaldoi, Mr. Ransom settled these cases. Aklu Sheikh and six others were punished and the rest were all released.
Q8. Write a note on the Jaintia revolt against the British in 1860.
Ans: In 1860, the British imposed a house tax upon the people residing in the Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. The common folk did not agree with this imposition and showed their resistance. Even though their rebellion was crushed before it even began, security was tightened all over the region. In 1861, the British introduced the income tax, which further hurt the people of the Jaintia Hills.
One of the first hill tribes of Assam to fight against the The discontentment deepened with the imposition of a new house tax and income tax on the people, a tribe that had never paid tax in cash. The people with the Sardars and Dolois began to make preparation for the rebellion.
When the British implemented House tax the Jaintia’s raised the banner of revolt by removing the tehsildar of Jowai. As soon as the news spread, revolts were declared in Jayantipur, Mulagul, Jaflong, and Sera areas also.
The British administration adopted stem measures. In retaliation the Jaintia’s under the leadership of Ukiang Nonbah doubled the strength of the revolt. They met in a meeting near Jowai, where they swore to overthrow the British authority from the Jaintia Hills and re-establish their own rights.
On 17th January 1862, the Jaintia’s made a sudden attack on the British Camp in Jowai. The rebels, had already blocked, the two roads connecting Jowai-Cherrapunji and Cherrapunji-Jayantipur. The 44th Native Infantry and 33rd Bengal Military Police forces deployed by the British administration had been torturing the people inhumanly. The rebels too, killed many of their opponents. In the midst of this violent conflict between the two sides, the British administration entrusted the military and civil authority of the entire Jaintia Hills with the Brigadier General of the Eastern Command, G D Showers. In addition B. W Morton was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
The continuous attacks from the government side was leading to the gradual erosion of the strength of the rebels. The British government promised a general amnesty if the rebels surrendered voluntarily and an award of 1000 rupees was announced for anyone who would capture and hand over to the British their leader, Ukiang Nongbah, alive. At last Ukiang Nongbah was captured by the British and in the presence of a huge crowd, he was hanged to death in Jowai.
Q9. Write about the anti-British revolt of 1891 in Manipur under the leadership of Tikendrajit.
Ans: The Anglo-Manipur War was an armed conflict between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Manipur. The war lasted between 31 March 27 April 1891, ending in a British victory.
On 31 March 1891, the British Raj declared war on Kangleipak, expeditionary forces were assembled in Kohima and Silchar. The Kohima column was launched on 20 April.On 27 April 1891, the Silchar, Tamu and Kohima columns united, capturing Imphal after finding it deserted, the Union Jack was hoisted above the Kangla Palace, 62 native loyalists were freed by the British troops. On 23 May 1891, Tikendrajit Singh was detained by British authorities On 13 August 1891, five Manipuri commanders including Tikendrajit were hanged for waging war against the British Empire, Kulachandra Singh along with 21 Kangleipak noblemen received sentences of property forfeiture and lifetime exile. Manipur underwent a disarmament campaign, 4,000 firearms were confiscated from the local population.
In the First Anglo-Burmese War, the British helped prince Gambhir Singh regain his kingdom of Manipur, which had been heretofore occupied by the Burmese. Subsequently, Manipur became a British protectorate. From 1835, the British stationed a Political Agent in Manipur.
WRITE SHORT NOTES:
Q1. The Revenue system implemented by the British in Assam.
Ans: Ryotwari System was introduced by Thomas Munro in 1820. This was the primary land revenue system in South India. Major areas of introduction include Madras, Bombay, parts of Assam and Coorg provinces of British India. In Ryotwari System the ownership rights were handed over to the peasants.
Assam became a part of the British empire by the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. Eventually they completely took over the administration of the state. Within a few years a strong revenue collection machinery was set up which introduced a new revenue system. This revenue system gave more importance to collection of revenue than on improving agriculture or alleviating the suffering and poverty of the peasants. During the Ahom period the people paid their dues in kind, but the British introduced the systems of taxes in cash. This only increased the woes of the peasants as they had little cash in their hands to pay the taxes. The peasants were forced to borrow money from the opportunistic Marwari and Bengali Mahajans who charged exorbitant interest rates making their condition most miserable.
Q2. Maniram Dewan.
Ans: Maniram Dutta Baruah, popularly known as Maniram Dewan (17 April 1806 26 February 1858), was an Assamese nobleman in British India. He was one of the first people to establish tea gardens in Assam. While he was a loyal ally of the British East India Company in his early years, late he was hanged by the British for conspiring against them during the 1857 uprising. He was popular among the people of Upper Assam as “Kalita Raja”
Maniram Dewan realized one thing that his fortunes would not change for the better under the British domination. For that to happen the Ahom Monarchy had to be restored. Like the Ahom Prince Kameswar Singha, Maniram Dewan too, refused to accept the pension of 1000 rupees from the British. When Kameswar Singha expired in 1851, Maniram Dewan fully supported the idea of establishing his son, Kandarpeswar Singha on the royal throne.
In 1853, when the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Moffat Mills came to Assam to investigate the administrative situation, Maniram Dewan presented two applications before him. In one of these, he gave an account of his services rendered to the British company and requested the government for some suitable remuneration. In the other, he requested that Ahom Prince Kandarpeswar Singha be reinstated on the Ahom royal throne and also the details of the sufferings and miseries of the aristocratic class. In this application though he mentioned about some positive effects of the British rule in Assam like-the end of severe punishment like-body mutilation during the Ahom rule, he also pointed out some negative effects like- awarding pension to undeserving people, reducing the elite high officials to the standard of the common people by depriving them of all their privileges.
Though on the basis of his applications, Mills critically examined all aspects of the English government, he did not sympathize with Maniram’s applications. In fact, he declared Maniram to be a conspirator.
The report of Mills deshed all hopes of Maniram Dewan and he completely turned against the British. As he understood his own limitations, he decided to avoid a direct confrontation with the British government and in early part of 1857 went to Calcutta to appeal to the British government to restore Kandarpeswar Singha on the throne of Assam. But he never got an opportunity to meet the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal.
At that time he came to know about the revolt of the Indian soldiers in the British army in Northern India and began to dream of overthrowing the British rule in Assam with the help of the Indian soldiers in the British army posted in Assam through a revolt.
Q3. Phulaguri Dhawa.
Ans: The banner of revolt that was raised for the first time in Assam by the exploited peasants against the British policy of economic exploitation was the Phulaguri Dhawa. Located near Nowgaon, Phulaguri was a village inhabited by the Tiwa ethnic community who survived on the commercial cultivation of Poppy.
When the British government began to sell opium which was extracted from the Poppy seeds) these peasants were naturally infuriated. In 1861, the British government completely banned the cultivation of Poppy. This agitated the Tiwa ethnic community and more so, because the selling of opium by the British government continued. The British administration’s decision adversely impacted upon the economic condition of this community.
As soon as the news of banning Poppy cultivation spread, on 17th September 1861, more than 1500 peasants from the various adjoining areas gathered in Phulaguri and organized a Raij Mel to oppose this decision of the government. In the Mel it was decided to submit, a petition to the Deputy Commissioner requesting the removal of the ban on Poppy cultivation and not to fix any tax on Tamul-pan.
At that time the Deputy Commissioner of Nowgaon was Herbert Sconce. Instead of showing any sympathy towards the public, he misbehaved with them. To protest against this, the public held Raij Mels for five consecutive days from 15th October in Phulaguri. The 1000 strong peasants who gathered on the first day were mostly armed with bamboo sticks. In the following days the number of gathered public increased and on 18th October about 4000 people had gathered.
Deputy Commissioner Sconce sent his Assistant Commissioner Lieutenant Singer to the meeting. When Singer inquired about the objectives of the meeting, one Jati Kalita explained on behalf of the public that since the local authorities had not shown any sympathy towards the demands of the peas-ants, namely to remove the ban on poppy cultivation and not to fix taxes on Tamul-pan, they were now planning to approach the highest authorities. Singer became very excited at this and ordered the people to leave.
Moreover, he also ordered his sepoys to snatch away the bamboo sticks carried by the peasants. While this tussle over the bamboo sticks broke out, one peasant struck Singer on the head with his stick and felled him to the ground. When the other peasants also joined in this attack, Singer died on the spot. His body was thrown into the Kollong river. The police force that had accompanied Singer fled the scene. This incident has been mentioned in the pages of history as the Phulaguri Dhawa.
Q4. Peasant revolt of Lachima.
Ans: The Lachima revolt took place on 21st January 1894 in Kalpa near Lachima. The main reason for the revolt was a hundred per cent increase in land revenue. The villagers of Lachima took resort to violence. They attacked the revenue collectors who worked as the agent of British authorities. The revenue collectors were beaten by the villagers so severely that one of them died. As a result of this, the British police imprisoned seventy-five villagers. But the agitated rebels promptly freed the detained villagers from the charge of the police.
On the 25th, approximately 6000 people signed a document demanding the release of the imprisoned individuals and delivered it to the Deputy Commissioner’s camp. McCabe showed no sympathy, and instead chased the crowd away with force. Many leaders, including Gosain Doley, were arrested. These people were tied to the yokes like bullocks and paraded in front of the public as a lesson to prevent future revolts. 16 people were sentenced to various punishments for organising a peasant revolt in Lachima and assaulting Holiram Mishra Mondal.
Q5. Battle of Patharughat.
Ans: Patharughat peasant revolt began in 1894 in the Mangaldoi Circle of Darrang district. Raij Mels were organised by the public to oppose the increased revenue as well as its collection. After holding such public assemblies in their own areas, the peasants planned a three-day public assembly in Patharughat on January 26-28. This information was passed on from the Tehsildars of that area to the Circle Officer, who then informed the Deputy Commissioner, J.D. Anderson. He, along with a force of police and military personnel, as well as Police Superintendent J.R. Berington, arrived in Patharughat on January 27th to put a stop to this massive public gathering.
This infuriated the peasants, and about 200 of them surrounded Berington, who had gone in search of revenue. He managed to escape the clutches of the public and, upon reaching the Rest Camp, described everything to the Deputy Commissioner. Around 2000 peasants marched towards the Rest Camp a few hours later. Almost all of them were armed with sticks. When the peasants arrived at the Rest Camp, Anderson advised them to return home as soon as possible, but they refused. The Deputy Commissioner then directed the Police Superintendent to disperse the peasants with force if necessary.
Q6. Importance of peasant revolts in Assam.
Ans: After the suppression of the Revolt of 1857 all powers of the East India Company were transferred to the Queen of England through the Queen’s Proclamation of 1858.
The Revolt had led to a pitiable economic condition of the British gov-ernment. Since a huge amount had to be spent in the suppressing the Revolt, the deficit budget of 1857-58 rose to 14 million pounds.
So in the years following the revolt the British government was most concerned about how to stabilize their economic condition and make up the deficit. As a result the burden of taxes fell on the Indian masses.
In Assam also the same policy was adopted and this led to several additional taxes over and above those already there. Between 1854 and 1870 there was a hundred percent rise in taxes.
Stamp Duties in 1858, Income Tax, License Tax for using forest products like wood, bamboo etc.) and Grazing Tax (for grazing cattle in the fields and meadows) in 1860 were introduced.
In Kamrup, Darrang and Nowgong excise duties were imposed. Rivers in which gold was found and fishing was done were now auctioned.
All these measures of the British government to collect more and more revenue badly affected the common people and peasants. Though taxes were collected from the peasants, no steps were taken by the government for the development of agriculture and the agriculturists.
The foreign government did not exempt the peasants from payment of taxes even during natural disasters, epidemics or famines. As a result of all this, the common people of Assam were totally disgusted with the British government and this led to a series of peasant revolts in Assam from the middle of the 19th century.
Q7. Tikendrajit.
Ans: Tikendrajit Singh (29 December 1856 13 August 1891), also known as Koireng, was a crown prince of Kangleipak (Meitei for ‘Manipur kingdom’) in present-day northeastern India, which was a protectorate of British Raj at that time. Tikendrajit was the commander of the Manipuri army and engineered a palace revolution that led to the events known as the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891 or the Manipur Expedition.
Tikendrajit, who was the main leader of the anti-British revolt which was separately going on, from the kingdom. But to Banish the popular leader who was working to protect the freedom of the kingdom, on the direction of the British was not on easy task for king Kulahandra. When the chief commissioner of Assam, JW Quinton and four other European officers came to Manipur themselves to capture Tikendrajit the freedom seeking Manipurs killed all of them. Tikendrajit was successfully captured by the British force and on the charges of anti-British activities and killing British officials he was hanged till death.
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