After taking the oath, India’s first tribal President Droupadi Murmu spoke about the Santhal Kranti in her first address. The 1855 revolution was led by the Santhal tribe against landlords, moneylenders, and imperialism, and is considered by some scholars the first war against the British
This day will go down in Indian history. Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as India’s youngest and first tribal President at the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi with Chief Justice NV Ramana administering the oath of office.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar, Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and senior leaders across party lines welcomed Murmu with thunderous applaud. In a heart-warming, the 64-year-old First Citizen said, “My election proves poor Indians can not just dream but also fulfil aspirations.”
Murmu who hails from Odisha belongs to the Santhal tribe and in her first speech as India’s 15th President, she invoked the Santal revolution. “From the Santhal revolution, Paika revolution to Kol revolution and Bhil revolution, the tribal contribution in the freedom struggle was further strengthened. We were inspired by the sacrifice of ‘Dharti Aaba’ Lord Birsa Munda ji for social upliftment and patriotism,” she said.
What is the Santhal revolution?
History books have taught us that the 1857 uprising was India’s first rebellion against the British. However, before the Sepoy mutiny, several tribal revolts took place, according to scholars of indigenous history. The Santhal Hul (revolution) was one such revolt and holds a lot of significance to the Santhal tribe – the third-largest scheduled tribe community in India after the Gonds and Bhils – to which President Murmu belongs.
The Santhal Hul took place between 1855 and 1856 and at the forefront of it were the Santhal Adivasis and lower-caste peasants fighting against the atrocities of the upper-caste landlords, moneylenders, traders, police, and administrative officials from the East India Company in the erstwhile Bengal presidency.Why did the Santhals revolt?
In the late 1700s, the Santhals were driven out of Birbhum by the wealthy zamindars (landlords) and were forced to settle in an area known as Santhal Parganas which is in present-day Jharkhand. They cleared the dense jungles and were provided land for settlement in the foothills for rent. Once the land was cleared, their rent was increased by the zamindars and the moneylenders took control of their land and forced them into bonder labour.
The Santhals believed that since they cleared the land and inhabited it, it belonged to them. However, it was not easy to raise their voices against the landlords and moneylenders and the British administration paid no heed to their pleas.
Colonial administrator, WW Hunter, wrote in his book The Annals of Rural Bengal, “Many Santhals had no land or crop to pledge for their little debts. If a man of this class required a few shillings to bury his father, he went to the Hindu usurer for it; having (no) security to offer except his manual labour and that of his children…”
Rabin Soren, secretary of the Paschim Banga Adibasi Gaota, Birbhum, told The Indian Express that traders would cheat the Santhals because they thought of them as simple people. When the tribals went to make purchases, the traders would use heavier weights when buying items from the Santhals and lighter ones when to them.
More than a century of exploitation sowed seeds of the revolt.
In 2002, a stamp was issued commemorating Sidho Murmu and Kanhu Murmu who led the revolt. Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
How did the revolt start?If folklore is to be believed, the great spirit of the Santhals, Thakurjiv, appeared to the tribal leaders, brothers Sidho Murmu and Kanhu Murmu, directing them to revolt. They used the dharwak, a system of communicating using folded sal leaves, to spread the word, according to a report in The Wire.
On 30 June 1855, the Murmu brothers mobilised around 10,000 people against the zamindars, moneylenders, and British in the village of Bhognadih in present-day Jharkhand. It is considered a historic event in Santhal history, which kicked off the revolution.
The Santhals started marching to Calcutta and were joined by other tribes and lower-caste groups. A Santhal head man, Harma Desmanjhi, was arrested in Panchkatia in present-day West Bengal and this led to the rebellion spreading further, according to The Wire.
There is not much written about the Santhals in colonial records. But they find a mention in Charles Dickens’ weekly magazine Household Words. “There seems also to be a sentiment of honour among them; for it is said that they use poisoned arrows in hunting, but never against their foes,” he wrote.
Who were the leaders in the revolution?
The Murmu brothers – Sidho, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairab – were among those who led the revolt. But the women also played an important role. Phulo Murmu and Jhalo Murmu, sisters from the same family, participated in the Hul, inspiring women to join the rebellion.
In a 2017 paper, Santal Women and the Rebellion of 1855 in Colonial India, Dr Ata Mallick talks about judicial records of the rebellion that indicate that “almost every Santal woman was a rebel and many of them were arrested for their active involvement in the rebellion”, according to a report in The Indian Express.
In the conflict, the tribes fought British troops with bows and arrows.
In November 1855, martial law was introduced to curb the revolt and the Hul was quashed by early 1856. It led to the formation of the Santhal Parganas and the passing of the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1876, which outlawed the transfer of Adivasi land to non-Adivasis, reports The Wire.
How Santhals commerate the revolt?
Hul Maha is commemorated across Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and Bangladesh. Rallies and cultural events are held and thousands travel to Bhognadih in Jharkhand, where the revolt started.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and his father Shibu Soren, who belong to the Santhal tribe, have attended the events and homage is paid to Sidho and Kanhu Murmu.
President Murmu, during her time as Jharkhand governor, had said that India’s history should be rewritten to incorporate tribal history into it. As India’s first citizen, she now has work ahead of her.
With inputs from agencies
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