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[[File:Attack by 600 Santhals upon a party of 50 sepoys, 40th regiment native infantry.jpg|thumb|right|200px|An illustration of an engagement during the Santhan rebellion by ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'']]

The '''Santhal rebellion''' (also known as the '''Sonthal rebellion''' or the '''Santhal Hool'''), was a rebellion in present-day [[Jharkhand]], [[Eastern India]] against both the [[East India Company]] (EIC) and [[zamindari system]] by the [[Santal|Santhal]]. It started on June 30, 1855 and on November 10, 1855, [[martial law]] was proclaimed by the East India Company which lasted until January 3, 1856 when martial law was suspended and the rebellion was eventually suppressed by the [[Presidency armies]]. The rebellion was led by the four Murmu Brothers - [[Sidhu Kanhu|Sidhu, Kanhu]], Chand and Bhairav.

==Background==
The rebellion of the [[Santal|Santhal]]s began as a reaction to end the revenue system of the [[East India Company]] (EIC), [[usury]] practices, and the zamindari system in India; in the [[tribal belt (India)|tribal belt]] of what was then known as the [[Bengal Presidency]]. It was a revolt against the oppression of the colonial rule propagated through a distorted revenue system, enforced by the local zamindars, the police and the courts of the legal system set up by the East India Company.<ref>India's Struggle for Independence - [[Bipan Chandra]], Pg41</ref>

The Santhals lived in and depended on forests. In 1832, the EIC demarcated the [[Damin-i-koh]] region in present day Jharkhand and invited Santhals to settle in the region. Due to promises of land and economic amenities a large numbers of Santhals came to settle from [[Cuttack]], [[Dhalbhum]], [[Manbhum]], [[Hazaribagh]], [[Midnapore]] etc. Soon, mahajans and zamindars, as tax-collecting intermediaries employed by the EIC, dominated the economy. Many Santals became victims of corrupt money lending practices. They were lent money at exorbitant rates. When they were unable to repay the loan, their lands were forcibly taken and they were forced into bonded labour. This sparked the Santal rebellion by [[Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu]], two brothers who led the Santals during the rebellion.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jha|first=Amar Nath|title=Locating the Ancient History of Santal Parganas|date=2009|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=70|pages=185–196|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44147668}}</ref>

==Rebellion==
On 30 June 1855, two Santal rebel leaders, [[Sidhu Kanhu|Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu]], mobilized roughly 60,000 Santhals and declared a rebellion against the East India Company. Sidhu Murmu had accumulated about ten thousand Santhals to run a parallel government during the rebellion. The basic purpose was to collect taxes by making and enforcing his own laws.{{fact|date=June 2021}}

Soon after the declaration, the Santhals took to arms. In many villages, the Zamindars, money lenders, and their operatives were [[Execution|executed]]. The open rebellion caught the [[Company rule in India|Company administration]] by surprise. Initially, a small contingent was sent to suppress the rebels but they were unsuccessful and this further fueled the spirit of the revolt. When the law and order situation was getting out of hand, the Company administration finally took a major step and sent in a large number of troops assisted by the local Zamindars and the Nawab of Murshidabad to quell the Rebellion. The East India Company announced an [[Bounty (reward)|bounty]] of [[Rupee|Rs]]. 10,000 to arrest Sidhu and his brother Kanhu Murmu.{{fact|date=June 2021}}

A number of skirmishes occurred after this which resulted in a large number of casualties for the Santhal forces. The primitive weapons of the Santhals proved to be unable to match the gunpowder weapons of the [[Presidency armies|East India Company military]]. Troop detachments from the 7th Native Infantry Regiment, 40th Native Infantry, and others were called into action. Major skirmishes occurred from July 1855 to January 1856, in places like Kahalgaon, Suri, Raghunathpur, and Munkatora.<ref>India's Struggle for Independence - Bipan Chandra, Pg42-43</ref>

The revolt was eventually suppressed after Sidhu and Kanhu were [[killed in action]]. [[War elephant]]s, supplied by the Nawab of Murshidabad, were used to demolish Santhal huts during the rebellion. Of the roughly 60,000 tribesmen (many of whom were [[Milk delivery|milkmen]] and [[blacksmith]]s) who had been mobilized during the rebellion, over 15,000 were killed, and tens of villages were destroyed.<ref>India's Struggle for Independence - Bipan Chandra, Pg42-43</ref>

A [[British Army]] officer, [[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] Jervis, commented on the suppression of the rebellion:

<blockquote> It was not war; they did not understand yielding. As long as their national drum beat, the whole party would stand, and allow themselves to be shot down. Their arrows often killed our men, and so we had to fire on them as long as they stood. When their drum ceased, they would move off a quarter of a mile; then their drums beat again, and they calmly stood till we came up and poured a few volleys into them. There was not a sepoy in the war who did not feel ashamed of himself."''<ref>L.S.S O Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers Santal Parganas.</ref></blockquote>

== Legacy ==
English author [[Charles Dickens]], in ''[[Household Words]]'', wrote the following passage on the rebellion:

<blockquote> There seems also to be a sentiment of honor among them; for it is said that they use poisoned arrows in hunting, but never against their foes. If this be the case and we hear nothing of the poisoned arrows in the recent conflicts, they are infinitely more respectable than our civilized enemy, the Russians, who would most likely consider such forbearance as foolish, and declare that is not war."''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/householdwords12dick|title=Household Words Vol 12|last=Dickens|first=Charles|date=1850–1859|publisher=London : Bradbury & Evans|others=University of Buckingham|pages=349}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Mrinal Sen]]'s film ''[[Mrigayaa]]'' (1976) is set during the Santhal rebellion

== See also ==
* [[Kol uprising]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Britain's Empire: Resistance, Repression and Revolt |first=Richard |last=Gott |publisher=Verso Books |year=2011 |isbn=9781844677382 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sNoz_F_wQPkC |chapter=The Gathering Storm, 1854-58 |pages=423–469}}

==External links==
*{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Tribals-celebrate-Hool-Maha-festival/article16544527.ece|title=Tribals celebrate Hool Maha festival|work=The Hindu|access-date=2017-05-17|language=en}}

{{Santhal Pargana Division topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rebellions in India]]
[[Category:History of Jharkhand]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1855]]

Santhal rebellion - Revision history

imported>TrangaBellam at 21:43, 30 June 2021