Revolts, Freedom Struggle and the Statehood Movement
2. The early risings, 1780s to 1830s
Three things link the early risings in the table. They were led by village and union heads (Mankis, Mundas, Bhagats), they spread along the networks of Chapter 1, and each ended in suppression followed by an administrative concession. After the Kol insurrection and the Bhumij revolt the Company created the South-West Frontier Agency under Regulation XIII of 1833, which took Chotanagpur out of the general regulations of Bengal and placed it under an Agent of the Governor-General.
| Revolt | Years | Area and people | Leaders and result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paharia rising | 1780s | Rajmahal hills; Paharia | Tilka Manjhi (Jabra Paharia in British records); traditionally dated 1784, with execution at Bhagalpur in 1785; historians query some details |
| Ho rising | 1820-22 | Singhbhum; Ho | Against the Raja of Porahat and the Company troops that backed him; ended in a settlement |
| Kol insurrection | 1831-32 | Ranchi and Singhbhum; Munda, Oraon, Ho | Buddhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat, Jhindrai Manki; put down by Captain Wilkinson; led to the South-West Frontier Agency |
| Bhumij revolt | 1832-33 | Barabhum, Manbhum; Bhumij | Ganga Narayan Singh (‘Ganga Narayan's Hungama’); he died in 1833 at Kharsawan |
| Santhal Hul | 1855-56 | Rajmahal hills and Damin-i-Koh; Santhal | Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand, Bhairav; crushed under martial law; Santal Parganas district created |
| Rising of 1857 | 1857-59 | Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Palamu | Vishwanath Shahdeo, Ganpat Rai, Umrao Singh, Shaikh Bhikhari; Nilamber and Pitamber in Palamu |
| Sardari Larai | 1858-95 | Chotanagpur; Munda, Oraon | A struggle of petitions for land, called the mulkai larai; it failed and prepared the ground for Birsa |
| Ulgulan | 1899-1900 | Khunti and Tamar; Munda | Birsa Munda; crushed; followed by the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 |
| Tana Bhagat movement | 1914 onward | Gumla and Ranchi; Oraon | Jatra Bhagat; refusal of rent and forced labour; later allied with Gandhi and the Congress |
3. The Santhal Hul, 1855
In the early 1830s the Company marked out the Damin-i-Koh in the Rajmahal hills and invited Santhals to clear and settle it, since the Paharia had declined to farm it. Within a generation the new Santhal villages were in the grip of zamindars, moneylenders and revenue officers. On 30 June 1855 Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu, with their brothers Chand and Bhairav, gathered about ten thousand Santhals at Bhognadih and called for the end of outside rule; the state marks the day as Hul Diwas. The sisters Phulo and Jhano are remembered among the dead. Martial law was proclaimed in November 1855 and lifted in January 1856.
The result was administrative. The Santal Parganas were made a separate non-regulation district by Act XXXVII of 1855, with its headquarters at Dumka, Santhal land was protected later by the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, 1876, whose modern form belongs with the land laws of this module.
4. 1857 in Jharkhand
The sepoys of the Ramgarh Battalion at Hazaribagh rose in July 1857 and moved on Ranchi. The local leaders who joined them were mostly landholders: Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo of the Barkagarh estate, Pandey Ganpat Rai, Tikait Umrao Singh of Khatanga and his dewan Shaikh Bhikhari. The rebels were beaten at Chatra on 2 October 1857. Shaikh Bhikhari and Umrao Singh were hanged at Chutupalu in January 1858, Vishwanath Shahdeo in Ranchi on 16 April 1858 and Ganpat Rai on 21 April 1858, and Barkagarh was confiscated.
In Palamu the Bhogta brothers Nilamber and Pitamber rose with the Chero jagirdar Devi Baksh Rai. They held out in the forests after the Company's force took the Palamu fort in early 1858, until their capture and hanging at Lesliganj on 28 March 1859. In 1857 non-tribal landholders and tribal peasants fought side by side, which is why the year is the point where the plateau's tribal tradition of revolt meets the national uprising.
5. Sardari Larai, Birsa Munda and the Ulgulan
After 1857 the Munda and Oraon sardars (village leaders) fought a long, mostly petitioning struggle, the Sardari Larai (1858 to 1895), to win back the land of the Khuntkatti and Bhuinhari villages from landlords and thikadars. Petitions largely failed, and some Munda and Oraon cultivators refused to pay rent to their landlords.
Birsa Munda, born on 15 November 1875 at Ulihatu (now in Khunti district), carried the struggle further. He preached one god, purity and an end to rent and forced labour; his followers, the Birsaits, called him Dharti Aba, ‘father of the earth’. He was arrested at Chalkad in August 1895, held for two years in Hazaribagh and rebuilt the movement on release. Around Christmas 1899 the Ulgulan began: arrows against churches, police posts and landlords' property in the Khunti and Tamar country, in the name of Munda Raj, rule by the people themselves. Police fired on his followers at Sail Rakab hill on 9 January 1900. Birsa was captured in the Jamkopai forest near Chakradharpur in early 1900 (most accounts give 3 February) and died in Ranchi jail on 9 June 1900.
The Ulgulan failed as a rising but won in law: the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 gave statutory protection to the Khuntkatti tenure and barred the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals. The day of Birsa's birth, 15 November, is Jharkhand's Foundation Day and, since the Union Cabinet's decision of 10 November 2021, the Union's Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.
6. Tana Bhagats, the national movement and the vibhutis
The Tana Bhagat movement began in 1914 among the Oraon of Gumla under Jatra Bhagat (Jatra Oraon), with Turia Bhagat among those who led it after Jatra's arrest in some accounts. It joined reform (no spirit worship, no sacrifice, a challenge to the Pahan and Mahto) to a refusal to work for landlords or pay rent. It drew close to Gandhi in the 1920s, and some Tana Bhagat groups joined the Congress. The Ranchi District Tana Bhagat Raiyats Agricultural Lands Restoration Act (1947) provided for the restoration of land sold for arrears of rent during a freedom movement of 1913 to 1942, as the Act itself defines the period.
The wider national movement reached the plateau in familiar ways. Gandhi met the Lieutenant-Governor, Edward Gait, in Ranchi in June 1917 over the Champaran indigo cultivators. The Congress held its Ramgarh session in March 1940 under Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, while Subhas Chandra Bose held his Anti-Compromise Conference there at the same time. In November 1942, during the Quit India movement, Jayaprakash Narayan and five companions escaped from Hazaribagh Central Jail.
| Person | Place | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Tilka Manjhi | Rajmahal hills | Paharia leader of the 1780s rising |
| Buddhu Bhagat | Ranchi district | Kol insurrection, 1831-32 |
| Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu | Bhognadih, Sahibganj | Santhal Hul, 1855; Hul Diwas on 30 June |
| Vishwanath Shahdeo | Barkagarh estate, Ranchi | Leader in 1857; hanged 16 April 1858 |
| Nilamber and Pitamber | Palamu | Rising of 1857-59; hanged at Lesliganj |
| Shaikh Bhikhari and Umrao Singh | Khatanga, Ranchi | 1857; Chutupalu, January 1858 |
| Telanga Kharia | Murgu, Gumla | Kharia leader who organised juri panchayats; killed in 1880 |
| Birsa Munda | Ulihatu, Khunti | Ulgulan, 1899-1900; Dharti Aba |
| Jatra Bhagat | Gumla | Tana Bhagat movement, 1914 |
| Jaipal Singh Munda | Chotanagpur | Captain of the 1928 Olympic hockey team; Adivasi Mahasabha; Jharkhand Party |
7. The Jharkhand movement and statehood
The demand for a Jharkhand state is older than independence. The Chotanagpur Unnati Samaj (1915), a body of educated, mostly Christian Adivasis, sent a memorandum to the Simon Commission in 1928 asking for a separate territory. The Adivasi Mahasabha (1938-39) was led from 1939 by Jaipal Singh Munda, who carried it into the Jharkhand Party (1949-50); the party won more than thirty seats in the Bihar Assembly in 1952 (accounts give 32 or 34). On 1 January 1948 police fired on a large tribal gathering at Kharsawan that had met to protest the merger of Seraikela and Kharsawan with Odisha; both were transferred to Bihar later that year. In 1955 the States Reorganisation Commission did not recommend a Jharkhand state, and in 1963 the party merged into the Congress.
The movement revived in a new form. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (formed in 1972-73 by the merger of tribal, non-tribal and Marxist groups, with leaders such as Shibu Soren and A. K. Roy) joined tribal and Sadan causes. The All Jharkhand Students Union (22 June 1986) took it to the campuses and the roads, with blockades. The Centre and Bihar then conceded a limited autonomy: the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council, set up by a Bihar Act of 1994 and constituted in 1995 for the Santhal Pargana and Chotanagpur districts. It fell short of statehood, and the demand continued.
Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000. Parliament made the state by law under Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution, not by a constitutional amendment. The Lok Sabha passed the bill on 2 August 2000 and the Rajya Sabha on 11 August 2000, and the Act took effect on the appointed day, 15 November 2000, the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda. Jharkhand became the 28th state, with Ranchi as capital, 18 districts taken from south Bihar (named in the Act), a Legislative Assembly of 81 seats (Bihar's 324 became 243 for Bihar and 81 for Jharkhand) and its own High Court at Ranchi. Babulal Marandi was the first Chief Minister.
Key takeaways
- The revolts share a cause: land and revenue passing to outsiders (thikadars, moneylenders, ‘dikus’) under Company-era zamindari; the village unions carried the call.
- Order by decades: Kol 1831-32, Bhumij 1832-33, Santhal Hul 1855 (30 June, Bhognadih), 1857, Ulgulan 1899-1900, Tana Bhagat 1914; each left an administrative or legal result.
- Birsa Munda (born 15 November 1875, Ulihatu; died 9 June 1900) led the Ulgulan; the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 followed, and 15 November is Foundation Day.
- Tana Bhagat (1914, Jatra Bhagat, Gumla) turned reform into a Gandhian refusal of rent; 1857 leaders were Shahdeo, Ganpat Rai, Umrao Singh, Bhikhari and, in Palamu, Nilamber and Pitamber.
- The statehood ladder runs from the Unnati Samaj (1915) and Jaipal Singh's Jharkhand Party to the JMM, AJSU and the Autonomous Council, and ends in the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.
- Jharkhand was created under Articles 3 and 4 on 15 November 2000: 28th state, 18 districts, Ranchi capital, 81-seat Assembly, first Chief Minister Babulal Marandi.
Practice questions (16)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
Which leader of the Santhal Hul of 1855 led the rising together with his brother Kanhu?
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Answer: A — Sidhu Murmu
Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu led the Santhal Hul of 1855 at Bhognadih, with their brothers Chand and Bhairav. Birsa Munda led the Ulgulan of 1899-1900, Buddhu Bhagat led the Kol insurrection of 1831-32, and Tilka Manjhi belongs to the Paharia rising of the 1780s, so each wrong option names the leader of a different rising.On which date did the Santhal Hul of 1855 begin, a date the state marks as Hul Diwas?
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Answer: A — 30 June 1855
The Hul began on 30 June 1855, when Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu gathered the Santhals at Bhognadih, and Hul Diwas is observed on that date. 15 November 1875 is Birsa Munda's birth, 9 January 1900 the police firing at Sail Rakab hill during the Ulgulan, and 1 January 1948 the Kharsawan firing, so each wrong date belongs to a different event.On which date did Jharkhand come into existence under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000?
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Answer: C — 15 November 2000, the appointed day under the Act
The Act took effect on its appointed day, 15 November 2000, which is also Birsa Munda's birth anniversary. 2 August 2000 is the day the Lok Sabha passed the bill, 22 June 1986 the founding of the AJSU and 30 June 1855 the start of the Santhal Hul, so each wrong date is a real event but not the creation of the state.Which revolt of 1831-32 in Chotanagpur was led by Buddhu Bhagat?
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Answer: A — Kol insurrection
Buddhu Bhagat and Joa Bhagat led the Kol insurrection of 1831-32 in Ranchi and Singhbhum. The Santhal Hul of 1855 was a Santal rising, the Ulgulan of 1899-1900 was Birsa Munda's rising, and the Tana Bhagat movement of 1914 was a reform and non-payment movement, so the years and communities rule out each of them.Consider the following statements about revolts in Jharkhand.
P. The Kol insurrection of 1831-32 was led by Buddhu Bhagat.
Q. The Santal Parganas district was created by an Act of 1855 after the Santhal Hul.
R. Tilka Manjhi led the Kol insurrection.
S. The Ulgulan began around Christmas 1899 under Birsa Munda.
Which statements are correct?Show answer
Answer: A — P, Q and S only
P, Q and S are correct. R is wrong because Tilka Manjhi belongs to the Paharia rising of the 1780s, not the Kol insurrection of 1831-32. Every option that pairs R with another statement therefore fails, and the test is whether each rising is matched to its own leader.Match the leaders (P to S) with their areas (i to iv).
P. Vishwanath Shahdeo
Q. Nilamber and Pitamber
R. Jatra Bhagat
S. Ganga Narayan Singh
i. Palamu
ii. Barabhum
iii. Gumla
iv. Barkagarh estate, RanchiShow answer
Answer: C — P-iv, Q-i, R-iii, S-ii
Vishwanath Shahdeo was the Barkagarh chief of Ranchi, Nilamber and Pitamber rose in Palamu, Jatra Bhagat started the Tana Bhagat movement at Gumla and Ganga Narayan Singh led the Bhumij revolt in Barabhum. The other pairings place a leader in an area he never held, such as Jatra Bhagat in Barabhum.Arrange the following events in chronological order.
P. The Ulgulan begins under Birsa Munda.
Q. The Santhal Hul begins at Bhognadih.
R. The Kol insurrection breaks out in Ranchi.
S. Jatra Bhagat starts the Tana Bhagat movement.Show answer
Answer: B — R, Q, P, S
The order is the Kol insurrection (1831), the Santhal Hul (1855), the Ulgulan (1899-1900) and the Tana Bhagat movement (1914). Putting the Santhal Hul first ignores the 1831 start of the Kol rising, and placing the Tana Bhagat movement before Birsa's Ulgulan reverses the sequence of the two.Which of the following was NOT a body or step in the Jharkhand statehood movement?
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Answer: C — The Santal Parganas Tenancy Act, 1876
The Santal Parganas Tenancy Act, 1876 is a colonial land law that protected Santhal land, passed nearly four decades before the Unnati Samaj of 1915 began the statehood demand. The other three are steps of the movement: the Unnati Samaj's 1928 demand, the Jharkhand Party of 1949-50 and the AJSU of 1986.Consider the following statements about the statehood movement.
P. The Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council was constituted in 1995 under a Bihar Act of 1994.
Q. The Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 created Jharkhand as the 28th state with 18 districts taken from southern Bihar.
R. The Lok Sabha passed the Bihar Reorganisation bill on 11 August 2000.
S. The Jharkhand Party won seats in the Bihar Assembly election of 1952.
Which statements are correct?Show answer
Answer: D — P, Q and S only
P, Q and S are correct. R is wrong because the Lok Sabha passed the bill on 2 August 2000, and 11 August was the date of the Rajya Sabha's passage. P and Q together leave out S, so the option that keeps all three correct statements is the key.On 1 January 1948 police fired on a large gathering at Kharsawan. The gathering had come together to protest which decision?
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Answer: C — Merger of Seraikela and Kharsawan with Odisha
The Kharsawan gathering protested the merger of Seraikela and Kharsawan with Odisha, and both states were moved to Bihar later in 1948. The Partition of Bengal, the creation of Santal Parganas in 1855 and the Permanent Settlement of 1793 are different events in other years.Telanga Kharia, who organised juri panchayats in Gumla, belonged to which community?
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Answer: B — Kharia of Murgu village, Gumla
Telanga Kharia was a Kharia leader of Murgu village in Gumla district, who built juri panchayats as a parallel authority to British rule and was killed in 1880. The Munda, Oraon and Ho each have their own revolt leaders, so none of them is the community of this leader.Which leader presided over the Congress session held at Ramgarh in March 1940?
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Answer: C — Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, then Congress president
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad presided over the Congress session at Ramgarh in March 1940. Subhas Chandra Bose held a rival Anti-Compromise Conference in the same place, which is the source of the confusion, while Nehru and Rajendra Prasad attended the session without presiding over it.The Tana Bhagat movement began in 1914 under which leader?
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Answer: D — Jatra Bhagat
Jatra Bhagat of Gumla started the Tana Bhagat movement in 1914, and Turia Bhagat is named among those who led it after Jatra's arrest in some accounts. Birsa Munda led the Ulgulan, Telanga Kharia the Kharia juri panchayats and Buddhu Bhagat the Kol insurrection, so the three wrong options are leaders of other movements.Consider the following pairs.
P. Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu – Bhognadih
Q. Shaikh Bhikhari – Chutupalu
R. Jaipal Singh Munda – the Ulgulan of 1899-1900
S. Tilka Manjhi – Bhagalpur
Which pairs are correctly matched?Show answer
Answer: A — P, Q and S only
P, Q and S are correct: the Hul began at Bhognadih, Shaikh Bhikhari was hanged at Chutupalu in January 1858, and Tilka Manjhi is traditionally said to have been hanged at Bhagalpur. Jaipal Singh did not lead the Ulgulan, which Birsa Munda led, so R is wrong and every option that includes R fails.The Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council, constituted in 1995, covered which two regions?
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Answer: B — Santhal Pargana and Chotanagpur
The Council covered the Santhal Pargana and Chotanagpur districts under the Bihar Act of 1994, as limited autonomy short of statehood. Champaran and Tirhut lie in north Bihar, outside Jharkhand, and Dhanbad and Bokaro are two districts, not two regions.The Santhal Hul began in 1855 and the Ulgulan began in 1899. Using only these start years, how many years after the Santhal Hul did the Ulgulan begin?
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Answer: B — 44 years
1899 minus 1855 gives 44 years, so 44 is correct. The 42 and 45 options come from misreading the two years, and 54 from reversing a digit. The question asks only for the difference between the stated years, not for the exact dates of the events.